The holidays are a good time to buy a smartwatch. If you’re thinking about upgrading your current Apple Watch or buying an Apple wearable for the first time, you may be considering the new Apple Watch Series 10. But you might wonder how it stacks up against last year’s Series 9 which can often be found at a much lower price.
The Series 10 starts at $400 in the US, just like the Series 9 did at launch (you can find pricing for the UK and Australia in the chart below). There are some key differences between these wearables. Namely, the Series 10 offers a bigger screen and larger case sizes, plus it has a new voice isolation feature and can play music aloud on the speaker. Keep reading for an even closer look at how the Series 9 and 10 compare.
Watch this: Apple Watch Series 10 vs. Series 9: Spec Breakdown
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Hello, Apple Watch Series 10.
The Series 10 has the biggest screen of any Apple Watch yet. It’s available in two new sizes; a 46-millimeter and a 42-millimeter option. That 46-millimeter option is even slightly larger than the Apple Watch Ultra. The Series 9, on the other hand, comes in a 45-millimeter and a 41-millimeter option.
Apple says that a bigger Series 10 display gives you up to 30% more screen area compared to the Series 4, 5 and 6, and up to 9% more screen area compared to the Series 7, 8 and 9. In everyday use, that means you can have an extra line of text on your watch, or up your font size without losing content. Buttons for things like the Calculator app and typing in your passcode are bigger, too.
The Apple Watch Series 10 (top) is 1 millimeter thinner than the Series 9.
The Series 10 comes in aluminum and titanium finishes, while the Series 9 is available in aluminum and stainless steel finishes. Both the aluminum and titanium Series 10 models are lighter than the equivalent Series 9 models.
Yes, the Apple Watch Series 10 charges faster, but the battery life is the same
The Apple Watch Series 10 speaker lets you play music.
The Series 10 has a voice isolation feature not found on the Series 9. It’s meant to reduce background noise as you take calls. So for her Series 10 review, Lexy put this feature to the test in a noisy scenario: a dragon dance at Lion Dance Me in San Francisco. Dragon dances happen during events like 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, they were both able to hear each other.
The Series 10 also allows you to play music aloud on the speaker, while the Series 9 does not.
New Apple Watch Series 10 water features
You can now pause your rings on the Apple Watch Series 9 and 10 with WatchOS 11.
Read more: Best New WatchOS 11 Features You Need to Try On the Apple Watch
Beyond the new tools that come to the 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 crash detection (see the chart below for more).
Should you upgrade?
| Apple Watch Series 10 | Apple Watch Series 9 | |
|---|---|---|
| Shape | Square | Square |
| Watch size | 42mm, 46mm | 41mm, 45mm |
| Materials, finishes | Aluminum, titanium | Aluminum, stainless steel |
| Display size, resolution | 42mm: 1.65-inch OLED 446 x 374 pixels; 46mm: 1.81-inch 496 x 416 pixels | 41mm: 1.61-inch, 430 x 352-pixel OLED; 45mm: 1.77-inch, 484 x 396-pixel OLED |
| Dimensions | 42mm: 42 x 36 x 9.7mm; 46mm: 46 x 39 x 9.7mm | 41mm: 35 x 41 x 10.7 mm; 45mm: 38 x 45 x 10.7 mm |
| Weight | 29.3g-41.7g depending on size, material and connectivity | 31.9g-51.5g depending on size, material and connectivity |
| Colors | Aluminum: silver, rose gold, jet black; titanium: natural, gold, slate | Aluminum: midnight, starlight, silver, pink, Product Red; stainless steel: graphite, silver, gold; Hermes stainless steel: silver, space black |
| Always On | Yes | Yes |
| Interchangeable bands | Yes | Yes |
| GPS | Yes | Yes |
| Automatic workout detection | Yes | Yes |
| Compass | Yes | Yes |
| Altimeter | Yes | Yes |
| Water resistance | 50m, IP6X dust resistance | 50m, IP6X dust resistance |
| Calls | Yes | Yes |
| Microphone | Yes | Yes |
| Speaker | Yes | Yes |
| Voice assistant | Yes (Siri, on-device) | Yes (Siri, on-device) |
| Mobile Payments | Yes (Apple Pay) | Yes (Apple Pay) |
| Sleep tracking | Yes | Yes |
| Period tracking | Yes | Yes |
| Sensors | Accelerometer, altimeter, gyroscope, temperature sensor, compass, third-gen optical heart sensor, electrical heart sensor, ambient light sensor, depth gauge, water temperature sensor | Accelerometer, altimeter, gyroscope, temperature sensor, compass, third-gen optical heart sensor, electrical heart sensor, ambient light sensor |
| Emergency features | Fall detection, crash detection, Emergency SOS, international emergency calling, noise monitoring, Backtrack | Fall detection, crash detection, Emergency SOS, international emergency calling, noise monitoring, Backtrack |
| Compatibility | iOS 18 and newer | iOS 17 and newer |
| Software (at launch) | WatchOS 11 | WatchOS 10 |
| Processor | Apple S10 | Apple S9 |
| Connectivity | LTE and UMTS, Wi-Fi 4, Bluetooth 5.3, second-gen ultra wideband | LTE and UMTS, Wi-Fi 4, Bluetooth 5.3, second-gen ultra wideband |
| Memory and storage | 64GB capacity | 64GB capacity |
| Charging | USB-C magnetic fast charging cable | USB-C magnetic fast charging |
| Battery life | Up to 18 hours; up to 36 hours in low power mode | Up to 18 hours; up to 36 hours in low power mode |
| Battery capacity | Unavailable | Unavailable |
| US price | 42mm: $399 (Wi-Fi); 42mm: $499 (cellular); 42mm: $699 (titanium); 46mm: $429 (Wi-Fi); 46mm: $529 (cellular); 46mm: $749 (titanium) | 41mm: from $399; 45mm: from $429 |
| UK price | 42mm: £399 (Wi-Fi); 42mm: £499 (cellular); 42mm: £699 (titanium); 46mm: £429 (Wi-Fi); 46mm: £529 (cellular); 46mm: £749 (titanium) | 41mm: from £399; 45mm: from £429 |
| Australian price | 42mm: AU$649 (Wi-Fi); 42mm: AU$809 (cellular); 42mm: AU$1,199 (titanium); 46mm: AU$699 (Wi-Fi/Bluetooth); 46mm: AU$859 (cellular); 46mm: AU$1,279 (titanium) | 41mm: from AU$649; 45mm: from AU$699 |