Apple Watch Series 11 vs. Series 10: Is There Sufficient to Justify Shopping for a New Model?

The Apple Watch Series 11 is the corporate’s flagship smartwatch, so we might anticipate it to get the largest enhancements, proper? Not this 12 months. The mannequin is remarkably much like the Series 10, which marked a decade of the Apple Watch and included just a few notable enhancements over its predecessors.

So simply what’s totally different this 12 months? Let’s evaluate them aspect by aspect to suss out the high-quality particulars.

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Pricing the Apple Watch Series 11

The Series 11 has saved the identical value because the Series 10. It begins at $399 for the mannequin with an aluminum physique or $699 for one made from titanium.

Add $30 for the bigger 46mm case measurement in aluminum, or $50 for titanium. Opting for a mannequin with a mobile radio that connects independently to networks provides $100. And for those who select a band made from one thing apart from rubber or textile — a chrome steel hyperlink bracelet, for instance — the value climbs additional. Unfortunately, you possibly can’t order simply the watch case; you must choose a brand new band, even when it results in your drawer in favor of 1 you already personal and like.

There’s additionally a titanium Apple Watch Hermès mannequin out there in silver titanium in each sizes that begins at $1,249.

Apple now not sells the Series 10, for the reason that Series 11 replaces it, however you possibly can nonetheless discover refurbished Series 10 fashions for much less from Apple, and new fashions from different retailers whereas provides final.

Watch this: Apple Watch Series 11 Review: Is It Worth the Upgrade?

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Apple Watch Series 11 vs. Series 10: Outward design

The Series 11 and Series 10 share the identical case design and supplies. The bigger mannequin measures 46mm tall by 39mm large, whereas the smaller is available in at 42mm by 36mm. (Kudos to Apple for persevering with to supply two sizes to accommodate folks with different-sized wrists.) They’re additionally each 1mm slimmer than the Apple Watch fashions that got here earlier than, at 9.7mm.

Despite being largely the identical in dimensions, the Series 11 is barely heavier than the Series 10. For instance, the 46mm aluminum GPS Series 11 weighs 37.8 grams, up barely from 36.4 grams for the Series 10. The 42mm variations are available in at 30.3 grams and 30.0 grams, respectively.

For colours, the Series 11 provides an area grey aluminum choice to associate with rose gold, silver and jet black. Both fashions are additionally out there in titanium finishes of slate, gold and pure.

The bodily controls are unchanged: the dial that Apple calls the Digital Crown and a aspect button (that Apple cleverly calls the “side button”). Only the Apple Watch Ultra features a third bodily management: the Action button.

Also noteworthy: The titanium Series 11 is made from 100% recycled titanium, up from 95% recycled materials within the titanium Series 10. The show glass is made from 40% recycled glass within the Series 11; no quantity is listed for the Series 10. And the battery within the Series 11 makes use of 100% recycled cobalt and 95% recycled lithium. (The Series 10 lists solely 100% recycled cobalt.)

Series 11 vs. Series 10 screens

The screens on each the Series 11 and Series 10 watches have a wide-angle LTPO 3 OLED show. That means it is simpler to see the contents from an angle, and the always-on show refreshes as soon as per second, permitting the seconds counter to maneuver even when the watch is in inactive mode.

LTPO3 screens are additionally extra energy environment friendly. The screens attain as much as 2,000 nits for clear visibility in daylight and dim down to only 1 nit in darkness.

The key distinction between the Series 11 and Series 10 screens lies within the glass protecting. On the Series 11 aluminum fashions, Apple makes use of Ion-X glass, which it claims is twice as scratch-resistant because the glass on earlier aluminum variations. The titanium Series 11 makes use of a sapphire crystal show.

Apple Watch processor and chips

Normally we might spotlight how the brand new processor improves on its predecessor, however for 2025 Apple caught with the identical S10 processor discovered within the Series 10. That additionally means the opposite chips stay the identical, too: the W3 Apple Wireless chip, the second-generation Ultra Wideband chip (for exact Find My location monitoring), a four-core Neural Engine and 64GB of storage.

Battery energy: Series 11 vs. Series 10

Battery life is the place the 2 fashions get actually fascinating. Apple does not reveal how massive the built-in lithium-ion battery is or its capability, however it’s claiming as much as 24 hours for the Series 11 in comparison with 18 hours for the Series 10. In Low Power Mode, that is as much as 38 hours for the Series 11, up from 36 hours within the Series 10.

It’s not solely clear the place Apple squeezed an additional six hours of battery life out of what seems to be largely equivalent {hardware}. Both telephones use the identical S10 processor, although there are doubtless software program optimizations in WatchOS 26. CNET lead author Vanessa Hand Orellana discovered that, a minimum of initially, Apple could also be undercounting the battery efficiency, writing in her overview, “With notifications turned on (heavy Slack-ing and texting), at least one 30- to 45-minute outdoor workout a day, a full night of sleep tracking and some mild flashlight use, I’ve consistently managed to squeeze between 27 and 32 hours per charge.”

As for charging the watches, each the Series 11 and Series 10 might be charged as much as 80% in about half-hour. Apple says that with a 20W energy adapter, quarter-hour of quick charging gives as much as 8 hours of normal use, whereas simply 5 minutes is sufficient for eight hours of sleep monitoring — due to the watch’s a lot decrease energy calls for when you’re asleep. Apple’s comparison information for the Series 10 does not checklist these final two metrics, however that appears extra attributable to it being a advertising level final 12 months versus a brand new functionality within the Series 11.

Comparing the sensors of the Series 11 and Series 10

The Apple Watch’s sensors energy well being options that vary from heart-rate monitoring to depth sensing to specific location monitoring. That stated…

They’re equivalent within the Series 11 and Series 10. No adjustments right here.

Another change: Connectivity within the Series 11 and Series 10

One of the extra notable adjustments within the mobile fashions of the Series 11 is help for 5G networks, particularly a power-efficient kind known as 5G Reduced Capacity (or 5G RedCap). That permits it to hook up with each 5G and LTE networks with out having to undergo a related iPhone, and the 5G speeds ought to be higher. By comparability, the mobile Series 10 helps LTE and UMTS (3G).

Part of incorporating 5G into the Series 11 fashions is a redesigned mobile antenna and an algorithm that “simultaneously engages the two system antennas when needed, significantly increasing the signal strength,” in keeping with Apple’s Series 11 press release. That algorithm is unique to the Series 11 and Apple Watch Ultra 3, per Apple.

Both Apple Watch fashions help Wi-Fi 4 (802.11n) at 2.5GHz and 5GHz speeds. (Apple’s comparability web page solely lists the speeds for the Series 11, however an Apple Watch Wi-Fi support page notes 5GHz has been supported for the reason that Series 6 watches.)

Both watches speak to the iPhone and different peripherals utilizing Bluetooth 5.3.

WatchOS 26 on the Apple Watch Series 11 and Series 10

The new options of WatchOS 26 come to each watch fashions, together with hypertension notifications, Sleep Score and the Blood Oxygen app (making its reappearance within the US amid an ongoing authorized dispute). Apple’s comparability web page lists the brand new Wrist Flick gesture for the Series 11 however not the Series 10, however that should be a typo as a result of I can verify that it really works on my Series 10 watch.