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Smartwatches may be some of the most difficult devices I ever have to review. They’re fine gadgets, and I’m happy to have one, but in most ways, the newest models are almost always just an incremental upgrade to older ones. Improvements became so minor for so long that, just earlier this year, I wrote that the Apple Watch SE, Apple’s entry level watch from 2022, is still the best option for most people. I’m happy to report that, after spending some time with the Apple Watch Series 10, that’s no longer the case.
The Apple Watch Series 10 is smaller and lighter
While some see smartwatches primarily as fitness trackers, to me, they’re the successor to the iPod nano: small, easy to navigate devices that can control my music, podcasts, or access tap-to-pay features without making me dig for my phone. In that way, comfort is the most important part of a smartwatch to me.
That’s made the SE, Apple’s cheapest and, until-now, smallest smartwatch, my default recommendation for the past couple of years. Now, the Series 10 is finally unseating it, as it’s a full millimeter thinner.
That may not sound like a lot, but stack these watches next to each other, and you’ll notice how much sleeker the Series 10 looks. And that extends to how it feels, too. While the SE’s sensor can often feel like a coin being squished in between my wrist and the watch itself, the Series 10’s sensor is barely noticeable.
Apple Watch SE (top) next to Apple Watch Series 10 (bottom).
Credit: Michelle Ehrhardt
That’s enough to make it the more comfortable option to me, even if it’s slightly heavier than the SE. I didn’t notice that weight, since it’s only a few grams depending on which size watch you get. (The Series 10 comes with either a 46 mm face and a 42 mm face.) I wouldn’t have said the same thing about the Series 9, which can be over 14 grams heavier than the SE in some cases, so I’m happy to see that issue fixed.
You can thank some of that weight loss to the new titanium case option. While there’s still a slightly lighter aluminum option, titanium replaces the premium models that have a stainless steel case, meaning you can get a fancier watch without adding too much extra heft to it. It’s a strategy borrowed from the iPhone 15 and up, and while I tested an aluminum model, I did get to go hands-on with a titanium version for about a half hour. Like my titanium iPhone 15 Pro, it feels rugged but also thin and light, and should hold up well to small bumps and drops.
Apple Watch SE (left) next to Apple Watch Series 10 (right).
Credit: Michelle Ehrhardt
To me, the Series 10’s comfort alone makes it the best Apple Watch, as evidenced by it being the first one I was able to wear while sleeping without issue. If I sound like I’m going on too much about thickness, I get it: Watch comfort is a matter of personal taste, and some people actually prefer a heftier device, as it makes them feel like they’re getting more bang for their buck. But part of the reason I think the comfort is as impressive as it is is because it’s not at all hampered by the second biggest upgrade to the Series 10: its screen.
The screen is bigger, brighter, and faster
With the exception of the Apple Watch Ultra and Ultra 2, Apple Watches have defaulted to two sizes for the past few models: 41 and 45 mm. The Apple Watch SE, which has been my go-to model until now, is even smaller, with size options of 40 and 44 mm. The Apple Watch Series 10, meanwhile, pushes into 42 and 46 mm.
Apple Watch Series 10 (left) next to Apple Watch SE (right).
Credit: Michelle Ehrhardt
Again, it doesn’t sound like a lot, but next to my 40 mm Apple Watch SE, the 42 mm Series 10 looks downright luxurious. Plus, the bezel is thinner, meaning it can use more of that extra space for the display, which Apple is using to show more data in certain apps. Maps, for instance, is easier to navigate, and the 46 mm Series 10 actually has a little more screen space than the 49 mm Apple Watch Ultra 2.
Normally, I’d actually be a little worried about this upgrade, because a bigger screen isn’t worth discomfort to me. But because the Series 10 balances out its size with a thinner build, I don’t mind. Again, this upgrade wouldn’t mean as much to me without the last one, but in tandem, they make the Series 10 feel like the first true generational improvement to come to a non-Ultra Apple smartwatch in a while.
But the new screen isn’t just bigger: It’s also brighter and faster. While both the Series 9 and the Series 10 can hit up to 2,000 nits of maximum brightness, Apple says the Series 10 is 40% brighter when viewed at an angle. That’s thanks to the wide-angle OLED display, and it’s definitely noticeable, especially when using the always-on display.
It’s that always-on display where the watch is faster, then. Because I usually use an SE, I haven’t been able to enjoy an always-on watch face yet, but it’s nice, since it makes the smartwatch feel a bit more like an ordinary timepiece. Unfortunately, until now, the Apple Watch has only been able to update the always-on display once a minute, but the Series 10 can now update it once a second.
That means you can finally get a ticking second hand if you have a watch face that uses it. Personally, I think it’s a little distracting and a waste of battery life, but I’ll admit that it does add a little extra verisimilitude, for those who want to pretend their smartwatch isn’t electronic.
It’s also a testament to the ways in which Apple’s tried to make the Series 10 generally more usable than previous models. That effort carries over to audio, too, but I’m afraid the watch isn’t as successful here.
You can use the speaker to play music, kind of
Finally, you can use the Apple Watch speaker to play more than call audio or the beeps and boops associated with its operating system. It’s the feature I was most excited to try out, but unfortunately, it’s also where the Series 10 disappointed me most.
When I first heard that I could now use the speaker for audio content, I imagined picking it as an audio source like any other, for any kind of content. “Great,” I thought, “I can use this in the shower.” (Yes, this Apple Watch is waterproof enough for that, which I’ll get into more later.)
