Wearable tech is a rapidly evolving field, and one of its cornerstones, the Apple Watch, has set some new precedents in its latest iteration.
The Apple Watch Series 10 packs an incredible amount of utility and tech into its slimmest design to date. Measuring 9.7mm, or about 10% thinner than the last three generations, and weighing only 36.4 grams, it feels remarkably light. Even with the antenna in the underside this smartwatch is still somehow thinner than the Timex Atlantis 100 watches I used to wear consistently many years ago, and feels as light or lighter.
The antenna itself is integrated into the new metal backing on this year’s model, opposite the product line’s largest display yet. For the 42mm model, this equates to a 989 sq mm display area for its new wide-angle OLED screen. Apple has managed to fit more screen in the Apple Watch Series 10 while actually making the watch itself smaller, when it should feel bulkier to have this much power at your wrist.
The Apple Watch Series 10’s wide-angle OLED manages up to 40% better brightness from an angle than the Series 9. Combined with a faster refresh rate, it functions even more like a traditional analog watch than ever, now that you can view ticking clock hands without fully raising your wrist to wake the device. Even keeping it at a modest overall brightness, I found it easy and natural to quickly glimpse at the screen to check the time or parse a new notification while otherwise occupied.
“Apple has managed to fit more screen in the Apple Watch Series 10 while actually making the watch itself smaller…”
Quickly interacting with those notifications is a breeze with the combined inputs of the touch screen, digital crown, and side button. iOS users will find the usual touch inputs still apply here, like swiping from the top to bring down notifications, or from the top to open the Smart Stack. The digital crown can be pressed to open the menu or turned to scroll through screens, while the side button summons the control panel for quick access to things like volume and WiFi.
When it comes to actually putting this fancy design to use, the Apple Watch Series 10 feels like a valuable and worthwhile extension of the iPhone experience. Depending on your daily routine, there can be times when it’s not polite, prudent, or even possible to take your phone out and check what that last alert was all about. Apple made the most of the large screen, optimizing the layout of notifications so that it’s easy to check with a quick glance.
“…the Apple Watch Series 10 is among the most fully-featured fitness trackers on the market.”
A lot of the Apple Watch’s application is devoted to fitness tracking extensions—cardio, steps, exercise progress, and so on. In this regard, the Apple Watch Series 10 is among the most fully-featured fitness trackers on the market. The Series 10 is especially sophisticated when it comes to water-based activities, thanks to support in watchOS 11 for swimming as a Custom Workout. It has a new depth gauge (registering as far as 6 metres below the surface) and a water temperature sensor, while the shell is still rated water-resistant up to 50 metres. Swimmers are well-covered in the pool, while open-water activities can benefit from the Tides app.
However, I’m not one for the gym, so what I appreciate about the new Apple Watch is its application for general wellness. In addition to the general vital tracking for things like heart rate, respiratory rate, and blood oxygen, and other features added in previous generations like environmental noise monitoring, the Series 10 and watchOS 11 have ushered in one of the line’s biggest innovations yet: sleep apnea detection.
Now the Apple Watch can monitor not only how long you sleep or your sleep stages, but also breathing disturbances which might be an indicator for sleep apnea. This is meant to give feedback to individuals who aren’t aware that they’re experiencing the effects of sleep apnea—and given that 80% of people affected by this condition are undiagnosed, it’s a huge area for development.
It takes a month of consistent data before the Health app will notify a user if they’re exhibiting signs of sleep apnea, to avoid crying wolf. It’s also not meant to be a diagnosis, just a sign that you should speak to your healthcare provider—the results can even be exported and provided to them directly. However, Apple is very confident about the results of their extensive testing, and it’s an area that other fitness trackers haven’t cracked yet, so it’s worth looking into if you or a loved one suspect you might be experiencing sleep apnea.
“The Apple Watch Series 10 feels like a valuable and worthwhile extension of the iPhone experience.”
(In fact, after a month of wearing the Apple Watch to bed, I got the notification myself, confirming my wife’s suspicions.)
As much as I’m invested in the iOS environment for my personal devices, I’ve always been a touch hesitant to add the Apple Watch into my equation since, as I mentioned, I’m not a gym person. Starting at $549 CDN, it could be a hefty price of admission for a fitness tracker alone. But thankfully, the Series 10 has pushed this smartwatch family toward a more generalized purpose (with some help, again, from the features in watchOS 11, which also brings a couple of new features to Series 9 devices).
I particularly appreciate the built-in speaker, allowing the Apple Watch to play your music or podcasts. This has been clutch while doing tasks around the house; instead of putting in earbuds or cranking the volume on my phone’s speaker, the watch can broadcast the sound instead, in a perfect middle ground between the two alternatives. Sometimes the speaker gets blocked by my arm temporarily, but the sound is surprisingly good for such a tiny little speaker.
I did find that the watch would lose the speaker priority and send audio back to my phone if I paused it. Hopefully future updates can help the watch keep its confidence and spare users from having to reconnect in these circumstances.
The assortment of watch faces is charmingly varied, filled with a diverse array of faces, many boasting various customization options. I was partial to the new Flux face, which uses the Series 10’s faster refresh rate to slowly fill the screen with colour to mark each second’s passage. A few more non-analog face options would be appreciated, but the current selection is sure to have something for everyone, and can put exactly what you need on the face, whether that’s weather or app notifications, or just the time itself.
“The Apple Watch Series 10 holds true to its promise of 18-hour battery life on a single full charge.”
Meanwhile, Apple Intelligence started to prove its worth with the Photos face, selecting some tasteful shots from my photo library that I wouldn’t mind having on the screen where all the world can see. In a nice touch, it also hides part of the time digits amidst their details.
All of this utility and self-expression comes with a pretty capable charge. The Apple Watch Series 10 holds true to its promise of 18-hour battery life on a single full charge; as much as I would like to charge it a little less frequently, that’s still a pretty substantial life considering all the functions it can provide.
Push comes to shove, a 30-minute fast charge can provide up to 80% charge, so it’s feasible to find a brief period to take it off and slap it on the mag charger so you don’t get caught with a dead battery while out and about, or exercising. Considering that I’ve seen a slight extension in my phone’s battery, it’s a fair enough trade.
All told, the Apple Watch Series 10 has quickly proven itself to be a worthwhile companion in my daily routine. Whatever I’m up to, it can offer some utility in a pinch—be it detecting that I’m out for a walk and starting a Workout, letting me check my texts or skip a song without retrieving my phone from my pocket, or putting some of my favourite apps closer at hand. The Apple Watch Series 10’s form factor is sleek and unobtrusive, the display is sharp, and the intuitive design provides a lot of convenience.
Though it’s pricier than options from competing brands, it’s worth it as an extension of the iPhone—not just a trinket measuring steps and BPM, but a sharp accessory that benefits most things the iOS ecosystem offers users in their daily lives. Come for the fitness essentials and time tracking, stay for the best-in-class water features, and maybe find out if you should talk to a doctor about your nightly breathing patterns in the process.
