The Apple Watch Series 10 with bigger displays, better off-angle viewing, and a thinner design, there are a lot of improvements to usability. watchOS 11 delivers a solid set of features, while the sleep apnea detection notification holds a lot a promise. It’s a shame about the Blood Oxygen app, though. In this full Apple Watch 10 review, we’ll go over everything you need to know, and whether this smartwatch is a buy or skip.
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00:00It's a little wild to me that there's been 10 years of Apple Watch.
00:06I remember the first one being like the first piece of tech that I truly bought for myself
00:12as I was leaving for my freshman year of college.
00:14Fast forward and I have here the $399 Apple Watch Series 10 to test out and use and take
00:22you through the biggest reasons to buy and yes, a couple of reasons to skip.
00:27So here's the big story.
00:29The Apple Watch Series 10 has been redesigned, although if you ask pretty much anyone, they'll
00:33say it looks totally the same and that is so fair, but you got to know what you're looking
00:38for.
00:39It weighs less and is thinner while the screens are bigger and the wide angle OLED display,
00:44a first for any Apple device, is meant to make the Apple Watch 10 easier to view off
00:48angle.
00:49Thanks to the latest LTPO spec, the always on display now refreshes once per second versus
00:54once per minute.
00:55From a health perspective, in addition to all the more familiar fitness tracking features,
01:00the Apple Watch Series 10 is set to offer sleep apnea detection, faster charging, and
01:05the ability to play music directly through the speaker are nice, albeit minor additional
01:09upgrades.
01:10So now that we have that overview, let's dig a little bit deeper into the pros and cons.
01:16First I want to get some things clear about the redesign.
01:18I'm going to compare relative to last year's Series 9.
01:22So looking at both the rose gold Series 10 and the pink Series 9, you can see pretty
01:26clearly that the Series 10 is thinner.
01:29It's specifically 9.7 millimeters, which is 10% less thick.
01:34It's also more lightweight for the aluminum version, 1.1 ounces versus one ounce when
01:39I did the spec conversion.
01:40But more importantly, I actually feel the difference in my hands and on my wrist.
01:45I feel like it's sitting more flush and it's not getting caught here on my jacket.
01:50It's been super comfortable to wear overnight and also for yoga where I bend my wrist a
01:54lot.
01:55And honestly, it has this barely there feeling.
01:57If you've been holding out on Apple Watch because you were worried about the bulk, I
02:01truly think that you won't be disappointed by the design here.
02:06Now let's talk about the display.
02:07Another big selling point, literally, because the displays are bigger.
02:12Sizes for the Apple Watch have changed from 41 and 45 millimeters to 42 and 46.
02:17I have the 42 and it has up to a 9% larger screen than before.
02:22Again, you got to look close here, but on apps like News and Maps, I think it's pretty
02:27evident that you can see more information.
02:30Another really good demonstration is with the keyboard.
02:32It's subtle, sure, but we're talking about such a little tiny wrist computer that any
02:36little bit of space counts.
02:38For the most space, the 46 millimeter size is the way to go.
02:41And I can in fact confirm that there is 3% more usable screen on the 46 Series 10 than
02:47on the Ultra 2.
02:49If I had both, I would show you.
02:50That's just what I've been able to learn as part of the reviews process.
02:54And hopefully we'll be getting the 46 in eventually and I will be able to make that comparison.
02:59Another quick thing about the display, it has the latest LTPO spec, which from an efficiency
03:03standpoint lets the always-on display refresh once per second versus once per minute.
03:09That's demonstrated really nicely from the new Flux watch face, though it's definitely
03:13most useful for things like timers or the workout time elapsed.
03:17The Series 10 also has Apple's first wide-angle OLED screen.
03:22And as I understand it, the pixels are engineered to emit light this way rather than traditional
03:27OLED this way.
03:29And this results in brighter off-angle viewing.
03:32I can see the benefit next to the Series 9, and especially thinking in the context of
03:36sports like biking or golf, it's actually a good improvement.
03:40Is it one that I think a lot of people would care about if they didn't know the difference?
03:44Maybe not.
03:45If anything, it's definitely a bit lower on the list of updates and priorities.
03:50Same could be said for the ability to play music out loud from the speaker now.
03:54Again, more niche, and I'm not sure if it's something that people were ever actually asking
03:58for, but I kind of like it for some background music on my bike rides.
04:02Higher up on the priority list would definitely be features and the overall software experience.
04:07Apple Watch Series 10 ships with WatchOS 11.
04:10I linked my guide to all the features down in the description, but some of my favorites
04:14are live activities in the SmartStack, the new Vitals app, the new Photos watch face,
04:19and finally, finally, the ability to pause your activity rings for a rest day without
04:25awards penalty.
