This is Technology Bytes, episode 133, for September 21st, 2025.
Technology Bytes is a microcast where I share brief bites on interesting technology.
Enjoy, and here we go.
So this week I’m talking about the Apple Watch updates that were announced in their last event, really an iPhone event, but they did announce the updates to the Apple Watch as well.
And I think I know why.
It’s another accessory that really is required to have an Apple Watch to make it functional.
And so they did all three watches, and I’m not sure everybody thought they were going to do the Apple Watch SE, but they did.
And I’m going to start with that one.
And it’s a pretty sizable update.
They’ve taken a lot of the stuff that was in the, maybe the 5 or 6, and put it into the SE.
Last year I bought my wife the Apple Watch 10, and she’s like, I want this color.
And I’m like, well, the 10 doesn’t come in that color.
And I don’t want to buy the SE.
I don’t think that’s worthwhile for how you use your Apple Watch and really for the health benefits.
And there’s still some of that, but with the always-on display, with the sleep tracking, with the heart monitoring, and those things that they’ve put into the SE, it actually is a good watch.
If my wife needed a new watch, I’d still be buying her the Apple Watch 11 because I think the SE is not really for us.
Or maybe it’s because I’m a nerd and it’s not for me.
But there are a lot more people in today’s world that I would recommend buying the Apple Watch SE based on who they are and how they use it and maybe somewhat what their budget is.
So Apple also introduced the new Apple Watch 11.
There are not that many big updates to that over the 10.
Many of the things that they announced in the program, in the event, are also available on the Apple Watch 10.
But the one thing is it’s got a better display than the Apple Watch 10.
They’ve made improvements there.
It also comes with 5G if you buy the cellular version, so that’s a pretty big update as well.
But overall, it’s a great watch.
If my wife needed a new watch today, I would definitely be purchasing that one.
And, you know, it’s a worthwhile update, although not as huge as maybe the Apple Watch SE.
The other watch that they announced was the Ultra 3, the Apple Watch Ultra 3, and that is the watch that if I was going to purchase, and I still want to, but I’m not sure I’m going to be able to swing it, is the watch that I would get.
Now, I have the Ultra 2, so again, much of what they announced feature-wise comes to my watch.
And there’s nothing wrong with my watch.
I really like it.
In fact, I would probably keep it.
I’m kind of a two-watch, two Apple Watch person, and I don’t know, maybe I shouldn’t say that out loud.
But the new Apple Watch Ultra 3, I think, has some significant updates.
So the one thing that I heard this week and hadn’t seen before is that it’s actually a little bit thinner, you know, height off the wrist, I guess, than the Ultra 2.
And while I don’t mind the watch that I have, the Ultra 2, I like the size anyway.
I’m kind of a big watch kind of person, even though I’m not necessarily big-boned.
My wrists are not really big at all, but I just like that feel and look of the larger watches.
So the Apple Watch Ultra 3 comes with the new S10 chip, where mine has the S9.
Probably not that significant of a difference, but still, there’s additional power there.
I used the Workout Buddy the other day on a walk, but I have to take my iPhone.
And what I haven’t seen is if that is available in the Ultra 3 or not.
So kind of a weird break there.
Sorry about that.
But one of the big things that comes to the Ultra 3 is the satellite connectivity, as well as the 5G.
And so it allows you to actually text in an emergency state if you don’t have a phone and you’re able to connect to the satellite.
And so that’s just additional safety features, because oftentimes when I’m doing exercise, I am not taking my iPhone with me.
One, because it’s too hard to manage.
Two, because I don’t want to risk it being broken from falling out of a pocket while I’m jogging or something like that.
I really should do more hiking.
I like to hike.
I just don’t.
And I probably should do that more because I live in a place where it’s dry and the weather’s nice in certain parts of the year.
And, you know, something I probably should look at doing.
But they’ve improved the battery life, and that’s always good.
My battery lasts most of the day.
When I say I’m a two-Apple Watch person, it’s really I come home and put my Apple Watch Ultra 2 on the charger while I wear my version 7, I think I have, just so I can get it fully charged because I wear it at night.
And I like the feature of the sleep tracking and those kind of things, other health metrics, the Happen Sleep Score, some of those things that I pay attention to.
And if I had two Ultras, well, then it doesn’t really matter which one I wear.
But I think I’d still end up wearing the Ultra 3 more often than not.
But I wouldn’t miss having the Ultra 2 on my wrist like I do when I have the 7.
There’s just things that I miss about that.
So that’s a lot of money to wear on a wrist and to have two, but, well, that’s kind of who I am.
So the screen is better.
You’ve got a wide-angle OLED, and it kind of takes off, I think, from the Series 10 a little bit.
But it’s also got a 1 Hz frequency refresh in the always-on mode.
So right now in the always-on, when I look at my watch, if it doesn’t come on because of my movement, then it doesn’t show the seconds or the second hand on the face when it’s in the always-on but kind of off mode.
And with the new system and the new display, they are able to show the second hand the whole time.
The other thing is the hypertension measurement.
I think my heart’s okay, so I’m not sure that means too much to me.
But the fact is that it’s there.
Apple continues to add things to the health benefits of the Apple Watch.
And then just new watch faces, which I can get on my Ultra 2.
New watch bands and colors, which I can also get on my Ultra 2.
So is it necessary to upgrade?
Well, it’s never necessary.
Well, unless something’s broken, I guess.
But it is something that I would really love to be able to swing and do.
The fact is I want to get everything that they announced.
I want the new AirPods Pro 3 that I mentioned last week.
I’d like to get the Ultra 3 and upgrade my watch.
And I’d also like to get the new iPhone, and I will be talking about that next week.
That is all I have for today.
If you have comments, suggestions, or questions, you can send them to technologybytes at merrickfamily.com.
As always, I want to thank you for listening to the Technology Bytes microcast, and I look forward to the next time we are together taking another bite of technology.
