Which Apple Watch? We check the brand new Extremely 3 and Sequence 11

Apple Watch Extremely 3 or Apple Watch Sequence 11? We have tried out each new iterations of Apple’s iconic smartwatch, beginning with the premium options and forward-thinking tech of the Extremely 3. The watch’s black or ‘pure’ titanium case stays a hefty 49mm, now produced utilizing a 3D-printing course of from recycled materials, however display actual property has been elevated. Its borders have been slimmed by virtually 1 / 4, giving extra usable show space with out rising the case dimension.

The brand new LTPO3 wide-angle OLED face additionally pushes brightness as much as 3,000 nits and improves legibility when considered at an angle, a plus for path runners and the like who wish to soak up what they want with a passing look and keep away from operating right into a tree. A extra quotidian advance is the drop of the always-on refresh price to 1 second. Which means that for the primary time, an Apple Watch can present a correct, ever-present ticking seconds hand, a small however oddly transformative shift.

The large information for these planning to get really distant is that Extremely 3 is the primary Apple Watch with built-in satellite tv for pc communications, letting you ship emergency SOS messages, share your location via Discover My, and even, within the US not less than, change brief texts while you’re past mobile vary.

Apple first examined this functionality on iPhone, then miniaturised the antenna and radio to suit right into a 49mm case. It’s an innovation that, together with its now-100m water-resistance, MIL-STD toughness testing and the Motion button’s quick-access emergency siren, boosts the watch’s journey sports activities bona fides. Extremely 3 additionally provides athletes finer GPS accuracy, new biking metrics, and the continuing partnership with Oceanic+ for dive monitoring.

Battery life has all the time been the Extremely’s greatest benefit over the usual Apple Watch, for civilians and all however essentially the most extremely of extremely runners, and the third era stretches that benefit additional. Apple claims as much as 42 hours of day by day use, or 72 hours in Low Energy Mode. That places it comfortably forward of the Sequence 11, which does now attain a full 24 hours for the primary time.

Charging can also be quicker. The Extremely 3 delivers 12 hours of runtime from simply quarter-hour on the charging puck, and a full cost in about an hour. That velocity makes options like sleep monitoring simpler to decide to. A fast top-up earlier than mattress is now sufficient to hold you thru the evening.

Apple’s S10 chip additionally brings smoother graphics and higher integration with watchOS 26’s new, like it or detest it, Liquid Glass OS. Extremely 3 additionally comes with a few new Extremely-only watch faces, together with the natty and helpful Waypoint which lets you place customized location markers round a rotating compass.

Apple has lengthy pitched the Watch as each health coach and well being monitor, and the Extremely 3 and the brand new Apple Watch 11 lean additional into each roles. The headline addition is hypertension notifications, a background algorithm that analyses coronary heart sensor knowledge over 30 days to flag indicators of continual hypertension. Apple expects it to alert over one million customers in its first yr. Alongside this comes Sleep Rating, a brand new 0–100 score that guarantees to distil complicated knowledge right into a easy score of in a single day rejuvenation.

For coaching, there’s additionally now Exercise Buddy, Apple’s first step into AI teaching. It delivers personalised prompts and encouragement mid-session, tuned to your coronary heart price, tempo and previous efficiency. It’s much less drill-sergeant than chirpy operating mate and retains teaching conversational and human relatively than prescriptive. Presumably much more helpful in OS26 is the power to create customized Watch exercises in your iPhone’s Exercise app, relatively than fiddle about with inputting on the watch face.

Apple Watch Sequence 11: the pragmatic selection?

Apple Watch Sequence 11’s design carries over the slim, lighter type of final yr’s Sequence 10. Aluminium fashions use a brand new Ion-X glass that’s twice as scratch-resistant, whereas titanium choices preserve sapphire toughness. Just like the Extremely, it now provides hypertension notifications, Sleep Rating, and Exercise Buddy, all powered by the S10 chip.

With 5G inbuilt and a brighter LTPO3 show, the Sequence 11 is much less about transformation than about sprucing the Apple Watch’s apparent credentials, discreet of design, adaptable, slip-under-the-cuff slim and, positioned between Extremely 3 and the SE3, nonetheless the ‘Goldilocks’ choice for many.

Apple Watch Extremely 3, from £749, Apple.com