Apple Watch Series 10 review

How else is Apple to celebrate a decade of its smartwatches than with the most impressively-designed Apple Watch yet? Although it might not look much new at a glance, the Apple Watch Series 10 sees a number of external and internal design alternations to benefit usability. Weighing 10% less than before and measuring a mere 9.7mm thin, it's the best smartwatch I've ever strapped to my wrist in terms of comfort.

The screens are bigger while the wide-angle OLED display (a first for any Apple device) makes the Apple Watch 10 is naturally easier to view. Thanks to the latest LTPO spec, the Always-On Display refreshed once per second versus once per minute — this is all compared to last year's Apple Watch Series 9.

From a health perspective, the Apple Watch Series 10 launches with an consequential and recently-FDA-authorized sleep apnea detection feature. That said, the Blood Oxygen app remains disabled due to the ongoing patent dispute with Masimo. It's a bit of a rain cloud on the Series 10's launch party, if you ask me.

Yet faster charging and the ability to play music directly through the modernized speaker are nice additions to the 10th-generation Apple Watch, while fresh colors and materials round out what's positioned to be the biggest Apple Watch update in years. Read my full Apple Watch Series 10 review to see if Apple has done it's flagship smartwatch justice.

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Apple Watch Series 10: Price and availability

Although the official Apple Watch 10 release date is September 20, it's available to preorder now.

The Apple Watch 10 price starts at $399 for the 42mm size and increases to $499 if you want cellular support. The larger 46mm model starts at $429 and increases to $529 for cellular. These prices reflect the aluminum models. Upgrading to any of the options in the new polished titanium collection will drive the starting price up to $699, while the coveted Hermès edition starts at $1,249.

Alternatively, you can preorder the Apple Watch Ultra 2 in new color Satin Black for $799. Apple didn't announce an Apple Watch Ultra 3, but the Apple Watch Ultra 2 will get sleep apnea detection via software update. Otherwise, nothing is new under the hood for the Ultra watch. Check out our guide on the Apple Watch Series 10 vs. Apple Watch Ultra 2 to see which one is right for you.

Apple Watch Series 10: Specs

Apple Watch Series 10: Design

The Apple Watch Series 10 offers the first major design change since the Apple Watch Series 7. At the time, the Series 7 ushered in a 20% larger display than the Apple Watch Series 6, and now the Apple Watch 10 has up to a 9% larger screen than the Series 9. If you'd consider upgrading from a Series 6 or older, you'd get up to 30% more usable screen space. 

In fact, on the 46mm Apple Watch Series 10 (the larger of the two sizes) there's approximately 3% more usable display than on the Apple Watch Ultra 2. The display is Apple's first with wide-angle OLED technology, which is 40% brighter when it comes to off-angle viewing compared to the traditional OLED screen used for previous Apple Watch models. I could definitely see an improvement between the Apple Watch 10 vs. Apple Watch 9 when trying to glance at my watch data during bike rides on sunny mornings.

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The new Apple Watch is also the thinnest yet at 9.7mm, which is 10% less thick than the Series 9. Paired with being up to 10% lighter in weight (for the aluminum versions), the Apple Watch 10 truly fit differently on my wrist. I definitely didn't expect the change to be noticeable, yet it felt more comfortable than maybe any smartwatch I've worn before. It was especially apparent when I wore the watch overnight and during workouts such as yoga, where my wrist bends for several poses.

Apple made these improvements by rearranging the internal architecture around the one-sided S10 SiP and chassis-integrated antenna. The speaker has been compressed to the edges as well and is now protected by perforated mesh — so long, elongated slot. Fortunately, the interchangeable band system did not change, so any of the best Apple Watch bands can be used with Series 10. Apple sells a number of excellent bands, but I have many great choices from Amazon and third-party companies in my personal band collection, too.

Apple Watch Series 10: Sleep apnea detection

In addition to the health and wellness upgrades baked into watchOS 11, the Apple Watch Series 10 has the capability to offer sleep apnea detection. The feature, which earned FDA clearance on September 16, is available on Series 9 and Ultra 2 watches as well. 

You can enable sleep apnea notifications in your Health app so long as your paired iPhone is running iOS 18 and your Apple Watch has watchOS 11. On a nightly basis, you'll be able to review your breathing disturbances. Then, after wearing the Apple Watch for at least 10 nights in one month, you'll be able to receive an alert of whether possible sleep apnea is detected.

If that's the case, you'll be advised to reach out to a doctor and can share a PDF of your breathing disturbances with them from the Health app. When undiagnosed and untreated, sleep apnea can cause several long-term health problems. 

