Sources: 2025's Apple Watch Ultra is slated to get satellite connectivity for off-the-grid text messages via Globalstar, and may get blood pressure monitoring
what you need to know Iskra Petrova / PhoneArena : Apple Watch Ultra 3 rumored to get satellite messaging abilities Jim Miller / Tabletmonkeys : Apple's Lifeline: Watch Ultra 3 to Add Satellite Messaging Jacob Krol / TechRadar : The next Apple Watch Ultra might get a lifesaving iPhone feature for the first time, and I couldn't be more excited Sagar Naresh Bhavsar / Neowin : Apple Watch Ultra 3 may get satellite connectivity and blood pressure monitoring features Mudit Dube / NewsBytes : Apple Watch Ultra 3's features leaked! BP monitoring, satellite texting Poulami Saha / Financial Express : Apple Watch Ultra 2025 update to feature satellite connectivity: Report Connor Jewiss / Stuff : Apple Watch looks set to get its best-ever health feature in 2025 Malcolm Owen / AppleInsider : Apple Watch Ultra 3 could bring Messages via Satellite to your wrist Ananya Gairola / Benzinga : Apple Watch Ultra Could Feature Satellite Texting And Blood Pressure Measurements: Here's What We Know Zaheer Kachwala / Reuters : Apple to bring satellite communications to smartwatch next year, Bloomberg News reports Kavit Majithia / Mobile World Live : Apple preps Ultra Watch satellite capability Brent Dirks / MakeUseOf : The Apple Watch Ultra 3 Might Be the First Smartwatch With This Off-Grid Feature Roman Loyola / Macworld : Satellite connectivity may be the next Apple Watch Ultra killer feature GSMArena.com : Apple Watch Ultra 3 to have satellite messaging abilities PYMNTS.com : Apple Brings Satellite Texting to Its Smartwatches Marko Maslakovic / Gadgets & Wearables : Apple Watch 2025 updates may include blood pressure monitoring & satellite texting Jack Purcher / Patently Apple : Apple Aims to bring the ability to send Text Messages via Satellite on their 2025 Apple Watch Ultra Rushil Agrawal / Android Authority : Apple Watch Ultra 3 could set new connectivity goals for adventure-ready wearables Ed Hardy / Cult of Mac : Apple Watch Ultra 3 might offer texting via satellite Threads: Mark Gurman / @markgurman : Apple is also ramping up with on hypertension detection for the Apple Watch, a system that would work similarly to sleep apnea detection. It won't give you exact numbers, but will tell you it thinks you have high blood pressure and that you should get a reading from a standard monitor. https://www.bloomberg.com/... Mark Gurman / @markgurman : Apple is also planning to move away from Intel modems in the Apple Watch and will — in a first — adopt modems from MediaTek. For the first time, that will enable 5G Redcap support on the Apple Watch. All models to date have used LTE and the device never moved over to 5G like the iPhone and iPad. https://www.bloomberg.com/... Mark Gurman / @markgurman : I don't anticipate the satellite connectivity feature coming to non-Apple Watch Ultra models. It's an upsell to the $800 model, and the Ultra is geared towards hikers who are the ones who'd want the satellite feature in the first place. X: Mark Gurman / @markgurman : Apple also remains at work on non-invasive glucose monitoring, but that is still several years away. It's an incredibly difficult challenge related to sensors, AI and regulatory. Vadim Yuryev / @vadimyuryev : Looks like blood glucose monitoring is still several years away. Seems like a challenge that's incredibly hard to solve. I was hoping it would come alongside the magnetic band system redesign, but I guess not! Forums: r/apple : Apple's Next Ultra Smartwatch Will Be Able to Send Texts Via Satellite r/wallstreetbets : Apple's Next Ultra Smartwatch Will Have Features Supported by Satellite r/GSAT : APPLE TO BRING GLOBALSTAR SATELLITE CONNECTIONS TO SMARTWATCH MacRumors Forums : Apple Watch Could Get Blood Pressure Monitoring in 2025
Context & Ripple Effects
Apple’s reported hypertension-detection plan has had a long development arc: it was discussed for earlier Watch generations, then reportedly delayed over testing-accuracy challenges. The new report pairs that unresolved health feature with an Ultra-only communications capability.
The combination matters because it concentrates two differentiated functions—off-grid messaging and health-risk flagging—in Apple’s highest-end watch rather than treating them as baseline smartwatch features.
First-order effects
- Apple would make Globalstar-backed off-grid texting a prospective selling point for the 2025 Apple Watch Ultra, while keeping the feature outside non-Ultra models.
- A blood-pressure feature, if shipped, would alert users to possible hypertension rather than deliver exact readings—an evolution of Apple’s earlier reported Watch health-feature roadmap.
Second-order effects
- Ultra-only availability would sharpen the premium tier’s value proposition and put pressure on rival high-end wearables to match either standalone safety communications or health screening.
- Globalstar would become a more consequential dependency in Apple’s wearable connectivity stack if the reported service reaches customers, while Apple must still validate health alerts well enough to support their intended use.
Third-order effects
- If Apple continues adding satellite links and sensor-based health alerts to wearables, premium devices could increasingly compete on resilience and preventive screening rather than incremental fitness tracking alone.
- The reported pairing also points to a tiered rollout model: technically constrained or costly connectivity and health features may debut in flagship hardware before broadening, though wider availability remains uncertain.
The trend: Premium wearables are evolving into safety-and-health endpoints, combining connectivity beyond cellular coverage with increasingly proactive sensor-driven alerts.