The Apple Watch Ultra 3 will come with support for satellite messaging, says a new report from Bloomberg’s Apple watcher Mark Gurman. This will allow you to send SMS even without a cellular or Wi-Fi connection, using only satellites.
The Ultra 3 may also bring blood pressure monitoring, but this has been delayed previously, so apparently it’s not a safe bet at the moment. This feature was originally supposed to be released in 2023, for what it’s worth. This will not give you an exact reading, but will instead inform you when you may be in a state of hypertension. A non-invasive blood sugar monitor is also still in the works, but it definitely won’t arrive next year.
Satellite communication first arrived on the iPhone 14 in 2022, and was expanded to contact roadside assistance providers last year. This year, Apple added the ability to message anyone via iMessage. Sure, until now you needed an iPhone for all of this, but with the Apple Watch Ultra 3 you can leave your iPhone at home.
Apparently these new features are Apple’s way of reinvigorating sales of smartwatches that have been going through “a slow period” recently. Revenue from the unit that includes watches has fallen over the past two years as people have had fewer reasons to upgrade them. And Apple is betting that satellite messaging and (maybe) blood pressure monitoring will be compelling enough.
Next year, some Apple Watch models will see another change: using MediaTek modems instead of Intel ones. If it works, this would be the first time Apple has purchased a major component from MediaTek. The new modems will support 5G Redcap, a 5G service aimed specifically at wearables and devices that don’t require fast data connections.
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