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The Apple Watch has been around for ten years. Looking at photographs of the device then, it would not seem like anything has changed — even the applications drawer is identical. But discreetly and silently, the Apple Watch — the company’s first new product line of the post-Steve Jobs era — has developed to become capable of so much more today. Over the previous few years, there have been some huge strides ahead for the Apple Watch’s feature set, up to and including wrist-based ECG and heart-rate measurements that were formerly the realm of science fiction. We’ve heard many testimonials, largely from Apple at its events, about how the Apple Watch has saved lives – whether it be by detection of a fall or atrial fibrillation. Smartwatches as a category have matured and found their place, it seems, and the Apple Watch has carved out a snug home within the field.
So color me astonished when the Series 10 launched to very little fanfare last week. I think I was expecting Apple to be a bit more self-congratulatory, but the corporation seemed to skim over the product’s birthday. Instead, we got to learn about the device’s smaller profile and bigger screen with higher viewing angles. It also boasts smaller onboard speakers, apps for water sports fans and health features like the new sleep apnea monitoring and alarms. It may sound underwhelming compared to the allegedly futuristic features we were seeing in the Apple Watch’s early days, but the Series 10 is only following in the footsteps of the iPhone. It’s a mature product that’s swapped major annual overhauls for gradual improvements that add up over time. For a smartwatch that has repeatedly been dubbed the best in its class, the Series 10 mostly retains that legacy, even as it walks back a feature or two because to continuing copyright challenges.
Apple Watch Series 10
The changes made to Apple's tenth-gen wearable largely have to do with its size and screen, and blood oxygen detection is still missing. But this is still the best wristwatch for iPhone owners.
Editors’ note: The current score reflects our experience with the hardware, health and sleep-tracking capabilities that will be available to users at launch. We will keep a watch on changes to ongoing litigation, as well as examine sleep apnea alarms and other post-launch features over the following weeks and months, and may adjust our review score if warranted.
Design And Display
Compared to the Series 9, the next Apple Watch is ever so slightly smaller and considerably slimmer and lighter. It’s not such a significant change that you’ll notice without having the two side by side, but every time I take up the Series 10 I definitely feel a tiny spark of delight. The squatter design, narrower profile and more rounded edges somehow make the new watch feel a bit like a biscuit, whereas the Series 9 comes off more like a smaller mahjong tile.
Both versions of the conventional Apple Watch have increased ever so slightly, with the 41mm version now coming in at 42mm and the 45mm one sitting at 46mm. I’ve worn the smaller Series 10 and Series 9 on both wrists for a few days now and truly don’t find there to be a substantial difference in daily use. As significant as I think the slimmer body and lighter weight is on the Series 10, it’s not like I was having difficulties squeezing its predecessor through jacket sleeves before. I will state that the new model will undoubtedly be more comfortable under the snuggest of my cuffs.
Apple reducing the Series 10 down to only 9.7mm thin is undoubtedly a feat, since the Pixel Watch 3 is still a relatively big 12mm thick. Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 7 is the same height, so Google needs to play a bit of catch-up here.
The Series 10’s bigger screen does make some things easier to read, including road names on Maps and the clock when you’re in Spotify. You’ll likely discover better gains here by choosing larger font sizes, which is a bit of an obvious comment but at least on the Series 10 you’ll have more room to work with. If you need something even bigger, you may choose the Watch Ultra 2, which features a 49mm screen.
Apple’s also utilizing a wide-angle OLED this year to make things easier to read even if your wrist is merely resting on the table, not held up in front of your eyes. Again, in my side by side observations, the change is evident but not in a large sense. There does appear to be higher contrast between the digits of the time against the photo in the backdrop, too, which makes the clock more visible at an angle.
Finally, part of why the Series 10 got slimmer is its new metal back, which allowed Apple to incorporate the antenna into the case and reduce two layers into one. There’s also a modest so-called isolation circle to help maintain cellular performance. This isn’t something you’ll feel necessarily, but it does contribute to the Series 10’s general thinness.
The Apple Watch Series 10’s speaker
Something Apple brought to the Series 10 is the ability to play music and podcasts through the watch’s inbuilt speaker. It might seem crazy to want to use the little gadget for any form of media, especially things like music where you’d prefer at least some sense of sound quality for the experience to be enjoyable. In the few days I’ve owned the Series 10, I never found the need to stream tunes from the speaker on the watch, until I had to test it.
