Best Apple Watch (2025): Buyer’s guide for Series 11, SE 3, and Ultra 3

If you’ve ever gone camping, walked 20 yards from your campsite to pee behind a tree, and looked up to find yourself completely lost in the dark, the new Watch Ultra 3 is for you. It now features satellite messaging, which I tested on a weekend camping trip, and it’s a huge improvement over satellite communications on your phone. You’re more likely to hold your watch on your body in emergency situations, and the battery life on the Watch Ultra 3 is a little better — now up to 42 hours from just 36 hours on the Watch Ultra 2.

It has the largest display of any Apple Watch, and it’s even better for seeing offline maps. It also features the same distinctive design as the original, which includes a three-microphone array for taking calls while on the ski lift and diving capabilities. Like the Series 11, it has 5G connectivity as well as satellite communications, high blood pressure notifications, and all the features found in watchOS 26. Again, while I don’t usually recommend that you should buy the latest version of the Apple Watch, this year I think battery life and satellite communications are two very important reasons to upgrade. On a weekend trip, I didn’t carefully distribute battery use, and used the Watch Ultra 3 off-grid liberally to navigate a multi-hour car trip, track multiple trails and hikes, and send satellite text messages, which took me from Friday morning to Sunday morning. Like the 11 Series, the Watch Ultra 3’s titanium case is also 3D printed to increase material efficiency.

It’s now a true weekend watch, delivering on the promise the Watch Ultra made several years ago.