Apple is making the Apple Watch even better than before. The new Apple Watch Series 10 has been announced, and while it doesn’t necessarily redefine the Apple Watch experience as far as features go, it does refine the Apple Watch design in a few key, meaningful ways.
In fact, the design changes to the Apple Watch Series 10 could be the best thing about the new model. Sure, that might not be enough of a reason to upgrade from the Series 9, but if you’re in the market for a new smartwatch, you can expect the best-looking Apple Watch ever.
The changes to the device can be split into two buckets: build and display. Here’s a look.
Build and Bands
The overall shape of the watch is largely the same for the Series 10, but with a few meaningful changes. The most important of these relates to thickness. The Apple Watch Series 10 is the thinnest Apple Watch yet, making it look sleeker and more stylish while offering a more comfortable fit. It’s almost 10% thinner than the Series 9 before it, while retaining the same set of features and the same battery life. That’s a pretty impressive feat.
Along with the thinner build, the device is also available in an array of colors, including a sleek new jet black polished aluminum finish. There’s also silver aluminum or rose gold aluminum, or you can spend more for polished titanium, which comes in natural titanium, gold titanium, and slate titanium.
Hermès Grand H band
There are a ton of new Apple Watch bands on offer too, including some made by Hermès. Apple now offers Milanese Loop and Link Bracelet bands, color-matched to the titanium cases of the Series 10. Along with that, there’s a new Torsade cable knit band from Hermès, as well as a Twill Jump Attelage band that’s built to offer a silky feel. Last but not least is the Grand H Hermès band, which is Hermès’ first metal Apple Watch band, made of a series of interlocking links in satin-finished stainless steel.
Hermès Twill Jump Attelage band
Hermès Torsade band
Display
Perhaps even more important than the thinner build is the new display technology on the device. There are basic improvements, like the fact that the display is now larger with thinner bezels around it, making for a more modern look. In fact, the display on the larger 46mm model is even bigger than the screen on the Apple Watch Ultra 2. That can be helpful for reading text, for example.
Even more important than that, though, is the fact that this is the first Apple Watch with a wide-angle OLED display. This tech is designed to allow you to more easily see what’s on the screen when you’re not looking at the watch face-on. So, you can glance down at your watch subtly to check the time or see a notification without having to raise or move your wrist. The display is up to 40% brighter than the Series 9 when viewed at an angle, though we’ll have to wait and see how that translates to real-world use.
Other Stuff
There are other improvements to the Apple Watch Series 10 as well, unrelated to the design. For starters, the new device has some new health tracking features, including the ability to detect possible sleep apnea. That can be pretty helpful, considering the fact that a large percentage of sufferers of sleep apnea go undiagnosed, and the fact that sleep apnea can have a massive impact on overall sleep quality.
Other features include the ability to play music or podcasts through the built-in speakers, and faster charging, which allows the device to charge to 80% battery in around 30 minutes. That’s very helpful for those who use their device at night for sleep tracking, as it allows them to top up on battery before bed or when they wake up.
The Apple Watch Series 10 is now up for pre-order, with sales set to begin on September 20th. The device starts at $399 for the smaller 42mm model with an aluminum finish. Prices range up from there for the larger variant, a more expensive finish, or a cellular connection.
