Buyer’s Guide: Apple Watch Series 9 vs. Series 10: 18 upgrades compared
The Apple Watch Series 10 can now be pre-ordered. The latest models feature 18 improvements over their predecessors. They also have their first design update in three years.
The most significant hardware changes include new display technologies, water temperature and depth detection, and a redesigned metal back that enables faster charging.
But what improvements does the Apple Watch Series 10 really offer beyond these headlines? This guide breaks down the differences compared to the Series 9 models. Is the change worth it? Here’s everything that’s changed.
Apple Watch Series 9 vs Apple Watch Series 10
| Apple Watch Series 9 | Apple Watch Series 10 |
|---|---|
| Same design as Apple Watch Series 7 and Apple Watch Series 8 | Refined design with a thinner casing, display with more rounded edges and a wider aspect ratio, and front glass that extends further over the sides for a higher screen-to-body ratio |
| 41mm and 45mm casing size options | 42mm and 46mm casing size options |
| Available with aluminum or stainless steel casing | Available with aluminum or titanium casing |
| Aluminum: Available in anodized Silver, Starlight, Midnight, Pink, and (PRODUCT)RED finishes Stainless Steel: Available in polished Silver, Gold, and Graphite finishes | Aluminum: Available in anodized Silver and Rose Gold, and polished Jet Black finishes Titanium: Available in polished Silver (matches previous stainless steel casing, Apple Watch Hermès only), Gold, Slate, and Natural finishes |
| Ceramic and sapphire crystal back | Metal back with larger charging coil and integrated antenna |
| 41mm: 1.69-inch display 45mm: 1.9-inch display | 42mm: 1.89-inch display 46mm: 2.04-inch display |
| LTPO OLED Always-On Retina display | LTPO3 OLED Always-On Retina display (faster refresh rate in always-on mode, enabling a live ticking seconds hand on select watch faces) |
| Wide-angle OLED (up to 40% brighter when viewed at an angle) | |
| Flux and Reflections watch faces, optimized for the larger display and faster refresh rate | |
| S9 chip | More compact S10 chip |
| Body temperature sensor | Body and water temperature sensor |
| Depth gauge to 6m | |
| Depth app | |
| Oceanic+ app for snorkelling (available on the App Store) | |
| Microphone | Microphone with voice isolation |
| Single, elongated speaker hole | Redesigned speaker with individual holes |
| Speaker | Speaker with media playback |
| Fast charging (0–80% in 45 minutes) | Faster charging (0–80% in about 30 minutes) |
Dimensions
The Series 10 introduces slight increases in height and width, resulting in a marginally larger screen-to-body ratio. However, the depth is significantly reduced by over 9%, making the Series 10 noticeably thinner. Despite the larger case sizes, the Series 10 is lighter across both aluminium GPS and GPS + Cellular models.
| Apple Watch Series 9 | Apple Watch Series 10 | |
|---|---|---|
| Height | 41mm: 41mm 45mm: 45mm | 42mm: 42mm (+2.44%) 46mm: 46mm (+2.22%) |
| Width | 41mm: 35mm 45mm: 38mm | 42mm: 36mm (+2.86%) 46mm: 39mm (+2.63%) |
| Depth | 41mm: 10.7mm 45mm: 10.7mm | 42mm: 9.7mm (-9.35%) 46mm: 9.7mm (-9.35%) |
| Weight (GPS) | 41mm: 31.9g 45mm: 38.7g | 42mm: 30g (-5.96%) 46mm: 36.4g (-5.95%) |
| Weight (GPS + Cellular) | 41mm: 32.1g 45mm: 39.0g | 42mm: 29.3g (-8.72%) 46mm: 35.3g (-9.49%) |
On the Apple Watch Series 10 has grown slightly in height and width, resulting in a slightly larger screen-to-body ratio. However, the depth is significantly reduced by over 9%, making the Series 10 noticeably thinner. Despite the larger case sizes, the Series 10 is lighter in both the GPS and GPS + 4G models.
Is it worth upgrading?
The Apple Watch Series 10 offers several improvements over the Series 9. For most users, however, the differences are only minor. The thinner and lighter design is an improvement, but it’s not a game changer. The slightly larger display and the wide-angle OLED improve readability, but do not represent a drastic change.
As minor improvements The Apple Watch Series 10’s improved speakers and microphone are also worth mentioning. The new speaker can play media for the first time and the microphone now has speech isolation for better speech intelligibility in noisy environments.
But one of the more significant changes is faster charging. The Apple Watch Series 10 charges to 80% in about 30 minutes, compared to 45 minutes for the Series 9. Additionally, the Series 10 introduces new finishes, including polished Jet Black aluminum and polished titanium options.
Additionally, the Apple Watch Series 10 brings some real upgrades like water depth and temperature detection. But most of the other improvements feel more like refinements. Anyone who cares less about the changed design and the new display as well as the charging and the new water and audio functions should therefore think carefully about an upgrade from the Apple Watch Series 9. In fact, most users will hardly notice the differences in everyday use.
Whoever owns one of the much older Apple watches, on the other hand, have various reasons for an update. In our view, the measurement of body temperature and the double-tap gesture lead to a clear difference. The Apple Watch Series 10 can be pre-ordered from this Friday, September 20th.
