Today Apple announced Apple Watch Series 10, with a substantial hardware change and upgrade. In fact, so big it’s now got a bigger screen than the Apple Watch Ultra 2 (which didn’t see a new hardware version this year, only a new Titanium finish option). Apple also eschewed updating the Apple Watch SE lineup, leaving the previous 2022 (2nd gen) edition in place. Point is, for the first time in a few years, the Series 10 is the star of the show this year.
Thus, let’s get right into what’s new!
What’s New:
The Apple Watch Series 10 is all about increasing…well…everything. From the display, to the brightness on angle, to the display refresh rate in always-on display mode. Except in one area: It’s now the thinnest Apple Watch ever made, coming in at 9.7mm, 10% thinner than the existing Series 9. Here’s everything that’s changed compared to the Series 9:
– Totally new case design (in terms of visual look), and changes to the model sizes being 42mm/46mm
– Biggest usable display area to date in any Apple Watch: 374x446px for the 42mm 416x496px for the 46mm
– Thinnest design to date (9.7mm versus 10.7mm on Series 9)
– New ‘Ionic Glass’ screen design, which tapers further down the edge of the display
– New “Wide Angle OLED’ display, which is 40% brighter when viewed on an angle
– Increase brightness when viewed
– Always-on display mode will now show seconds even when wrist is down (updates at 1-second rate in standby mode, versus 1-minute rate)
– Added ability to have speaker play media/music (previously it wouldn’t, had to connect headphones)
– New faster charging times, 80% charge in 30 mins (fastest Apple Watch to date)
– New S10 sip (chipset) inside the Series 10
– Adds new voice calling automatic background removal with new neural network
– Adds depth gauge (supports depths to 6m/20ft for snorkeling – still maintains 50m waterproofing)
– Adds temperature sensor (supports water temperature for swimming activities)
– Adds new ’Tides’ app to show tidal data globally
– Adds snorkeling support for Series 10 (via 3rd party Oceanic App/partnership)
– Adds sleep apnea detection, monthly reporting with analysis reports
– Adds new sleep metric: breathing disturbances (which feeds into sleep apnea detection)
– Adds new ‘Flux’ watch face
– Adds new ‘Reflections’ watch face
– Adds new metal backplate to watch
– Three color options for base edition: Rose Gold, Silver Aluminum, Jet Black
– Three new polished titanium versions, weigh 20% less than existing stainless steel variants
– Titanium Series 10 is a carbon-neutral product
– Same pricing at $399 (42mm) & $429 (46mm), or $499/$529 for the cellular editions.
– Pricing for titanium is $699 for the 42mm, and $749 for 46mm (but includes cellular)
– Available to order now, shipping on September 20th, 2024
In addition, Apple has also announced a new black color option for both the Apple Watch Ultra 2 as well as Apple Watch SE. Both are the same price as previous. Here’s the new Apple Watch Ultra 2 black edition:
Of course, this is in addition to existing WatchOS11 features that were announced back in June, including things like the new Vitals app, new training load bits, and more. Also note that the ‘Tides’ App will become part of WatchOS11 for all WatchOS11 compatible Apple Watches.
Note that the sleep apnea features are going back to both the Apple Watch Series 9, as well as Apple Watch Ultra 2 devices. The sleep apnea feature has not yet received medical certification, though Apple expects that this month, and will be available in the US, Europe, and Japan. More on that down lower.
Notably, though, Blood Oxygen hasn’t made a return to the Apple Watch, due to their existing patent dispute with Masimo. Circumventing this would have required Apple to either agree to licensing from Masimo, or design a different sensor that doesn’t infringe on the specifics of Massimo’s patent (as countless other companies have done). At present, Apple has gone with option C: Do nothing. Thus, no changes there for US-based users (this doesn’t impact other countries, and only impacts new models).
For comparison, here’s the existing base Series 9 (left) compared to the Series 10, right:
And then here’s the Apple Watch Ultra 2 compared to the Series 10 (46mm):
And here’s the 42mm compared to 46mm:
Note that the new faster charging leverages newer Apple Watch charging cables, specifically those that are either braided (cable exterior), or have silver around the outside edge of the puck. Roughly speaking, that was from the Apple Watch 7 & Ultra, or newer. If you have older charging cables/pucks, those will still work with the new Apple Watch Series 10 faster charging, just at a slower (previous) speed.
