Before Apple's Glowtime event on September 9, rumors abounded concerning multiple devices making their debuts including the next-generation Apple Watch Ultra 3 and the budget-friendly Watch SE 3. Neither device was announced. Not too much of a surprise, considering reports dropped the day before the event saying we wouldn't see either wearable.
However, a new post from supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claims that we will see both smartwatches in 2025.
To be fair to Kuo, he predicted that we wouldn't see either watch back in October of 2023. Though he later changed his mind and claimed that an updated wearable would release this year. With some hindsight, we're inclined to think that was pointed at the new satin black finish of the Ultra Watch 2.
Now he says, "The 2025 new Apple Watch models will include the Ultra 3 and SE upgrade version."
A year is a wide open window for Apple to launch new smartwatches, but we can take a few educated guesses at when Apple might release a new Ultra and SE watch.
There are rumors that Apple is looking to release a massively upgraded fourth-edition of the wallet-friendly iPhone SE in the spring of 2025. The largely out-of-date iPhone SE 3 was announced and launched in March of 2022. Typically, Apple likes to stick to very similar release schedules, so it wouldn't surprise us if the iPhone SE (2025) arrives in March as well.
Apple may want to launch their SE devices together, so we could see the Cupertino-company debut the third-generation Watch SE alongside the new iPhone SE. It would allow both devices to take advantage of Apple Intelligence which is being slowly rolled out over the coming months.
As for the Apple Watch Ultra 3, we more than likely won't see the upgraded smartwatch until next September. Our best guess is that the Ultra 3 will debut alongside the iPhone 17 lineup where Apple might ditch the Plus moniker in favor of the first iPhone Air or iPhone 17 Slim.
Either way, we have a few months to wait before any new wearable Apple device will make its way on to our wrists. In the meantime, the Apple Watch Series 10 was just released and it's fairly impressive.
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