Apple today announced a broad range of hardware updates focused on audio, health, and fitness: the AirPods Pro 3 and three new Apple Watch models — Apple Watch Series 11, Apple Watch SE 3, and Apple Watch Ultra 3. The company also detailed watchOS 26 and Apple Intelligence features that extend on-device health, translation, and workout experiences.
AirPods Pro 3: stronger ANC, heart-rate sensing and Live Translation
Apple says the AirPods Pro 3 bring upgraded sound and the company’s most powerful in-ear Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) yet — claimed to remove up to 2× more noise than AirPods Pro 2 and 4× more than the original AirPods Pro. Moreover, the earbuds use a new multiport acoustic architecture, next-generation Adaptive EQ, ultra-low noise microphones and foam-infused ear tips to boost passive isolation and soundstage.
Notable additions:
- Health and fitness: the AirPods Pro 3 include a custom photoplethysmography (PPG) heart-rate sensor that can measure heart rate and help track over 50 workout types using only AirPods and iPhone. Additionally, a new Workout Buddy feature powered by Apple Intelligence is included in the AirPods Pro 3.
- Live Translation: a hands-free, in-person translation feature is available in beta for English, French, German, Portuguese, and Spanish at launch, with Italian, Japanese, Korean and Simplified Chinese coming later this year.
- Battery and fit: Apple claims up to 8 hours of playback with ANC enabled (a ~33% increase), five ear-tip sizes including a new XXS, and IP57 sweat/water resistance.
- Price & availability: starts at $249 (U.S.); pre-orders open today, however, shipping begins September 19.
Apple Watch Series 11: a thinner design, longer battery and expanded health insights
The Apple Watch Series 11 eventually aims to be Apple’s mainstream flagship smartwatch with what the company describes as its thinnest, most comfortable design and up to 24 hours of battery life. Key highlights include:
- Hypertension notifications: Series 11 introduces passive alerts for signs of chronic high blood pressure (hypertension), a feature Apple says was developed and validated with large datasets and clinical studies. However, regulatory clearances (including FDA) are expected soon and Apple plans a broad rollout in many regions.
- Sleep score: new sleep scoring in watchOS 26 provides a nightly score and breakdown (duration, sleep stages, awakenings, and consistency), informed by guidance from sleep bodies and Apple’s internal studies.
- Siri and on-device intelligence: faster on-device Siri. In addition, new gestures (double tap and wrist flick) enabled by the S10-class chip.
- Pricing & availability: $399 (U.S.) starting price; pre-orders start now. However, it will begin shipping from September 19.
Apple Watch SE 3: more capability at a value price
Apple refreshed the more affordable SE line with the Apple Watch SE 3, bringing several features from the higher-end models to a lower price point:
- S10 chip: enables an Always-On display, on-device Siri, double tap and wrist flick gestures, and faster performance.
- Health & safety: sleep score, retrospective ovulation estimates, sleep apnea notifications. Furthermore, core safety features like Fall Detection, Crash Detection and Emergency SOS.
- Family features: “Apple Watch For Your Kids” support improves parental setup, location sharing and safety tools without requiring each child to have an iPhone.
- Pricing & availability: starts at $249 (U.S.); pre-orders begins now. Nevertheless, availability from September 19.
Apple Watch Ultra 3: endurance, satellite connectivity and advanced metrics for athletes
The Apple Watch Ultra 3 targets athletes and adventurers with the largest Apple Watch display to date and extended battery life:
- Display & durability: a new LTPO3 wide-angle OLED enables a 1Hz always-on refresh rate (up to 1Hz → 1Hz?), thinner borders and better off-angle readability. In addition, Apple says Ultra 3’s cover and materials are tuned for extreme conditions.
- Battery: up to 42 hours in normal use and up to 72 hours in Low Power Mode. Further, the fast charging supports long sessions.
- Satellite communications: built-in two-way satellite text, Emergency SOS via satellite. In addition, Find My via satellite is included (satellite features free for two years).
- Advanced health & sports: the Ultra 3 adds hypertension notifications, enhanced GPS, precise metrics for running, cycling and swimming, offline maps, Waypoints, Backtrack and integrations with third-party sports apps.
- Pricing & availability: starts at $799 (U.S.); pre-orders open now. Although, general availability begins September 19.
watchOS 26 and Apple Intelligence: Workout Buddy, Live Translation and Liquid Glass
Apple also announced watchOS 26, which brings a refreshed interface called Liquid Glass, new watch faces, Smart Stack hints and several Apple Intelligence features. Two standout elements:
- Workout Buddy: an Apple Intelligence-powered, spoken coaching experience that personalizes motivation and feedback during workouts, available in English for popular workout types.
- Live Translation & Messages: translation features extend to Messages and Live Translation appears across iPhone, AirPods and Apple Watch to make cross-language communication easier.
Apple notes some features (and Apple Intelligence overall) will be available in beta and may roll out by region and language.
Availability and bundles
All four devices — AirPods Pro 3, Apple Watch Series 11, Apple Watch SE 3 and Apple Watch Ultra 3 — are available for pre-order now in the U.S. and more than 50 countries, with in-store availability beginning Friday, September 19. Apple also offers trial subscriptions — new buyers may get three months of Apple Music and Apple Fitness+ with qualifying purchases. Not all features are available in every region; regulatory approvals (for example, hypertension notifications) are pending in some markets.