Watch · Retina & Beyond · 2017
Apple Watch Series 3
Cellular cut the cord for good: you could leave your phone at home and still take calls, stream music and get messages from your wrist. It sold for an astonishing five years.
Apple Watch Series 3: key facts
When was the Apple Watch Series 3 released?
The Apple Watch Series 3 was released in September 22, 2017. Apple discontinued it in September 2022.
How much did the Apple Watch Series 3 cost?
The Apple Watch Series 3 launched at $329 in 2017 — about $421 in today’s money (approximate, US CPI).
What are the Apple Watch Series 3’s specs?
The Apple Watch Series 3 used a Apple S3 (dual-core) running at 780 MHz, with 768 MB of memory and 8 GB of storage. It ran watchOS 4.
Why does the Apple Watch Series 3 matter?
First Apple Watch with built-in LTE cellular — calls and music without your phone.
Full specifications
| CPU | Apple S3 (dual-core) · 780 MHz |
|---|---|
| Cores | 2 |
| Memory (RAM) | 768 MB |
| Storage | 8 GB |
| Display | 1.5" OLED Retina |
| GPU | Integrated |
| Ports | Magnetic inductive charging |
| Weight | ~34 g |
| Dimensions | 38 mm or 42 mm case |
| Operating system | watchOS 4 |
| Released | September 22, 2017 |
| Discontinued | September 2022 |
| Launch price | $329 |
How the Apple Watch Series 3 compares to today
A 16 GB Apple Silicon MacBook Pro has about 21× more memory than this device shipped with.
At 780 MHz, the clock is roughly 4.1× slower than a single performance core of a 16 GB Apple Silicon MacBook Pro — and that is before counting cores, width and IPC.
This held about 2,050 modern phone photos — a respectable library even today.
Launched at $329 in 2017 — about $421 in today’s money (approx., US CPI).
Cross-architecture speed figures are clock-only and approximate; inflation figures use US CPI.
Did you know?
A tiny red dot on the Digital Crown marked the cellular models.
Related Watch models
Open the Apple Watch Series 3 in the interactive archive →
Last updated: 2026-06-25