The New Apple Watch Is Slimmer—and Does Even More Than Before

TEN YEARS AGO , Apple announced its first smartwatch. A decade later to the day, the company debuted the Apple Watch Series 10 , the latest iteration of the wearable line. In the time between, what users expect from their wrist-worn wearables has radically shifted.

We've moved from glorified pedometers with black and grey screens and basic smartphone connectivity to full-on health tech devices with color displays that allow wearers to make payments, listen to music, and even take calls from their wrists. Apple isn't the only company leading the wearable charge, but it does own 58 percent of the smartwatch market in the US, according to Statista .

I've used every Apple Watch since the Series 3—and reviewed every iteration for MH since the Series 4 in 2018 , to really age myself—so I was intrigued to see the direction the tenth edition of the line would take. At launch, the Series 10 was touted as the smartest, thinnest, and best-looking (in terms of the face's display, at least) Apple Watch yet. I wore one for about a week to see if this milestone release is a worthy upgrade from the models that came before it, or if it's just an iterative update.

What's New With the Apple Watch Series 10

The Series 10 comes in two sizes, 42 mm and 46 mm, and two materials, aluminum and titanium (the latter replaces stainless steel as the elevated option for the standard Watch line). I spent most of my testing period wearing a 46 mm titanium unit in the "Natural" finish, which on the wrist looks like polished, high-quality metal—especially when it's paired with the new Milanese Loop band. I've worn Apple Watches for nearly a decade, but this material and band combo was the first time I've ever really felt like the device on my wrist could pass as a nice piece of jewelry rather than a gadget.

Apple shrunk down the Series 10's profile to the thinnest edition of the wearable yet, at 9.7 mm. I've been wearing much larger watches lately—the huge Garmin Epix Pro (14.6 mm) and Apple's own Ultra 2 (14.4 mm)—so this was a major shift for me. I prefer the feel of a substantial watch on my wrist , so there were moments during my testing when I had to double check the Series 10 was still there. The slimmer profile was easier to sleep in and wear in the gym than those maximalist gadgets, so there were aspects of the tradeoff I appreciated.

The Series 10 manages to pack in a whole lot of screen space within that thin housing—even more than the heftier Ultra 2, Apple says. This difference can be hard to gauge when comparing the devices side by side, but that's in part due to the sheer bulk of the Ultra 2's 49 mm casing compared to the Series 10's 46 mm housing. The extra area is more obvious when you sneak a peek at your wrist from an off angle. When I made the little maneuvers watch wearers have used since the dawn of kept time to surreptitiously check the clock, I was able to see more of the screen with less movement. The Series 10 has a new display, called wide-angle OLED, that Apple claims is 40 percent brighter when viewed at an angle. I can't quantify exactly how much that improves over other watches, but I did immediately notice how much easier it is to read the info on my watch face when I glanced at it like that. It might seem like an inconsequential detail, but those small moments add up.

The Watch speakers have also been improved for phone calls and even audio playback so you can listen to music or podcasts sans headphones. I cued up Julien Baker's "Rejoice" on Spotify to give this a try. The sound wasn't as good as on a purpose-built device, but it was less tinny than I expected. I could make out the quiet vocals and guitar strums of the song, then its louder, belting chorus didn't blow out the speakers. I'm not going to make wrist-level jam sessions a habit, but it's a nice option to have (and will be more valuable for calls, but I didn't enable cellular on my test unit).

One feature that didn't change with the new device is the battery life. The Series 10 is rated for 18 hours, the same as the previous generation. This is still my major pain point for the standard Apple Watch line; other smartwatches have battery ratings that span days or sometimes weeks ( so went the dig from competitors when the Ultra originally launched ). The thinner profile is great, but I personally would retain a millimeter or two for a few extra hours (preferably more) of battery performance. That said, the Series 10 charges faster than its predecessors (up to 80 percent from zero in 30 minutes, according to Apple), and I consistently got more juice than the 18-hour estimate even when I was tracking workouts with GPS enabled. The battery isn’t as strong as the Ultra, but it did consistently keep chugging beyond the 24-hour line.

There are also major new updates to the wearable's software, watchOS 11. There are some smaller features, like the redesigned Smart Stack (navigable, customizable info served to you on your Watch face) and Photos face, along with the introduction of the Translate app for wrist-based conversations. The big new capabilities are all about health and fitness, including Training Load and a new method to help detect sleep apnea make the Series 10 (and the other smartwatches that can run the OS) even more useful as a health device. I'll get into greater detail about using those features shortly.

Using the Apple Watch Series 10 for Workouts (and More)

I was especially curious to test the Series 10 in the gym and on the roads on runs. I logged a strength training workout, which put my wrist into extension doing pushups and presses. Even with the smaller profile than the Ultra I’ve grown so used to over the past two years, I felt the dial digging into my hand. This isn’t just an Apple Watch problem, to be clear; my solution is fairly simple, sliding the case from the top of my wrist to the inner forearm. I also swapped out the metal band for one of the silicone Solo bands and felt more comfortable than when I sport larger wearables for a lift.

I’m also at the tail end of a marathon training split, so I took several runs with the Series 10, including my final long session before the race in Berlin. I’ve typically opted for smartwatches with bigger batteries for these types of workouts since the introduction of the Ultra, so I was keen to how the Series 10 would handle such a long route. I took the test unit off the charger with 91 percent battery before heading out, then kept an eye on my watch to track my mileage, pace, and rolling pace, which was easier to gather in a glance with the new display. I was thankful for that, because the 16 mile run flat out sucked.

