Apple Watch Series 10 test – running out of watches, not enough –

The best thing about Apple products is that they rarely need to be replaced, they receive updates for a long time, and they age slowly. Apple Watches take a particularly long time, which can be framed in two ways.

If we want to be more positive, we can mention that watchOS 10 has even been installed on the 2018 Series 4. Although watchOS 11, which was released this year, requires at least the 2020 Series 6, it’s not anymore, it’s good to see that it’s still supported.

But if we look at it from another angle, the fact is that there has been no overwhelming innovation for years, no new features on the main thread (Ultra is a different matter) that would have made a Series 6 user feel that it was time to switch. The display got a little bigger, with the Series 9 it became a bit brighter, fast charging, ovulation estimation appeared, which obviously only affects some users, collision detection was also introduced, control by touching the fingers was introduced (which still doesn’t work in all media player applications), but the battery did not last longer or the range of functions was much wider.

We waited with interest to see what the Series 10 had to offer in light of this, but despite the fact that Apple mentioned significant design changes at the time of the announcement, this generational change actually brought more minor progress than a revolution.

I turn my face to the wall and go on

The Series 10 is wider and taller than the Series 9 (and 8, 7), so you can now choose a 46 mm or 42 mm package instead of the previous 45 and 41 mm. This means more space, for example, if you put the weather in the center of the modular clock face, next to the expected lowest and highest temperature for the day, Max. and Min… but the keyboard has also become bigger, where it is available , and more text can be displayed on the display. So it doesn’t transform the user experience, but it’s definitely an improvement, while even this size doesn’t feel like carrying a brick on our arm (although those with thinner wrists may not be happy with the increase, since the smallest is now the same size as the first generation was the biggest); it looks good, and we are always happy to have more usable space.

It has become noticeably thinner and lighter than its predecessor, it is still beautiful, both aluminum and luxury, with a titanium coating that replaces stainless steel. Thanks to the LTPO 3 technology, we can also see the second hand clicking in passive mode, while if we raise our wrist, it moves continuously – we can follow the passage of time more precisely without having to activate the display. When viewed from below, from the side, due to the OLED with a wide viewing angle, we see the display as bright as if we were looking at it with our eyes, while with previous models, when viewed from the side, it is not certain that we can make out all the important information.

We can still use the ECG, it can monitor heart rhythm, cardiofitnest, pulse, sleep, estimate ovulation, more precisely, it will soon be able to detect sleep apnea (we haven’t been able to test this yet), and it also measures a lot of useful information while moving, which its predecessor did. For swimmers, the water temperature sensor and depth sensor may be important, as well as the associated Depth app, which was transferred from the Ultra and tells you exactly how deep you have dived (up to 6 meters) and at what temperature you are currently swimming.

It may also be interesting for those who like water sports. With watchOS 11, the Árapály app was released not only for Series 10, but also for previous devices, which provides information on the conditions of tens of thousands of beaches and surf spots – we don’t use this much in Hungary, especially when traveling. The information collected during sleep is monitored by a new app called Vital Signs, which also monitors breathing rate, heart rate, wrist temperature and blood oxygen levels when worn at night. For this to work reliably, the watch must be worn for at least 7 hours of sleep.

Another useful innovation is that the speaker of the Series 10 (and the Ultra 2) can now be used to play music, we don’t need headphones, and the sound quality isn’t terrible anyway – of course you should keep your expectations in check, but it’s not worse than using a phone’s speaker, no much quieter than that. When this comes in handy, it’s up to the person, for example, when taking a shower combined with hair washing, it’s great that we don’t have to risk the integrity of the headphones or our phone.

Nothing is enough for me, my dear

Many exciting functions were already in the Series 9, it also received the software innovations, so those who switched last year really have no reason to move forward – and that’s okay. We can’t list many arguments for the owners of previous, but even relatively recent devices, because even though finger-tapping control is fun and useful, you can live without it. It gives more to swimmers and water sports enthusiasts than others, they may benefit more from it.

At the same time, it is a sore point that the battery has not changed, it still guarantees 18 hours of use in normal and 36 hours in low consumption mode, which means a maximum of one and a half days of availability, but certainly not two. It’s true that we can now charge it to 80% in 30 minutes instead of 45 minutes, but that’s little consolation considering the capabilities of the competitors (of course I’m not talking about the Galaxy Watch7, because it doesn’t last much longer). However, the truth is that if we wear it all day and then put it on the charger while getting ready for bed, or charge it while getting ready in the morning, it will practically never run out, due to the faster charging, it means minimal inconvenience that we have to change our evening and morning routine, the truly effortless movement of placing the watch on the charger. Above all, the knowledge that someone else has already managed to make your watch last longer without charging makes this situation difficult to accept.

Maybe it’s worth switching from Series 6, so that we can see all kinds of useful information on a significantly larger display, and the watch doesn’t drag our arm so much – the Series 10 is really very light. At the same time, the smallest size is now 42 mm , may be a counter-argument for some customers with slimmer wrists. The battery life should be increased, we could also tolerate AI functions, but apart from that, the new model is at least as reliable, fast, beautiful and durable as its predecessors – Apple’s best ever smartwatch for average users. There is no compulsion to switch, but if you felt this anyway and you definitely want an Apple Watch, you won’t regret it.