Apple Watch Series 10 review: Faster charging, redesign, and watchOS 11 make it worth buying

Apple's substantial watchOS 11 update combined with hardware changes in the Apple Watch Series 10 have quite literally polished what continues to be the best smart watch on the market.

Ten years after introducing the Apple Watch, it has come a long way. Apple has a much clearer focus of what it wants the wrist-worn computer to be, and has for some time.

Apple Watch Series 10 review: Redesign & display

With this iteration, Apple helped its wearable shed some weight. White it still is unmistakably an Apple Watch, it's much more svelte.

Compared to previous models, it's quite a bit thinner and it's even more notable since the screen has expanded as well. Apple says it is 10% thinner than the Series 9.

On the wrist, it makes a big difference. It just sits closer to your skin and doesn't stick out nearly as much.

The whole thing is more comfortable. This is probably the first time with a new Apple Watch that there was a noticeable improvement in comfort.

The screen sizes are now 42mm for the smaller model and 46mm for the larger model. We're mostly looking at the 46mm model here.

We've seen concern that the sizes would be too big, but we haven't found that to be the case. It's a good size that reduces bezels and makes it feel like it's all screen.

When passing the new watch around to friends and family, the two most repeated comments were "oh, I love that screen" and "wow, it's really thin!" Anecdotes are not data, so take that for what it's worth.

There's no change for the display brightness, going to 2,000 nits in full sun and as low as 1 nit when it's dark. We didn't have an issue with the display specs, so this was fine.

Apple does have a new lower refresh rate though. It can drop down to as low as 1Hz, allowing you now to see the second hand on select faces when in its inactive state.

Plus, there's improved visibility when looking at it from the side. We were surprised at how much this helped.

When typing on a keyboard, driving, or working out, your wrist is often almost perpendicular to your line of sight. This new wide-angle visibility allows us to see our watch face without having to lift our wrist.

This has some potential privacy issues, so if this is a benefit or a disadvantage is mostly left as an exercise for the reader to determine.

It's still a small change though, as Apple continues to refine the display. Not something worth upgrading for, but is appreciated when you know it's there.

If you're looking for a number, it's reportedly 40% brighter. When it was so dim, 40% isn't a huge bump but it helps.

Other components changed too in Apple's search to make things thinner. The Digital Crown saw a bit of a redesign, for example.

It's slightly smaller and the etched lines only go part way across. Best of all -- there's no longer a red ring on the cellular versions.

With the watch being thinner, Apple had to make the back of the device metal, ditching the old glass back. The metal wraps around until it gets to the circular sensor array in the center.

By the way, that sensor array is unchanged from before. Which means it has the usual heart rate, temperature, gyroscopes for fall and crash detection, and GPS from before.

There's no SPO2 measurements here in the US though until Apple resolves it patent dispute, but the sensors are all there. That needs to get done because it's not OK to still lack that feature here.

Finally, the speaker has been adjusted. Instead of a slit on the side, it's now a series of micro perforations that look more like a typical speaker grille.

Apple had to make the component smaller, but they sound decent too. Which is good, because they can now be used as actual speakers.

You can play media back on your Apple Watch without routing the audio through your phone, headphones, or an external speaker. We tested out Apple Music and some podcasts without issue.

The volume was decent and it was a good solution for when you want some audio companionship without any other devices. Just don't expect it to be super loud or amazing quality.

Apple Watch Series 10 review: S10 doesn't move the needle

Powering Apple's newest wearable is the S10 processor, which give the impression of a notable year-over-year upgrade. That's misleading though as the new SiP appears to pack the same punch as the S9.

Apple doesn't mention any increase in performance here, keeping it in line with the last-gen chipset. There must be some change though to warrant the incremental denotation.

There's no Apple Intelligence on Apple Watch, other than perhaps notification summaries. The CPU isn't any more powerful and it lacks any changes to the Wi-Fi or Bluetooth speeds.

Realistically here, there may be minor tweaks to that four-core neural engine and a new display driver for that low refresh rate. Otherwise, it's the same.

Apple Watch Series 10 review: Case colors & materials

For Apple Watch Series 10, Apple has given users two material choices -- aluminum and titanium. The latter replaces stainless steel in the lineup.

Aluminum is the more affordable of the two and is the one the vast majority of users will choose. It comes in rose gold, silver, and Jet Black.

