- Thin, light design
- Larger displays
- Faster charging
- Short battery life
- Pretty iterative
The Apple Watch Series 10 pitch is simple: a larger display in a thinner, lighter build. After two years of primarily using an Apple Watch Ultra, moving to the Series 10 feels like wearing nothing at all. Seriously. There've been times I've had to double-check I actually had it on, like whenever my hoodie sleeves covered the Watch.
Making wearable tech as unintrusive as possible is a sensible design goal, and you can understand the choices Apple has made here. At the same time, the Series 10 is the most I've thought about battery on an Apple Watch in a long time. Coming from an Ultra, the need to recharge the Series 10 once a day feels downright primitive.
Bigger build, same old battery
To clarify, the Apple Watch Series 10 still lasts for "up to 18 hours", which is the "all-day battery" figure Apple has been using since the very first watch ten years ago. What's changed are my perceptions.
While maintaining the same kind of battery performance while shaving size and weight is impressive, I'd have taken a smaller physical reduction in exchange for more longevity.
When I first started using an Ultra, the larger battery changed how I used an Apple Watch. I actually started sleep tracking instead of charging overnight, and I switched the always-on display on, instead of keeping it off to get a little bit more battery each day.
For context, I only needed to charge my Ultra once every 40 hours. With the Apple Watch Series 10, it's once every 24. Faster charging speeds of up to 80% in half an hour help mitigate this, but doubling the number of times I need to think about topping up my Apple Watch is annoying.
If you haven't used an Apple Watch Ultra, this won't really apply to you. You'll get the same kind of battery life as your last Apple Watch. It's just a shame Apple hasn't done better when it has shown it can.
A bit slicker
Now that I've gotten that out of the way, let's talk about design. The Series 10 is available in 42mm or 46mm case sizes, up from 41mm or 45mm. If you pick the 46mm model, the display is actually a fraction larger than what you get on the Ultra.
The Series 10 is up to 10% thinner than the Series 9, and up to 20% lighter. Aluminium models get a 10% year-on-year weight reduction, and that jumps to 20% for titanium models which replace stainless steel.
I've been testing a 46mm titanium model and it's lovely! The titanium has a polished finish, so it looks pretty similar to previous generation stainless steel Apple Watches, if you're after that classic aesthetic. Annoyingly, the silver titanium is an ever-so-slightly different colour than silver stainless steel on old models, so some watch bands won't quite match.
The larger display is also great! It's easier to read at a glance and improves the typing experience, if you're the kind of person who likes replying to messages directly from your Watch. Your mileage may vary, but I don't think most should find it "too big", which can be a real issue for anyone with smaller wrists using an Ultra. On a vaguely related note, a quirk of swapping from an Ultra is I keep trying to use an action button that isn't there.
Another design change worth calling out is better water resistance. The Series 10 Watches have 6m of dive resistance, which means you can take them snorkelling. It's not enough for scuba diving like with the Ultra, but it's still a welcome improvement.
Finally, I can rest
Every Apple Watch from Series 6 benefits from watchOS 11, but it's still worth calling out a few of the new features. The big one is rest days, which is functionality I've been banging on about for years.
If you're not feeling up to it - because you're sick or taking a break from exercise, for example - watchOS 11 will let you put your activity rings on pause for however long you need. A day, a week, or even longer. You'll maintain any streaks you've built when your rings are paused, and you won't get notifications chastising you for not having moved enough.
Even if you're committed to closing your activity rings every day, watchOS 11 is a little bit kinder. You can set different activity goals for each day of the week, rather than constantly working toward one inflexible goal.
Similarly, you can customise the summary pane in the Activity app to highlight what metrics matter to you, and hide ones that don't. You could hide your Trends, for example, if you've been exercising less because you're recovering from an injury. You might not want to see every arrow pointing down whenever you open the Activity app, especially when circumstances are out of your control.
watchOS 11 is also a little bit more thoughtful in terms of how fitness is tracked. In addition to measuring the amount of kilojoules you burn and how long you spend exercising, your Apple Watch also tracks training load to see if you're under or over-exerting yourself. This is hardly a new concept, but still a useful one. It's definitely had me consider more than just the kilojoules I'm burning in a workout.
The above are all good changes and ones that could make using an Apple Watch a better experience for anyone with disordered eating or exercise habits. While they're certainly a step in the right direction, watchOS 11 still doesn't actively encourage you take a rest day.
Looking at your training load gives you vague messages like "taking the day off won't impact your fitness" or "recover as needed if feeling run down". Given how proactive the Apple Watch is at trying to get you to close your rings, it would be good to see it be a bit more forceful with rest days.
Apple Watch Series 10 - Final Thoughts
The Series 10 delivers on the promise of a slicker Apple Watch. The lighter thinner build makes wearing one just that little bit more seamless, and ultimately, wearable tech shouldn't be an imposition.
At the same time, if you're on a recent Apple Watch, like the Series 7 or newer, the Series 10 won't feel like a huge upgrade. The last few years have definitely been more about refinement than revolution, and the same holds true with the Series 10. If you've got a Series 6 or older, the Series 10 should feel like a much more exciting upgrade.
Despite my reservations with battery life, the Series 10 is a good pick for most. It's hard to fault otherwise. But if you're thinking about dropping $1,199 or more on a titanium model, it definitely is worth considering the Watch Ultra 2 as an alternative. It's only $120 more if you're looking at a 46mm titanium model, and if you don't mind the bulkier design, the extra battery life is battery life is so worth it.
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