At the “It’s Glowtime!” event today, Apple unveiled the latest updates to its line of smartwatches. The all-new Apple Watch Series 10 features a major redesign and new health features, while the Apple Watch Ultra 2 from last year gets a new color finish and a range of new accessories.
Apple Watch Series 10 release date
The Apple Watch Series 10 was announced on September 9. Preorders have already begun, and the watch will ship and appear in stores on September 20.
Apple Watch Series 10 design: Bigger, but slimmer
The most obvious update for the Apple Watch in 2024 is a major redesign–perhaps the most comprehensive redesign in the product’s history. This has three main strands: the Series 10 has a bigger screen, it has a thinner body, and it’s lighter.
First, the display. It’s the biggest ever on an Apple Watch–even (only just) beating the Ultra, which doesn’t get a redesign this year (although it does get some new buying options, as you can read below). The larger 46mm version of the Series 10 has a 416×496 display occupying 1220 sq mm, compared to 410×502 and 1185 sq mm for the (always 49mm) Ultra 2. The 42mm Series 10 has a smaller screen, of course, at 374×446 and 989 sq mm.
The corners of the screen are also more rounded, and there’s a wider aspect ratio.
But the changes aren’t limited to the screen’s physical dimensions. It’s up to 40 percent brighter than previous models when viewed at an angle; phones are usually looked at straight on, but watches may be looked at in the middle of a workout and thus from an odd angle. Similarly, active users often find that they need to look at the watch without raising their wrist, and therefore while it’s still in always-on mode; with this in mind, and thanks to improvements in power efficiency, the Series 10 updates once a second in always-on mode instead of once a minute, so you’ll be able to see the second hand moving normally.
The Series 10 is also the thinnest Apple Watch ever. At 9.7mm thick for both 42mm and 46mm versions, it’s nearly 10 percent thinner than the Series 9, which means it’ll be less obtrusive on the wrist. (The Series 9 is 10.7mm thick, while the Ultra 2 is a whopping 14.4mm.)
It’s also lighter, but this isn’t just because of the slimmer chassis; it’s also because of the redesigned all-metal body. (The rear of the Series 9 was ceramic, but now it’s metal.) The larger Series 10 with cellular weighs 35.3g, down from 39g for the equivalent Series 9. And remember, you’re getting a bigger screen too.
These are the design changes that will make the most difference to users, but some more cosmetic differences are important too. There’s a new Jet Black aluminum finish, with a cool matte texture achieved (Apple says) by polishing with nanoparticles. It looks pretty great and will be available alongside three other aluminum colors: rose gold, silver, and slate. There isn’t currently a (Product)Red option, but that may appear partway through the run.
While we’re talking finishes, it’s worth mentioning the new titanium model. Made of Grade 5 titanium, this is lighter still, and replaces the stainless steel option. You can choose natural or (pictured below) gold titanium.
Apple Watch Series 10 new features: Quicker charging, new health features
With an Apple launch, we often expect either a major redesign, or a significant raft of new features, but very rarely both. But the Series 10 appears to be the exception, offering lots of upgrades and new functions.
Thanks to what it describes as a larger and more efficient charging coil, the Series 10 offers faster charging than previous models. Apple claims that 30 minutes of charging will be enough to get the device from zero to 80 percent. The company claims the Series 9 takes 45 minutes to achieve the same thing.
That sounds good, but I will add that when I was reviewing the Series 9 I kept an eye on how quickly it charged, and noted that after 20 minutes it had got from zero to 43 percent, and after a total of 32 minutes it had got to 73 percent… so would have been on around 68% after half an hour, and there’s no way it would have taken 45 minutes to reach 80%. Then again, real-world performance and claimed figures are not the same thing, and we may find that the Series 10 too surpasses Apple’s charging claims.
Estimated battery life remains the same as the Series 9, at “up to 18 hours,” but of course, we’ll test that out too.
Thanks to changes to the speaker setup (which were necessary to reduce the thickness of the chassis) it’s now possible to play audio through the watch’s speakers rather than via headphones. Whether you’re blaring out music or podcasts, that seems like a double-edged sword for those around you.
On the health side, the Series 10 is designed to detect sleep apnea, a medical condition that can cause breathing difficulties and disturbances while asleep. It’s believed that 80 percent of cases are undiagnosed, but it’s hoped that the new Apple Watch could help to lower that number by identifying telltale patterns of nighttime disturbance across 30-day periods. (So a single disturbed night wouldn’t trigger a diagnosis.)
Note, however, that Apple says it’s still waiting on FDA approval for this feature, so it’s difficult to be sure when it will become operative.
Following the lead of the Ultra line, the Series 10 gains a built-in depth gauge and the associated Depth app. For some reason, however–it isn’t clear if this is related to the power of the gauge or the water resistance of the watch itself, but I’d suspect the latter–the Series 9’s depth functions can only be used to a depth of 6m, compared to 40m for the Ultra 2. In other words, whereas the Ultra 2 is designed to cater for divers, the Series 9 is for snorkellers.
And finally, the Series 10 has a new S10 chip. Which may be faster than the S9, or may be essentially the same with a new branding; it still has a 64-bit dual-core processor and a 4-core Neural Engine, and Apple is coy about details beyond that.
Apple Watch Series 10 pricing
Convinced? If you’re tempted to buy the new model, you’ll need to know the prices.
Apple Watch Series 10 starts from $399 for the GPS model, and from $499 for the cellular model. You can check out (and preorder) all the models and variants on Apple’s website now, but here’s the (mostly) full pricing. There are some bands that will push the price up further.
- Apple Watch Series 10 (aluminum, GPS, 42mm): $399 / £399 / AU$649
- Apple Watch Series 10 (aluminum, GPS, 46mm): $429 / £429 / AU$699
- Apple Watch Series 10 (aluminum, GPS + cellular, 42mm): $499 / £499 / AU$809
- Apple Watch Series 10 (aluminum, GPS + cellular, 46mm): $529 / £529 / AU$859
- Apple Watch Series 10 (titanium, GPS + cellular, 42mm): $699 / £699 / AU$1,199
- Apple Watch Series 10 (titanium, GPS + cellular, 46mm): $749 / £749 / AU$1,279
Updates to the Apple Watch Ultra
What of the other models in the Apple Watch line? Not much is happening, to be honest. The Apple Watch SE, for example, wasn’t mentioned at all. That remains in the lineup but it’s still the 2nd-gen model.
Likewise, the 2nd-gen Ultra remains on sale and there’s no sign of the 3rd generation. But the Ultra 2 does at least get a new finish: a frankly gorgeous satin black. That’s available on the same timeframe as the Series 9: preorder now, in stores on September 20.
There are also some new accessories. There’s a new version of the Milanese loop in black titanium which you can buy on its own for $199 or £199. (If you select it when buying the Ultra 2, however, it’ll only add $100 to the price, bringing it to $899.)