Rose gold and silver are a matte, anodized finish while the Jet Black is polished to a high shine.

Predicting Apple's color choices is tough. Some years they find it fit to give us various shades of grey, then we get multiple colors ones in green, blue, and red.

This year, Apple has gone back to its vintage lineup and borrowed the Jet Black that matches what we saw on the iPhone 7. It looks great in person, even if a little tough to photograph.

It's so reflective, it matches the room it's in but it's a dark black at the same time. The biggest worry is how it will hold up over time.

Since it's so glossy and aluminum isn't all that strong, it's possible that this finish may start to show surface scratches with use. In our couple weeks, haven't spotted much, but maybe one or two light marks.

Our personal favorite since the launch of Apple Watch has been the stainless steel. This reviewer has opted for the stainless model every time.

Ahead of launch, rumors swirled that stainless steel had been axed. Fortunately, while that's the case, the titanium is a more than suitable replacement.

The titanium doesn't have a matte finish like previous models or the Apple Watch Ultra 2. It's a glossy, polished finish that looks very similar to stainless steel.

It comes in slate, gold, and natural titanium hues. Technically speaking, there is a pure silver titanium, but it's exclusive to the Hermes version.

What's funny is that the silver, natural, and slate don't look dissimilar from one another. We had the sliver and natural in our studio and you couldn't tell them apart until you held them next to each other.

The natural is slightly darker than the silver and slate is slightly darker than that. The slate isn't nearly as dark as the Jet Black aluminum.

If pressed to pick a favorite of all the new finishes, we'd settle on the silver or natural titanium. There may not be as much color this year, but there are some good choices.

Apple Watch Series 10 review: New band options

To pair with the new finishes, Apple has updated its band lineup too. This includes some rare changes to its metal bands, making us think the we may see these finishes stick around.

The classic Milanese loop is still stainless steel but is color-matched to the natural, gold, and slate titanium. The same can be said for Apple's impeccable steel link bands.

There's a new titanium Milanese loop, but Apple only allows these to be bundled with the Ultra 2. It's rather frustrating as technically fit the Apple Watch Series 10, and older large-sized models.

The only reason why is that the lugs aren't polished and they don't come in gold. When you pair them with the titanium Apple Watch Series 10, it may not be a perfect match.

Needless to say, but all of Apple's other bands got seasonal refreshes too. You'll see new colors on the Solo Loop, Nike Sport Band, Braided Solo Loop, Sport Band, and more.

Apple Watch Series 10 review: Software changes abound

Compared to, say five years ago, current hardware is incredibly capable. A lot of the work is done via software and doesn't necessarily require new hardware to enable.

Apple could have easily locked many of its new software feature behind the paywall of a new model, but instead, much of what's new is available on older models. It makes it harder to justify buying a new watch.

At the same time, it's an incredible gift to existing Apple Watch owners who don't have to upgrade. It shows Apple is standing by its pledge to keep its products running as long as possible.

Apple could easily have kept some new features exclusive to the Series 10 to help boost sales, but we're thrilled that that isn't the case.

Some features were announced as part of watchOS 11 like the Vitals app while others, like sleep apnea detection and the Tides app, weren't announced until the Series 10 unveiling.

Despite that, both of those aforementioned features are available on Apple Watch Series 9.

This is undeniably a good thing, and we don't think it's going to hurt Apple either. Most Apple Watch owners aren't upgrading every year, so anyone still rocking a Series 7 or maybe even a Series 8, will see value in the Series 10.

With watchOS 11, Double Tap is more useful, appearing in third party apps. You can look at your wrist, Double Tap to address a notification or take a quick action from within in app.

We're still waiting for more devs to add this, but when we went back to our Series 8 for half a day, we were surprised at how much we missed having Double Tap.

One of the uses is to cycle through the Smart Stack, which too has improved. Smart Stack now can contain Live Activities and this has been one of the best upgrades to Apple Watch in years.

It's now possible to see sports scores, your Uber pickup, or flight information there. You don't have to dig out your phone. Smart Stack has started to live up to that name.

The final new addition we wanted to hit briefly was the Vitals app. While your Apple Watch was collecting a lot of overnight information, there wasn't a great way to view it.

You could basically dig through the Health app for the individual values. Vitals, collects this info and presents it in an easily digestible way in a single spot.

