【Watch Bikini Pirates (2006)】

Apple just upped its smartwatch game in a huge way.

The Watch Bikini Pirates (2006)Apple Watch Series 3 is the biggest and most consequential update to date. By adding LTE connectivity, Apple has delivered an upgrade that will completely change how you use the device.

SEE ALSO: Apple’s biggest announcement won’t be the iPhone 8, but HOW you use it

Earlier iterations of the Apple Watch, and frankly, most other smartwatches, have been hamstrung by their dependency on your phone for data. By completely untethering the watch from your iPhone, it's not a completely different story.

Prior to today's unveiling there was some speculation as to whether Apple would significantly change up the design with Series 3. Not only did Apple not change the form factor of its watch, they managed to keep the case size nearly identical even with the additional LTE radio and SIM.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

The only difference is that the case is now slightly thicker. The company says it's the equivalent of about two sheets of paper -- but it's not noticeable that I could see.

The most noticeable difference is the red dot on the Digital Crown, which doesn't actually do anything other than let people know you're wearing the latest Apple Watch, which is, of course, the point.

Speaking of colors, the Series 3 also comes in a few new finishes: a new shade of pinkish gold and a gray ceramic. Both are nice, if somewhat predictable, additions.

Mashable Light Speed Want more out-of-this world tech, space and science stories? Sign up for Mashable's weekly Light Speed newsletter. By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Thanks for signing up!

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Naturally, there are a load of new band styles and colors to go with the new watches. The woven nylon bands now come in new patterns, and there's a new sport band made of soft nylon that promises that is much more adjustable than the existing sport band.

New bands and colors aren't why you're going to want to upgrade your Apple Watch, though. You're going to upgrade because LTE connectivity completely changes what you can do with it.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Yes, you can send text messages and make phone calls from your wrist even when your iPhone is at home. But it also means you can ask Siri to call you an Uber or a Lyft, stream music, and use any other Apple Watch-enabled app.

All this comes with one important caveat, though: You'll have to fork over extra money to your carrier each month for your watch. And even though carriers tend to charge significantly less for smartwatch data, handing even a little more money over to telecom companies just plain sucks.

If you can get past that, though, there are other reasons to upgrade.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

The latest version of watchOS also comes with new fitness tracking features, like the ability to track high intensity interval training. There's also a built-in altimeter, which allows the watch and watch apps to better track your elevations -- a huge update for skiers and snowboarders.

There are also a load of upgrades to the heart rate monitor. Now, the watch's heart rate monitor can track your heart rate over time and, when paired with the Health app on the iPhone, surface all your past heart rate data.

As Apple pointed out during its keynote, this has big implications for how people monitor their health, since they can better track changes in their heart rate over time.

---

Featured Video For You

---

If you wear an apple watch, you're an a**hole

---

Topics Apple Apple Watch Gadgets

• Entertainment
• Social Good
• Digital Culture
• Life
• Deals
• Games
• Shopping
• Tech

• Best Presidents' Day deal: Save $44 on Fitbit Charge 6
• Climate change made these 17 extreme weather events radically worse
• NASA spacecraft finds signs of water on Bennu asteroid
• Matt Lauer becomes the symbol of frustration with the media
• Amazon Big Spring Sale 2025: All the best Roomba deals
• 13 awesome record holders to celebrate 'Guinness World Records 2017'
• Critics can't agree on 'Mary Poppins Return'
• Runner hilariously faceplants across the finish line, wins
• GPU Pricing Update, Year in Review: Price Trends Charted
• Microsoft's new Edge browser will support Chrome extensions

• Wordle today: Here's the answer and hints for September 18
• Piglets & Ghosts: The Unique Thrills of Mexican Paperbacks
• Pray to Saint Chesterton
• Botero’s “Adam,” the Sculpture New Yorkers Love to Touch
• Fans are threatening to delete Twitter to avoid 'Spider
• Panos Panay quits Microsoft. Is the upcoming Surface event in trouble?
• Amazon's second Prime Day announced for October— here's what we know
• Tim Kirkland, a Piano Tuner, Finds Religion in His Work
• Herman Melville, Master of the Literary Hoax
• “Mating” Book Club, Part 5: The Joys of Intellectual Love

• Best air purifier deal: Save $300 on the Dyson HEPA Big + Quiet air purifier
• Virgin Galactic flies to the edge of space for the first time
• Graphic sexual assault photo series forces you to see the victim
• Runner hilariously faceplants across the finish line, wins
• Best security deal: Take 25% off the Wyze Cam Pan V3
• The 10 funniest Netflix comedy specials of 2018
• President Obama is officially a parasite, thanks to scientists
• 15 songs turning 20 in 2019
• NYT Strands hints, answers for December 30
• Someone left a human heart on a Southwest Airlines flight

• New 'browser syncjacking' cyberattack lets hackers take over your computer via Chrome
• Carrie Fisher went off script and called Sharon Horgan a c*** while filming 'Catastrophe'
• 'Game of Thrones' is still the most in
• Netflix's year
• Meta deletes all AI character profiles on Facebook, Insta after backlash
• 'Mary Poppins Returns', but the magic's gone: Review
• Best tech gifts under $20
• Calvin Harris says 'all hell broke loose' after Taylor Swift breakup. Well, duh.
• ChatGPT has gone down the day after Christmas
• It’s increasingly looking like China was behind the massive Marriott data hack