Apple Watch Ultra 3 may allow you to send messages via satellite
Apple Watch Ultra 3 is expected to be unveiled in 2025. While we wait for official confirmation on its existence, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has claimed that Apple is working on integrating a satellite-based messaging feature on its upcoming Watch Ultra model. This allows users to send and receive short messages without a cellular or Wi-Fi connection. Apple introduced a satellite-based SOS emergency service alongside the iPhone 14 series in September last year. The Apple Watch Ultra 3 could also offer blood pressure monitoring, a feature that was initially set to be introduced last year.
Apple’s next Ultra Smartwatch could offer satellite messaging
In a new Bloomberg reportMark Gurman, citing internal sources, states that Apple will add satellite messaging support in next year’s Watch Ultra 3. The technology allows carriers to send off-the-grid text messages via Global Star’s fleet of satellites when they don’t have access to a cellular or Wi-Fi network. This would make the Apple Watch Ultra 3 the first mainstream smartwatch to get satellite communications support like Apple and Huawei smartphones.
Apple has added the satellite messaging service to its iPhone 14 series for the first time. The Cupertino-based company has joined Global Star to offer satellite-based SOS emergency services on iPhone models. By enabling this functionality in wearables, users can stay connected without smartphones, wherever their adventures take them.
In addition to satellite connectivity, Apple is reportedly working on bringing blood pressure monitoring to the Apple Watch by 2025. The company previously aimed to release this feature last year. It will likely work similarly to Apple’s sleep apnea detector.
Furthermore, Gurman states that the Apple Watch Ultra 3 will come with MediaTek modems instead of Intel’s. The new modems reportedly include support for 5G Redcap.
Apple was expected to announce the Apple Watch Ultra 3 on September 9 at the company’s “It’s Glowtime” event alongside the iPhone 16, but that didn’t happen. Instead, Apple announced a new color option and straps for the Watch Ultra 2. Supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo previously claimed that the Watch Ultra 3 will launch in 2025 alongside the third-generation Apple Watch SE.
