While the iPhone 17 models and AirPods Pro 3 grabbed their share of the headlines, today’s big Apple event also included a trio of new smartwatches, cementing its reputation as a major player in the health and fitness space.

The 2025 refresh includes the high-end Apple Watch Ultra 3, the more budget-friendly Apple Watch SE 3, and the flagship Apple Watch Series 11, each with its own set of significant upgrades designed to help you track your well-being while staying connected. The lineup is now available for preorder in over 50 countries, including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, India, Japan, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States, with units hitting stores September 19.

Apple Watch Series 11

Ready for the next chapter of Apple’s smartwatch lineup? The Apple Watch Series 11 is officially here, and it’s clear the technology giant is doubling down on its hype as a serious health and fitness companion. While the exterior looks familiar, the real changes are under the hood, with a host of new features that could genuinely impact your day-to-day well-being.

The Apple Watch Series 11 starts at $399 in the U.S., or P32,490 if you live in the Philippines. But if you’ve got some serious money to burn — maybe you’ve just landed a lucrative flood-control project from the local government (wink, wink!) — you might be eyeing the Apple Watch Hermès. This premium model packs in everything the standard Series 11 has, plus built-in GPS and cellular connectivity as a standard feature. It comes in a slick, polished-silver case with two size options: 42mm and 46mm, priced at $1,249/P80,390 and $1,299/P83,390, respectively.

Perhaps the most significant updates come in the health and wellness department. Apple is introducing groundbreaking new hypertension notifications. This feature uses the watch’s optical heart sensor to analyze how your blood vessels react to your heartbeats, and over a 30-day period, it can alert you to signs of chronic high blood pressure. Think of it as a proactive alert system that empowers you with crucial information. Additionally, the improved sleep score feature in watchOS 26 provides a comprehensive look at your sleep quality, breaking down factors like duration, consistency, and time spent in different sleep stages to give you an easy-to-understand metric for how restorative your rest was.

MacPaint makes an appearence in the 2025 Hermes Apple watch face. Also it includes a mini clock? Anyone have a Hermes Apple Watch with the RC on it?
"A MacPaint bucket fills in gallery window panels with orange. The horse and the lad peek out from a panel and the bucket fills it… pic.twitter.com/PvbQH4zBhO

— Steve Moser (@SteveMoser) September 9, 2025

Beyond the health tech, Apple has made key improvements to durability and performance. The aluminum models of the Series 11 now feature a cover glass that’s two times more scratch-resistant than before. This is thanks to a proprietary ceramic coating that bonds with the glass at an atomic level, making it tougher for daily wear and tear. The wearable now also offers a longer battery life of up to 24 hours, meaning you can wear it all day and through the night to take full advantage of the enhanced sleep-tracking features. Fast charging is still on board, with just 15 minutes of charging giving you up to eight hours of battery life.

The new Apple Watch is more connected than ever, too. It features 5G cellular capabilities for faster performance and better throughput, so your music, podcasts, and apps download faster even when you’re away from your phone. Apple has even redesigned the cellular antenna to improve reception in areas with weak coverage. And in a nod to its environmental goals, the Watch Series 11 is made with 40% recycled content and manufactured with 100% renewable electricity.

Apple Watch SE 3

If you’re after something more affordable, there’s the Apple Watch SE 3. It starts at $249 or P15,990 in the Philippines. On paper, it looks like a huge step up from the previous model, offering a bunch of improvements to health, fitness, and overall performance.

One of the biggest upgrades is the new S10 chip, which makes everything faster and more efficient. The display is a highlight, too. It’s an Always-On display, which means you can see the time and your information at a glance without having to raise your wrist. Even better, the screen is now four times more resistant to cracks, so it’s a lot more durable. Plus, you can get it charged up really quickly — a short 15-minute charge can give you up to eight hours of battery life.

Naturally, this smartwatch also packs some really smart health and fitness features. It can track your sleep more accurately with a new sleep score and even help with family planning by providing retrospective ovulation estimates. It’s able to send you notifications for things like sleep apnea, which could be a lifesaver. For your workouts, there’s a feature called Workout Buddy that uses Apple Intelligence to give you personalized, spoken motivation to keep you going.

The watch runs on watchOS 26, which introduces a fresh look, along with cool tricks, like on-device Siri and one-handed gestures that let you navigate the watch just by flicking or double-tapping your wrist.

Apple Watch Ultra 3

Apple also announced the next entry to its premium smartwatch line. The Apple Watch Ultra 3 is here, and it’s built to keep up with you, whether you’re climbing a mountain or just getting through your day. While it still looks tough, the real upgrades are all about helping you stay safer and more capable when you’re far from home.

The Watch Ultra 3 is priced from $799 or P54,990 in the Philippines. This latest model features a massive display — easily the largest ever on an Apple Watch — which incorporates the company’s advanced LTPO3 and wide-angle OLED technologies. This means the screen is not only brighter but also more power-efficient, allowing for a 1Hz always-on refresh rate. You can now see a ticking seconds hand without even raising your wrist. The efficiency of this improved display, combined with a larger battery, delivers a robust 42 hours of battery life during normal use, which can be extended to up to 72 hours in Low Power mode.

For those who venture into the wild, the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is packed with essential safety features. Most impressively, it now has built-in satellite communications. This allows you to use Emergency SOS via satellite, send your location to contacts using Find My via satellite, and send messages to friends and family, even when you have no cellular service. This could be a genuine lifesaver for hikers, climbers, or anyone who finds themselves in a remote location.

Of course, this top-shelf model also boasts the most accurate GPS of any sports watch, along with 5G cellular capabilities for faster downloads and better reception, thanks to a redesigned cellular antenna that engages both system antennas when needed. The Watch Ultra 3 is likewise a powerhouse for fitness tracking, offering enhanced metrics for runners, a customizable Action button for quick starts, and advanced features for cyclists, swimmers, and hikers.

AirPods Pro 3, the new Apple Watch lineup, iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and the all-new iPhone Air—here’s everything we just announced! pic.twitter.com/EDPNjpoUW8

— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) September 9, 2025

In case you missed the Apple event livestream

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