Since its introduction ten years ago, the Apple Watch has been the hands-down leader in smartwatches. It works seamlessly with the Apple iPhone, with a mixture of useful and entertaining health metrics.
After ten years, there is only so much new stuff left to shove into a watch this small without going the way of some other phone makers and adding wildly inaccurate “health” sensors. As opposed to the merely somewhat inaccurate sensors found in smartwatches, that is, because the laws of physics can only be bent so far.
So, with many of the improvements software-based and thus coming to all compatible Apple Watches, Apple has done what so many dressmakers do when out of big new ideas: make it smaller and in black. Also slightly more waterproof, which I guess makes this more of a mascara than a dress.
Shockingly, this ever-so-slightly larger screen and thinner body makes a huge difference to how the watch feels and looks. While most people would perhaps have preferred some more battery life, this new thinner body will make it go with more outfits and feel more comfortable on more people.
The addition of a 6m depth gauge will also mean that amateur snorkelers will be able to get the regular Apple Watch, rather than springing for the more premium Apple Watch Ultra 2.
Apple Watch Series 10 review
First impressions
My first impression is that the Apple Watch Series 10 is quite similar to the Series 9. It’s still as sleek and easy to set up. But the new jet black is just stunning. It is quite black. Interestingly, the band it comes with is more navy than black, despite being called “Ink”.
Spec-wise the Series 10 is very similar to the last year’s Apple Watch. The biggest differences are the physical size of the watch and the screen. It’s somewhere between 2-10g lighter (depending on the model), it’s 1mm thinner and the LTPO3 OLED screen has a wider field of view.
On paper, that doesn’t sound like much, but the size and weight make a difference. The wider viewing angle doesn’t make much difference to the wearer, because you probably turn your wrist to look at your watch like a normal person, though it will make the watch look nicer to those around you. Still, it’s nice, I guess.
However, most people who buy the Watch 10 won’t be coming from the Watch 9 (what would be the point?). This is for people on the Watch 5 or older who won’t be getting WatchOS 11. From there, the differences are far more stark. The screen size is a massive upgrade, and the brightness is doubled. It’s also got the Blood Oxygen app, which older Apple Watches (and American models, due to a patent dispute) don’t have. The newer Watch 10 also has ovulation estimates, though in my experience those estimates were not accurate (when compared with data from my IVF clinic).
The upgrade to fast charging and being able to get 36 hours in low power mode will also be game changers for users coming from those older devices.
Not having a multi-day battery in standard use remains disappointing. Other brands manage to pull it off, and the Ultra 2 has a 36-hour battery. With the fast charge, it’s not a deal breaker, but it does feel like a weird oversight in 2024.
Generally, my first impression is that the Apple Watch Series 10 is solid and still easy to use.
Apple Watch Series 10 specs and price in Australia
| Size and weight | 46mm model: 46mm x 39mm x 9.7mm 36.4g (aluminium, GPS) 35.3g (aluminium, GPS + Cellular) 41.7g (titanium) 42mm model: 42mm x 36mm x 9.7mm 30g (aluminium, GPS) 29.3 (aluminium, GPS + Cellular) 34.4g (titanium) |
| Chip | S10 SiP with 64‑bit dual-core processor 4‑core Neural Engine 64GB capacity |
| Sensors | Electrical heart sensor Third‑generation optical heart sensor Blood oxygen sensor Temperature sensor Compass Always‑on altimeter High‑g accelerometer High-dynamic-range gyroscope Ambient light sensor Depth gauge Water temperature sensor |
| Display | Always‑On Retina LTPO3 display Wide‑angle OLED Edge‑to‑edge display Ion‑X front glass (aluminium cases) Sapphire front crystal (titanium cases) Up to 2,000 nits maximum brightness 1-nit minimum brightness 326 pixels per inch |
| Battery | Up to 18 hours of normal use Up to 36 hours in Low Power Mode Up to 80% charge in about 30 minutes 15 minutes for up to 8 hours of normal use |
| Weather resistance | Water resistance to 50m Dust resistance IP6X |
| Connectivity | L1 GPS GNSS, Galileo and BeiDou 4G LTE and UMTS Wi-Fi 4 (802.11n) Bluetooth 5.3 Second-generation Ultra Wideband chip Apple Pay GymKit |
| Safety features | Emergency SOS International emergency calling Crash Detection Fall Detection Noise monitoring Backtrack |
| Price (RRP) | Aluminium: from $649 Titanium: from $1,199 |
| Warranty | One year |
| Official website | Apple Australia |
Apple Watch Series 10 comfort and design
Wearables only work and help if you wear them, and you won’t wear them unless they’re comfortable. The good news is that having the watch be a bit thinner means that it’s also a lot more comfortable.
