New Apple Watches are (in all probability) proper round the nook. For the previous 10 years, Cupertino has dropped not less than one new wearable yearly throughout an early autumn occasion. And in 2025, the custom is probably going to proceed. However what number of new fashions will we get, and what core characteristic upgrades will they boast?
As a smartwatch reviewer at Tom’s Information, I’ve spent a ton of time with watchOS gadgets strapped to my wrist. And though the present Apple Watch Sequence 10 is certainly one of my favourite smartwatches on the market right this moment, it nonetheless has room for enchancment. The identical goes for the Apple Watch Ultra 2.
With that in thoughts, these are the 5 most vital upgrades I want to see come to the Apple Watch Sequence 11 and Apple Watch Ultra 3 in 2025, so as from most to least seemingly.
(*11*)
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1. A dynamic ‘power’ rating
I’m hopeful that Apple’s implementation will replace dynamically all through the day to present customers with the most up-to-date holistic insights.
In 2025, most smartwatches, from the finest Garmins to our favourite smartwatches for Android, characteristic some form of day by day rating — typically on a scale from one to 100 — that displays a consumer’s power ranges primarily based on latest sleep high quality and exercise habits.
Names for the characteristic differ — Garmin calls it Physique Battery whereas Samsung calls it an Vitality Rating — however the usefulness of the metric is the similar: It offers customers a real-time snapshot of their total well-being.
In sensible phrases, I’ve used these scores to decide what forms of exercises to tackle in a given day (or not).
Nevertheless, two main smartwatch manufacturers which have but to take part on the power rating enjoyable: Apple and Google. We already know that Apple’s next-gen watchOS 26 will introduce a ‘Exercise Buddy’ characteristic together with a refresh of the Exercise app itself. May some form of dynamic power rating be a part of this overhaul?
With Apple specializing in customized exercise steering, it appears fairly darn seemingly. Nevertheless, I’m hopeful that Apple’s implementation will replace dynamically all through the day to present customers with the most up-to-date holistic insights.
2. Higher battery efficiency throughout the board
Excluding the Apple Watch Ultra collection, the flagship Apple Watch line has been stubbornly caught at 18 hours of use per cost (in normal mode) since the very first mannequin. Nevertheless, I’m bullish that this will probably be the yr Apple’s watch breaks freed from that woeful constraint.
The rumor mill appears to again up my optimistic vibes with leaks suggesting that the Apple Watch Sequence 11 might last more thanks to a way more energy-efficient show. Apple’s next-generation A11 chip may additionally be higher at managing energy use.
In the end, although, it’s a bigger capability battery that can really transfer the needle when it comes to longevity. That might, in fact, require some severe redesigning of the inside elements. On condition that Apple simply launched a case redesign with the Sequence 10, I’m unsure how seemingly that’s, however I stay optimistic.
3. A programmable ‘Motion’ button on each mannequin
I know, I know, Apple wants some concrete methods to differentiate the Ultra 3 from the Sequence 11 and SE 3. As well as to providing double the water resistance, certainly one of the different main bodily benefits the Apple Watch Ultra 2 has over the Sequence 10 and SE (2022) is a 3rd programmable ‘Motion Button’ on the facet of the case.
Bodily buttons rule. As somebody who makes use of a smartwatch to monitor exercises ceaselessly, I don’t have any love for touchscreens when I’m dripping with sweat and making an attempt to finish my session.
Higher but, customizable buttons are nothing wanting superior. And whereas I want Apple would broaden the customization choices for the Ultra 2’s Motion Button, I’d be much more thrilled to see it present up on the Sequence 11 (I gained’t maintain my breath for an Motion Button on the Apple Watch SE 3, although).
4. A return of the blood ox sensor for U.S. clients
We’re getting towards the a part of the listing that may be filed below “unlikely to occur.” As a U.S.-based Apple Watch consumer, I’m nonetheless, frankly, shocked that Prepare dinner and Co. haven’t sorted out the entire blood oxygen sensor authorized fiasco with rival Masimo.
Blood oxygen sensors are a fast, non-invasive means to get a way of how a lot oxygen your blood cells are carrying at any given second. A low proportion could be a signal of cardiovascular or respiratory points, that means a consumer may want to hunt down a health care provider for additional examination.
Sadly, homeowners of the Sequence 9, Sequence 10, and Ultra 2 will discover their system’s blood oxygen app (Sp02) disabled after they strive to open it. However might it make a comeback with the introduction of the Sequence 11 and Ultra 3? I’m not a lot of a gambler, however my intestine says no.
5. A smaller Ultra possibility
“A 45mm Ultra 3 with all the options of the bigger-boy can be nothing wanting my dream smartwatch.”
I will eat my laptop computer if this one truly comes to fruition. I love the Apple Watch Ultra Sequence, with its long-lasting battery, rugged titanium case, plentiful water resistance for hardcore swimmers, and a plethora of bodily buttons. However I detest its 49mm case dimension. Merely put, it appears and feels too massive and unwieldy on my wrist.
That is why I can be delighted if Apple took a web page out of the normal Apple Watch collection playbook and launched a second, smaller Ultra 3 possibility for people like me with dainty wrists. For instance, a 45mm Ultra 3 with all the options of the bigger-boy can be nothing wanting my dream smartwatch. Sadly, that appears quite unlikely in 2025.
A number of months out from its seemingly launch, rumors counsel that there will probably be just one Ultra 3 mannequin and that it’ll seemingly retain the 49mm case dimension, however with a barely bigger show. That’s actually higher than a dimension improve to 51mm, however it nonetheless gained’t be sufficient to persuade me to rock an Apple Watch Ultra 3 on the common.
