Apple Watch Ultra 3 vs Ultra 1: what really changes

You know the dilemma. You have an Ultra 1 which is still working well, you see the Ultra 3 passing by with its promises of battery, satellite, “wide-angle display” and you wonder if you are not being hypnotized by another wallpaper. Honestly ? It happens to everyone.

We put the numbers back on axis. Side batterythe Apple Watch Ultra 1, released in 2022, already set the bar very high: up to 36 hours in normal use, up to 60 hours in low consumption mode, with a realistic use profile (notif, GPS, a few apps, a sports session).

The Ultra 3 keeps the same philosophy but takes it a step further: up to 42 hours in standard use, 72 hours in low consumption mode, with around 14 hours of outdoor GPS + cardio training announced. It's not a x2, but this little mattress is a game changer on a weekend in the van or a two-day trek.

On thescreenwe go from an already very readable display on Ultra 1 to an LTPO3 panel on Ultra 3, still up to 3,000 nits of brightness, but with refined edges and enhanced readability when you look at the watch sideways. In short: you glance at your wrist while running, you read the fields without twisting your arm. It's not spectacular on a technical sheet, it's more so in real life.

There S10 chipshe is not here to do gamer benchmarks. It optimizes everything: smoother animations, more responsive local Siri, finer battery management, and above all GPS which catches very quickly and remains stable, even in urban canyons or tight woods. Independent tests confirm very clean precision and consistency on Ultra 3, with traces that stick to the meter on reference courses.

Side connectivitythe switch is clear: Ultra 1 = classic LTE, very good as long as you have a network; Ultra 3 = LTE + 5G + satellite communications (SOS, messages, Find My) for when everything else is KO. There, we leave the “comfort” domain to enter the “it can get you out of a bad moment” domain.

If you want the fine details of the Ultra 3 solo (faces, diving functions, Sleep Score, hypertension, etc.), you can go deeper with my complete test of the Apple Watch Ultra 3 in real conditions.