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ICYM my Apple Watch Series 10 review, Tom's Guide's Katie has been testing out Apple's flagship smartwatch for a few weeks now.
You had some questions about the design and colors, battery life, how the Apple Watch Series 10 vs. Apple Watch Ultra 2 compare, and about whether paying for Cellular support is worth it.
Hopefully her answers can help you out if you're planning to buy a new smartwatch!
Transcript
00:00Hey guys, I've seen a lot of interesting questions come through on my Apple Watch Series 10 review
00:05video, so I thought I'd go through and answer some. I've been wearing the Series 10 for two,
00:09maybe almost three weeks now, so hopefully I'll be able to help you out a bit if you're wondering
00:14whether you should buy the new Apple Watch. Again, these are all your questions, but if there's
00:19anything else you want to know or things I haven't discussed yet, just let me know in the comments
00:23of this video. Otherwise, let's get into it. First up, I want to plan about buy Apple Watch
00:29Wait, huh? I want to plan to buy iPhone 10 Series, I think I'm guessing they mean Apple Watch Series,
00:36so please can you suggest a size, whether it's 42 or 46 millimeters, which fit my wrist size
00:42240 millimeters. Do we have a ruler? Yeah, it's right there. I use the metric system. Thank you.
00:50I use the metric system, so I need to see what 240 millimeters would look like. So this is
00:56centimeters, 240, so that's 24. I feel like that's a really big wrist. Look, I don't think there's any
01:03rule that tells you what size Apple Watch you should get based on your wrist size, but I think
01:0824 centimeters or 240 millimeters is a pretty large wrist. I generally think that the Apple Watch
01:15Series 10 in 46 millimeters would probably look a bit more, what's the word I'm looking for?
01:20Proportional. It would look more proportional. Series 10 has a number of useful upgrades this
01:25year, so why not the battery? Sad face, crying face. Why not the battery? You know I ask this
01:31question every year, and instead of actually increasing the battery or the battery life I
01:36think that this person is referring to, Apple has instead opted to make changes to efficiency and
01:42the display and kind of the overall power of the watch without compromising battery life. So like,
01:48think about it, when the watch gets brighter, when the display gets bigger, when the performance is
01:52more demanding and it can do more, it takes more power, more battery to run those things. So Apple
01:57has kind of remained committed to not lowering the battery life expectancy even though it's still
02:02making all of these improvements in other ways. Do I wish we got more than an 18 hour battery life?
02:08Of course, that's actually why I usually wear the Apple Watch Ultra because you get closer to two
02:12days of battery life. The Garmin fans always come out whenever a new Apple Watch is announced just
02:16saying how the battery life can't be compared, and that's so valid. If you really need a smart
02:21watch with great battery life, maybe an Apple Watch isn't right for you. But I don't think it's
02:25fair to say that the battery hasn't been upgraded when it has been upgraded to match some of those
02:31new efficiency demands. Girl, I'm confused between jet black or rose gold color. Anyone have advice
02:36for me? And I've never owned an Apple Watch before. Well, if you are going to be getting your first
02:41Apple Watch, congratulations, that's very exciting. Second, in terms of colors, some people are
02:46complaining that there are maybe not as many interesting colors this year. As a reminder, we
02:51have jet black, silver, and rose gold. This is the jet black here on my wrist, but in my review video,
02:57I had the rose gold color, which is also really nice. In terms of which one to get, I would say
03:03it comes down to whether you want something that's more shiny or matte. The jet black is cool because
03:08it's polished aluminum. This is a first for Apple Watch, and it has this more like shiny, it catches
03:13the light real nice. It might look a bit more premium in some ways in that regard, but the rose
03:18gold is also really nice. There's going to be no mistaking it for an Apple Watch. I think it goes
03:23really well with jewelry if that's something that you wear and want to have matched. If you're not
03:28totally sure, and again, you're getting your first Apple Watch, it's going to be an investment. You
03:32want to pick the right one for you. In this case, I might recommend going to the store, checking them
03:36out. You don't need an appointment or anything just to go try on the different colors and see
03:40which one you think matches your style. Oh, we have a similar question. I feel like jet black
03:45fits more men, right? No, no, no, no. I saw multiple comments like this, actually. We are not going to
03:51be gendering which colors. There's no color for men, color for women. They're just colors. It
03:57depends on your preference. I've had women in my comments saying they love the jet black. That's
04:02what they're doing. I've had men saying they love the rose gold. It doesn't matter. Get the watch
04:07color that you like. There doesn't need to be one for men, one for women. I don't want to see any
04:11more comments about this, guys. Thank you for this detailed video. You're welcome. Can you please tell
04:17me if the wristbands are interchangeable between the Series 9 and Series 10? That is actually a
04:22great question because leading up to the launch, there were some rumors that Apple would be
04:26changing the band system, but they did not. All of the bands that you already have for your Apple
04:31Watch will work for the new one as long as you have the corresponding sizes. If you have a
04:37Series 9, you go to Series 10. Series 9, you would have a 41 or 45 millimeter. On the Series 10, you
04:43will have a 42 or a 46 millimeter. The 41 matches the 42. The 45 matches the 46. Those bands will
04:52work either way. And in case you didn't know, that's also the case for the Apple Watch Ultra.
