This sweet new Apple Watch Ultra 3 deal will make you wonder if you need the Ultra 4's upgrades

By Adrian Diaconescu

Published: Sep 21, 2026, 3:06 AM

Apple

Deals Wearables Apple Watch

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The Apple Watch Ultra 3 is still a powerhouse and a VERY smart buy at the right price. | Image by PhoneArena

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View now at Woot

If you're an outdoor-loving iPhone user looking for the best smartwatch to keep up with your adventurous nature right now, you have a pretty tough choice to make between the all-new Apple Watch Ultra 4 and last year's Apple Watch Ultra 3.

That's because Cupertino's latest rugged timepiece is obviously better in a number of key departments, bringing battery life, processing power, and heart rate sensing improvements to the table (among others), while the older model is significantly cheaper, at least if you know where and when to look for it.

In many ways, the Garmin Fenix 8 Solar is an even fancier and more sophisticated rugged timepiece than the Apple Watch Ultra 3, and right now, it's on sale at a substantial discount too.

$649

$799

$150 off (19%)

Powered by an Apple S10 chipset, equipped with dual-frequency GPS connectivity, 5G support as standard, built-in satellite communications, and a battery capable of keeping the lights on for up to 72 hours on a single charge, the Apple Watch Ultra 3 remains a very smart buy for a lot of outdoor-loving iPhone users at a killer $150 discount in brand-new condition.

Buy at Woot

$19 off (2%)

Although it doesn't look radically different at first glance, the Apple Watch Ultra 4 brings a bunch of important internal improvements over the Ultra 3, including a faster processor, slightly better battery life, significantly better health monitoring technology, and some killer new Audio Intelligence features. Despite all that, the list price is unchanged, and you can even save $20 already.

Buy at Amazon

The Apple Watch Ultra 3, of course, is no longer sold directly by its manufacturer for fairly obvious reasons, and Amazon doesn't seem to have it in stock either, at least in brand-new condition. But that's where Woot comes in, charging $649 for new, unused, unopened, and undamaged units with a full 1-year Apple warranty included for a limited time.

Naturally, that's not what I'd call a conventionally affordable smartwatch, especially when thinking about the reduced price of the non-rugged Apple Watch Series 11 at the time of this writing at the same Amazon-owned e-tailer or even the list price of the new "mainstream" Apple Watch Series 12.

But the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is of course tougher than its non-Ultra-branded "cousins", not to mention that it comes with 5G connectivity as standard, as well as built-in satellite communications, superior battery life, superior GPS technology, and a handy customizable Action Button.

The Apple Watch Ultra 3 can monitor all kinds of different physical activities. | Image by PhoneArena

The more relevant comparison is with the Apple Watch Ultra 4, and although that yields a number of important disadvantages for the Ultra 3, its quality/price ratio at $649 might actually be better, especially if you don't think you need S11-enabled Audio Intelligence and Readiness features.

$649, in case you're wondering, is 150 bucks down from the list price of both the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Ultra 4, and because of its very young age, the latter product is only discounted by $20 on Amazon right now.

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Adrian, a mobile technology enthusiast since the Nokia 3310 era, has been a dynamic presence in the tech journalism field, contributing to Android Authority, Digital Trends, and Pocketnow before joining PhoneArena in 2018. His expertise spans across various platforms, with a particular fondness for the diversity of the Android ecosystem. Despite the challenges of balancing full-time parenthood with his work, Adrian's passion for tech trends, running, and movies keeps him energized. His commitment to mid-range smartphones has led to an eclectic collection of devices, saved from personal bankruptcy by his preference for 'adequate' over 'overpriced'.

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