Apple Watch Series 9 vs Apple Watch Ultra 3

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Watch Series 9 compared with Watch Ultra 3

	AppleWatch Series 9	AppleWatch Ultra 3
Overview
Released
Released	September 2023	September 2025
Display
Case sizes
Case sizes	41 mm or 45 mm	49 mm
Panel
Panel	LTPO OLED	LTPO OLED
Peak brightness
Peak brightness	2,000 nits	3,000 nits (better)
Always-on display
Always-on display	Yes	Yes
Display detail
Display detail	Always-On Retina LTPO OLED display, edge to edge; 326 ppi; up to 2,000 nits maximum and 1 nit minimum brightness	Always-On Retina display with wide-angle OLEDs and LTPO3; 1Hz refresh; 422 x 514 pixels at 326 ppi; 1,245 sq mm display area; 1 nit minimum brightness; Night Mode for Ultra watch faces
Screen protection
Screen protection	Ion-X front glass (aluminium cases); sapphire front crystal (stainless steel cases)	Flat sapphire crystal front
Health and fitness
ECG
ECG	Yes	Yes
Blood oxygen
Blood oxygen	Yes	Yes
Skin temperature
Skin temperature	Yes	Yes
Sleep apnoea alerts
Sleep apnoea alerts	Yes	Yes
High blood pressure alerts
High blood pressure alerts	Yes	Yes
Body composition
Body composition	No	No
Fall detection
Fall detection	Yes	Yes
Crash detection
Crash detection	Yes	Yes
GPS
GPS	Single-band	Dual-band (L1 and L5)
Water resistance
Water resistance	50 m	100 m (better)
Sensors
Sensors	Electrical heart sensor; third-generation optical heart sensor; temperature sensing; compass; always-on altimeter; high-g accelerometer; high dynamic range gyroscope; ambient light sensor	Electrical heart sensor; third-generation optical heart sensor; blood oxygen sensor; temperature sensor; depth gauge to 40 m; water temperature sensor; compass; always-on altimeter (–500 m to 9,000 m); high-g accelerometer; high dynamic range gyroscope; ambient light sensor
Health features
Health features	ECG app; Blood Oxygen app; sleep apnoea notifications and hypertension notifications (added in later watchOS updates); irregular rhythm notifications; high and low heart rate notifications; sleep stages; Cycle Tracking with retrospective ovulation estimates; Medications; Mindfulness; Noise	ECG app; Blood Oxygen app; hypertension notifications; sleep apnoea notifications; irregular rhythm notifications; high and low heart rate notifications; Vitals app; sleep stages and sleep score; wrist temperature; Cycle Tracking with retrospective ovulation estimates; Medications; Mindfulness with state of mind tracking; Noise
Fitness features
Fitness features	Custom interval workouts; Heart Rate Zones; Race Route; stride length, ground contact time and vertical oscillation; automatic track detection; multisport workouts; Backtrack; pool and open-water swimming with SWOLF and automatic stroke detection; cycling Functional Threshold Power, power zones and cadence with Bluetooth accessories; GymKit	Customisable Action button with Precision Start; custom workouts; Training Load and Workout Effort; customisable heart rate zones; VO2 max; Race Route; Pacer; stride length, ground contact time, cadence, power and vertical oscillation; multisport workouts; offline maps with custom route creation; elevation alerts; Backtrack; swimming with water temperature; recreational diving to 40 m with third-party dive computer apps; cycling with power meters; GymKit
Safety features
Safety features	Emergency SOS; international emergency calling; Crash Detection; Fall Detection	Emergency SOS and Find My via satellite; Emergency SOS; international emergency calling; Siren; Crash Detection; Fall Detection; Last Emergency Call Availability Waypoint; torch; noise monitoring; Backtrack
Battery and connections
Battery life (maker's claim)
Battery life (maker's claim)	Up to 18 hours	Up to 42 hours
In low-power mode
In low-power mode	Up to 36 hours	Up to 3 days
Mobile data option
Mobile data option	Yes	Yes
Works with
Works with	iPhone	iPhone
Chip
Chip	S9	S10
Storage
Storage	64 GB	64 GB
Battery life detail
Battery life detail	Built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery	Up to 42 hours of normal use; up to 72 hours in Low Power Mode
Charging
Charging	Fast charging to 80% in about 45 minutes	Fast charging to 80% in about 45 minutes; 15 minutes for up to 12 hours of normal use; 5 minutes for up to 8 hours of sleep tracking
Connectivity
Connectivity	L1 GPS, GNSS, Galileo and BeiDou; 4G LTE and UMTS (GPS + Cellular models); Wi-Fi 4 (802.11n); Bluetooth 5.3; second-generation Ultra Wideband chip with Precision Finding for iPhone 15 and later; Apple Pay	GPS + Cellular only (model A3281) with 5G RedCap and LTE; satellite connectivity; Wi-Fi 4 (802.11n) at 2.4GHz and 5GHz; Bluetooth 5.3; second-generation Ultra Wideband chip; NFC for Apple Pay; L1 and L5 precision dual-frequency GPS (GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS and BeiDou)
Design
Weight (lightest version)
Weight (lightest version)	31.9 g (better)	61.6 g
Software
Software	watchOS	watchOS
Case materials
Case materials	Aluminium or stainless steel case; water resistant to 50 m (swimproof); IP6X dust resistant	Grade 5 titanium case (100% recycled titanium) with ceramic and sapphire crystal back; water resistant to 100 m (ISO 22810:2010); EN13319 recreational diving to 40 m; IP6X dust resistant; tested to MIL-STD 810H
Size
Size	41mm is 41 x 35 x 10.7 mm, 31.9 g (aluminium, GPS), 32.1 g (aluminium, GPS + Cellular) or 42.3 g (stainless steel); 45mm is 45 x 38 x 10.7 mm, 38.7 g (aluminium, GPS), 39.0 g (aluminium, GPS + Cellular) or 51.5 g (stainless steel); lightest is the 41mm aluminium GPS	49 x 44 x 12 mm; 61.6 g (natural) or 61.8 g (black)
Bands
Bands	Fits 130–200 mm wrists (41mm) or 140–245 mm wrists (45mm)	Fits 130–210 mm wrists
Colours
Colours	Aluminium in Pink, Midnight, Starlight, Silver and (PRODUCT)RED; stainless steel in Gold, Silver and Graphite	Natural or Black titanium
In the box
In the box	Apple Watch Series 9, strap, Apple Watch Magnetic Fast Charger to USB-C Cable (1 m)	Apple Watch Ultra 3, strap, Apple Watch Magnetic Fast Charger to USB-C Cable (1 m)