Plus, it shows intelligently in the Smart Stack each morning for you to see. When we were ill, we saw it coming on because the Vitals app noted a few of our metrics were outside our normal range.

Apple Watch Series 10 review: Sleep apnea detection

There were many areas of health Apple could have explored with this new model. We'd heard rumors we may see monitoring of blood pressure or even stress.

Neither of those materialized -- at least not yet. We did get one new addition though, which is sleep apnea detection.

This is yet another reason it's beneficial to wear your Apple Watch while you sleep. It builds on the existing sleep tracking to monitor your vitals for breathing disturbances throughout the night.

We don't have sleep apnea -- don't worry, we've been tested -- so Apple Watch didn't send up any flags for us during our review. If it does detect anything abnormal, you'll get an alert from the Health app.

It will include the data from the night as well as a report that you're able to share with your doctor. You can work with your doctor after that to look at possible treatments if necessary.

Apple Watch Series 10 review: New perks for water activities

Another area of focus with the Apple Watch Series 10 is water activities. Apple stopped shy of adding true diving capabilities -- it's keeping that exclusive to the Apple Watch Ultra.

What it got instead is a new water temperature sensor and the Depth app. It can automatically launch as your watch is submerged, showing how deep you are as well as how warm, or cold, the water is.

It's very handy for swimming in the pool, snorkeling, or even checking your toddlers bath water. It's limited to only 15 meters, but for the major

Then there is the Tides app. You can choose the location from the supported list, based on location, which is saved to your list of favorites.

When you view a location, it shows an animated waveform on the screen, letting you know if the tide is rising or falling. It also shows this in relation to the sun and how high they are.

Apple Watch Series 10 review: Battery life and charging

Coming from an Apple Watch Ultra, our biggest concern on the Apple Watch Series 10 was battery life. Apple still only promised a "full day" out of the battery.

Our original concerns were well founded as our model was barely making it through the day. We'd be at 60% battery by lunch.

Even overnight, we'd go to sleep with 30% battery and our watch would be dead by the AM. This was terrible and unacceptable.

Apple released watchOS 11.0.1 that notably fixes a battery drain issue plaguing the Apple Watch Series 10. Since then, which admittedly hasn't been long, our battery life seems much more in line with Apple's promise.

We were now only dropping about 25% in six hours. This is much more reasonable and easily allowed us to make it through the day.

It also helps that Apple has new faster charging with the Series 10. It can get an 80% charge in 30 minutes which is 15 minutes faster than the Series 9.

Even better, no new hardware is required. Any fast charge-compatible Apple Watch puck will deliver this faster charging on the Series 10.

Apple Watch Series 10 review: Incremental annual updates are fine, but you don't need to buy every year

With the Apple Watch line as a whole, Apple has done some great work. The design is improved, the display is better than ever, watchOS is getting more powerful, and health features are more useful.

Using the Apple Watch Series 10 we have very few complaints. It's simply wonderful.

But there's still work that largely needs done that we'll probably see over the coming years. Apple Intelligence will continue to be a topic of conversation, there are new features to add, and battery life still is barely passable.

Not only is this Apple Watch good, the design changes have been enough to woo us away from the Apple Watch Ultra. It's clearly not tempting enough for Apple Watch Series 9 owners, and still a tough choice for Series 8 owners, but it's the most compelling package to date for everyone else.

Apple Watch Series 10 review: Pros

• New titanium finish looks great
• Larger screen looks more modern and inclusive
• Faster charging helps offset battery life
• Jet black aluminum will appeal to many
• watchOS 11 is a big upgrade
• Speaker playback comes in very handy
• Oceanic+, water temperature, Tides app, and Depth app are great for water activities

Apple Watch Series 10 review: Cons

• Battery still doesn't last more than a day
• No Apple Intelligence features -- yet
• SPO2 dispute still isn't resolved

Apple Watch Series 10 Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Where to buy the Apple Watch Series 10

The Series 10 is on sale now, with the lowest prices available across popular Apple resellers in our Apple Watch Series 10 Price Guide.

At press time, Amazon is offering discounts on the aluminum models, while Adorama is delivering $50 off select styles with a titanium case with exclusive promo code APINSIDER.

You can also find a roundup of the best Apple Watch deals that are curated by our team across the wearable line, including blowout offers on remaining Series 9 inventory.