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.

Watch this: Apple Watch Series 10 vs. Series 9: Specifications breakdown

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The Series 10 starts at $400 in the US, as did the Series 9 at launch (you can find the prices for the UK and Australia in the chart below). There are some key differences between these wearables. In other words, the Series 10 offers a larger screen and larger boxes, as well as having a new voice isolation feature and can play music loudly through the speaker. Read on for an even closer look at how the 9 and 10 Series compare.

Apple Watch Series 10 gets bigger, brighter screen

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

Apple says the Series 10's larger screen offers up to 30% more screen area compared to Series 4, 5, and 6, and up to 9% more screen area compared to Series 7, 8, and 9. In use diary, this means you can have an extra line of text on the clock or increase the font size without losing content. The buttons for things like the Calculator app and entering your password are also larger.

The 10 Series is also brighter. Both the Series 9 and 10 have a peak brightness of 2,000 nits, but the Series 10's wide-angle OLED makes the screen 40% brighter when viewed from an angle. While typing her Apple Watch Series 10 review, my colleague Lexy Savvides wore both the Series 9 and 10 on the same wrist. When she looked down to check the time at an angle, she found that the Series 10 looked a little brighter.

The 10 Series also features an LTPO 3 display that can achieve a refresh rate of up to 1 Hz, allowing a second hand to appear on the always-on display. Not only is LTPO 3 not offered on the Series 9, but it's rare to see on smartwatches in general. It's most commonly found on premium smartphones like the iPhone 15 Pro Max and Galaxy S24 Ultra. In her review of the Series 10, Lexy praises the ability to see the second hand without having to activate the 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 about a 10% difference.

The 10 Series comes in aluminum and titanium finishes, while the 9 Series is available in aluminum and stainless steel finishes. The aluminum and titanium 10 Series models are lighter than the equivalent 9 Series 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 that going from 0% to 80% takes about 30 minutes on the Series 10 and 45 minutes on the Series 9. In her review of the Series 10, Lexy notes that it charged the clock from 7% to 84% in half an hour, so their test pretty much matched Apple's claim.

Apple also claims that the Series 9 and 10 battery lasts up to 18 hours, or up to 36 hours in low power mode. In her review, Lexy points out that it's unfortunate that 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 this below), and I agree.

Apple Watch Series 10 has a new voice isolation feature

The Series 10 has a voice isolation feature not found on the Series 9. It's meant to reduce background noise while you're taking calls. So for her Series 10 review, Lexy tested this feature in a noisy scenario: A Dragon Dances in Leo Dances with Me in San Francisco. Dragon dances take place during events such as Lunar New Year celebrations and include drums that can be quite loud. Thanks to voice isolation, even when Lexy called our colleague, Lisa Eadicicco, from a dragon dance, the two were able to hear each other.

The Series 10 also lets you play music out loud through the speaker, while the Series 9 doesn't.

New Apple Watch Series 10 water features

Both the Series 9 and 10 are water and swim resistant, but the Series 10 has a depth gauge rated to 20 feet and a water temperature sensor not available on the Series 9. The Series 10 also has the Oceanic Plus app for snorkeling, while the Series 9 does not.

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

The Apple Watch Series 9, Series 10 and Ultra 2 have a new tool to detect 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 comes on the Series 10 and is also available for the Series 9.

Additionally, WatchOS 11 brings a new Vitals app that monitors important metrics while you sleep, like heart rate, respiratory rate, and wrist temperature. The app will highlight these metrics if they are abnormal and notify you if there are two or more outliers.

With WatchOS 11, both wearables also let you pause the rings to take a break from activities. It's also worth noting that WatchOS 11 is available as an update for older Apple Watches dating back to the second-generation Series 6 and SE.

read more: The best new WatchOS 11 features you need to try on your 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 accident detection ( see the chart below for more).

Should you upgrade?

In short, the Series 10 offers a bigger, brighter screen and larger casings, and is thinner and lighter than the Series 9. The Series 10 also features voice isolation and lets you play music loudly over the speaker, unlike from last year's model. If you're upgrading from the Series 9, these differences probably won't be very striking. If you're currently using a Series 4, 5, or 6, they probably will. This larger, brighter screen will be more noticeable, you'll have access to new features, and you'll receive WatchOS updates for longer.

To learn more about how the new Apple Watch Series 10 compares to last year's Series 9, check out the specs chart below.