Apple Watch Series 10 Review: Bigger and better

Verdict

Tweaks to the design have made this the comfiest Apple Watch yet, even if the growing displays mean those with smaller wrists might want to look elsewhere. Sleep apnea detection is great, and WatchOS just gets more powerful each year. The Apple Watch Series 10 isn’t a huge redesign, but it’s still a very good wearable for iPhone users.

Introduction

The Apple Watch Series 10 is a landmark release for the wearable, although not in the ways I would have expected.

This is the tenth edition of the mainline Apple Watch, one of the most popular watches in the world and the standout wearable for iPhone users.

When the iPhone hit 10, the iPhone X heralded the next decade with a complete redesign and a rethink of what Apple’s flagship product was. Years on, the iPhone 16 still takes many design cues from that banner release.

The story is different for the Apple Watch, a product which has so far never had a huge design shift. Many thought that would finally arrive with the Series 10, mimicking the iPhone X, but that’s not the case – at least upon first inspection. The screen remains curved and the strap mechanism is the same.

So, after testing the Apple Watch Series 10 for three weeks does this release showcase the future of the wearable line, or is it just another moderate update?

Design and Screen

• Larger 46mm size
• 42mm option too, although this isn’t small anymore
• Wonderful OLED screen

Apple called the changes to the Apple Watch Series 10 a redesign during its announcement, and in some ways that’s a fair assessment. The watch is now comfier, comes in new sizes and packs in more display. 

Is it the huge, iPhone X-like rethink of the product many had expected/wanted? No, not really. Whether that’s an issue or not comes down to how you’ve felt about the previous ten mainline Apple Watch versions.

The Apple Watch Series 10 is thinner than the previous models, 10% thinner according to Apple and it really makes a difference. The watch now sticks far closer to the wrist and is more comfortable as a result – it also makes the other big design change easier to live with.

While the Series 10 is thinner, it’s also bigger. The case size has gone from 41mm and 45mm options to 42mm and 46mm, making for 30% larger displays. The 46mm version – that’s the one I have in for review, and the one you’ll see in the pictures – now has a 3% larger display than the Apple Watch Ultra 2, but it feels even bigger thanks to the way the screen curves over the edges.

Personally, I love this new larger OLED screen. It makes the watch easier to use, more stuff can be displayed on each menu and it’s easier to see at a glance. However, it does feel a lot more like you’ve strapped an OLED display to your wrist – Apple hasn’t tried to make this look more like a traditional watch, straying away from that concept even further.

I have had multiple comments alluding to the big screen – some positive, some less so – and it certainly seems to stand out more than before. The OLED itself is wonderful: bright, easily visible in all situations and very responsive. It’s easier to view at angles now and can drop to 1 nit, making it easier on the eyes at night. 

The smaller 42mm size remains for those who want a more subtle watch, however this size is now as big as the larger Apple Watch Series 3. There’s no diminutive size anymore, and that could irk those with smaller wrists.

There are changes in the materials and finishes available too. There’s a new glossy Jet Black finish to the standard aluminium (alongside matte gold and silver choices) that looks fantastic. Unlike the scratch-prone Jet Black iPhone 7, this iteration has so far stood up well to everyday use. These aluminium options are all carbon neutral when paired with certain straps, and made with 100% recycled metal.

Sitting above the aluminium options are new titanium models, replacing the stainless steel of old. Like the aluminium, these are also carbon neutral when paired with certain straps, including the seriously classy Milanese bracelet. 

These titanium models (available in gold, natural and slate) all look great, and are a little lighter too. Plus you get a stronger sapphire crystal coating on the display, as opposed to Apple’s Ion-X glass.

I wouldn’t call the Apple Watch Series 10 a huge redesign. Still, the changes are welcome and do make for a wearable I much prefer to wear than the Series 9. I still prefer the curved screen to the flat Apple Watch Ultra 2, and the fact that all older straps are still compatible is a great consideration for existing collections.

Smart Features and Software

• Improved onboard speaker
• Lots of new software features (although not exclusive to the Series 10)

Most of the software tricks come via the WatchOS 11 update, which is available on older watches too so you’re not getting a whole lot more from the new hardware.

There is now a more capable speaker onboard, and you can use it to play music and podcasts. It sounds fine – anything spoken word is better than music – and I have used this a few times when I am doing the washing up and haven’t got my phone around. Still, for 99% of situations any iPhone will sound far better.

