Before the Apple Watch hit the market in 2015, there were all sorts of predictions about the death of smartwatches. Within five years, some said, wearables would be overtaken by “disappearables”, technology that was so small, you would barely even see it.
But that has largely failed to come to pass, and Apple Watch is now on its anniversary outing, with the Series 10.
In the past decade, the design has largely stayed the same, albeit with some minor tweaks – an increase in the size of the watch face, slimming it down, changing the finish and adding high-gloss options – so an Apple Watch is still instantly recognisable.
And then there are the functions. An always-on display so your watch is usable as, well, a watch without needing to be charged every three hours. New sensors that measure body temperature, blood oxygen, an ECG and water depth, alongside GPS, altimeters and accelerometer. The Apple Watch will auto-sense falls, detect car crashes and warn you of atrial fibrillation.
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So what does the Series 10 bring to the table? There’s the slightly bigger display, with Apple changing the case to 42mm and 46mm while also curving the display more towards the edges of the case. It’s a subtle change, but one that gives you a little extra space without adding too much bulk to the watch.
The display is brighter too, and now has a wider viewing angle so you can get in a sneaky glance at the watch face during meetings, or view the display more easily during workouts. And Apple has increased the refresh rate so the always-on display will show the changing seconds rather than limiting it to minutes.
The version reviewed here is the 42mm gold titanium watch, which replaces the stainless-steel model. It’s a little heavier than the aluminium version, with about 4g in the difference, but it is about 8g lighter than the model it replaced.
The Series 10 has redesigned the internals of the Apple Watch, adding an updated chip – the S10 – and shrinking other elements to allow for a larger charging coil. That is an important change, because although Apple hasn’t done much on extending battery life for the standard Apple Watch – you will still need to charge it regularly – you can now do it faster than before, getting up to 80 per cent in about 30 minutes. An eight-minute charge should see you through the night.
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That’s important if you want to take advantage of some of the watch’s other features, such as sleep tracking, and in particular the new sleep apnoea feature. Apple has built a new sleep-disturbances monitor into the watch that will monitor you over the course of a month, and flag any potential indicators of sleep apnoea. It may not seem like something that would be important to most people, but the condition can help contribute to a range of other health issues and it often goes undetected.
Apple has also brought in other new elements. The Vitals app that lets you see the important metrics at a glance, such as resting heart rate, respiratory rate and blood oxygen. Training load is another, so you can keep track of the stress you are putting your body under during workouts and schedule appropriate rest and recovery.
The new depth gauge and water temperature sensor are designed for swimming, giving you an at-a-glance look at the important details, and teamed with the tides app, makes the Apple Watch a much more attractive option for open-water swimmers.
The watch is following the same pattern as the phones: incremental updates, rather than one big redesign. The Series 10 isn’t aimed at people who bought the Series 9 or even the Series 8; it is targeting those who are either new to the Apple Watch or have been holding out for a better upgrade.
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If you are the type of person who leaves the house without ear buds, the changes to the speaker on the watch will be a positive thing. You can now use it not only for calls but for playing media – podcasts, music, whatever takes your fancy – and if you want to make a call, Apple has worked some neural engine magic to help reduce the background noise.
Good
A bigger display with a wider viewing angle makes the watch face easier to see when you are exercising.
The depth gauge is useful for snorkelling (for diving, you’ll need the Ultra 2 though) and the water temperature sensor will give the sea swimmers among us a better idea of exactly what we are putting our bodies through every time we venture into Irish waters.
The built-in speaker now facilitates you to play podcasts and music, which has the potential to be a major annoyance for other people in the vicinity, but will can be useful if you are running without earpods, for example. And voice calls are clearer, with less background noise.
Bad
Some of these features, such as the sleep apnoea monitoring and Vitals, will also be available on the Series 9, so you may find the Series 10 is not a necessary purchase.
The Series 10 also needs iOS18 on your iPhone to work, so anyone with a device older than the iPhone Xs is out of luck.
The rest
Apple is turning the watch into a more holistic health device. Sleep apnoea monitoring is useful, and something that may help flag potential health problems. Plus that quicker charging makes it less of a hassle that the Apple Watch battery is only up to 18 hours in normal mode.
Verdict
An incremental update with some solid additions. Still the best smartwatch for iOS users.
