The first Apple Watch Series 10 reviews have been published by various media outlets and YouTube channels, ahead of the device launching on Friday.

Apple Watch Series 10 Jet Black
Key new features for the Apple Watch Series 10 include larger displays with 42mm and 46mm case sizes, a nearly 10% thinner design compared to the Apple Watch Series 9, a new Jet Black polished aluminum case option, faster charging, the ability to play audio through the built-in speaker, voice isolation for phone calls, Depth and Tides apps for water activities, and more. In addition, watchOS 11 adds a new sleep apnea detection feature on the Apple Watch Series 10, Apple Watch Series 9, and Apple Watch Ultra 2.

Reviews

The Verge's Victoria Song on the Series 10's larger displays:

Normally, I rail against the trend toward larger watches, but the Series 10’s display is worth every millimeter. […]

I haven’t missed the Ultra’s display at all. The Series 10 is about half the weight, and at 9.7mm thick, it’s about 30 percent thinner than the Ultra too. It fits easily under jacket cuffs, doesn’t catch on the straps at my Pilates class, and doesn’t slide up and down my arm when I run. Plus, the on-screen buttons are also slightly larger. […]

Also unexpected: I love the wide-angle OLED. I can see the time from just about every angle.

Sleep apnea detection has only been available for a short time, so reviewers said they have not been able to test it thoroughly yet. The feature is now available in more than 150 countries and regions on watchOS 11, which was widely released yesterday.

Sleep apnea is a potentially serious disorder in which a person's breathing repeatedly stops and starts while they sleep. The detection feature uses the Apple Watch's accelerometer to "monitor small movements at the wrist that are associated with interruptions in normal respiratory patterns," according to Apple. If these disturbances occur frequently over multiple nights, they may be associated with sleep apnea, according to Apple.

Forbes' David Phelan on the Series 10's thinner design and Jet Black finish:

On the wrist, the 46mm Series 10 feels way more discreet than the Ultra 2, not to mention more effortlessly dressy and chic. And I speak as someone who loves the Ultra. And you can certainly feel the difference in weight. The 46mm Series 10 weighs 42g or less, depending on the metal finish you choose. The Ultra 2 weighs 62g.

Part of that chic quality is down to Apple going big on shiny this year. The aluminum finish is, Apple says, polished using nano-particles before undergoing a 30-step anodization process. The Jet Black color is very attractive, reminiscent of the same color on the iPhone 7 from 2016.

CNET's Lexy Savvides on the Series 10's ability to play audio through the speaker:

I did my own highly unscientific test to see how annoying it would be to play a heavy rock track at full volume on the watch speaker. In a quiet indoor environment, my colleague Faith Chihil could hear the speaker from about 20 feet away. Outside with street noise, she had to be standing right next to me to hear anything. In short, it's nowhere near as loud as the maximum volume from a phone speaker.

I measured the Apple Watch Series 10's maximum volume with the Noise app on an Apple Watch Ultra 2, and it hit around 92dB with that heavy rock track. But most other songs I played were in the region of 80 to 87dB.

Apple Watch Series 10 adds voice isolation to phone calls. Apple says the device's Neural Engine is able to suppress background noise during phone calls or FaceTime audio calls, so that your voice sounds more clear and crisp on the receiving end of the call. Apple says the feature even works in especially noisy environments, such as outdoors on a windy day or inside a crowded restaurant.

This feature is not available on the Apple Watch Series 9 or older, but the Apple Watch Ultra 2 does already feature wind noise reduction.

Savvides said the voice isolation is "mind-blowingly good":

The Apple Watch Series 10 voice isolation is mind-blowingly good […]

Naturally, I wanted to test this in the noisiest environment I could think of, so I headed to Lion Dance Me in San Francisco and called my colleague Lisa Eadicicco. If you've ever heard a dragon dance during events like Lunar New Year celebrations, you'll know the drums can be incredibly loud. It felt like my ears were being blown out in real time, but the voice isolation was so good on the Series 10, it made the drums sound like they were a block away. Lisa could hear me clearly, even though I felt like I was shouting into the watch.

CNBC's Todd Haselton on faster charging:

The charging is great. The Series 10 has new coils under the back glass that charge it to 80% in 30 minutes. I could get plenty of juice for the day ahead by plugging it in while reading a book or taking a shower.

