We can talk all day about the Apple Watch Series 10 and its new off-angle viewing screen, sleep apnea capabilities, Training Loads, and ability to measure dive depth, but I know the real reason why this Apple Watch is the best ever and might just be the only smartwatch you’ll ever want.
In the decade I’ve been wearing smartwatches, they’ve grown in size and weight almost consistently, culminating in the Apple Watch Ultra 2 (61.4g) and the Samsung Galaxy Ultra (60g). These are rugged digital watches meant for rugged outdoor activities and climbing Mount Everest. I’ve never understood why people who aren’t great at outdoor activities wear them. And forget about sleeping with them on. That’s impossible unless you can sleep with a rock under your stomach.
There’s a new trend in the smartwatch game, though: big, thin, and light. For me, it started with the 45mm Google Pixel Watch 3. I’ve worn the last two generations, and while I loved the sleek waterdrop design, I was frustrated by the screen size and thickness. For such a beautiful watch, it wasn’t always comfortable to wear. The Pixel Watch 3 in 45mm changed that, introducing a much larger (and brighter) screen and a thinner and fairly light 37g build.
I found I could sleep with this watch on and considered ditching my Apple Watch Series 9 for good.
Then came the Apple Watch Series 10 46mm.
Big and light
Yes, this is Apple’s largest Apple Watch screen ever (it’s 30% larger than the Apple Watch Series 9 45MM model), and it looks it too. I love a big screen, especially one with wide-angle OLED for much better off-axis viewing. Still, I won’t wear one if it’s uncomfortable or cumbersome. I can’t trade screen size for comfort essentially, which is why I’ve never fully embraced the Ultras.
The Apple Watch Series 10, however, delivers a surprising performance. Despite the screen size, the watch (without band) weighs 35.3 grams. The crazy thing is that the 45mm Apple Watch Series 9 in aluminum weighed 51.5 grams. This is a difference I feel. It’s like a reverse TARDIS: Bigger on the outside and the weight of a smaller device on the inside.
But it’s not just the weight. At 9.7mm, the watch is a full millimeter thinner than the previous Apple Watch.
I know, these are just numbers, but I’ll tell you how it feels: almost like nothing.
If I didn’t see the watch on my wrist, I would forget I had it on. This is all-day comfort and, in my experience, sleep-friendly comfort too.
That change in size and weight is even more impressive when you consider that the new Apple Watch Series 10 combines GPS and cellular capabilities across all models. Normally, the cellular and GPS models would be a tad heavier than their GPS-only counterparts. Not this time around. That may be partly because Apple redesigned the chassis construction.
While the last Apple Watch had a zirconia back, the Apple Watch Series 9 uses either aluminum or titanium. The all-metal back now supports placement of cellular radios, which is handy for the GPS + Cellular models, since the WiFi GPS radios are on the top. It’s an under-the-hood change you might not notice, but Series 10 with GPS + Cellular will no longer have a red ring on some parts of the Digital Crown to indicate cellular support. You’ll still have to pay your phone company to enable the service, though, and must purchase a model with cellular connectivity.
To be clear, size, weight, and design are really just one aspect of the Apple Watch Series 10, but when it comes to wearables, which at their core are fashion, can you put a price on good design, fit, and feel? How a watch feels on your wrist determines how you feel about it.
Receiving notifications, tracking workouts, health, and sleep (even sleep apnea) is, in a sense, the icing on the cake of the time tracking process.
So yes, let the Apple Genius talk you through all the great new features of the Apple Watch Series 10, but make sure they let you try one out.
@lanceulanoff
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