Apple Watch X did not "arrive as scheduled" in the early morning of September 10, and Apple only brought out the regular updated Apple Watch Series 10. Despite this, I still ordered a bright black aluminum alloy version after the release of Apple Watch Series 10. After using it for a week, I will talk to you about the experience and purchase suggestions.
Wearing Experience
The most eye-catching aspect of the Apple Watch Series 10 upgrade this time is the larger, thinner and lighter case, which is significantly helpful in improving the wearing experience of Apple Watch.
This generation of Apple Watch, whether it is aluminum alloy/titanium or GPS/GPS + cellular network, has achieved larger and thinner case size and lighter weight.
Comparing the data carefully, it can be found that the increase in the length and width of the case and the reduction in weight of the Apple Watch Series 10 are negligible. Instead, the change brought by the reduction of the case thickness from 10.7 mm to 9.7 mm is very obvious. The reduction of nearly 10% in thickness is enough for our vision and touch to perceive this change.
I am a person who is more sensitive to body perception. I never wear any accessories except Apple Watch. Even Apple Watch, I never wear it when sleeping or during other long rest periods, because "not wearing" is always the most comfortable state.
After upgrading to Apple Watch Series 10 this time, the lighter and thinner case made me accept wearing Apple Watch to monitor sleep. When sleepiness strikes, Apple Watch no longer has any sense of existence. Slowly, I also accept its existence on my wrist. In fact, it should be more accurate to say that I "ignore its existence".
Apple Watch Series 10 has some changes in the wearing experience. It may not have much impact on me personally, but it may be "unacceptable" to a certain special group.
Starting from Apple Watch Series 4, ceramic and sapphire glass case backs have been used, which effectively solves the problem of metal allergies in some people's skin. However, in order to reduce the thickness of the case, Apple has adopted a more integrated case design for the Apple Watch S10 this time, so the original ceramic case back has also been replaced by aluminum.
Titanium is an inert metal that can form an extremely thin and dense oxide protective film at room temperature, which is not easy to cause human skin allergies, but aluminum is prone to skin allergies and oxidation itself, which has been verified on the original Apple Watch. Therefore, it is still unknown whether Apple has improved the processing technology of the aluminum case back after a few years, or whether it will be more unfriendly to some allergic groups on the Series 10. This requires waiting for time to test.
After using it for a week, I now find that there are scratches on the back of my Apple Watch Series 10, and this is when I use it very carefully. At present, there are also different degrees of scratches on the bright black version on social media. It seems that the Jet Black is still relatively "fragile" this time, and everyone should be more cautious when purchasing.
Screen Performance
Compared with the previous generation, the case size of Apple Watch Series 10 has changed. The size of the large dial version has increased from 45 x 38 mm to 46 x 39 mm, and the size of the small dial version has increased from 41 x 35 mm to 42 x 36 mm. However, considering that the screen border of the new model is actually a little wider than the previous generation, the increase in screen display area this time is not so obvious in perception.
However, the all-weather retina display equipped with Apple Watch Series 10 this time uses LTPO3 OLED technology, which is one generation ahead of the screen used on Apple Watch Ultra 2. The most intuitive improvement brought by the new technology is the viewing angle and refresh rate.
The OLED screen used in Apple Watch Series 10 this time supports a wide viewing angle. When viewed from an inclined angle, the brightness is increased by up to 40%, which means that when we look at the Apple Watch screen from the side, the display effect is still very clear. This may not sound like a big deal, but it is actually very significant.
If in most scenarios where we use Apple Watch we don’t need to turn our wrists to look at the screen, and can get information just by a casual “glance”, I think this is a huge improvement for Apple Watch as a wearable device.
Another change brought about by the new screen technology is that the refresh rate of Apple Watch Series 10 has been upgraded from once per minute in the previous generation to once per second in the case of always-on display (AOD). Although some watch faces can bring better display effects thanks to the higher AOD refresh rate (for example, the seconds can finally rotate by seconds in the always-on display, and the new Flux watch face can also change according to the number of seconds), the increase in refresh rate can actually bring a better Apple Watch experience in combination with a wide viewing angle.
For example, one of the functions I often use on Apple Watch is the timer, which can be used whether it is making coffee, cooking or exercising, but on the previous Apple Watch, I need to keep activating the screen to view the real-time countdown, but it is inconvenient to do this in many scenarios, especially when exercising.
On the Apple Watch Series 10, I can get real-time timer progress at almost any angle, even with the screen off, without turning my wrist, raising my wrist, or tapping the screen. It feels really good.
Some Regrets
Although Apple has transferred the unique sensors of the Apple Watch Ultra series - the depth gauge and water temperature sensor - to the Apple Watch Series 10, perhaps due to some problems with the case structure and internal component construction, compared to the 40-meter water depth of the Ultra series, the depth gauge of the Series 10 only supports 6 meters, basically declaring that it is not suitable for deep diving.
Both the Apple Watch Series 10 and the Apple Watch Ultra 2 have added a media playback function, but this essential safety feature that already exists on the Ultra series has not arrived on the Series 10.
Buying Advice
I decided to divide the target groups of Apple Watch according to the usage scenarios and give corresponding buying suggestions:
- If you like outdoor sports (including mountaineering, hiking, diving, etc.), please buy Apple Watch Ultra 2.
- If you already have Apple Watch Ultra 1, there is no need to upgrade to Ultra 2.
- If you often do indoor sports, such as strength training, aerobic training, ball games, etc., please buy Apple Watch Series 10.
- If you are an Apple Watch Series 8 or 9 user, there is no big need to upgrade.
- If your Apple Watch is used as a fashion accessory in most cases, please buy Apple Watch Series 10 titanium style or Hermès version according to your budget.
- If you are still hesitating between the Series series and the Ultra series, my suggestion is Apple Watch Ultra. In particular, the better-looking appearance, higher battery life, richer functions and hardware of Apple Watch Ultra can definitely bring a better user experience.
