The Apple Watch Ultra 3 needs to do this, this and this to beat the next generation of Garmin watches

The Apple Watch Ultra 2 is, without a doubt, one of the best-performing smartwatches around, even two years after its inception. It's certainly never been dethroned as top of our best smartwatches guide, as we found it's the perfect balance of high-end workout features and smart phone-style design choice.

However, with the Apple Watch Ultra 3's rumored reveal mere days away, we have to look at the Ultra 2 in a critical light to examine what the Ultra 3 may do differently, or improve on. While the Ultra 2 represents the best Apple Watch yet, with the longest battery, toughest case and hardware features such as the Action Button making good use of Apple's latest intelligent software, it makes sacrifices in other areas.

The Apple Watch Ultra 2 markets itself as an adventurer's friend, the ultimate fitness tool, but it's struggled to dethrone Garmin from its longstanding place at the top of the race-day podium. The best Garmin watches have battery lives that last for weeks, screens to rival the Apple Watch Ultra, and advanced native fitness features Apple relies on third-party apps to match.

Below, I've compiled a trio of features and changes I'd love to see from the all-but-confirmed Apple Watch Ultra 3.

1. Battery Life

The Apple Watch Series 10 and Apple Watch SE 2 both offer up to 18 hours of battery life, while the Apple Watch Ultra 2 lasts longer at up to 36 hours. All watches have fast charging capabilities, able to charge up to 80% inside of an hour, so it never needs to be off your wrist for long.

However, what happens if you don't have your charger handy? For those camping, doing multiple or very long battery-sucking GPS workouts, such as long runs or multi-day events, it's not always possible to charge your watch without careful planning ahead of time.

There's a reason that most Garmin, Coros, Polar and Suunto watches have such a long lifespan: they're training tools first and foremost. Even the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra tops out at 100 hours. It's time the Apple Watch Ultra 3 got a battery boost to seriously compete in the training watch stakes. A 50-hour life would last for a weekend of adventure without necessarily needing a full charge.

2. Reduced weight

Having personally run a marathon while wearing the Apple Watch Ultra 2, its 62g weight isn't enormous per se, but it can certainly be felt on the wrist and it's quite bulky, especially compared to other Apple Watches.

While the titanium shell gives it a sense of robust tactility common in dive watches, its closest competitor at the moment, the Garmin Venu X1, has opted for a slimmer and lighter body around half the weight, at 32g. It's still packing metal in the cambered back of the case, but has opted for polymer bezels to reduce the weight.

While I like the aesthetics and feel of Apple's metal body, I do think it could lose some of this weight and size to be more competitive. Most Garmins are big, bulky monstrosities, but having a lighter watch for your arm to swing rhythmically over miles of running or open-water swims can and does make a difference over time.

3. Native GPX map and route tracking

I bang on about this all the time, but one of the best features of the leading running watches is the ability to follow a route via a GPX map. Most Garmin watches allow you to create a route or course in Garmin Connect detailing a route measuring your required distance and send the map to your watch. Once there, you can start a workout and follow turn-by-turn directions, safe in the knowledge that your route is a near-perfect 10-mile loop.

In order to replicate this, Apple forces you to use third-party apps, as the standard Workout app doesn't allow you to open GPX files or follow courses within it. This is unlikely to change as we would have heard about it with the launch of watchOS 26, but whether you're a cyclist, hiker, trail runner or you're preparing for your first marathon, this is the perfect way to tailor your training and remove indecision from your session.

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