04:56The 45 slash 46 size bands also work for the 49 millimeter Apple Watch Ultra. Oh my god, that was
05:02a lot of math. I hope I explained that in a clear way. I just, the numbers, you know. Moving along,
05:07how is the apnea detection supposed to work without the blood oxygen sensor? That's a good
05:13question. I did see multiple comments about this. Now, this person's talking about the sleep apnea
05:20detection feature that was announced alongside the Series 10, though it also works for the Series 9
05:25and Apple Watch Ultra, too. If you watched my review video, I talked about the deal with the
05:30blood oxygen sensor app, how it's not available in the U.S. due to the ongoing patent dispute.
05:35But it's actually not the blood oxygen sensor that's informing the sleep apnea detection feature.
05:42It's Apple's accelerometer that's powering those insights. Listen, this was actually pulled from
05:48the product description. This feature uses the watch's built-in accelerometer to detect motion
05:54and airflow patterns. So the nitty-gritty of how it actually works is still kind of vague. I don't
05:59think Apple would actually go out and share that information. But I've been using the feature since
06:04it became available a couple weeks ago, and so far it's pretty on par with what my understanding
06:09of my sleep is. I know I don't have sleep apnea. I know I sleep well through the night. I'm not
06:14getting any breathing disturbances alerts, but if this is something that you'd want to know more
06:18about or if I should do a separate video about, let me know in the comments. Does the aluminum
06:23Apple Watch Series 10 have a sapphire screen like the Ultra 2 and the stainless steel watches?
06:29So first thing wrong with that question is Apple no longer makes stainless steel watches. The more
06:35premium Apple Watch Series 10 is actually a titanium material, so a bit of a difference there.
06:41But to answer your question, no. The Apple Watch Series 10 aluminum, which this one is, does not
06:47have a sapphire glass display. It has something called ION-X front glass. This is the type of
06:52glass that Apple has used on the Apple Watch, the aluminum watch I should say, for years now. And no,
06:58it is not as scratch resistant as the sapphire crystal display. So not recommended for maybe
07:06more rugged activities if you have a job that you're very hands-on, manual labor, things like
07:11that. I know that all kind of sounds bad, but there is a positive or a trade-off in that the ION-X
07:16glass is more lighter weight than sapphire crystal, so that helps with the Apple Watch Series 10
07:22being around 10% lighter, I believe, than last year's Apple Watch. Would you upgrade from the
07:28Apple Watch Series 8? That's a good question. So the Apple Watch Series 8 came out two years ago.
07:35I don't think that people need to be replacing their Apple Watch every two years. I think phones
07:40are kind of different. There's a lot of incentives to get the new iPhone every year, but the Apple
07:45Watch doesn't need to follow the same kind of program. If you ask me, the biggest non-starter
07:50when it comes to whether it's time to upgrade your Apple Watch is whether your watch supports
07:55the latest software update, which in this case is watchOS 11. If you've been holding on to your Apple
08:00Watch Series 5, Apple Watch Series 4, and God forbid, Apple Watch Series 3 or newer, I would
08:05say you're probably due for an upgrade, especially if your Apple Watch is something that you wear
08:10mostly regularly. There's honestly not that much major between the Apple Watch Series 8 and Apple
08:15Watch Series 10 that I think maybe the average user would care about. So I would hold on to your
08:19Apple Watch Series 8 for at least another year. But hey, if you're curious, I would check those
08:24trade-in values because your Apple Watch Series 8 might be worth a good sum towards getting a new
08:29watch if that seems worth it to you. If I go with the 10, what will I miss out from not choosing the
08:35Ultra 2 and vice versa? Is the slimmer 10 better for overall use in terms of shirts, jackets, and
08:41so on? I'm interpreting it as this person cares more about the fit and feel, so it's one of those
08:47cases where I think I should better show you than tell you. All right, here I have the Apple Watch
08:55Ultra 2 in satin black. I posted an unboxing on our TikTok, which you should go check out,
09:01but I wanted to put it on to show you the difference in thickness in the two watches.
