My Exactly 2-Month Experience with the new Apple Watch Series 10
Sleeker, smarter, and undeniably stylish, the Apple Watch Series 10 is the ultimate smartwatch for the modern gentleman with a sharp eye on health.
A decade ago, Apple changed the game with its first smartwatch. Fast forward ten years, and the tech giant has just unveiled the Apple Watch Series 10, the latest evolution in its wearable lineup. In the span of those ten years, what we expect from wristwear has undergone a seismic shift.
Gone are the days when a pedometer with a black-and-grey screen and rudimentary smartphone connectivity felt revolutionary. Today’s wearables are full-blown health tech powerhouses, complete with vibrant colour displays that let you pay for groceries, stream your playlist, and even take calls—all from your wrist.
I’ve heard my fair share of buzz about the Apple Watch—friends raving about how it’s their secret weapon for productivity. So, naturally, I was curious to see how the Series 10 stacks up. Apple’s pitch? The smartest, thinnest, and most stylish Apple Watch yet. I gave it a spin for two months to find out if this milestone release is a true leap forward or just another incremental update.
What's new on the Apple Watch Series 10
The new Apple Watch Series 10 comes in two sizes—42mm and 46mm—and two materials: aluminium and titanium. For most of my test drive, I wore the 46mm aluminium model in a sleek “Jet Black” finish. On the wrist, it exudes the vibe of polished, premium metal, especially when paired with the new Milanese Loop band. As someone partial to silver bracelets, I found this combo felt more like a sophisticated piece of jewellery than just another piece of tech.
Apple claims the Series 10 is its thinnest smartwatch yet, clocking in at just 9.7mm. Having recently sported chunkier models like the Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 and Huawei Watch GT 5 Pro, I’ll admit I missed the heft of a more substantial watch. There were moments when I had to double-check that the Series 10 was still strapped on. That said, the slim profile had its perks: it was noticeably more comfortable for sleeping and gym sessions, making it a worthy trade-off in certain situations.
Despite its slim build, the Series 10 crams in an impressive amount of screen real estate—more than even the beefier Apple Watch Ultra 2, according to Apple. Its wide-angle OLED display boasts 40% better brightness at an angle, making subtle glances feel like second nature. Those classic wrist-flick manoeuvres for a sneaky time check? Much more effective here. While I can’t definitively compare it to other watches, I immediately appreciated how much clearer and more legible the display felt when I glanced at it on the fly.
The Apple Watch Series 10 also brings an upgraded speaker system to the table, featuring a more robust amplifier for phone calls and even audio playback. Yes, you can play music directly from the watch—no headphones are required. To put it to the test, I queued up ‘365’ by Charli XCX on Apple Music. The sound wasn’t going to rival a purpose-built speaker, but it was surprisingly less tinny than I expected. I could pick up the highs and lows, and the louder, belt-it-out chorus didn’t overwhelm the tiny speakers. While I won’t be hosting any wrist-level jam sessions anytime soon, it’s a nifty feature to have—especially for phone calls.
Battery life, however, remains my biggest gripe. The Series 10 is rated for the same 18 hours as its predecessor, a sticking point for the standard Apple Watch line. Competing smartwatches boast batteries that last days, even weeks. While the slimmer profile is nice, I’d gladly trade a millimetre or two for a longer-lasting charge. On the plus side, the Series 10 charges faster than before—Apple claims you can go from zero to 80% in just 30 minutes.
The Series 10 also benefits from watchOS 11, which introduces both subtle refinements and major upgrades. Smaller tweaks like the redesigned Smart Stack and the Photos face add some fresh polish, while the new Translate app for on-the-go conversations has been a lifesaver during my travels. But the real stars of the show are the health and fitness updates. Features like Training Load and a sleep apnoea detection tool elevate the Series 10’s status as a health companion. I’ll dive deeper into these capabilities below.
Working Out with the Apple Watch Series 10
I was particularly excited to put the Series 10 through its paces at the gym and in the pool. During a strength training session, I noticed the dial digging into my hand when my wrist went into extension on push-ups and presses. To be fair, this isn’t exclusive to the Apple Watch—most wristwear can be uncomfortable during certain lifts. My workaround? Sliding the watch case from the top of my wrist to the inner forearm. Swapping the metal band for a Sport Loop also made things a lot more comfortable, especially compared to the bulkier wearables I’ve used in the past.
As someone starting swimming classes, I was eager to see how the Series 10 performed in the water. Spoiler alert: it might be the best smartwatch for swimmers. Apple’s engineers equipped the watch with an accelerometer and gyroscope that work in tandem to capture every twist, turn, and stroke in the pool. Whether I was doing backstroke, freestyle, or breaststroke, the watch quickly recognized my movements and quantified them. The accelerometer tracks motion and speed, while the gyroscope analyzes wrist angles to determine your stroke.
Unlike many trackers that struggle with lap and stroke accuracy, the Series 10 is astonishingly precise. Over weeks of training—logging roughly 25k in the distance—it only missed two laps. That’s borderline wizardry for a fitness tracker.
The standout fitness feature for me this year is Training Load, introduced with watchOS 11. This tool offers wearers deeper insight into their capacity for workouts, analysing how physical activity impacts their bodies. It uses biometric data—like heart rate, respiratory rate, and sleep duration—along with user input to establish a baseline. From there, it provides a daily rating, ranging from ‘Well Below’ to ‘Well Above’, to help gauge how much exertion you can handle that day. Essentially, it’s like having a personal coach on your wrist, allowing you to align your workouts with your overall fitness program.
To get Training Load up and running, you’ll need to enable it in the Fitness app and track your sleep for about a month to establish a baseline. Once calibrated, it’s a potential game-changer for crafting smarter, more informed workout plans.
For cardio workouts like running, cycling, and rowing, the feature automatically assigns effort ratings on a scale from 1 (Easy) to 10 (All Out). You can then adjust these scores manually based on how you ‘felt’ during the session, bridging the gap between cold, hard data and real-life factors like mood or external stressors that can impact performance. While I enjoyed using this feature, my limited data (just a few days’ worth) wasn’t enough to uncover significant insights—yet.
To be fair, this isn’t an entirely new idea. Wearables like Garmin and Fitbit devices, as well as platforms like the Oura ring and Whoop strap, have long included similar functionality. However, the Apple Watch caters to a broader audience, many of whom are casual users rather than athletes. While Training Load is a valuable tool for fitness enthusiasts, it might feel a bit niche or intimidating for the average user to fully utilize.
Another notable health addition in watchOS 11 is a new sleep apnoea notification. Using the accelerometer, the feature monitors for sleep disturbances that could indicate potential apnoea—a condition that reportedly goes undiagnosed in up to 80% of cases. Apple is careful to point out that this isn’t a diagnostic tool but rather a way to gather data that you can share with a doctor to help identify issues.
Setting it up was refreshingly simple: I opened the Health app, navigated to the Respiratory category, and answered two straightforward questions. While I didn’t receive any alerts about disruptions during my brief testing period, I’m glad to have another layer of sleep insight at my fingertips. After all, whether or not you’re dealing with apnoea, better sleep benefits everyone.