At the maximum loudness in a quiet conference room, I loved listening to Running Through the Night by Seori and Espresso by Sabrina Carpenter. It wasn’t as bass-heavy as I’d like for a typical listening session, but considering the circumstances and the size of the watch, the mids and trebles were quite clear and powerful. You’re not meant to rely on this for lengthy durations either, and it’s only there to scratch an itch if or when it emerges. With noisier environments, though, it’s a problem. You may also read this: Affordable Fitness Trackers For 2024
The Apple Watch Series 10 Vs. Sleep Apnea
Arguably the biggest feature coming to the Series 10 is sleep apnea monitoring (albeit that capability is also accessible on the Series 9 and Ultra 2 with watchOS 11). This is exclusively for people who haven’t been diagnosed with sleep apnea, so if you already know you have this issue, it’s not designed to help you see if your CPAP machine is working, for instance.
I’ve not been diagnosed with sleep apnea, and might very well be one of the 80 percent of people that has the illness and don’t know it. Still, it would be good to know for certain and when watchOS 11 came yesterday, those of us on iOS 18 with compatible Apple Watch models were able to opt in to notifications. I went to the Health app to set this up, answered a series of questions about my age and if I’d been diagnosed with sleep apnea, and was informed I was set up for the function.
throughout the explanation Apple provides during the onboarding process, it claims “Apple Watch tracks your breathing while you’re asleep and records any disturbances in a 30-day period.” It can notify you if those problems “are suggestive of sleep apnea,” so you can go to a doctor for a full diagnosis.
It’s been only about a week since Apple announced sleep apnea notifications were coming, and plainly 30 days haven’t elapsed. I have yet to garner enough information for any alerts, therefore cannot yet judge the impact of this function.
The Apple Watch Series 10 As A Health And Fitness Tracker
Barring updates that come with watchOS 11, which older Apple Watches will also get, the Series 10 is largely the same as its predecessor when it comes to tracking your activity. As long as you’ve set things up appropriately, you’ll get reminders to report your mood, take your meds and move if you’ve been idle too long.
Having having tested Google’s Pixel Watch 3, I can’t help but wish Apple were a tad more responsive and consistent at instantly encouraging me to start logging a walk. There’s no actual guideline as to how long you had to have been active for the watch to say you’d been working out. That leads to some confusion and outright annoyance when you think you’d walked or run enough for the auto detection to kick in, but only to find out you maybe hadn’t moved in the appropriate way or for long enough.
I’ve been a yearslong Apple Watch user, so I’ve grown incredibly comfortable and rely on its interface and the data it collects. I adore diving into my calendar view and looking proudly at all the days I closed my rings. The Health app does an excellent job of highlighting my recent trends and how it contrasts with my performance a year ago, subtly shaming me into recognizing I should maybe take a few more walks a week. The Series 10 doesn’t differ much from the Series 9 in that way, and if you’re already in Apple’s ecosystem, this will likely seem incredibly familiar.
The Apple Watch Series 10’s Water Sports Features
There are several new tools on the Series 10 that are borrowed from elsewhere in the family, though. Apple’s ported the Watch Ultra’s Depth app across and introduced a new Tides app across the Series 10 and Watch Ultra 2 that should be beneficial for folks who spend a lot of time in the water.
I’m not a big water sports gal, although I do occasionally hang out at beaches. Whether it’s Long Island’s clean, sandy shoreline or the rocky terrain of Red Hook’s Valentino Pier, I’ve certainly faced abrupt swells in water level that I’ve had to sprint to avoid. It’s hardly the biggest concern, of course, but I can see how the Tides app might assist anyone plan a day. I activated the app, and in a few seconds, the Series 10 located the closest beach, notifying me that the tide was falling and that water levels would hit their lowest at about 2:07AM.
Wrap-up
It’s hard to sum up how I feel about the Apple Watch Series 10. On one side, I definitely still need more time to develop a conclusion regarding things I don’t feel familiar with yet, such sleep apnea alerts. On the other, I feel like I already know this product very well, because to its similarities to its predecessor(s). Plus, with watchOS 11 bringing a lot of identical capabilities to the Series 9, Watch Ultra 2 and more, it feels difficult to urge anyone owning a recent device spring for an upgrade. Some of my friends considering the Series 10 are coming from the Series 8 or older, and for them Apple’s latest undoubtedly feels worthwhile.