It’s been 10 years since the original Apple Watch was unveiled in 2014, and the popular wearable device has evolved by leaps and bounds from its humble beginnings. While the Apple Watch Ultra line took some of the shine off the regular watch, the situation has changed with the Apple Watch Series 10. The latest Apple Watch has a bigger screen, a thinner and lighter case, and more.
Pricing and availability
The Apple Watch Series 10 starts at $399 for the smaller, 42mm Wi-Fi-only model and aluminum case. The base 46mm version with aluminum case is $429. You’ll have to pay more for the cellular-enabled model and versions with a titanium case and sapphire glass display.
The Apple Watch Series 10 is available at a variety of retailers, including Amazon, Best Buy, and Apple.
Ready for a big screen
One of the best features of the Series 10 is the larger display. The largest 46mm model has a slightly larger screen area than the Ultra 2. The smaller model is now 44mm and has a larger screen area than the larger Apple Watch Series 9. This is a significant improvement.
I tested the larger 46mm one and was pleasantly surprised by the size of the screen. Everything is clear to read, and it’s much easier to type small parts of the UI like letters on the keyboard or numbers on the calculator.
The larger screen also has another improvement. According to Apple, the wide-angle LEDs appear up to 40% brighter when viewed from an angle. This is perfect for those times when you don’t want to look down at your wrist to see the time.
I compared the Series 10 to the Series 9, and the difference in the screen was obvious when trying different watch faces from an angle. It’s not a spectacular change, but it’s nice. When in always-on mode, the Series 10’s display will refresh every second, whereas for the Series 9 and Ultra 2 it’s every minute.
In real-world use, this faster refresh rate will allow you to see the second hand on the two new watch faces—Flux and Reflections—in always-on mode. I hope Apple brings this feature to other watch faces as well.
Even with the new display technology, the maximum brightness level of 2,000 nits remains unchanged. The Ultra 2 still reigns supreme in that area with 3,000 nits of brightness.
Thinner and lighter case
The case of the Apple Watch Series 10 has gotten smaller even with the bigger screen. The new watch case is about 10% thinner than the cases of the Series 7-9.
Another big factor, weight, has also been reduced. The Series 10’s aluminum case weighs up to 10% less than the Series 9. Using stainless steel instead of titanium has reduced the weight of the upper-range models by up to 20%. While it might not seem like a huge improvement in those areas, it’s definitely noticeable when wearing the watch all day.
Despite the changes, Apple still promises up to 18 hours of battery life on battery power and up to 36 hours in Low Power mode. I didn’t try Low Power mode, but after a few days of use, the 18-hour promise seems a little conservative, which isn’t a bad thing.
Another big plus of the new case design is faster charging as the new metal back has a larger and more efficient coil. You can now charge the watch up to 80% in about 30 minutes. With just 15 minutes of charging, you can get up to eight hours of normal daily use. And if needed, you can charge for up to eight minutes for a full night of sleep tracking.
I tried to fully charge the Series 10 multiple times, and each time it took less than 30 minutes. Especially since more sleep tracking features are coming to the Apple Watch, being able to charge quickly is a must.
The speaker has also been redesigned, which has a big advantage in that its case is thinner. You can now play audio directly on Apple Watch without connecting Bluetooth headphones like AirPods. You can listen to music, podcasts, and more. I was very skeptical about how audio would sound from a very small speaker, but I was pleasantly surprised. I wouldn’t rely on the speaker constantly, but the audio was surprisingly strong and easy to understand in a quiet room.
