Apple Watch 10 Review

Apple Watch 10 is the milestone Watch nobody wanted, this review tells you why.

At first glance, the Apple Watch 10 feels like a milestone edition, but is it really worth it if you already own a recent model? Sure, the case design is new, but it’s almost identical to previous versions. The faster charging is a nice touch, but we already had fast charging in the last model. Even though the battery is 6% larger, the official battery life remains stuck at 18 hours. The display boasts 10% more pixels and better viewing angles, but to the naked eye, it’s hard to spot the difference. And while the new speaker and microphone add a nice touch, they only marginally improve existing features. One cool addition: you can now play music directly from the watch without earbuds, a small win for a small minority.

Apple’s real statement here is the thinner case, locking in this size and design for at least the next three years. That likely means we won’t see a more extensive battery until 2027, leaving the more exciting innovations—like a new heart rate sensor, solid-state battery, or microLED display—for future models. None of these are expected to drop before 2026.

The Watch 10 is still the best smartwatch you can buy right now to cover your sports tracking. If you own an iPhone, there’s no real competition. If you can stretch your budget, I’d recommend the Titanium model with LTE and sapphire glass for durability.

Now might be the perfect time for anyone with an older Apple Watch to upgrade. My Watch 6 battery was on its last legs, so I went ahead and grabbed the Watch 10 Titanium—and it’s now my daily driver for the foreseeable future. By the time the Watch 11 arrives in 2025, I’ll pass this on to my partner.

Ready to learn some cool tricks the Apple Watch Series 10 can do? (Scroll to the end) Keep reading for a deep dive into the more exciting new features, detailed accuracy reports and feature highlights.

Buy Apple Watch 10: USA – $439; UK – £429;EU – €449

Apple Watch 10: Should you upgrade your old model?

A: A Recommended upgrade for Series 5, pointless for Series 9.

First, ensure your iPhone XS or later is running iOS 18 because you’ll need it for Watch 10.

The upgrade is a no-brainer if you’re still rocking a Watch 3 or older. But the jump is less urgent for anyone with a Watch Series 4 or newer. The newer models have been progressively adding features, and the Watch Series 7 kicked off the latest generation of tech. If your watch is older than that, it’s worth considering an upgrade.

Apple’s yearly release cycle means it usually doesn’t make sense to upgrade every year. You’ll likely want to hold out for at least three years, which is around the time when your battery health starts to dip below 80%, affecting daily performance.

If you’re on a Series 6, you already have the latest software, and when it comes to hardware, there aren’t too many new features you’re missing out on. Look at what’s available and decide if it’s worth the jump.

• Series 3 gets an eSim option.
• Series 4 gets a 64-bit processor.
• Series 5 gets 32 GB of storage and a compass.
• Series 6 gets a Gen 3 optical HR sensor with ECG and SpO2 and runs the latest software.
• Series 7 gets a larger screen format, slightly newer GPS chip and fast-charging
• Series 8 gets a UWB ‘FindMy’ chip and Bluetooth 5.3
• Series 9 gets 2nd Gen UWB chip, gesture control and doubles storage to 64Gb
• Series 10 gets a thinner case, larger screen area, and several redesigned minor components
• Future: Series 11+ will maintain the case sizes. GPS could add multiband to boost accuracy, new microLED screen technology could be added (2026), and a next-gen optical HR/NIRS sensor is overdue. Only one addition is likely from that shortlist each year.

Q: Should my first Apple Watch be a Series 10, or should I get an older, cheaper older model?

A: Prioritise a stainless steel/titanium case over getting the latest model, as they have scratch-resistant lenses. Alternatively, buy the cheapest new model you can afford, a screen protector, and a cheap Amazon strap. Watch Ultra is bulkier but has double the battery life, so get that for weekend-long adventures.

Apple Watch 10 – What’s New?

Take Out—A large number of tweaks compared to Watch 9, but most people won’t notice any difference.

Size and Display

This year, Apple introduced two new sizes, 42mm and 46mm, sporting larger displays that make the watch more usable than ever. The 9.7mm thickness makes it 1mm slimmer than the Series 9, giving it a sleeker feel. But what makes a difference is the new screen design, which creates a modern, practical, and stylish look. The Wide-Angle OLED display shines brightest—literally. With a 40% brightness boost when viewed from an angle, quick glances at your watch are now more apparent and convenient.

Meaningful Upgrades

While the changes may seem minor, they add up. The always-on display refreshes every second, giving it a smoother, more dynamic feel. And let’s not forget the faster charging—80% in just 30 minutes means less time tethered to a charger. The new speaker lets you play music directly from the watch, a game-changer for on-the-go listening. Even phone calls are crisper, thanks to improved background noise removal, making conversations more natural.

