I Went Hands-On With Apple Watch Series 10: First Impressions of That Bigger Screen, Slimmer Body

The Apple Watch is getting a glow-up on its 10th birthday, and I got to check it out in person following Apple’s September event. The Series 10 smartwatch starts at $399 (£399, AU$649) and launches on Sept. 20 (preorders are open now). It gets a larger screen, a thinner design and sleep apnea detection, making it seem like a notable step up from the Series 9.

The difference in display size is noticeable as soon as you pick up the watch, and it’ll likely be even more apparent if you’re upgrading from an older Apple Watch. I’ll need more time with the Apple Watch Series 10 before I can tell how much of a difference the bigger screen really makes. But it has the potential to be a compelling option for those who want a larger screen but don’t want to splurge on the Apple Watch Ultra, with all its bells and whistles.

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Apple typically introduces design changes and new health features for the Apple Watch, but it rarely does so in the same generation. The Series 5 and Series 7, for example, introduced aesthetic changes like the always-on display and a larger screen, while the Series 6 and Series 8 debuted blood oxygen and temperature sensing respectively.

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Apple Watch Series 10 gets a slim new look and ‘brighter’ screen

The Apple Watch Series 10 is all about the new display and design. Apple says there’s 30% more screen area for viewing more lines of text and further increasing the font size. The company claims it’s the biggest wearable display it’s ever built, making it even slightly bigger than the Apple Watch Ultra, which also got a new black finish for the Apple Watch Ultra 2 at the event. Since people often glance down at their watch rather than looking at it straight on, Apple made the display 40% brighter when viewed at an angle on the Series 10.

Given the increase in display size, the watch comes in new size options: 42-millimeter and 46-millimeter, which is slightly larger than the previous 41-millimeter and 45-millimeter sizes.

Even though I only had a few minutes with the Series 10, you can see the difference when compared alongside the Series 9.

But what’s perhaps more obvious is the thinner case. The Apple Watch Series 10 is 10% thinner than the Series 7, 8 and 9, and it shows. I could see this being a bonus for those who like to use the Apple Watch as a sleep tracker and want something more lightweight to wear to bed overnight. Apple made several design changes to achieve this slimmer profile, including reducing the speaker system — making it 30% smaller — and adding a new metal back that integrates the antenna into the housing to eliminate a layer.

The watch also comes in a new polished aluminum finish developed specifically for the Series 10, which will be available in a new black color along with rose gold and silver aluminum. There’s a new titanium finish as well that weighs 20% less than the previous stainless steel version.

The Series 10 felt a bit lighter, but it’s hard to make a direct comparison against the Series 9 without using the same bands on both watches.

That new back also means the watch charges faster, the company says. Apple says it achieves an 80% charge in 30 minutes, similar to the Pixel Watch 3. That’s a big deal because battery life typically lasts for one to two days depending on how you’re using the watch, unlike the multiday battery life you’d get from more sports-oriented watches like those made by Garmin.

The watch is powered by a new chip called the S10. Apple is also focusing on audio with the Series 10, as it’s touting clearer phone calls and the ability to play music out loud on the watch.

More from the Apple event

The Apple Watch’s new sleep apnea detection feature

Health is always a major area of focus for the Apple Watch, and that’s no different this year. Sleep apnea detection is coming to the watch through a new metric that can pick up potential breathing disturbances overnight. You’ll be able to view nightly values in the health app, and the Apple Watch will analyze your breathing disturbances every 30 days and notify you if it finds consistent signs of moderate to severe sleep apnea. Apple says it expects FDA clearance for the feature soon.

The announcement comes after Samsung introduced sleep apnea detection to its smartwatches earlier this year, further underscoring how smartwatches are becoming powerful health-tracking devices.

The new Apple Watch also has a built-in depth gauge and water temperature sensor for water-related sports and activities, another addition that could make it appealing to those who were interested in the Ultra.

The watch’s debut comes exactly a decade after Apple revealed the first Apple Watch on Sept. 9, 2014. What started as a niche accessory 10 years ago has grown into a major product category for Apple. The company’s wearables, home and accessories business, which includes the Apple Watch and AirPods among other gadgets, is larger than both the iPad and Mac divisions.

Apple was also the top wearable device maker in terms of shipments in the first quarter of 2024, according to the International Data Corporation.

The 10th-gen model feels like a major departure from last year’s watch, building on all of the areas Apple has been steadily refining over the watch’s lifetime, such as health, design and activity tracking. Apple also has more competition than ever, including from new types of health trackers like Samsung’s Galaxy Ring. We’ll know more once we’ve had time to spend more time with it.