The New Software Features:
Now again, most of the new software features came out as part of WatchOS11, however, there are a few new ones here announced today. For example, first up is the tides app. This shows the tides, anywhere in the world.:
In playing with it a bit, it’s actually pretty cool. It shows tide information by default closest to you, and then you can add any number of other locations from a global database of some 150,000 beach locations. Further, if you tap into it, you can see swell information as well.
Next, assuming you’re looking to go snorkeling, then you can use the built-in depth gauge. As with the Apple Watch Ultra series, the built-in depth gauge is pretty basic. Of course, at a mere 6m/20ft in depth, you don’t exactly need much in the way of fanciness (whereas in diving, you of course do need things like safety information/etc…).
That said, if you want more features, Apple’s existing partnership with Oceanic Plus means you can get the updated Oceanic Plus app, which now covers snorkeling for the Series 10 specifically:
During normal swimming activities on the Apple Watch Series 10 (using the Fitness app), you’ll get water temperature for both openwater and pool swims (and presumably triathlon with those segments in them).
Next, is the newly announced sleep apnea features. These features will be available on the Series 9, Series 10, and Ultra 2. As many companies have pointed out, it’s estimated that some 80% of people globally who have sleep apnea aren’t diagnosed with it. Like other companies, this feature is really about making you aware that you’re suffering from it (since it can substantially impact the rest of your day/life).
The new feature starts off with a new metric, “Breathing Disturbances”, which then gets pulled into a report that occurs every 30 days. That’ll start happening the first night you wear it:
Each month, the iPhone will analyze the data from your Apple Watch and generate a report if/when sleep apnea may have occurred. It’ll include details on what level that occurred, and is based on machine learning and data from a validated clinical study Apple did with 1,400 people including 30 nights of sleep and compared to a medical-grade APAP diagnostic device, cross-referenced by medical experts to validate the data. Apple says the full details of the study will be included in Apple’s FDA certification paperwork, which should be released shortly.
As of today, Apple hasn’t received medical device clearance yet for this in the US, but does have it in Europe and Japan. Apple expects FDA approval this month for the US, which will then trigger an over-the-air toggle of the feature on the Series 9/Series 10/Apple Watch Ultra 2. That’ll include rolling it out to 150+ countries/regions.
Finally, note that the Series 10 now displays seconds when your wrist is down (in always-on display mode), whereas previously it just updated on the minute:
You can see above, the watch in a dimmed state, showing the second hand (this is true of all watch faces that display seconds, as shown in my video, in various fashions).
Wrap-Up:
As I’ve said each year, Apple’s methodology is rarely to have massive changes to the Apple Watch as a product. Instead, it’s about continual hardware improvements that are designed to keep it ahead of the competition (and give incentives for people with 2-4 year old models to upgrade). Still, the Series 10 is unquestionably the biggest leap forward for the Apple Watch series (excluding Ultra). Be it the far bigger display, the far faster charging, or the new depth gauge. And then there’s all the smaller features, like better off-angle viewing, etc.. Apple isn’t new with this methodology, other companies are starting to adopt it more and more.
Of course, as always, I’ll have to see how these units handle in daily testing. Does the new display and faster processor result in a better experience? And are there any unmentioned downsides in battery life. After all, it’s a thinner watch. Apple’s usually pretty good with their battery life claims (which is possible given the claims are so low, at just 18 hours in smartwatch mode, that it’s hard not to achieve them). But, I’ll be looking at how they perform in sports tracking as well. And, apparently, I’ll need to properly test out the water temp sensor during swim workouts, and snorkeling features.
With that, thanks for reading!
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When is the pixel watch 3 review now that the embargo has been lifted?
Likely Wednesday or Thursday.
I was travelling in the mountains when it came in, so that put me a few days behind to start the 14-day Cardio Target Load calibration period.
Ray, one small typo in the next to last paragraph, second sentence. Think that’s supposed to be an incentive to upgrade, not an insensitive upgrade.
Also 46mm Cellular is $529
Thanks guys!
Hi Ray, do you know if the new Apple Watch series 10 has precision start? (like the ultra) or still the countdown start?