Unfortunately, the Apple Watch does not show up as an audio source when connecting to your phone, so using it to play audio from a phone app is immediately out. YouTube, which is what I wanted to use it for, was a no go. Instead, you have to pick it as your speaker from within a watch app.
“Fine,” I reasoned. “I’ll listen to Spotify with it.”
Nope, I soon found out. Currently, not all watch apps can recognize the Apple Watch speaker, even if Apple says it works with third-party apps. Instead, I only found three apps that can output content to the speaker: Apple Podcasts, Apple Books, and Apple Music.
That immediately took this from a usable feature to a novelty to me, but to Apple’s credit, the speaker did work well enough in a dry environment, pushing out quality about on par with a late-2000s flip phone. Unfortunately, despite Apple encouraging me to try the watch speaker in the shower, it didn’t work as well when wet.
First, you’ll definitely need to turn the water lock on here, as that’ll keep your shower stream from registering inputs on the watch’s touchscreen. Apple says it’s supposed to turn on automatically in “water-based workouts,” but I never got my showers to trigger it. But even with that set, I couldn’t reasonably use the watch while showering. The volume was just too low to hear over the stream of water, and while the internal components won’t get damaged, water got into the speakers as soon as I ran the watch under my shower head, making the already quiet volume even more muffled. I wasn’t able to fix this for the rest of my shower, even with the water eject feature.
Maybe that’s on me for expecting too much from it, but I’m not sure where else using the speaker for content would come in handy. You don’t want to use it in public, unless you’re a monster. You probably have better options at home. Maybe if your phone is across the house and you’re feeling lazy, it would work. But right now, it’s a neat feature for highlighting in PR blogs and not much else.
What’s slightly more useful is voice isolation, which makes your voice sound a little clearer when calling with the watch. This is new on the Series 10, and when I called my partner with it, he said that he couldn’t hear a fan that was blaring next to the watch and that mic quality was generally much better than on the SE (where the same fan was “very loud,” he said.)
There’s sleep apnea detection
Another highlighted feature that might actually be useful is sleep apnea detection, although I wasn’t able to test it in time for this review. Recently approved by the FDA, the Apple Watch Series 10’s sleep apnea detection works by tracking your sleep over 30 days for breathing disturbances. The watch will then send a report to your phone with a chart that will tell you whether or not the issue is worth bringing up to your doctor, and you’ll even be able to export the report as a PDF to bring to your appointment.
Apple acknowledges that breathing disturbances can also be caused by alcohol, medications, or sleep position, so the watch uses “advanced machine learning and an extensive data set of clinical-grade sleep apnea tests” to track a consistent disturbance pattern.
Again, I haven’t had the device for a full 30 days yet, but my mom did suffer from sleep apnea as she got older. This is something I’d love to catch early, but prior to this feature coming to the Apple Watch, my only real way to track it at home would have been getting a Galaxy Watch instead.
A cheaper dive computer
Before I wrap up, I have to talk about one more thing I didn’t get to test: the addition of dive sensors to the Apple Watch Series 10. Previously, these were limited to the Apple Watch Ultra line, but now, you can get them for much less.
They’re niche, but they allow you to measure how far below water you are by up to about 20 feet. While there, you’ll also be able to see water temperature and how long you’ve been underwater. I’m not much of a swimmer, but I imagine this could be helpful for swim-based workouts. Similar specialty devices will display more information with more flexibility, but can cost over $500.
I’ll be testing this out during an upcoming trip to Greece, so sit tight for my thoughts. In the meantime, I’m at least relieved that I won’t be trying to fiddle with the speaker in the ocean like I did in the shower.
While I’m in the ocean, I’ll also be able to use the new Tides app to check when the tide is set to rise or lower. This isn’t as impressive, as it just uses pre-existing forecasts and could easily be checked on a phone or online, but it’s convenient to have on the same device as dive info.
Credit: Michelle Ehrhardt
The best Apple Watch
In all other ways, the Apple Watch Series 10 is still the same experience you’ve come to expect from an Apple Watch. You still have a square body, and aside from the dive sensors, you still have the same fitness tracking. There are no new buttons, the battery life is still rated for 18 hours in normal use (which held up during my testing), and generally, if you didn’t like the Apple Watch before, you’re not going to like it now. This is a big change, but maybe not the same complete overhaul that came with the iPhone X.
Where it does make a difference is if you’re already in the Apple Watch ecosystem. My fitness and sleep readings were as accurate as ever (the night before writing this review, my cat woke me up three times in the night, and the watch picked up every instance of it without issue), but because the watch is thinner, I’m more inclined to actually wear it to the gym or to bed. Because my microphone is clearer, I’m more inclined to actually use it for calls, and because the screen is bigger, I can more quickly navigate to the controls I need on the watch and then put it away, rather than get caught straining my eyes at my wrist on the side of the street.
It’s generally a more convenient device, which isn’t something I was willing to say about any watch but the SE until now. Finally, I get to experience all the upgrades that come with having an up-to-date Apple Watch, but without any compromises to form factor. With a starting price of $399, it’s definitely more expensive than the budget model I’ve gotten used to, but it’s the first to actually tempt me to upgrade.
Is it the best smartwatch? Maybe not. But I’m not invested enough in a wrist-mounted computer to want to leave the smartwatch ecosystem I’m already accustomed to. And as far as Apple’s concerned, while the Ultra is there for premium users, it’s a bit heavy and a bit expensive. For most people, I’m willing to say that the Apple Watch Series 10 is the best Apple smartwatch you can get right now.