That's to say, a feature like this joining Apple's sleep tracking feature could be crucial to learning more about factors impacting your overall wellness. It's worth nothing that several other wearables offer sleep apnea detection, including the Oura Ring Gen 3 and Samsung Galaxy Watch 7. Having tested both, I'm confident I don't have sleep apnea, though this is a feature I'll still need to spend more time testing on the Apple Watch Series 10 specifically.

Apple Watch Series 10: Blood Oxygen app

The Apple Watch Series 10 is the first Apple Watch to launch since the International Trade Commission (ITC) ruled that Apple infringed on a SpO2 sensor patent owned by health tech company Masimo. The resulting import ban meant that Apple couldn't sell smartwatches with the existing Blood Oxygen app, so instead of pulling devices from shelves it disabled the app in contention.

To recap, Masimo says Apple stole its tech and has been using it in every Apple Watch since the Series 6 debuted the Blood Oxygen app. Apple denies this, but the feature has officially been shut off in all new devices sold by Apple in the U.S. Unfortunately, there's no update yet on when the app could return to Apple Watch.

With all the redesign work that went into Series 10, it’s too bad the pulse oximetry tech couldn’t be reworked in a way that avoids the patent violation. It's a feature that's fairly standard in other smartwatches, including the Galaxy Watch 7 and Pixel Watch 3.

Apple Watch Series 10: Features

The Apple Watch Series 10 benefits from a decade's worth of features, meaning that pretty much any feature previously released for Apple Watch is available on the Series 10. There's dozens of highlights I could point out, but some of my favorites include the Double Tap feature, other accessibility-geared hand gestures, the addition of a QWERTY keyboard for texting, a Noise app that warns you of excessive sound exposure, period predictions, advanced running metrics, advanced biking metrics, a functional HomeKit app, a bedtime mode with sleep tracking, a low power battery mode and so on. Between communication, fitness, entertainment, productivity, and safety, it's probably easier to list the things the Apple Watch can't do than what it can do.

Specific to the Apple Watch Series 10, however, is the Depth app carried over from the Apple Watch Ultra that lets you track shallow dives. The Series 10 also has a new speaker and mic system that a) improves call quality through voice isolation and b) lets you play music out loud through the speaker. I'm not the latter is a feature people were asking for, but I actually did kind of like it for some background music on my bike ride. In addition to biking, during my testing I wore the Apple Watch for hot yoga, golf, tennis and outdoor walks — it's a versatile fitness tracker, suited for the basics of step-counting and heart rate readings, but optimized for dozens of activity types as well.

watchOS 11, the software version that ships on the Apple Watch Series 10, brings a more customizable Photos watch face, a Vitals app that summarizes your health metrics to identify trends, and the long-awaited ability to pause your Apple Watch rings. (See my guide on watchOS 11 compatibility to find out if your current watch is eligible for the software update.)

In my opinion, the way to make the most of your Apple Watch experience is with the best Apple Watch apps from third-party developers. Having tested dozens over the years, my favorites are always changing, but right now I'm enjoying Pedometer++ for adding a step counter to my watch face and Headspace for practicing mindfulness more often.

Apple Watch Series 10: Battery life and charging

The Apple Watch Series 10 has the same 18-hour battery life of every Apple Watch before it. Though I wish, 10 years later, the Apple Watch could last more than a day on a charge, Apple offered us a consolation: faster charging.

With a bigger and more efficient charging coil inside, the Apple Watch Series 10 can charge to 80% in just 30 minutes. The estimate for previous watches was 80% in 45 minutes. In 15 minutes, you'll get 8 hours of normal use, which is good for someone like me who can't seem to stick to a routine charging schedule. 

Compared to the Apple Watch Ultra 2, that gets closer to two full days of battery life, the Apple Watch Series 10 needs more frequent charging. I recommend enabling low power mode to extend the battery life up to 36 hours — it's one of my tried and true Apple Watch travel hacks as someone who spends a lot of time on airplanes.

Apple Watch Series 10: Verdict

Based on rumors leading up to the reveal, the Apple Watch Series 10 exceeded my expectations. That said, having spent a week with the watch on my wrist and comparing it side-by-side with previous-gen versions left the biggest impact. It might seem silly to call it a new design when it looks so similar to the Apple Watch everyone knows, but it certainly feels new. 

The watch is more comfortable, you can see more of the screen, and you can see the screen better off-angle. The optimized watchOS 11 experience and faster charging are certainly worthwhile, making this the best Apple Watch to get for most people. I can make justifications for the value of the Apple Watch SE 2, and the premium benefits of the Apple Watch Ultra 2, but overall the Series 10 is the sweet spot for a flagship.