I held onto my Apple Watch Series 6 for nearly four years, which by Apple’s standards puts you on the verge of being quietly outcasted by the ecosystem. The battery was way past it, the screen had picked up a hairline scratch I could see in low light (no, I didn’t have a cover, and I won’t be apologising), and I’d convinced myself I was above caring. Besides, the new one was about to launch, and I didn’t fancy explaining a new watch to Billy when I already had other tech on order.
Then the Series 10 came out, my Series 6 reliability went off a cliff, and when I found myself opting for no watch at all rather than the broken one, Billy presumably saw the writing on the wall (or, more likely, heard me muttering about resurrecting the loud morning alarm) and decided to make it my birthday present. I’ve now been wearing it for nearly three months. Here is the honest account.
The bits that made me say something out loud
It’s noticeably thinner and lighter. This is the kind of upgrade you don’t think you’ll care about until you wear it for a week, then go back to the old one for an afternoon and feel like you’ve strapped a small brick to your wrist. The difference isn’t in the spec-sheet headline number, it’s in the way you don’t notice it when you’re doing the actual things you wear a watch for, like typing, picking up a baby, or pulling up a sleeve. There’s no weight to it at all, despite the bigger screen.
The screen is properly bigger. Same physical case in places (the new 42mm is almost identical to my old 40mm) but more screen on the front. Reading a long message no longer feels like trying to fit your shopping list onto a postage stamp. It also feels like the whole watch has been redesigned for forty-something eyes, which I object to mildly on principle and quietly enjoy in practice. The loudspeaker has also turned out to be genuinely good. I’ve taken calls on it while prepping food and while driving and nobody on the other end has flagged a drop in sound quality, which on the Series 6 they absolutely would have.
The always-on display is actually useable now. On the Series 6 it dimmed so much in the always-on state that I’d end up flicking my wrist anyway, which defeats the point. The Series 10 stays bright and legible without obviously eating the battery. I check the time without thinking about it, which is what the thing is meant to be for.
Sleep tracking, finally worth wearing it overnight. I now wear it every night. I prefer charging it during the working day when I know I’ll be sat at a desk with emails or in a meeting for a stretch, which makes the whole “when do I charge it” problem quietly go away. The sleep tracking is great. I know it probably overestimates deep, but I can recognise the patterns in my own week, and on the rough nights with Freddy it’s a quiet reminder that it wasn’t quite as bad as it felt. Heart rate during sleep has turned out to be the more interesting metric for me. It spikes when I’m coming down with something a day or two before I feel it, and it shifts predictably across the month in a way I’m finding useful for the hormone-and-recovery conversation I’m going to be having properly in the Oura review when that one lands with actual data.
Charging is the surprise win. It’s so fast I barely think about it. A top-up at the desk while I’m answering emails is enough to get me through another full day plus the night, and in practice I find myself charging every other day or every third day, which is a different category of relationship to a watch’s battery than the one I had with the Series 6.
The bits that genuinely don’t matter
The cellular version. I didn’t bother with it and I don’t miss it. The watch feature I actually use most is pinging my own phone when one of us has put it down somewhere, which sounds trivial until you’ve spent ten minutes hunting for it with a baby on your hip. Unless you regularly run, swim, cycle or hike without a phone, save the money and get the GPS-only version.
The watch faces. They have added some new ones, but I’m still on the same one I had on the Series 6, because I’m a woman of taste and the Modular face is correct.
The bits I lost that I miss
The Series 6 wristband collection. Apple changed nothing about the band system, which is good for the bank account, but it does mean I dug out a load of old bands and they all looked tired. I bought a new Milanese loop and a new silicone strap for the gym, and I do think Apple have left an opportunity on the table by not leaning harder into the two-style split. Because let’s be honest, this watch isn’t winning any fashion awards. A proper “wear it with a dress” version and a proper “wear it to lift” version is the obvious play, and the ecosystem half-does it without really committing.
The button swap is mildly maddening. They’ve moved the click logic around, so how you navigate to your apps versus your settings has swapped, and I still can’t quite get used to it. It doesn’t feel intuitive. Apple do this kind of thing in every watchOS update, but it’s still mildly annoying every time.
A comparison table, because we may as well
| Series 6 | Series 10 | |
|---|---|---|
| Case size (mine) | 40mm | 42mm |
| Weight | Solid | Noticeably lighter |
| Always-on display | Dims too much | Properly readable |
| Battery (real-use) | A day and a half if you’re lucky | A day and a half, but charges faster |
| Sleep tracking | Mostly disappointing | Actually useable |
| Fast charging | Slow | Fast enough to top up at the desk |
| Sleep apnoea detection | No | Yes (region dependent) |
| Cellular | Optional | Optional |
| Cost (UK RRP, 42mm GPS) | About £429 at launch | About £429 at launch (this is suspicious) |
So is the upgrade actually worth it?
If you’re on a Series 7, 8 or 9, probably not. The differences are incremental and you’ll mostly just notice the screen.
If you’re on a Series 6, like I was, yes. The screen, the thinness, the always-on display, and the sleep tracking together make this feel like a different category of watch, not just a newer version of the same one. After three months I would not go back.
If you’re on a Series 4 or earlier, the upgrade case is even stronger and you shouldn’t need a 1,500-word review to feel comfortable about it.
If you’re choosing your first Apple Watch, get the Series 10 GPS-only in the 42mm size, in whatever colour matches your one nice gold thing, and don’t bother with the cellular version unless you’re already running without a phone.
Where I’d buy it
Best price for the UAE is currently Apple direct (with the trade-in if you have an older model in a drawer, you can knock a fair chunk off). For US readers, Amazon US tends to have it within a few pounds of Apple, with quicker shipping if you’re outside a metro.
The Apple Watch Series 10 I’m wearing → (this should send you to your local Amazon automatically, wherever you’re reading from)
The strap I picked up with it →
The trade-in deal is currently sat at around $100 for a Series 6 in working condition, which is roughly what I’d have got selling mine privately, with the difference being I didn’t have to deal with a stranger turning up to collect it.
One more thing, while we’re here
I also picked up a fresh pair of AirPods at the same time. Not strictly Series 10 territory, but they’re the obvious answer for the music-and-calls moments where the watch’s loudspeaker isn’t the right tool. My old pair were on their last legs and the new ones have honestly made more day-to-day difference than the watch upgrade has, in the spirit of full honesty.
And a separate pair for travel, because on a plane I want to block out the entire world, engine, cabin announcements, the man three rows back who has opinions about the landing. These are the ones I reach for the second we’re airborne.
Got a question about the upgrade I haven’t covered? Drop me a line on Pinterest, the DMs are open and I’ll add it to the post.
Sam