Personally, I don’t mind a chunky watch (my daily wearable is an Apple Watch Ultra 2), but they can take a lot of getting used to and it’s easy to knock them on things. Having the thinner watch makes it easier to slip under a cycling jersey, and is less likely to get caught on clothes in general. Being a bit lighter also makes a difference.
Beyond that, all the comfort lies in the watch bands you choose, and there is something to suit just about everyone there.
Apple Watch Series 10 features
Health
The built-in health features haven’t changed since the Watch 9, which was very similar to the Watch 8. There are some operating system changes, though (which are coming to the Watch 6 and newer). The biggest change is the new Vitals app and Training Load metric.
Vitals lets you know if any of your overnight vitals are out of the typical range, so you can take your concerns to your doctor. It’s not foolproof, but there are plenty of stories of people whose lives were saved because their Apple Watch gave them valuable, actionable information about their heart.
When I say it’s not foolproof, I mean that it’s reasonably accurate, but in a way that’s in the ballpark rather than something you’d rely on 100% as a medical device. It gives you information you should take to your doctor to confirm, but something concerning doesn’t always mean you have something wrong, and nothing showing up on your watch doesn’t necessarily mean you’re fine.
I recently did a sleep study while wearing my Apple Watch Ultra 2 running WatchOS 11, and I was impressed by how close the metrics were. The Watch missed a few wake-ups, gave me a little more REM sleep than reality, and had my heart rate more steady than it was. But it was in the ballpark much closer than I expected. The Apple Watch results gave a decent enough overview that it’s a good jumping-off point.
In the US, users will get information about Sleep Apnoea, but the TGA still hasn’t approved that feature in Australia.
Another new health feature, related to Vitals, is Training Load. This isn’t a new feature for smartwatches, but it is new for Apple. On other smartwatches, the Training Load data is used to tell you when you should ramp up your training, or tell you when it’s time for a rest day.
With Whoop training bands, you get a readiness score each day so you have a better idea of what your body might be capable of that day. Apple Watch doesn’t do that. It just tells you where you are compared to your baseline. This might be helpful for some elite athletes, but it’s not going to be something many casuals benefit from, due to the cautious, hands-off approach Apple has given the feature.
It’ll be interesting to see how it evolves in future updates. It would have been more useful if Apple had taken the Whoop approach.
Fitness
My favourite new fitness feature in WatchOS 11 is the ability to rate how intense a workout was. Was that an all-out effort? Or were you just leisurely riding to the beach for fish and chips? You’re able to tell your watch how hard you tried. This then feeds into the aforementioned Training Load feature.
I also really appreciate that you can now pause your rings for a day. If you’re injured, having a rest day as part of a busy program, or you’re sick, you don’t have to break your streak, which really matters to some people.
You can also set higher goals for Saturday than on Monday, acknowledging that you have different fitness expectations depending on how your life is structured.
Who is the Apple Watch Series 10 for?
This is the best smartwatch for most Apple users. It’s also, generally, the best smartwatch for most people (but you have to have an iPhone to use it). If you need more health features than the SE has to offer, but not as many fitness features as the Ultra 2, then the Apple Watch 10 is in the Goldilocks zone.
If you already have an Apple Watch that’s Series 6 or newer, you’re probably not going to get the most out of the 10. This is for users with the original Watch SE, and 5 or below, as well as people who are new to Apple Watch.
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