By the time I was finished with the workout (2 hours and 40 minutes total elapsed time), spent about an hour relaxing at the beach that was my endpoint, and another hour or so train and bus commute back to my apartment, my battery was at 52 percent. I slept a night wearing the Watch before I had to charge it again the following day. It's no Ultra—and certainly not comparable to battery-first wearables—but that's some improvement from the Series 10's predecessors.

The fitness feature I'm most interested in this year is Training Load, which is new with watchOS 11. The measure aims to give wearers some additional insights into their ability to take on workouts based on impact of physical activity on their body. Basically, the tool uses accumulated biometric data (heart rate, respiratory rate, sleep duration) and user input to establish a baseline, then provides a daily rating on the scale of "Well Below" to "Well Above" to gauge how much exertion you might be able to handle that day compared to your standard capacity so you can make better decisions about your workouts within the larger context of your exercise program. To use the feature, users need to enable it through the Fitness app on their phones and track their sleep for about a month to establish the baseline (I ran the public watchOS 11 beta ahead of the trial period to do so).

Cardio workouts like running, cycling, and rowing are given automatic effort ratings (from 1: Easy to 10: All Out), but users are prompted to manually adjust those scores (and can opt into prompts to rate other types of workouts like strength training) based on their level of perceived effort. The idea is to bridge the gap between the data collected via the device and the wearer's real-time feeling, since external factors like mood can play a huge role in how a training session actually goes. I've enjoyed using the feature, but with only a few days of data available, I haven't been able to glean many useful insights.

This isn't a new concept, and it's not the first time something like it is showing up on a wearable. Similar tools already exist on Garmin and Fitbit devices, while the Oura ring and Whoop strap are built around these daily activity recommendations. But this is the Apple Watch, and it's used by more than the health and fitness-focused people who wear those aforementioned performance-driven devices. Training Load is a great feature for an athlete, but might be tough for general users to understand and use properly.

To help bring the metric to the general audience, Apple is making Training Load an opt-in feature and providing less proscriptive feedback, avoiding binary language about whether users should or shouldn't work out for any given day. To compare to similar measures, Apple's Training Load tells me I'm at a Steady level, +19% compared to my baseline. That's it; there's no additional guidance. My Oura ring's Readiness feature gives me a score of 69 and tells me to "Go easy," while Whoop's Strain score provides an optimal range of exertion I should aim for (a 9.4 on its scale) and recommends that I aim for a light workout and a nap. I can see why Apple wants to keep its users from becoming over-fixated on training data and providing actionable plans to general wearers (watchOS 11 also allows users to pause Activity ring tracking for rest days or injury so streaks aren't affected when you need to rest), but as a more dedicated exerciser, I wouldn't mind a bit more feedback.

The other major health feature with watchOS 11 is a new sleep apnea notification (which just received FDA clearance ). This is uses the device's accelerometer to detect disturbances during sleep, which can help to ID signs of the condition which is estimated to go untreated in up to 80 percent of cases . Importantly, Apple does not claim that the tool serves as a diagnosis; instead, it can be used to provide data to a patient's doctor and identify the problem.

Onboarding for the sleep apnea feature was incredibly simple. I opened the Health app, tapped through the Respiratory category, and answered two simple questions (that I'm over 18, and I haven’t been previously diagnosed with sleep apnea).

I didn't receive any notifications about disruptions during my brief testing, but I appreciate the feature is there to give me more feedback on my sleep, even if I don't have the condition. We can all do to sleep better , after all.

Should You Get the New Apple Watch Series 10?

Earlier this year, I tested out a few smartwatches from other brands. I enjoyed their more overtly fitness-oriented features and especially their long-lasting batteries—but I kept wanting to go back to the Apple Watch. It just works better with my iPhone, and I had completely underestimated how ingrained the practice of sticking out my wrist to pay for everything from groceries to my daily commute has become in my routine. If you're like me and you use an iPhone, an Apple Watch is going to be the best overall choice for you. That's been the case for most of the last decade, and it continues to be the case today.

There are choices to make within Apple's line. The Series 10 works well, and I enjoyed my testing period more than I expected. The device is comfortable to wear with its slim profile, and it looks even nicer if you opt for the fancier titanium finish. (Here's where I should also mention that the Ultra 2 didn't receive an update this cycle, but Apple did roll out a new satin black titanium finish . This looks sharp, but there's no functional difference between it and the model that's been available since last year .)

I've been more drawn to the Ultra line since its release in 2022 as my everyday wear of choice. My time testing the Series 10 hasn't completely knocked the Ultra from my wrist—its battery, fitness-specific features, and rugged profile are just extremely my thing—but I do see myself switching between the devices more often in the future.

If you're buying a new device, however, you're much more likely to need to make one single pick. The Series 10 has closed the gap with its Ultra sibling in display size, and for those who have smaller wrists or prefer less weighty watches, that new thin profile in addition to the screen is a big deal. The Series 10 is more affordable, too, starting at $399 compared to $799. Unless you're seeking outdoor adventures, the Series 10 is an excellent all-around smartwatch and the best pick for you.