It does not. :(
That’s unfortunate.
Does the Series 10 come with the Modular Ultra watch face now that the screen is larger, or is that still exclusive to the Ultra?
Seems to be a poorly phrased sentence/paragraph:
Note that the new faster charging uses the existing Apple Watch charging cables, it uses the more recent Apple Watch charging cables that are faster. Whereas if you have a really old cable, then you want to use the one in the box.
Feels like it could be reworded to be a bit clearer to me.
Indeed. My brain was shot by time I got to that sentence. Changed it all up. Thanks!
Definitely much better and clearer – thanks. “Stop confusing me! Find something DIFFICULT to do!”
At evry new update I consider the apple watch for double writing (yeah I know… But I love my automatics, and still want the data) but every time I desist for 2 main reasons: battery life, I’m too much hooked up in Garmin environment.
I understand that somehow I would not miss Garmin in running and swimming and general tracking, but what about cycling? I’m so happy with my Edge Explore 2 especially for it’s navigation purposes, how would this translate in Apple environment?
There is no equivalent to an Edge in the Apple space. The closest you get is that you can use your iPhone as a screen for your AW (I forget what they call it; on an Edge with a Garmin watch it’s called “Extended Display”). Watches, even my current Epix 2 and especially my AW Ultra, are terrible for cycling. Too small and in the wrong place if you want to continue using the optical HR sensor.
I use a 1040 for cycling. if I went insane and used my AW Ultra on this morning’s ride, I’d lose my ANT+ sensors (speed, cadence, Tempe) and my Varia radar. If I wanted to navigate (not planning to today), I couldn’t navigate and record the activity at the same time. The maps on the AW aren’t topographic, even after Apple promised them a year ago. (And they showed them yesterday during the show. Maybe they exist in California.) I could do all that on my Epix, I’d just lose the (much) larger screen of the 1040.
And yes, I know there are third party apps for the AW. I have WorkOutDoors on my Ultra. The experience is still vastly inferior to an Epix 2. (But for all the rest of my day, the Epix is vastly inferior to the Ultra.)
Topographic maps only in USA
Last I looked, I’m in the USA, here in Central Pennsylvania, which is one of the original 13. There is one small patch of topographic map on my Ultra within about 30 miles of where I sit (I’ve panned around and looked). It’s the only patch that shows any trails, and there are plenty of trails in the area, because I live within a couple of miles of a big state forest. The Garmin widget that constructs trail loops shows about 100 loops within 5 miles of where I sit, so for me the widget is useless. Apple didn’t say “only in California” or “only in National Parks”, they said they’d have nationwide coverage. They don’t. At least WorkOutDoors does.
As there’s no Fenix 8 LTE, I think I’ll buy the Series 10 LTE for when I’m doing outdoor sports and keep using my Fenix 6 Pro.
I’ll be like a mini Ray, using two watches at the same time haha
This is precisely what I’ve done several years ago. I’m deeply integrated into Apple ecosystem and I use a lot of smart features on Apple Watch, but given the fact that I don’t want to spend a lot of money on subscriptions, Garmin is still a better option when it comes to endurance training.
I was planning to buy the 2024 SE only for the LTE and stay for the rest with my Epix gen 2.
No new SE. No new LTE watches from Garmin. Ugh.
There has to be a reason we came with 2 wrists ;)
And you can wear more than one watch on each arm. The possibilities are endless…
Are you planning to review Airpods Pro 2 for sport use? I’m especially interested in knowing how well they manage wind noise in ambient mode
Sorry for the off-topic 😅
Are there any changes to that with the 2024 of AirPods Pro 2? Didn’t see anything related to that in the list of new features.
The only mention of AirPods Pro 2 I saw yesterday was in relation to the new hearing test. I might have missed something because I was half watching at that point. But the AirPods they talked about were the 4 and the Max.
As for sports use, the Pro 2’s fall out too easily for that. I have a Shokz OpenRun Pro for sports use, and use my AirPods Pro 2’s for everything else. DesFit just had a very positive review on his YouTube channel of the new OpenRun Pro 2.
Thank you and Alex for your answers. Not much into Openrun type devices, so I will keep waiting for headphones with decent wind suppression
Yeah, if you want wind suppression, in ear or over ear are the only way to go. I use my AirPods when mowing the lawn, and they work well for that with a little upping of the volume. (If one falls out, I’m not going to lose it, falling onto freshly mown grass.)
