In the release announcing its Watch Series 10’s availability, Apple refers to the device’s “refined” design. It’s an accurate word for the device overall. Whereas early rumors pointed to a potentially fundamental rethink for the device’s 10th edition on-par with the iPhone X, the new smartwatch prioritizes refining over redesigning.
Given that roughly one in every five smartwatches shipped around the globe is made by Apple, it’s clear why the company has never strayed too far from what works. Besides, the Watch SE and Watch Ultra now round out a lineup with an answer for all but the extreme low end of the price spectrum largely dominated by Chinese manufacturers.
There are four key areas of upgrade between the Series 9 and Series 10 models. The first is the “refined design” mentioned above, which refers to a thinner and lighter profile, more rounded corners and new finishes. The second is the larger display with a wider viewing angle. The third is faster charging. Lastly is an entirely new health metric: sleep apnea.
The FDA Monday granted approval for the feature, which arrived as part of watchOS 11’s general availability. Even so, it still requires a 30-day period of sleep tracking to receive results.
As one health feature arrives, another exits — at least in the U.S. It’s rare for Apple to drop something as major as a key health metric, but this time it wasn’t up to the company. The protracted legal battle between Apple and health device manufacturer Masimo led to blood oxygen monitoring being disabled on the Series 9 in the States.
While the rest of the world will continue to have access to the feature on the Series 10, however, the device is launching in Apple’s home country without the health metric. As to whether the company did so by removing sensors or simply disabling the software is something folks in the teardown community will answer sooner than later.
Another feature I didn’t have an opportunity to test fully this time around is the new depth and water temperature sensors. These were both inherited from the Watch Ultra line — which notably didn’t get an upgrade, aside from a new colorway.
The biggest difference between the two implementations is the Ultra’s ability to handle scuba diving, where the Series 10 only does snorkeling. This comes down to an issue of water pressure at depth. The Series 10 simply isn’t made of the same stuff as the Ultra.
Design
The Series 10 represents the most significant design update to the base line in years. But again, we’re talking refined, not reinvented. In fact, you might not notice at first glance. Aside from reading the tiny fine print on the back of the watch, the surest way to tell is by holding it next to a Series 9 — it’s that subtle.
The next surest way is to put it on. These are wearable devices, after all, and our bodies are attuned to detect how things fit differently. The Series 10 is thinner and lighter, despite the increase in case size. The 42mm model with cellular connectivity is 29.3 grams, representing around a 9% reduction from the Series 9’s 41mm model. The 10’s 46mm model, meanwhile, weighs in at 35.3 grams, representing a nearly 10% weight reduction from the 9’s 45mm model.
That said, you’ll notice the slimmer profile first. I’m a reasonably tall person who dislikes big watches — that’s why I’ve opted not to wear the Ultra as a daily driver. At 9.7mm, the Series 10 is 1mm thinner than its predecessor, which works out to around 10% of the total size. You can feel the difference.
Device size is doubly important when it comes to the night shift. When attempting to get a better night’s sleep, the last thing you want is a big, bulky device that will disrupt that. In terms of sleep comfort, the Apple Watch will never best Oura and other smart rings, but slimming the product down is a step in the right direction.
Display
With a bigger case comes a larger display. The screen on the 46mm Series 10 measures in at 1,220 square millimeters at a 416 x 496 resolution. That’s up from 1,143 square millimeters at a 396 x 484 resolution on the 45mm Series 9. Again, we’re talking about a difference in millimeters, but a significant one given the overall size of the screen we’re working with here.
For historical context, Apple notes that the 10’s display is “up to” 30% larger than the Series 6 and 75% larger than the Series 3. That works out to an additional line of text with the standard setting. More importantly, key sizes have increased, which is great news for those of us with fat fingers. We’re that much more likely to get our passcode correct the first time.
The maximum brightness is 2,000 nits. That’s the same as the Series 9 and double the Series 8. The big change on this front comes down to viewing angle. Thanks to the wide-angle OLED, the display is more easily viewed when not looking straight on. That’s a nice upgrade for a wrist-worn system that you can find yourself attempting to read from all sorts of angles.
The new OLED technology also allows for a more dynamic, always-on display. Here that primarily means that the second hand still ticks away when not actively engaging with the watch. That feature has been added without compromising battery life.
Battery
Battery has long been the Apple Watch’s biggest bugbear. Much of that comes down to the amount of stuff the device can do, coupled with its small size. From a physics perspective, you simply can’t fit as much battery into a smartwatch as a smartphone. Apple’s primary goal has been getting to an “all-day battery.”
