Early impressions Apple Watch Series 10 there is quite positive. Not only does it have the largest screen of any Apple Watch (despite a smaller overall case size than the 49mm Ultra 2), it’s also lighter and slightly thinner than before. The display isn’t any bigger either – it’s improved brightness when viewed at an angle, and the always-on display can refresh once per second at rest instead of once per minute as before.
Aside from an updated display and some nice new case options (the new polished titanium and jet black aluminum look pretty awesome), the Apple Watch is also getting a new health feature: sleep apnea detection. It’s not exclusive to the Apple Watch Series 10, as last year’s Series 9 will also be getting it, but it was still the highlight of Apple’s presentation and another example of how they want you to wear the watch all day and all night.
The only problem with this? Battery life is still 18 hours, or 36 hours in battery saver mode (half what Apple claims for the Watch Ultra 2). This means that if I get up at 7am and close my watch, it will die overnight. Of course, the reality of this is not as extreme as I make it sound. Apple has been quoting an 18-hour battery since the first release of the Apple Watch in 2015, but recent models have easily exceeded that despite changes like the always-on screen. It doesn’t make sense to wear it all day and night to track your sleep, then charge it in the morning to set it for the next day. To make this even more possible, Apple has focused on fast charging in the last few models – the Series 10 can be charged up to 80 percent in just 30 minutes.
The problem, at least in my experience, comes a year or so into the life of the Apple Watch. I had a Series 7 and the battery health dropped below 90 percent in less than a year and below 85 percent after about 14 months. This made a noticeable difference; If I want to wear my watch overnight to track sleep, it will require charging at noon. Things would be even worse if I used LTE on a run and left my phone at home, as streaming music and tracking a workout could easily use up more than 25 percent of my battery. My 9 series which I bought last December is doing much better with battery health still at 100 percent. Maybe my Series 7 was a lemon, but I think Apple did some solid charging optimization to keep things fresh here.
Taking a day from the Apple Watch and making a change is compatible with the Pixel Watch 3 although it lags behind Samsung’s Galaxy smartwatches. But the comparison gets even worse when you look at Garmin’s line of fitness-oriented watches, all of which can be used for more than a week at no charge. Granted, they’re different from Apple and Google wearables, which are tightly integrated with every aspect of your phone’s OS, but that’s not the point. If you want to get the most out of your watch, wear it overnight to track your sleep, and not have to think about it the next day, the Apple Watch is far from your best bet.
Which brings me back to Series 10. How psyched would we all be if Apple said this thing had a three-day battery life? Even matching the Apple Watch Ultra’s 36-hour rating would be a win, as there’s a good chance you’ll get closer to two days in real-world use. Instead, Apple did what it often does and made the 10 series thinner. Of course, comfort is key when you’re talking about a wearable device, but I personally would trade 1mm less thickness (about a nine percent change) for a bigger, longer-lasting battery.
Instead, we have to settle for faster charging, which, don’t get me wrong, makes a difference. It’s pretty easy to imagine a world where you wake up, leave your Apple Watch on the charger for 45 minutes while you get ready for the day, and then don’t think about it again until morning. But that’s another time you should think about this thing that should live on your wrist. Charging overnight is no longer the best option, but charging every day is still a bad idea. I wish I had an Apple Watch that I could forget about and just pop on the charger every few days to charge. Maybe next year.
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