Apple Watch Series 10 vs. Series 9: How the two watches compare

If you’re thinking about upgrading your current Apple Watch or buying an Apple wearable for the first time, you might be wondering how the new Apple Watch Series 10 compares to last year’s Series 9.

Check this out: Apple Watch Series 10 vs Series 9: Specifications overview

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The Series 10 starts at $400 in the US, just as the Series 9 did at launch (you can find UK and Australian prices in the chart below). There are some important differences between these wearables. The Series 10 offers a larger screen and larger housing sizes, plus a new voice isolation function and can play music loudly on the speaker. Keep reading for an even closer look at how the Series 9 and 10 compare.

Apple Watch Series 10 gets a larger and brighter screen

The Series 10 has the largest screen of any Apple Watch yet. It is available in two new sizes; a 46 millimeter option and a 42 millimeter option. That 46 millimeter option is even slightly larger than the Apple Watch Ultra. The Series 9, on the other hand, is available in a 45 millimeter variant and a 41 millimeter variant.

Apple says a larger Series 10 display gives you up to 30% more screen real estate compared to the Series 4, 5 and 6, and up to 9% more screen real estate compared to the Series 7, 8 and 9. In everyday use, that means you add an extra line of text to your watch or increase your font size without losing the content. Buttons for things like the Calculator app and typing your passcode are also larger.

The Series 10 is also brighter. Both the Series 9 and 10 have a maximum brightness of 2,000 nits, but the Series 10’s wide-angle OLED makes the screen 40% brighter when viewed from an angle. As I was typing her Apple Watch Series 10 review, my colleague, Lexy Savvides, was wearing the Series 9 and 10 on the same wrist. When she looked down from an angle to check the time, she found that the Series 10 looked slightly brighter.

The Series 10 also has an LTPO 3 display that can reach a 1Hz refresh rate, allowing a ticking seconds hand to appear on the always-on display. Not only is LTPO 3 not offered on the Series 9, but it is also generally rare on smartwatches. It is more commonly found on premium smartphones such as the iPhone 15 Pro Max and the Galaxy S24 Ultra. In her Series 10 review, Lexy raves about the ability to see that ticking seconds hand without having to wake her watch screen.

Apple Watch Series 10 is thinner and lighter

The Series 10 is also the thinnest Apple Watch ever. It is 9.7 millimeters thick, while the Series 9 is 10.7 millimeters thick. That’s a difference of about 10%.

The Series 10 comes in aluminum and titanium finishes, while the Series 9 comes in aluminum and stainless steel finishes. Both the aluminum and titanium Series 10 models are lighter than the equivalent Series 9 models.

Yes, the Apple Watch Series 10 charges faster, but the battery life is the same

The Series 10 offers faster charging than the Series 9. Apple claims it takes about 30 minutes to go from 0% to 80% on the Series 10 and 45 minutes on the Series 9. In her Series 10 review, Lexy notes that she charged the watch from 7% to 84% in half an hour, so her test was pretty much in line with Apple’s claim.

Apple also says that the battery on both the Series 9 and 10 will last up to 18 hours, or up to 36 hours in Low Power mode. In her review, Lexy points out that it’s a shame the Series 10 doesn’t offer longer battery life than the Series 9, especially now that Apple is leaning more heavily on sleep-focused features like sleep apnea detection (more on that below), and I agree.

Apple Watch Series 10 has a great new voice isolation feature

The Series 10 has a voice isolation feature that is not present on the Series 9. This is intended to reduce background noise while you are calling. So for her Series 10 review, Lexy put this feature to the test in a noisy scenario: a dragon dance on Lion dance me in San Francisco. Dragon dancing takes place during events such as Lunar New Year celebrations and involves drums that can be quite loud. Thanks to voice isolation, they were both able to hear each other, even when Lexy called our colleague Lisa Eadicicco during a dragon dance.

With the Series 10 you can also play music out loud on the speaker, while this is not the case with the Series 9.

New Apple Watch Series 10 water features

Both the Series 9 and 10 are water resistant and swim proof, but the Series 10 has a 6 meter depth gauge and a water temperature sensor which is not available on the Series 9. The Series 10 also has the Oceanic Plus app for snorkeling, while the Series 9 doesn’t.

Apple Watch Series 9 and 10 are getting a new sleep apnea feature with WatchOS 11

The Apple Watch Series 9, Series 10 and Ultra 2 have a new tool for detecting possible signs of sleep apnea. It uses the accelerometer, along with Apple’s algorithms, to recognize possible breathing disorders while you sleep. You can read more about how it works here. This sleep apnea feature comes with WatchOS 11, which ships on the Series 10 and is also available for the Series 9.

Additionally, WatchOS 11 brings a new Vitals app that monitors key metrics while you sleep, such as heart rate, respiratory rate, and wrist temperature. The app will flag these metrics if they are abnormal and alert you if you have two or more outliers.

WatchOS 11 also lets you pause your rings to take an activity break with both wearables. It’s also worth noting that WatchOS 11 is available as an update for older Apple Watches dating back to the Series 6 and second-generation SE.

Read more: Best new WatchOS 11 features you need to try on the Apple Watch

In addition to the new tools coming to Series 9 and 10 with WatchOS 11, these wearables share many of the same features you may already be familiar with, like high and low heart rate notifications, emergency SOS, and fall and crash detection (see the chart below for more).

Do you need to upgrade?

In short, the Series 10 offers a larger, brighter screen and larger chassis sizes, while being thinner and lighter than the Series 9. The Series 10 also features voice isolation and allows you to play music out loud on the speaker, unlike last year’s model. If you’re upgrading from the Series 9, these differences probably won’t feel very significant. If you are currently using a Series 4, 5 or 6, this will probably be the case. That larger and brighter screen is more noticeable, you get access to new features and you get WatchOS updates for longer.

Check out the specs chart below for more information on how the new Apple Watch Series 10 compares to last year’s Series 9.