Apple owns Beats, and Beats sells pods with a little hook that’s supposed to hold them in more securely. Otherwise, they use the same hardware as AirPods. They’re even sold at the Apple Store. DesFit did a review of the Beats a while back. You might want to look into them.
When do we get F8 Solar review (maybe with left questions from Reddit thread answered)?
On my pile to clear out. Just been flat-out with a slate of different products (and still a bit behind on some).
Seconds hand visible in AOD mode looks cool, it’s one of the things that pissed me on the Epix. Still not as good as MIP in bright sunlight but getting there :)
It is interesting that the presenters mentioned jet ski, surfing and other high-speed water activities which, AFAIK, aren’t covered by WR50 rating, when they talked about Series 10.
Yeah, caught that as well. Meant to follow-up on that.
> Totally new case design (in terms of visual look)
That’s a bit of a stretch! I can easily tell the difference between this and an Ultra, but (IME, obviously) other than size it looks pretty much identical to the series 9.
It’s mostly that the screen now wraps deeper down the sides.
From the Apple website I assume that Series 10 lacks the hardware for Blood Oxygen detection and it’s not available anywhere, contrary to what happened with the Series 9 where it was disabled only in US, right?
Correct, still disabled in the US.
Hello, but in Europe this function is available on the watch 10, right? For me it is important to know
Correct, still available outside the US.
Is it possible to change the appearance – setting the data field? The standard one is completely illegible. A watch that is full of possibilities, and you can’t even change the colors of the data field or layout.
I have the new Watch OS beta and they have updated this and it is clearer to me now. The colour changes whether you are too fast or too slow for the pace which is helpful as before you just couldn’t tell. You can go in and change these screens around and add extra screens if you want to, you just change change the colour or the font at all.
Is it possible to change the data fields to be in two columns? The data one after the other is hardly clear to me. This excludes me from buying it as a sports watch. I don’t understand how such a technically advanced watch doesn’t have the option to change the appearance of data fields. Example see picture. Easy-to-read data fields.
Unfortunately not. There are essentially 5 slots, one above each other and you can choose what is shown in there. You should already be able to do this on your watch: Workout>Outdoor run three dots>scroll to the bottom>Preferences>Workout views>pencil
Hi Ray, for running on the series 10, is there ‘lap pace’ yet and multiband gps?
Hmm, have to double-check on lap pace, but no multiband.
Ok thank you
Does that 9.7mm thickness include the sensor? We know that these manufacturers can be creative with their measurements!
I don’t believe so, Apple has never included it. I think only Wahoo did.
Any intelligence gathered about when and if Ultra 3 will land. If so, any idea of new features?
Realistically, since it didn’t announce this week. That’d be a next-year thing (next Sept). Far to soon to know features, next stop there would be june at WWDC 2025.
The smartwatch is suitable for smart boys and smart girls but is nothing for sports.
Phoenix 8 vs Apple Watch, is it possible? Who is better for everyday wear + sports.
Fenix 8 is much better for sports. Apple Watch is a much better smartwatch for an iPhone user. I have both an Epix 2 and an AW Ultra. The Epix is for sports, the AW for the rest of the time. An Ultra makes a lousy sports watch, and an Epix 2 makes a lousy smart watch, especially for an iPhone user. If there were a law saying you can have only one watch, I’d probably ditch the Apple Watch, but I wouldn’t be happy about it.
Thx, I understand.
Does the gold color look feminine? Some have said it borders on rose gold, which tends to be a bit too feminine for my taste. How about thoughts on all the colors (vs previous similar iterations)? What’s your personal preference?
My previous comment is meant to reference the titanium models only.
I generally have no interest in the Apple watch, but I’ve always wondered, for people that use them – how do you deal with the poor battery life?
Like, if you’re wearing this mostly as a smart watch/step counter/sleep monitor, and you have to charge it every day, but care about sleep and step count metrics – that means you’re having to charge it during part of your work/school day.