Videos




Related Roundup: Apple Watch 11
Tag: Reviews
Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch (Buy Now)

Top Rated Comments

kaishockz Avatar
14 months ago
iJustine is a clear NO for me...oh wait, this time no iJustine video here. thank the gods.
Score: 28 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Krakken Avatar
14 months ago
I'm upgrading from a Series 4 Apple Watch so it looks good to me! ?‍♂️
Score: 26 Votes (Like | Disagree)
klasma Avatar
14 months ago

I hope it still tells the time!
Time will tell.
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
EugW Avatar
14 months ago
It’s a iterative upgrade. Nothing wrong with that though.
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
iea96 Avatar
14 months ago
All I want to see is someone to put the new 42mm next to an old 44mm.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
attila Avatar
14 months ago

10th year of incremental upgrades. Watch OS is dated and badly needs a refresh with new features.
No it isn't and no it doesn't. You're not forced into buying the next iThing every year.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iOS 26 Feature

iOS 26.1 to iOS 26.4 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Wednesday October 1, 2025 1:26 pm PDT by
iOS 26 was released last month, but the software train never stops, and iOS 26.1 beta testing is already underway. So far, iOS 26.1 makes both Apple Intelligence and Live Translation on compatible AirPods available in additional languages, and it includes some other minor changes across Apple Music, Calendar, Photos, and Safari. More features and changes will follow in future versions,...
iPhone 17 vs Air and Pros Feature

New iPhones See 'Stronger Than Expected' Demand With One Exception

Thursday October 2, 2025 7:26 am PDT by
Nearly two weeks after the iPhone 17 series launched, analysts at investment banking firm Morgan Stanley said demand for the devices has been "modestly stronger than we originally expected," based on a combination of extended shipping estimates on Apple's online store and information it gathered from Apple's supply chain. There has been strong early demand for the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro,...
macbook air prime day 2025

M5 MacBook Air: Release Date, Features, and Performance Predictions

Friday October 3, 2025 3:39 am PDT by
The MacBook Air is Apple's most popular laptop – a thin, fanless machine that wields quiet power thanks to the efficiency of Apple silicon. While the M4 model isn't exactly old, attention is already turning to its successor. Apple doesn't telegraph new product launches ahead of time, but we can draw a surprisingly clear picture of what to expect by looking at Apple's silicon roadmap,...
Tim Cook Rainbow

Apple Event in October? Here's What to Expect

Monday September 29, 2025 9:31 am PDT by
Apple's annual iPhone event is in the rearview mirror, but rumors suggest the company plans to release a handful of additional products before the year ends. Will there be another Apple event this October? We discuss the possibility below. Apple in October Apple's most recent October events were in 2021 and 2023. In 2022 and 2024, Apple did not host an October event. Instead, it...
maxresdefault

The MacRumors Show: Leaks Reveal What Apple Products Are Coming Next

Friday October 3, 2025 8:05 am PDT by
On this episode of The MacRumors Show, we discuss the latest leaks about the next-generation iPad Pro, MacBook Pro, Studio Display, and Vision Pro. Subscribe to The MacRumors Show YouTube channel for more videos Earlier this week, an apparent unboxing video of an updated iPad Pro with the M5 chip was shared online. The same YouTube account leaked the 14-inch MacBook Pro with the M4 chip...
space black mbp

Here's Every New Apple Product That Leaked Yesterday

Wednesday October 1, 2025 8:27 am PDT by
A handful of upcoming Apple products leaked yesterday, through a combination of YouTube videos out of Russia and U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) documents that were released, despite Apple's confidentiality requests. The leaked products include an iPad Pro with an M5 chip, as well as updated MacBook Pro and Apple Vision Pro models. All of these devices had already been rumored...
Apple 2025 Thumb 1

Apple's 2025 Product Roadmap: What's Still Coming

Wednesday October 1, 2025 3:56 pm PDT by
Apple's two big yearly events, WWDC and the iPhone launch, are done and over with, but there are still some new products that we're expecting to see before the end of the year. Apple TV The Apple TV hasn't been updated since 2022, so it's due for a refresh. It doesn't look like Apple is going to change the design of its set-top box, but we can expect a faster chip Apple code suggests...
iOS 26 Feature

iOS 26 Adds These 200 New Features and Changes to Your iPhone

Saturday October 4, 2025 8:19 am PDT by
Apple's website offers a list of nearly 200 new features and changes (PDF file) included in the software update, released last month. Apple also shared equivalent lists for iPadOS 26 and macOS Tahoe. iOS 26 is compatible with the iPhone 11 and newer. To install the update, open the Settings app on your iPhone, tap on General, and tap on Software Update. Below, we have highlighted eight ...