I bought a 42mm Jet Black Apple Watch Series 10 a few days after it came out, and the Apple wearable simply blew my mind in various ways. After over two months of use, I can safely say the Apple Watch Series 10 is one of the best Apple products I’ve ever bought.
The more I think about it, the clearer it is that I’ll stick with the Series 10 for probably more than a year. It’s not that I upgrade Apple Watch models every year, but I also think we’ve reached a place where Apple can’t exactly deliver big innovations from year to year. Just look at what Apple did with the Ultra in the past three years.
With that in mind, I do see three big features that would convince me to upgrade the Apple Watch Series 10 to a Series 11 model.
Even better battery life
I bought the Apple Watch Series 10 when it came out because the nearly two-year-old Apple Watch SE 2’s battery health dropped below 80%. The wearable had served me well for the past couple of years, but I couldn’t trust it to track my upcoming half-marathon and marathon races.
Little did I know at the time how amazing the Apple Watch Series 10 battery life can be. The wearable lasts between 30 and 36 hours, depending on my training routines. I used the Apple Watch Series 10 for 16 hours during a marathon race day a few days ago, after which the phone had a 27% charge left.
In addition to amazing battery life, the Apple Watch Series 10 comes with fast charging. An hour of charge is usually enough to recharge the device from around 30% to around 100%. I routinely place it on a charger when battery life reaches 30%.
Apple still offers the same 18-hour battery life estimate for the Apple Watch Series 10. The S10 chip is the key component allowing the wearable to last significantly longer than Apple’s estimates.
A big battery boost, and I mean here the official estimate Apple offers, would be one good reason to upgrade to the Series 11 next year. Otherwise, I’ll stick with the current model.
Blood pressure sensing
I could have easily replaced the Apple Watch SE 2’s battery or get a Series 9 instead of the Apple Watch Series 10. But I wanted the latest-generation wearable to take advantage of its more advanced health-tracking abilities.
The Apple Watch Series 10 gives me access to EKG functionality, a wrist temperature feature that I’ve come to appreciate, and blood oxygen readings. The SE 2 could not do any of that. The Vitals feature in iOS 18 and watchOS 11 is also a key reason for getting the Series 10 this year.
I also hoped Apple would add blood pressure sensing to the Apple Watch Series 10’s list of health features. I don’t have high blood pressure, but I’d want to be able to track it with a wearable. I’d probably get early warnings once the blood pressure rises.
The Apple Watch Series 10 doesn’t have the feature, and it’s unclear whether a Series 11 model would deliver it. We know from rumors that Apple is working on the functionality. It’s unclear whether the feature will require new hardware or whether it’ll work on the Series 10 via a watchOS 12 update.
If blood pressure sensing comes along next year, the Apple Watch Series 11 will surely be on my to-buy list.
Blood sugar sensing
I want to track blood sugar with the Apple Watch even more than blood pressure. This is the holy grail of wearable devices, and it’s an upgrade that would warrant a new Apple Watch purchase. I would assume that Apple would employ new sensors in the Apple Watch to monitor blood sugar passively.
Unfortunately, blood glucose readings aren’t coming to the Apple Watch anytime soon. That’s what rumors suggest. If the Apple Watch Series 11 were to get the functionality, I’d buy the device immediately.
You can connect third-party sensors like the Dexcom G7 CGM device to the Apple Watch to monitor blood sugar continuously. But that’s not the feature I want from the wearable.
Conclusions
These three main Apple Watch features would make me upgrade from Series 10 to Series 11 next year.
I wouldn’t need all three to happen at the same time, and they don’t carry the same weight. For example, blood sugar sensing alone is my top priority. If the Apple Watch Series 11 only had this upgrade over the Series 10, I’d buy it.
Similarly, if the Apple Watch Series 11 were to offer only blood pressure tracking compared to Series 10, it would be a good reason for me to buy the wearable.
As for battery life improvements, it’ll be interesting to see whether Apple raises the 18-hour estimate next year. There’s no indication it’ll happen yet; it’s just wishful thinking. I have to say that recharging the Apple Watch Series 10 every other day is certainly a great experience.
I’ll also track the battery health of my Apple Watch Series 10 by the time the Series 11 arrives. The Apple Watch SE 2 lasted nearly two years before battery health dropped below 80%. I expect the Series 10 to match that, at least.
Suppose the Apple Watch Series 11 won’t deliver any big upgrades over the Series 10. In that case, I might even consider replacing the Series 10’s battery life when the time comes or just getting a cheaper Series 10 from one of Apple’s retail partners.