I charge my Ultra every day when I go out for a ride. The Ultra stays at home on the charger. I’ve been sleep tracking with it for about six months; before that it went on the charger at night and I usually just left it on when out riding. Either way, it’s manageable. The Ultra will get about 2 days between charges, so I’ve never had any trouble getting through the day this way. With earlier Apple Watches I had to start charging them during the day (I have a portable charger) when they neared 2 years old, so I usually replaced it then. The Ultra is now 2 years old and there’s no reason to replace it yet.
I have zero interest in step counts or really any of the fitness stuff. It’s mainly a weather station on my wrist (temperature, wind speed, air quality, 5 hours forecast), controls podcasts played on my iPhone, and a way to see notifications/texts (and occasionally reply on the watch).
Thanks for the thoughtful reply.
You don’t use the HR monitor during your ride then, I guess?
Or do you use a different watch/HR strap during rides?
You can’t actually do that. The Apple Watch does not send HR to anything but the paired iPhone, so there’s no way to use it as an HR monitor for a Garmin Edge. I have a Garmin HRM-Pro chest strap, and on the rare occasions that I forget to put it on before getting dressed, a Scosche Rhythm optical arm band (less clothing, maybe none, needs to be removed to put the arm band on).
I just charge it once a day when I am doing sedentary activities at home or at the office. A 20 minute charge is enough to get through a half marathon, so it’s really not a problem for me.
How does the vitals app work if the Apple Watch Ultra 2 can’t record blood oxygen levels? Does it just leave it blank or is it removed from the vitals app? Just wondering….
will the blood oxygen hardware/sensor be “disabled” for Series 10 US market? or will the hardware/sensor be entirely absent for Series 10 US market? I would hope hardware disabled (and can be re-enabled when Masimo suit is settled in US)
Hi Ray,
thanks for the hands on.
Do you know if the Ultra 1 and/or the “old” Ultra 2 will also “get” the ability to have its speaker play media/music?
Thanks!
So the main question remains….
Will it survive a full IM distance?
Otherwise still sticking to my Garmin Fenix…
Does it come with the sensors for glucose monitoring (as have been rumored), so whenever they got it right, it will work after software update?
No, that’s the rumor that won’t die, based on folks spreading it that frankly have no idea how far away that is (which, is a long-long way). Non-invasive GCM is the holy grail of monitoring, but there’s nothing that indicates that’s anywhere near near-term from anyone, let alone Apple. Lots of companies will leak tidbits of rumors out, to keep their respective investors/etc happy, but at this point we haven’t even seen clinical trials start anywhere – and given this would require a substantially more comprehensive clinical trials piece, it’s gonna be a while.
As a general rule of thumb, Apple is never the first company to introduce something (especially in the medical field). Thus, until we have someone else do it, get it cleared, and be for sale and used by real world (non-trials) people, we won’t likely see Apple be the first.
Hello Ray. I have an Ultra 2. I have been testing the betas since they came out. How can I get to display the water temperature during a pool or ocean swim workout? Or is that a feature that will be introduced in a future update. I don’t think is exclusive to the Apple Watch 10, correct?.
Furthermore, I write this because Apple listens to you. Can we get some more customization on the apple workout app. After several years is still sad. For example, Sailing is listed as a sport, but we don’t have the option to display speed in kms, miles or knots. Apple, speed is important if you kite foil or windsurfing competitively, or just for bragging rights. Running, I can see pace, but don’t see an option to show speed. I have the Workoutdoors app which is fantastic, and it’s the reason why I purchased the Apple Watch, otherwise I would not have even considered it as a sports watch. But why do I have to purchase, sorry not purchase, but pay expensive subscriptions to apps like Waterspeed, or other Golf Apps to do what the Garmin does natively? Apple, listen. Don’t be greedy, everyone in my family already has the laptop, the phone, the watch, the iPad, the AirPods, Apple One (Music, News, Fitness, Apple TV+, iCloud, etc. I know you can design great products when you want to. If you intent to market the Ultra to athletes, nice photos might Cath our attention, but real and usable features its what is going to keep us there. Thank you reading. Lastly, Ray, thank you. I have been following you for years. You are great.
No worries. I stand corrected. If you start the swimming workout on the native Apple workout app and then dive into the pool, the watch will display the temperature…
Are structured swim workout synchs from trainingpeaks coming to apple watch?
How do you interpret this marketing picture?