Apple Watch Ultra 3 might get my upgrade for its software, not hardware

Apple Watch Ultra 3 is coming later this year. It will reportedly feature satellite connectivity, 5G cellular, and high blood pressure detection. But the thing that might win me over isn’t hardware, and it isn’t even actually new at all.

Ultra-exclusive watch faces are a big draw

Last fall, Apple Watch Series 10 arrived with a display that’s just as large as what the Ultra offers—but for nearly half the price.

I bought the Series 10 and have worn it gladly every day since.

But there’s one big shortcoming that’s been a disappointment: the lack of watch faces that take advantage of its large display.

Apple Watch Ultra offers two such faces:

Modular Ultra

Wayfinder

The former face is especially of interest to me.

Modular Ultra lets you set seven complications, plus six options for customizing how the time is displayed, and even a special area around the edges to show more data.

It’s the face I want on my Series 10, but can’t get.

And it’s the face that might just get me to switch to the Apple Watch Ultra 3 this year.

Before I get there though, let me share my thinking that led to the Series 10 purchase in the first place.

Apple Watch Series 10 brought the hype

When Apple unveiled its new Watch lineup in September, the Apple Watch Ultra 3 was notably absent.

Instead of releasing a new Ultra model, Apple just gave the existing Ultra 2 a black color option.

As beautiful as the black Ultra 2 is, I was in the market for a new Watch, and buying a year-old model wasn’t in the cards.

If the Apple Watch Series 10 had been a minor update, I could have been tempted by the Ultra 2. But instead, Series 10 brought:

a thinner design

larger screens

S10 chip

faster charging

more frequent always-on refreshes

and wide-angle OLED

What did the Apple Watch Ultra get?

A new color.

It’s easy to see why the Series 10 was my quick choice.

Switching to Apple Watch Ultra 3 for one (old) feature

As much as I’ve enjoyed my Apple Watch Series 10, the lack of large screen-optimized watch faces continues to bug me.

So much so that I’m considering switching to the Ultra 3 this year.

The new Ultra 3 features sound solid. I’m sure more details will trickle out over the months leading up to September. We should get a new chip, maybe better battery life even.

But the main draw of the Ultra 3 for me will be that Modular Ultra face.

Watch faces are the heart of watchOS. Your watch face is more important than, say, your iPhone’s Home Screen.

In most cases, the vast majority of Watch interactions involve the watch face.

Glancing at the time, at widgets, launching apps—all of these happen from the watch face.

So getting the best possible face, one that takes advantage of a large display, is especially important—at least for me.

I’d love to hear that Apple is going to bring new faces to watchOS 12 that ‘power up’ the Series 10 model. If that happens, I may stick with my current Watch.

But if nothing changes, the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and its exclusive watch faces will be calling my name come September.

What factors influence your Apple Watch purchase decisions? Let us know in the comments.

Best Apple Watch accessories

Anker portable USB-C charger for Apple Watch

AirPods Pro 2 (currently $199, down from $249)

MagSafe Qi2 3-in-1 charger

Retro Mac stand for Apple Watch Nightstand Mode

Anker 20W USB-C charging brick

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