Apple Watch Ultra 3 may not be ready in time for 2024 release

In a new blog post, long-time Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo dissected the chances of Apple refreshing the Watch Ultra with a third-generation model next year. On the face of it, little separates the Watch Ultra 2 from its predecessor. However, made a few hardware changes, including a 50% brighter display, a new chipset, a switch from 32 GB to 64 GB of storage and a marginally larger battery.

Reportedly, Apple has not started Watch Ultra 3 development, seemingly unlike the Watch 10 series. According to Kuo, the company typically would have begun iterating a new smartwatch by now, with December the last opportunity for the Watch Ultra 3 to hit a 2024 release. Presumably, by '2024 release' Kuo means late summer or early autumn, with the Watch Ultra arriving alongside iPhone and other Apple Watch refreshes.

Kuo speculates that ongoing microLED production issues could be holding back development, as could a lack of 'innovative health management features' to distinguish the Watch Ultra 3 from its predecessors. Either way, the analyst predicts a 20–30% YoY decline in Watch Ultra shipments in 2024 without a new model, as well as a 10% YoY reduction to 35 million units for the Apple Watch series as a whole. As always, we would recommend taking early predictions like these with a hint of scepticism for now until more concrete information arrives.

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