Apple launches next-gen watches and AirPods alongside new iPhones at Awe Dropping event

Apple’s new iPhones may have stolen the spotlight at its biggest launch event of the year, but other products, including wristwear Ultra 3 and AirPods Pro3, too created a stir. 

Launched at Apple's Awe Dropping, the company’s new watches bring personalised coaching and advanced health and fitness tracking, while its latest AirPods come with immersive sound. 

As he does every year, Apple CEO Tim Cook posted on X ahead of the event. “Days like today are some of the most exciting moments at Apple,” he said. 

Ultra 3: Bigger and brighter

Leading Apple’s wristwear lineup is Ultra 3, featuring the largest screen ever on an Apple Watch, with LTPO3 and wide-angle OLED technology. The screen is brighter at wider angles and supports faster refresh rates in Always-On mode. A new Waypoint face helps users navigate with live compass data, satellite communications, and Night Mode.

Power efficiency improvements, a larger battery, and 5G modem extend daily battery life to 42 hours, with up to 72 hours in Low Power Mode. Fast charging delivers 12 hours of use in just 15 minutes. Cellular connectivity now includes 5G for faster downloads of music, podcasts, and apps, while dual-antenna design boosts reception in low-coverage areas.

Ultra 3 introduces built-in two-way satellite messaging. Off the grid, users can send emergency SOS texts, share location via Find My, or message contacts with end-to-end encryption. Emergency features are free for two years and work even without a cellular plan.

Building on its health capabilities, Ultra 3 adds hypertension notifications, alerting users to signs of chronic high blood pressure using the optical heart sensor. It has been developed with data from over 1 lakh participants and clinically validated. 

Sleep Score, introduced with watchOS 26, offers a nightly assessment of sleep quality, tracking duration, consistency, and stages, helping users prioritise restorative sleep. Standard health features like ECG, blood oxygen, sleep apnea notifications, and ovulation tracking have been retained.

Workout Buddy uses Apple Intelligence to offer personalised coaching, while the redesigned Workout and Fitness apps support custom workouts, pacing, and audio cues. Advanced metrics and GPS tracking cater to runners, cyclists, swimmers, hikers, divers, and golfers, with features like stroke detection, elevation tracking, offline maps, and dive guidance.

Apple Watch Ultra 3 is available in natural and black titanium finishes.

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Apple Watch Series 11

Apple Watch Series 11 comes with a thin, comfortable design with up to 24 hours of battery life, making it easy to wear day and night. Fast charging delivers eight hours of use in just 15 minutes.

The aluminum models feature a new Ion-X glass with a ceramic coating for 2x more scratch resistance, while the titanium models retain sapphire crystal for maximum durability. Cellular models support 5G, with a redesigned dual-antenna system for stronger signal and faster downloads.

Series 11 includes hypertension notifications and Sleep Score, helping users track blood pressure trends and sleep quality over time—same as Watch Ultra 3. It also retains standard health features, including ECG, blood oxygen, sleep apnea notifications, and ovulation estimates.

Workout Buddy delivers real-time coaching, with custom workouts, pacing, and audio cues. GPS and advanced metrics support all major activities—just like Watch Ultra 3.

Series 11 introduces a fresh software design with Liquid Glass, over 20 updated watch faces, including Flow and Exactograph, and a one-handed wrist flick gesture for easier control. Smart Stack hints provide actionable prompts, while Live Translation in Messages, the Notes app, and Call Screening improve connectivity and convenience.

Watch Series 11 comes in 42mm and 46mm sizes in aluminum (jet black, rose gold, silver, space gray) and polished titanium (natural, gold, slate). The Hermès edition is also available in 42mm and 46mm silver titanium. 

The watch is available for pre-order in India, and will be available in stores from September 19, with prices starting at Rs 46,900.

Apple Watch SE 3

Apple Watch SE 3 now features an Always-On display letting users check the time and notifications without raising their wrist. Its Ion-X glass is 4x more crack-resistant than the previous generation, and the titanium models retain the sapphire glass. 

Despite the Always-On display, the watch offers up to 18 hours of battery life with fast charging, reaching 80% in 45 minutes. 5G cellular allows calls, messages, and emergency services even without an iPhone nearby.

SE 3 adds sleep score to track sleep quality, duration, stages, and Vitals metrics, alongside wrist temperature sensing, retrospective ovulation estimates, and sleep apnea notifications. Core health features like heart alerts, cycle tracking, cardio fitness, fall detection, crash detection, emergency SOS, and check-in are also included.

Workout Buddy delivers coaching, with custom workouts, pacing, and audio cues. GPS and advanced metrics support all major activities. Music and podcasts sync automatically with workouts.

The S10 chip enables faster on-device Siri, one-handed gestures (double tap and wrist flick), media playback through the speaker, and voice isolation for clear calls.

SE 3 offers the new Liquid Glass interface, redesigned watch faces including Flow and Exactograph, Smart Stack hints, Live Translation in Messages, the Notes app, Hold Assist, and Call Screening.

Apple Watch SE 3 is available in 40mm and 44mm aluminum cases in midnight and starlight.

AirPods Pro 3

AirPods Pro 3 feature a new multiport acoustic architecture that precisely controls airflow, delivering a wide soundstage, vivid vocals, and deep, rich bass. Next-generation Adaptive EQ adjusts sound in real time, while a more personalised Transparency mode makes voices sound natural, keeping people aware of their surroundings.

The active noise cancellation (ANC) in the in-ear headphone combines ultra-low noise microphones, advanced computational audio, and new foam-infused ear tips for up to 2x more effective ANC than AirPods Pro 2, removing 4x more noise than the original. With ANC enabled, users get up to eight hours of music playback—a 33% increase over the previous generation.

Foam-infused ear tips now come in five sizes, including a new XXS option, for a more secure, comfortable fit for more users. IP57 sweat and water resistance ensures durability during workouts and unpredictable weather.

AirPods Pro 3 introduce Apple’s smallest custom-built heart rate sensor, using infrared light and sensor fusion with accelerometers, gyroscope, GPS, and iPhone AI to track up to 50 workouts, heart rate, and calories burned. 

The airpods also feature Live Translation for in-person conversations in select languages (English, French, German, Portuguese, and Spanish, with more coming). Powered by computational audio and Apple Intelligence, this hands-free feature translates speech in real time, enabling natural conversation even when others don’t have AirPods.

AirPods Pro 3 can be pre-ordered now. They will be available in stores from September 19, with prices starting at Rs 25,900.