Enhanced Health and Fitness Tracking

Health tracking takes a big step forward with the Apple Watch 10. It can detect sleep apnea, monitor breathing disturbances, and provide detailed monthly sleep reports. For adventurers, a new depth gauge certifies snorkelling up to 6m (20 feet), paired with water temperature tracking and water resistance up to 50m. The Oceanic and Tides apps further expand their capabilities for water-based activities, turning them into a more versatile companion for aquatic enthusiasts.

Fresh Look

The Apple Watch 10 visually refreshes itself with two new watch faces and three colour options: Rose Gold, Jet Black, and Silver Aluminum. If you’re after something more premium, the titanium versions are not only 20% lighter than the stainless steel models but also carbon-neutral—a bonus for eco-conscious consumers.

Pricing

The best part? Despite all these upgrades, Apple has managed to maintain the same pricing structure. The 42mm model costs $399, while the 46mm comes in at $429. If you’re after the titanium, sapphire-cellular editions, they’re priced from $699 to $749.

So, while the Apple Watch 10 may look like just another incremental update, it’s packed with thoughtful improvements that make it sleeker, smarter, and even more attuned to your lifestyle.

watchOS 11 – What’s New?

Take Out – Training Load and Vitals are big additions, but most of the new features will work on an old Watch Series 6.

The star of this update is Training Load, a feature that helps you track your fitness progress over time. Whether you’re an athlete or just trying to stay active, it provides deeper insights into how much stress you’re putting on your body and how well you’re recovering. Swimmers get a boost, too, with structured swim workouts that offer more focused guidance during sessions. Custom hiking, walking, and running routes bring a new level of planning and tracking to outdoor adventures, helping you stay on course without your phone.

Another significant addition is the Vitals app, which takes sleep and health tracking to the next level. Analyzing overnight sleep metrics and tracking long-term trends gives you a clearer picture of overall sleep health.

For those who love exploring the great outdoors, offline maps are now available across various sports, letting you navigate even in remote areas where phone service may not exist. This is a game-changer for hikers, runners, and cyclists alike.

Practical improvements include pausing Activity Rings and adjusting daily goals, making it easier to customize your fitness routine if your schedule changes. A new safety check-in feature adds a layer of security, ensuring someone knows your status at the start and end of your workouts—perfect for solo adventurers.

The Smart Stack has been revamped to give you more relevant, contextual information throughout your day, streamlining access to the details you need most. Plus, offline language translations are now available, making international travel simpler by letting you communicate without relying on an internet connection.

Rounding out the update are fresh watch faces and new styles, so you can keep things visually interesting while enjoying all these new features.

Apple Watch Battery Life – Deep Dive

Take Out – Unchanged battery life, faster charging.

The Apple Watch Series 10 offers up to 18 hours of regular battery life or 36 hours in Low Power Mode. Battery performance depends on usage, including time checks, notifications, app use, and workouts with music playback via Bluetooth. Audio playback from Apple Watch storage lasts up to 11 hours, and outdoor workouts with GPS last up to 7 hours. Charging takes about 30 minutes to reach 80% and 60 minutes for a full charge. A 15-minute charge provides up to 8 hours of battery, while 8 minutes is sufficient for 8 hours of sleep tracking. Results may vary based on factors like mobile networks and settings.

The only material change from older Watches is the faster charging time, which is an impressive feature, but we all want longer battery life, not faster.

I experienced odd battery performance for the first few days, but it settled down, and I currently have over a day from a single charge. From experience, this will progressively deteriorate to 18 hours over 3-5 years.

You can make many changes to the Apple Watch to significantly improve battery life. I’ll add a link here in a few weeks after finalising a new article, but its essence is just turning stuff off!

Deep Dive: new Apple Training Load & Vitals

Take Out—Training load quantifies your effort over time; to some extent, the Vitals App helps you understand how well your body copes with this.

Apple’s new training load feature in watchOS 11 aims to enhance your understanding of how workouts affect your body over time. This excellent, well-presented addition tracks workout intensity and duration, providing valuable insights into fitness progress, though some caveats are worth noting.

After each workout, you receive an effort rating on a scale of 1 to 10, which measures the challenge posed by the session. The Apple Watch automatically estimates this rating using your heart rate, GPS, and elevation for cardio workouts like running or cycling. While this feature adds convenience, it relies on fundamental factors like age, height, and weight but does not always capture the precise impact on your body. Apple’s innovative twist here allows you to manually adjust the rating to account for subjective factors like stress or fatigue, which is a definite plus.

Strength Training Limitation

Like all competitors’ attempts at training load, heart rate can never correctly account for the muscular fatigue from strength-based workouts. Apple’s innovation here allows you to enter your rating. This approach is not scientifically valid; however, I welcome it as it probably adds significant usefulness to the training load scores for recreational athletes.