That’s fine and dandy, but suddenly you find yourself getting tripped up with the added sleep-tracking functionality. When a device with an all-day battery is designed to be worn around the clock, you run into an issue. Different companies have handled this differently. OnePlus has what is probably the most compelling solution with two distinct processors and operating systems. When they say “low-power mode,” they really mean it.
In recent generations, Apple’s solution has boiled down to “charge it before you sleep.” If you’re a creature of habit, that can work for you, but many of us find ourselves forgetting to carve out sufficient charging time before bed. Apple has taken a positive step in that direction by improving charging times.
The Series 10 now gets upwards of 80% charging capacity after half-an-hour on the puck. If you just need a quick top-off, 15 minutes of charge translates to eight hours of normal usage. You will likely be able to eke out even more in sleep mode.
Faster charging is great, but it’s still a stopgap. Charging before bed and then again in the morning isn’t a great user experience. Things are trending in the right direction on this front, but there’s still a ways to go. The battery is a bit larger — the capacity grows with each generation. Apple won’t disclose specifics on the current mAh rating, as it is against its policy, but it’s not enough to address the overall issue.
Health
A few generations ago, Apple settled into health as the primary driver for its smartwatch line. The gambit has paid off. Doctors have begun to recommend Apple Watch as a way for patients to keep an eye on their vitals between visits. Heart-health tracking is the single-largest pillar, with key metrics like atrial fibrillation (AFib) detection.
With the Series 10, Apple takes one step forward and one step back. For the above-mentioned legal reasons, the device is effectively swapping blood oxygen monitoring for sleep apnea detection. That’s math Apple would have rather avoided, but I would say, taken as a whole, it’s a net positive.
“Sleep apnea occurs in about 3% of normal-weight individuals but affects over 20% of obese people,” according to Johns Hopkins. Further studies suggest that as many as 85% of people with the condition don’t know they have it. This is almost certainly an issue of access to diagnostic tools. The condition is tied to sleep deprivation and all manner of different symptoms.
The watch relies on its accelerometer to track breathing patterns during sleep. While the Series 10 isn’t a diagnostic tool, it will raise a red flag when something is off. That, in turn, should convince more people to see a doctor for a proper diagnosis. I guarantee once this feature is approved out in the world, we’re going to hear all sorts of stories to that effect.
The actual apnea aspect of the feature is kind of one and done. If it suspects you have the condition, your doctor will take things from there.
One of the thus far underdiscussed aspects of the feature is breathing disturbances. While it takes 10 nights spread out over a 30-day window to get sleep apnea feedback, the watch can alert you to breathing issues it detects during the night. Those could ultimately be a sign of sleep apnea or another condition altogether.
watchOS 11
It’s not a new Apple Watch without a new OS release. Smart Stack is the most prevalent of the bunch. The feature is accessible with a swipe up from the watch face. This surfaces a scrollable list of widgets you can interact with. You can pin certain apps to the stack — say, for example, you want quick access to Shazam.
The stack will also populate with suggested widgets based on user habits and Live Activities, including things like workouts and Uber rides. Swiping left will remove a widget from the stack, though it won’t close you out of the app.
For my money, Translate is the most exciting addition on the software side. Tap the app to begin dictation and — shortly after — translation. The app can also read the translation out to help the other person understand what you’re trying to say. Notably, you don’t need to be tethered to the feature to use it on a Series 9 or 10. Both models sport 64GB of storage, which is enough to download 20 offline language packs.
The new Vitals app collates all of your health metrics into a single interface, including heart monitoring and sleep tracking. The new Training Load app, meanwhile, is designed to help athletes track the intensity of their workouts over time.
So is it upgrade time?
There are a handful of other notable additions. The mic and speaker quality have been improved for calls. For the first time, you can also play music and podcasts directly on the watch speaker. It’s not a headphone or standalone speaker replacement by any stretch, but I found it to be ethereal and strangely comforting when I used it to quietly play back some ambient music while I went on with my day.
The truth, however, is that the Series 10 isn’t the major refresh some were anticipating. Again, it’s a refinement. The addition of sleep apnea detection and Translate are great. It’s also nice to have a thinner watch with a larger screen and faster charging times. If you’ve got the Series 7 or 8 on your wrist at the moment, you don’t need to rush out and plunk down the $399+.
If you’re currently rocking the Series 6 or older, by all means, take a look.