Apple Watch Ultra back in black, says insider

Expect to see a new Apple Watch Ultra at the big Apple event, this insider says – but it won't be the Apple Watch Ultra 3

Apple Watch Ultra 2
(Image credit: Apple)
Quick Summary

A new report says that the Apple Watch Ultra 3 won't be revealed at the September 2024 Apple Event. Instead, we'll see a new black version of the Apple Watch Ultra 2.

We have good news and bad news about the Apple Watch Ultra and tonight's big Apple event. A new Apple Watch Ultra model is coming – but it isn't the Apple Watch Ultra 3. Instead, Apple intends to launch a new black version of the Apple Watch Ultra 2.

That's according to Bloomberg's well-connected Mark Gurman, who said on X that he doesn't expect to see the Ultra 3 at the big Apple event. Instead, he's expecting the Ultra 2 to be launched in a new black colour option, most likely the long-rumoured black titanium. He also suspects that there will be a delay to the launch of the new Apple Watch SE. 

Apple's big event: no Apple Watch Ultra or SE 3?

This isn't the first time a well-connected industry insider has said the Ultra 3 isn't coming any time soon. Last year, Ming Chi-Kuo reported that Apple was putting back its Ultra 3 plans because it needed more time to develop key health features, as they were proving more challenging than Apple expected. 

The prediction regarding the third generation Apple SE is more surprising, though. A new, plastic Apple Watch SE 3 was expected to launch later today with a similar chip to the Apple Watch Ultra 2 and a slightly larger display; the plastic case would enable Apple to offer some more fun colours and possibly even a lower price to make it more child-friendly too. 

If Gurman's predictions are correct then the wearable star of tonight's event will be the Apple Watch 10. It's expected to get a slightly larger display too, and a new Milanese Loop band that's made from titanium rather than the current stainless steel. It's not expected to be a radical redesign, although it's believed to be marginally thinner and the speaker is believed to be more like the one in the Apple Watch Ultra. It's possible that Apple may also make a ceramic version for big spenders.

Carrie Marshall

Writer, musician and broadcaster Carrie Marshall has been covering technology since 1998 and is particularly interested in how tech can help us live our best lives. Her CV is a who’s who of magazines, newspapers, websites and radio programmes ranging from T3, Techradar and MacFormat to the BBC, Sunday Post and People’s Friend. Carrie has written more than a dozen books, ghost-wrote two more and co-wrote seven more books and a Radio 2 documentary series; her memoir, Carrie Kills A Man, was shortlisted for the British Book Awards. When she’s not scribbling, Carrie is the singer in Glaswegian rock band Unquiet Mind (unquietmindmusic).