A couple of the watch faces have been tweaked to make use of the larger display, including the Flux option which also lets the second hand move in always-on mode. Reflections is another nice face, and one that really shows off the new screen. Neither of these faces can use complications, so their use is purely visual.

The Apple Watch (and Apple’s products in general) is good because it will be supported for many years – with each new year bringing additional features in WatchOS updates. Buy the Series 10, and next year you’ll get a fresh batch of new additions.

Sleep and Health Tracking

• The vitals app is a welcome addition
• Sleep apnea detection will be important for many
• Data can be hard to act upon

I use the Apple Watch just as much for tracking my general health and sleep quality, as I do for daily workouts. As the WatchOS software has matured, so has its deep ecosystem of information that it can keep an eye on.

New this year is sleep apnea detection, a condition that affects millions of people – many of whom don’t know they have it. It’s a serious condition, and any way of helping catch it is a bonus. This information is also stored in the depths of the Apple Health app.

Once the sleep apnea detection feature is enabled, the watch will monitor your breathing over an initial 30 day period, alerting you if more than half of those nights show elevated disturbance. I’ve not had this watch on for the required time yet, so I will update this review after a longer period with further thoughts on this.

The rest of the sleep tracking experience is very much the same as before. I like Apple’s implementation, and it gathers up loads of information during your slumber like respiratory rate, blood oxygen, heart rate etc and displays it all in an easy-to-view manner inside the Vitals app. Dive further into the sleep section and you can also see your sleep stages, with the accuracy being mostly on point.

While the watch and software are good at gathering the data, they’re less adept at really giving you any tips or ways of improving it – or really what the differences between nights could be put down to. 

There’s not much analysis of your sleep over time – aside from whether it’s up or down – and there’s a complete lack of prompts to ‘get more sleep’. I’d love this side of things to be a real focus next year.

Activity Tracking

• Great accuracy from the sensors
• New software features
• Tweaks to how daily Rings work

Apple hasn’t focussed on tweaking the activity hardware with the Series 10, so if you’re coming from an older model everything will be familiar. There are some new software features like Training Load, which helps keep a general eye on activity, but all the sensors are very much the same.

Heart rate accuracy remained strong in my testing, comparable to a good dedicated chest strap, and the GPS always locked on quickly and provided accurate readouts of my routes.

There are a few new swimming features, including some tricks pulled straight from the Ultra series. Pool workouts can be customised with intervals and data can be gathered from the depth and temperature sensors. The Depth app is here too, and automatically kicks into gear when the watch is submerged.

Training Load, which sits nicely with the Vitals app, tracks your workouts over a month and then gives feedback on whether or not you’re hitting targets, along with other insights. All the data is easy to digest and the way it’s shown in charts and graphs within the app is helpful.

I also really appreciate that you can now pause your Activity Rings, so if you’re unwell or simply can’t complete a section for the day (or even longer) this can be done and your streak won’t be broken.

Battery Life

• Faster charging
• Requires daily charging

There’s a lot of ‘new’ in the Apple Watch Series 10. However, my complaints about the wearable’s endurance still stand, and in a few ways the addition of certain features has made the staunch single day battery more of an issue.

I used to be able to charge the Apple Watch overnight, however when sleep tracking was introduced I was less likely to want to miss out on capturing data, Now, with the Vitals app and how deep the sleep tracking data runs through that area of the software, it feels even more important to wear the watch as much as possible – especially overnight.

If you’re using the Watch to its fullest, you’ll need to find some time each day to charge. To aid this, Apple has improved the charging speeds – it’ll get to 80% in 30 minutes and full in a further 20 – thanks to a redesigned back. As it’s a change to the watch, not the charger, older accessories that fast charged the Series 8 and 9 will work here too.

I have gotten into the regime of charging either when I’m getting ready in the morning or just before bed – miss one of these though and you’ll end with a dead watch by the following lunchtime.

Lighter users, and those not pushing the GPS in workouts, might stretch to two days and if you’re not interested in tracking your sleep (and are willing it ignore the excellent Vitals app) you’ll have the luxury of charging at night.

Now, the Apple Watch Series 10 isn’t alone in having battery life that needs to be watched. Both the Pixel Watch 3 and Galaxy Watch 7 are hardly endurance kings, and the watches with better stamina tend to be larger, and this isn’t a problem new to the Series 10, it’s been an issue since the very first Apple Watch.

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