Apple Watch 10 release date: an Ultra-level screen upgrade in a thinner design
The Apple Watch 10 screen is actually bigger than the sportier Watch Ultra
⌚ The largest Apple Watch screens yet – 42mm & 46mm
📺 Apple’s first wide-angle OLED display for viewing at any angle
🪶 10s: 10% thinner and 10% lighter than prior models
😴 Sleep apnea detection like the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra
🔈 There’s a speaker that can be used for media playback
💰 Starts at $399, with pre-orders open now ahead of September 20
Update: The Apple Watch 10 is already available for pre-order at Amazon, Best Buy, and the Apple Store, but shipments don’t begin until Friday, September 20.
Apple held its huge Glowtime event this week in Cupertino, and alongside the iPhone 16 and AirPods 4, the company took the wraps off its new Apple Watch Series 10.
The new Apple Watch 10 celebrates the 10th anniversary of Apple’s first wearable, which was announced on September 9, 2014. This new version introduces a sleeker design, better performance, and sleep apnea detection, a first for Apple Watches everywhere.
What’s new with the Apple Watch 10
⌚ A thinner design that’s oh so sleek. The biggest draw to the Series 10 is the design. While it looks practically identical to the Series 9 (and the Series 8, the Series 7, and so on), Apple did shake it up a bit this year. It’s now almost 10 percent thinner than before so it sits more comfortably on your wrist, while the metal back integrates all the antennas on the watch and melts into the rest of the casing. It’s also lighter than before
Remember the glossy Jet Black iPhone 7? It’s making a comeback (the color I mean, not the iPhone 7). This year's big new color on the Apple Watch is Jet Black, painted over an aluminum case. Apple’s renders make it seem incredibly sleek and sophisticated, tempting me to ditch my Apple Watch Ultra 2. You can also get it in matte Silver and Rose Gold, if that’s more your speed.
In addition, Apple has introduced a new titanium case for the Series 10, which gives you a glossy finish on all three color options: Natural, Gold, and Slate. Apple says it’s 20 percent lighter than the stainless stele Series 9, so if you want an even lighter Apple Watch, you have the option.
📐 Slightly bigger screens and case sizes. The Apple Watch Series 10 is growing in size… slightly. The 41mm case is now 42mm (the original size of the larger Apple Watch from back in the day), while the 45mm is now 46mm. Both have bigger screens to boot, with Apple saying the display on the 46mm is the largest it’s ever shipped on an Apple Watch (even bigger than the Ultra 2).
This allows for more content to be displayed on the screen. According to Apple, you can see an extra line of text that wasn’t visible before. The Series 10 also uses a wide-angle OLED screen, which means you can see it easier from an angle than before. The company says the display has 40 percent better brightness when viewed from an angle, which is helpful for glancing at your wrist to check the time. In addition, the refresh rate has been increased from once a minute to once a second, allowing the seconds hand on select watch faces to continue ticking on the always-on display.
😴 Sleep apnea detection. Apple has added sleep apnea detection to its growing list of health features on the Apple Watch. It uses the watch’s accellerometer to detect small Breathing Disturbances while you sleep that are associated with interruptions in normal respiratory patterns, then reports them the next morning in the Health app. It’ll tell you whether there’s an increase or decrease in disturbances, analyzes them using a new algorithm, and alerts you when it believes you’re showing signs of sleep apnea.
The company says that the algorithm it uses to make that determination was “developed using advanced machine learning and an extensive data set of clinical-grade sleep apnea tests.” It was later validated in a huge clinical study and is awaiting FDA approval. While it’s not going to be able to definitively tell you whether you have sleep apnea, it can help warn you when you show signs of it so you can speak to your doctor about it.
While sleep apnea detection is being introduced as a feature on Series 10, Apple is also bringing it to Series 9 and Ultra 2 in a software update.
🏃 Faster performance and charging. There’s a new chip inside the Apple Watch Series 10 called the S10 SiP (system-in-processor), and it’s the most powerful chip ever in an Apple Watch. It also features a new four-core Neural Engine for improved performance when interacting with Siri, using Double Tap, and more.
The updated metal back of the Series 10 allows for faster charging. Apple says you can go from zero to 80 percent in 30 minutes, which is really quick. The faster speed also means you can charge your Apple Watch for eight minutes to get a full eight hours of power for sleep tracking.
🌊 Divers, surfers, kayakers – rejoice! The Apple Watch Ultra 2 has been the watch to get for anyone who spends a lot of time in the water, but that’s changing with Series 10.
Apple added a depth gauge and water temperature sensor to the watch to make it a better wearable for snorkeling or diving up to six meters. The Depth and Oceananic+ apps from the Ultra are also here to inform you of current diving conditions and how deep you’ve gone under the surface, and there’s a new Tides app that lets you track the tide of any body of water you come across (a feature I’m thrilled about as a hobbyist kayaker).
There are also new custom workout options for tracking your swims, dives, paddle sessions, and more.
🎵 You can finally play music on your wrist. There’s a speaker on the side of the Apple Watch to play notification sounds and allow you to take phone calls, but you’ve never been able to play music or podcasts from it. That’s changing with the Series 10. You no longer need to connect your AirPods to your watch to enjoy your jams; now, you can simply fire up Apple Music, Spotify, Pocketcasts, and more and listen to whatever you want right on the watch’s speaker, which has been improved this generation.
One big question about Apple Watch 10
🔋 What about battery life? Apple says the Apple Watch Series 10 battery life should be the same as previous generations, which means it can last 18 hours on a full charge. That is far from the best battery life we’ve seen on a smartwatch nowadays; Apple’s own Ultra 2 can easily last two days, while others like the OnePlus Watch 2 can go 3-4 days.
With the thinner design and reorganized internals, it’s hard to say whether the Series 10 can deliver all-day battery life. It’s something we’ll be looking at closely during our review, so stay tuned.
Apple Watch 10 pricing and availability
💲 The Series 10 costs the same as Series 9. If you were worried about a price increase, don’t be. The Apple Watch Series 10 still starts at $399 for the 41mm and goes all the way up to $799 for a titanium 46mm model with a metal band.
📅 It’s launching on iPhone 16 day. Preorders for the Apple Watch Series 10 open this Friday, September 13. It launches the same day as the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro: Friday, September 20.