09:06I could pull up the measurements on Apple's website, but I think you're seeing what I'm
09:10seeing, that the Apple Watch Series 10 is much thinner than the Apple Watch Ultra 2.
09:16I'll take it off for a moment. I wore the right shirt today. I'm wearing, like, a form-fitting
09:22black long-sleeve shirt, and yeah, it definitely, like, as I'm pulling my sleeve up, definitely does
09:27get caught in the watch. I have to put it over. It's very clear. It's like, what am I hiding under
09:31there? Am I James Bond type of thing? Now, if I put the Series 10 back on my wrist, the feel
09:42is night and day. There's really not much that the Apple Watch Series 10 gets that the Apple
09:46Watch Ultra 2 doesn't. It has the new Tides app. As I mentioned earlier, it gets sleep apnea
09:52detection, but there are some key benefits to the Apple Watch Ultra 2 compared to the Apple Watch
09:58Series 10. We already talked about the sapphire crystal display. You have a titanium design.
10:04You have the added action button and the 86-decibel siren, but what I think matters to
10:09most people is the fact that the Apple Watch Ultra 2 has a much longer battery life. I can go on a
10:15weekend trip without charging it, and that's just a game changer for a lot of people. All right,
10:21guys, we made it to the last question. Is it justified to buy the Series 10 with cellular?
10:27It irks me how Apple charges an extra $100 for cellular support on the watches. The Apple Watch
10:35Series 10 starts at $399, but then if you get the version with cellular enabled, it goes up to
10:41$499, and some people don't realize that even though you pay for the cellular supporting
10:47version, you then still need to pay your carrier a monthly fee in order to have the cellular
10:53connection. I use Verizon. I think it's about $10 per month, so that means that the cost doesn't
10:59end beyond just paying for the cellular upgrade. For those who aren't familiar with what cellular
11:03means, it basically means that the iPhone supports your phone service, so it extends your phone's
11:09number to your watch. If you leave your phone at home, you go out, or your phone just isn't in
11:15range of your Apple Watch, you'll be able to answer calls, send text messages, use the Maps app,
11:21call an Uber, anything else that you would be able to do on your watch if it was connected to your
11:26phone. A feature like this is really popular among runners or people who do outdoor sports,
11:32meaning that they don't have to have their phone on them, but they can still stay connected.
11:35There's some great peace of mind in a feature like this, or how about for people who just
11:40tend to leave their phone at home? I'm talking to you, mom. That way you know that you can still
11:44answer a call. The amount of times that my mom leaves for the grocery store without her phone,
11:48and I need to text her to get something that I forgot to say before she left, if she had a
11:53cellular watch, that wouldn't be a problem. So it's really important to note that you have to
11:57make this decision when you're going to buy your Apple Watch. If you get an Apple Watch without
12:03cellular support, and then decide you want it, your watch isn't going to work, even if you're
12:07ready to pay your carrier that monthly fee. If you think there's even a chance you're going to
12:12want a feature like that, I would go ahead and get the cellular version. I appreciate everyone
12:16who sent in some questions. I hope I was able to help, even if it was just a little bit, or maybe
12:21I even answered some questions you didn't even know you had. If there is anything else you want
12:25to know about the Apple Watch Series 10, be sure to go check out my full review video. There could
12:30be some more context in there. And if you're looking to upgrade the rest of your devices,
12:34Apple just came out with a bunch of stuff. We have some great videos. We have reviews,
12:39unboxings, photo face-offs, all that good stuff. And, of course, on TikTok, at Tom's Guide,
12:45is where you're going to see far more behind the scenes with testing all of the new products.
12:50Thanks for watching, guys. Again, let me know if you have any questions about the Apple Watch Series
12:5410. Otherwise, I'll catch you next time.