28-Day Load: A Solid Metric

The training load metric is calculated as a weighted average of your effort and workout duration over 28 days and will approximate changes to your fitness level. However, it does NOT consider the short-term fatigue from activity and thus does not indicate your ability to perform on any given day.

General advice is to increase the training load over several months progressively but reduce it starting 7-10 days before a race. The Apple Watch compares your most recent seven workouts to your 28-day average, categorizing your load as below, steady, or above your norm. To a degree, this helps you understand how you need to adjust your upcoming workouts.

Vitals & Health Integration

One area where Apple excels is presenting and integrating training load with health data from the Vitals app. This allows you to monitor your heart rate, respiratory rate, blood oxygen, wrist temperature and sleep duration alongside your workouts. This integration adds an extra layer of insight, although it’s up to you to understand the data and what to do with it. The average Joe can’t do that and might feel left with pretty charts rather than fitness recommendations.

Next Steps: Apple Training Load & Vitals

Apple’s next steps are to catch up with features available in apps like Athlytic and Training Today or competitor products like Whoop and Garmin.

1. Introduce a Training Stress Balance (TSB) metric that models readiness based on 28-day and 7-day loads,
2. Take more frequent HRV measurements to support daily readiness assessments and body battery presentations,
3. Set TSB in the context of how your body has responded to training using HRV and vitals,
4. Recommend optimal daily workouts in the context of a future race type and date, and
5. Apply Apple Intelligence as an alternate way to the same recommendations and beyond.

That sounds straightforward, but Apple is at least two years away from doing the first four, whereas Garmin’s version works now.

Deep Dive into Apple’s new offline Custom Routes.

Take Out – Offline Custom routes do not work smoothly and should be in the Workout app, not the Maps app

This is a half-baked feature or, more positively, a step towards a fabulous feature at some point in the future.

On your iPhone Maps app, tap and create points on a walking or hiking route. The app routes to the next point, and when you finish, it saves the route and the map for your iPhone and automatically syncs both to your watch, but it can take a while.

Last year’s Race Routes were available with the Workout app, but custom routes only work with the Maps app. Strange.

Further problems were that the walking routes did not correctly follow the best trails/paths but worked well on roadside pavements.

Once following directions, the navigation and haptics work well.

Apple’s next steps are to improve the trail routing algorithm, properly integrate this feature into running activities in the Workout app on the Watch, and add the ability to send an externally created GPX custom route to the Watch. Then, Apple needs a routes API to automatically sync complex routes from Komoot, Ride with GPS, and Strava. At Apple’s current rate of progress, that must be well over a year away.

Deep Dive Apple check-in

Check-in is another neat new feature. It’s built into the Apple messaging app and is primarily intended as a safety feature. However, it has also been partly integrated into Workouts, which is a pretty cool way to automatically notify your concerned loved ones that you have arrived safely after a long workout and also in other scenarios. Whilst this feature will work on the Watch with LTE enabled or your iPhone in range, it will still be helpful for those who leave their phone at home and want to automatically notify someone they have arrived back before showering – as soon as they come home the watch will link to the iPhone, and the notification will occur.

new Tides App

I use low tide information to determine when to take the dog to the river beaches to swim and play. The downside is that it does not cover my local tidal river, the Thames.

Apple’s new Tides app is beautifully implemented. Its sine wave graphic indicates the ebbs and flows, and its backlit graphic suggests the time of day. You can get tide information for almost any coastal location, and the app links to maps, directions, and weather information for the same spot.

snorkelling via the Depth App

Watch Series 10 can be used for snorkelling with the Depth app and can go much lower than the formal rating of 6m/20ft.

There is no sensible reason for snorkelling to be separate from the Workout app. Snorkelling activities are not correctly recorded, and according to information elsewhere on the web, the Oceanic Dive app isn’t yet correctly integrated with Watch 10. I gave in testing here as Apple must surely change its software.

Real-world Accuracy Testing with Apple Watch Series 10

Take Out – One of the more accurate watches available, but GPS accuracy slightly lags behind Watch Ultra.

Apple Watch 10 should be no more or less accurate than Watch 9, but it might be. Here’s why.

I have the LTE model, and the antennae are newly integrated into the case structure. This will affect GPS reception. Watch Series 10 still does not have dual frequency GPS reception and will not be as accurate as Watch Ultra in extreme reception conditions.

I have the lighter titanium model, and the lower weight might cause fewer motion artefacts; hence, the optical HR accuracy could be subtly improved. I’m also using the super-lightweight Nike strap, which should help further for the same reason.

Few Apple Watch reviewers produce proper accuracy reviews, and those that do (like me) only do them annually with new Watches. Inevitably, the algorithms and firmware will be updated in the interim – for better or worse.

