No Apple Watch Ultra 3 tipped for announcement today, but it’s not all bad news for rugged watch fans

Unlike pretty much all of its major tech industry rivals, Apple has been able to keep a decently tight lid on (some of) its new products expected to be unveiled later today. While it’s obviously no big secret that the iPhone 16 family will glow brighter than any other device at the event set to kick off at 10 am PT, the smartwatches the company is planning to announce are still giving Mark Gurman an unusually hard time figuring them out.

The Apple Watch Ultra 2 lives on!

Of course, there is still a possibility that the Apple Watch Ultra 3 will come out at a later time by the end of 2024, but if the company does decide to take the wraps off a (highly anticipated) new color version of the existing model, that seems highly unlikely.

Apple does need to be careful of how it handles the Watch Ultra 3 if it decides to delay it until fall 2025, as everyone’s expectations regarding internal upgrades and design improvements may reach hard-to-satisfy levels a year down the line.

No Apple Watch SE 3 guarantees… yet

Because it’s not clear if we’re talking about a delayed announcement or a delayed commercial release (which can be two very different things), we’ll remain hopeful for the time being of hearing… something from Apple at the “Glowtime” event about the company’s next-gen budget-friendly smartwatch.

If you’re more confused after reading our article and comparing Gurman’s predictions from today and last week than you were before, the good news is you only have a few more hours to wait and hope Apple makes the best decisions regarding the (short and long-term) future of its smartwatch portfolio.