04:26Exclusive to Series 10 via WatchOS 11 is a depth gauge and depth app carried over from
04:32the Apple Watch Ultra, but besides that, everything in WatchOS 11 is available to Apple
04:37Watch Series 6 and newer, so reminder to check if your watch is eligible for a software update
04:43so that you can start using some of the new features.
04:46I guess I should ask if you've already downloaded WatchOS 11.
04:49I'm definitely curious to know what your favorite feature is so far, so let me know in the comments
04:54below.
04:55There is one feature you won't be able to use at the time I'm filming this, and that
04:58is sleep apnea detection.
05:01Okay, we're switching to the at-home vlog cam because I've just gotten word that Apple
05:06has received clearance for sleep apnea detection on the Apple Watch Series 10, and it'll also
05:12be available for Apple Watch Ultra 2 and last year's Apple Watch Series 9.
05:16Now just given the constraints leading up to the review embargo, I don't have the time
05:20to actually test it out myself.
05:23That said, I did recently test out the Galaxy Watch 7 and the Galaxy Watch Ultra.
05:27So check that video.
05:29And upon testing the sleep apnea detection feature on those watches, it was concluded
05:34that I don't have sleep apnea, which is something I kind of already knew because I'm one of
05:39those annoying people who sleeps pretty soundly throughout the night.
05:42That said, this is a feature I obviously want to put through the paces on the Apple Watch
05:45Series 10, so stay tuned for more in-depth testing on sleep apnea detection.
05:51So once sleep apnea detection is enabled, after wearing the Apple Watch for at least
05:5610 nights in one month, you'll be able to receive an alert of whether possible sleep
06:01apnea is detected based on nightly breathing disturbances.
06:05What's probably the best about a feature like this is that you can share a PDF very easily
06:10of your breathing disturbances with doctors from the health app.
06:14I know that this is something that people have really been looking forward to.
06:18Sleep apnea is one of the most underdiagnosed health conditions out there, and just knowing
06:23that you could have the first step to getting treatment is huge.
06:27This takes me to probably my biggest disappointment with the Apple Watch Series 10, and that is
06:33that the blood oxygen app is disabled as Apple is still wrapped up in a patent lawsuit with
06:39health tech company Massimo.
06:41An import ban rolled on by the US International Trade Commission said that Apple needs to
06:46ditch the SpO2 sensor in order to keep selling watches, so that's what they did.
06:51With all of the redesign work that clearly went into the Series 10, it's just too bad
06:55that the pulse oximetry tech couldn't be reworked in a way that avoids the patent violation.
07:00I hope we'll get an update on this soon, but for now, it is a bit of a rain cloud on the
07:06Apple Watch Series 10 launch party.
07:08Now I just know some people will definitely be saying the same about the fact that the
07:12Apple Watch Series 10 has the same 18-hour battery life of every Apple Watch before it,
07:18so I wish 10 years later the flagship Apple Watch could last more than one day on a charge.
07:24Come on, we know what we're getting at this point.
07:26I personally default to the Apple Watch Ultra almost exclusively because of the longer battery
07:32life.
07:33Luckily, there are a lot more portable Apple Watch charging solutions available these days,
07:38and Apple did offer us a consolation, faster charging.
07:43With a bigger and more efficient charging coil inside, the Apple Watch Series 10 can
07:47charge 80% in just 30 minutes.
07:49The estimate for previous watches was 80% in 45 minutes.
07:54Of course, I'm also a fan of the low-power mode for extending the battery life by disabling
07:58the always-on display and some other battery-draining features.
08:03So should you get the Apple Watch Series 10 based on everything we discussed?
08:07I think the redesign makes a difference.
08:09The watch is more comfortable, you can see more of the screen, you can see the screen
08:14better off-angle, and I mean just look at this rose gold color, you guys.
08:19Other options for this year include silver and a polished jet black color.
08:22I don't have those yet, unfortunately, but I just thought they're worth mentioning.
08:26But also, the optimized watchOS 11 experience and faster charging are certainly worthwhile,
08:32and this is the Apple Watch to get for most people.
08:35I can very easily make justifications for the value of the Apple Watch SE2 and the premium
08:39benefits of the Apple Watch Ultra 2 on the other end of the spectrum, especially in that
08:43new satin black color.
08:45But overall, this is a very sweet spot for a flagship.
08:49As for me, 10 years later, I'm really impressed by how far the Apple Watch has come.
08:53I truly mean that.
08:54The number of sports it can track, the sleep data, the safety features, the accessibility
08:58features, the personalization.
09:00I don't think that there's a more well-rounded smartwatch experience anywhere else.
09:05But what do you think?
09:06Let me know in the comments.
09:08I've linked the Apple Watch Series 10 below if you happen to be interested in buying.
09:13Otherwise, you can see my unboxing over on our socials at Tom's Guide.
09:17Thanks for watching, and I'll catch you next time.