Apple Watch Series 10 Heart Rate Accuracy Test Results

Here are nine heart rate accuracy test results for different sports: hiking, running, and cycling. Apple Watch is quite good but certainly does not nail accuracy. Some threshold efforts are slightly overstated, and there are occasional random discrepancies. Chart 9 shows that there are often dropouts, but your apps generally hide them. Note that some of the highlighted chart errors are for other watches.

Apple Watch Series 10 GNSS/GPS Accuracy Test Results

Take Out – GPS accuracy was good by 2024 standards but not as good as that of Fenix 8 and other dual-band sports watches.

Watch Series 7 through 10 have the same GNSS/GPS chip, and the results appear unchanged in Series 10. Positional accuracy generally varies between good and very good rather than the excellent performance of dual-frequency watches like Watch Ultra 2, Garmin Fenix 8, Coros Pace 3, and Suunto.

Here are the results from six extended tests under various conditions of GPS difficulty.

10-mile GPS test results

Watch 10 produced average results in my standard test, but they were good enough. I’ll re-do the test as it was on the wrong arm, being a second test device.

Suburban Grid GPS Test results

Apple Watch 10 had a strong GPS performance and was in easy reception conditions.

Urban, high buildings GPS test results

All watches have issues with this test, but all give an OK track compared to ones from a decade ago. Watch 10 was excellent, except for the occasional hiccup!

Wooded parkland GPS test results

Watch 10 was OK under the trees but could have done better.

Road bike GPS Test Results with some trees in the Apple Watch 10 Review

This road test revealed nothing untoward. Watch 10 often had me on the wrong side of the road, but that’s OK. It could be better, but it produced an excellent track for Strava, which is all you need.

Riverside run GPS Test Results.

Again, there were 4-5m errors here as I followed a route past my local Royal Palace, as you do. The tunnels under the bridge and the trees caused minor issues.

Apple Watch Series 10 Review of Elevation Accuracy Test Results

Watch Series 10 is more than accurate enough for its purposes, as the result from this typical test shows.

Apple Watch 10 Eco Claims Review – Greenwashing?

Take Out – Carbon Neural but could easily be more eco-friendly

Apple is upfront about its carbon-neutral targets and widely uses recycled materials; its claims will have been vigorously checked.

The titanium model I own is claimed to be carbon neutral, which must be a good thing. However, I would point out the following drive profits rather than minimise the carbon footprint.

• Batteries are not user-replaceable. This encourages device replacement every 3-5 years.
• It is not possible to buy the Watch body without a strap.
  • It is wasteful to buy an unnecessary new strap and charging puck
  • The current packaging must be three times larger than a watch body-only package. Smaller packaging reduces materials wastage plus the space required to bulk ship internationally from the factory.

Apple knows it could easily do more.

Apple Legal Issues – Apple Watch 10 Review

Apple infringed Massimo’s blood oxygen (SpO2) patent and was required to disable features in the USA that require SpO2, such as vitals.

Cleverly, Apple was able to use the gyroscope rather than SpO2 in its new sleep apnea algorithm; ultimately, Apple will design a different sensor.

Apple Watch 10 – Some Awesome Things It Can Do

Here are some more unusual things you can do with the Watch Series 10

• Enable Afib history, and Use the Athlytic or Training Today (body battery) apps to get HRV readiness insights like Whoop and Oura
• Use the Bevel app for strength, gym training & HRV.
• Buy the Stryd pod and free app for the best running power experience
• Use the WorkOutDoors app with maps for most kinds of advanced sports training.
• With your Apple TV 4K, you can use either the iPhone or Watch Series 10 as a remote control for your TV.
• Get the excellent Nest wired doorbell (2nd gen—use Starling Home Hub). You can see the camera feed on your watch and use its microphone to speak to callers. Mine is a bit laggy despite excellent WiFi.
• Add your credit and debit cards to the Watch Wallet. Set one as the Express Travel card, and you can pass ticket barriers by simply tapping the watch—there is no need to double-press the side button first. The person in the queue behind you will silently thank you, and you will remove the risk of using the wrong card and overpaying. Get a Curve account if Apple Pay doesn’t support your card.
• The LTE version works well as a standalone phone for making and taking calls without the iPhone. You might need an extra data plan only from certain carriers. With the iPhone nearby, the Watch should work well for calls. Ensure your iPhone is set up for better clarity when using WiFi calls.
• Apps like FitBark can track your dog’s activity.
• The watch can automatically unlock a Mac.
• Use Slopes to monitor skiing and boarding.
• A watch and a Nest learning thermostat can control the temperature in your smart home.
• Get notifications for when to take your medications
• Track fishing activities with Fishing Points,
• Speak to the inbuilt Translate feature and get output in other languages
• Your Apple can unlock certain cars and household doors.

Buy Apple Watch 10

• USA – $439
• UK – £429
• EU – €449