'I've used the Apple Watch Series 10 for 3 months – here's my verdict'
Health and fitness tracking can be a hard habit to stick to. I know what it's like to struggle to keep wearing an activity tracker, and many people stop after a few months if they don’t find the health insights useful.
That's why, in my view, it's better to have a smartwatch that's more closely linked to your smartphone, providing the most seamless experience for managing messaging, notifications, your calendar and more – in addition to advanced health features that will give you helpful motivation and information on your activity over time.
For many of us using iPhones, that means an Apple Watch. Luckily, whichever model you pick, they're some of the best fitness tracking devices on the market. They're also highly convenient for their smart features, home and audio control, app support and sleek physical hardware. And, of course, they're also great for telling the time!
After a decade of smartwatch innovation, the Apple Watch Series 10 is the brand's newest and most advanced device yet. It sits alongside the Apple Watch Ultra 2 and Apple Watch SE in the current lineup.
So, is it the best Apple Watch ever made and the must-have wearable for 2025? I’ve been using it for three months, so read on for my full Apple Watch Series 10 review.
Apple Watch Series 10: At a glance
Apple Watch Series 10
Apple Watch Series 10: Design and display
The slimmed-down design of the Apple Watch Series 10 is the most optimised take on the wearable yet, following in the footsteps of previous designs, while miniaturising multiple components to get them to fit into a thinner watch with a larger display.
If you’re hoping for a reinvention, like a Pixel Watch-style circular display, you might be disappointed. But, overall, I think the square design is great for showing you a lot of information on the screen, and it also means the Series 10 still works with all the same Apple Watch straps as previous models.
It’s quite remarkable how much lighter the watch is, while delivering the biggest screen of any Apple Watch – even beating the physically larger Ultra model. I’ve been wearing the 46mm version for this review, and over the past three months I haven’t ever found the 36.4g weight noticeable on my wrist, plus it's less likely to get caught on my jumper or jacket sleeve when I need to quickly check the time.
The large always-on OLED screen means you’ll be able to see an extra line of text in an app like Messages, and it makes it easier to tap out your reply on the onscreen keyboard too. If you were to ask me which of the upgrades here are the most noticeable, I’d say a bigger and brighter screen is right at the top of my list – that’s particularly true because it’s now easier to read the display when it’s viewed at an angle too.
Apple Watch Series 10: Key features and ease of use
If you’re considering the Apple Watch Series 10, there’s a good chance you’re upgrading from an existing Apple Watch and are already well-acquainted with the extensive set of features available on these wearables. If you’re buying the Series 10 as your first smartwatch, though, it’s worth highlighting how capable these devices are. For me, an Apple Watch has become indispensable, and essential for putting my phone’s features in easy reach, saving me from having to check it so often.
The Apple Watch Series 10 is the best one yet, delivering a reliably robust suite of connectivity and health features. It’s just as easy to set up and use as an iPhone, and it will guide you through the necessary steps when you connect it to your phone and set it up with the Apple Watch app.
Some of the main reasons I’d recommend an Apple Watch include getting only my most essential notifications on my wrist, quickly being able to see my next calendar appointment, easy management of my reminders and control of whatever music or podcasts are playing on my phone. Also, Apple Pay on the watch is a lifesaver. I almost never dig out my phone or physical bank card for contactless payments anymore.
When it comes to fitness tracking, this watch has a similar set of capabilities to the Apple Watch Series 9, and is more advanced than the Apple Watch SE due to its extra health-tracking sensors and always-on display.
The latest addition to the Series 10 is sleep apnoea detection to identify breathing disruptions overnight (this is also available on the Series 9 and Ultra 2). It otherwise has the same key features as the Series 9, including exercise tracking, sleep tracking, ECG (electrocardiogram), heart rate monitoring, and blood oxygen sensing.
The latest software, WatchOS 11, is also available on every Apple Watch since the Series 6. It builds on WatchOS 10 with a few perks including new watch faces, the ability to pause and change your daily activity goals (which I’ve found essential, especially as I know I’m less likely to hit certain goals on certain days), while new overnight “vitals” and “training load” give you greater insight into how you’re feeling and how much effort you’re putting into workouts.
Apple Watch Series 10: Performance and battery life
Trust me, the Apple Watch Series 10 is an absolutely fantastic performer when it comes to speed and reliability. Of course, that was already the case with the Series 9, but I think you’ll notice the improvement if you upgrade to this from one of the older Apple Watch models or the SE. Navigating around the interface, swiping between screens and using Siri hands-free or the double-tap gesture are all just as speedy as ever.
When it comes to sensors, the Series 10 has almost all the same ones as the Series 9, but it has miniaturised several components and improved the arrangement of them, which helps achieve the thinner design.
Water sports fans will appreciate the new depth gauge (rated for a six-metre depth) and water temperature sensor – both of which are not available on the Series 9.
With the S10 SiP processor, there are improvements to the efficiency and battery life too. While the battery is better, you'll probably still have to charge the watch every day or so (although you can get quite a bit more life out of it by using the low-power mode). It’s rated for an 18-hour life, which is similar to previous Apple Watch models, and I’ve found that it's maintained a great battery life over months of use.
The biggest improvement is in charging speed, though. You can get 80% of the battery life restored after only about 30 minutes of charging, compared to the 45 minutes that would take on the Apple Watch Series 9.
After a full day of use and a night of sleep tracking, if I pop my Apple Watch on its charger while I’m getting ready in the morning, it’s fully charged by the time I head out the door.
Apple Watch Series 10: Price
The Apple Watch Series 10 starts at £399 for the 42mm model and from £429 for the 46mm model. These prices are the same as the previous generation of the Apple Watch, so there’s no increase.
I know it may feel like a lot to spend, especially if it’s your first smartwatch. However, I would argue that this Series 10 model is just as impressive, if not better, than the most high-end Apple Watch Ultra 2 for adventurers and athletes (and that starts from £699).
When you look at it that way, it’s a good value offering, and there’s a significant step-up in quality when you compare it to the Apple Watch SE. I’d still recommend the basic model to most beginners but it misses out on an always-on display and a couple of useful sensors and health features.
The Good Housekeeping verdict on the Apple Watch Series 10
The Apple Watch Series 10 is the best watch Apple has ever made. Its considerably thinner and lighter design makes it much more sleek and stylish, so it’s the better pick for the majority of us who don’t need the rugged outdoor features of the Apple Watch Ultra 2 but need something that’s more capable than the older Apple Watch SE.
It’s the best smartwatch for iPhone users, and the team at the Good Housekeeping Institute has awarded it the distinction of the best fitness tracker for Apple users, with a score of 91/100 after rigorous testing.
The Series 10 feels like a careful refinement rather than a total reinvention of Apple’s wearable, but years of optimisation adds up to an appreciable leap forward in utility, style and efficiency that many Apple Watch fans will appreciate. If you’re getting your first wrist-worn smart device, or coming from an existing Apple Watch SE, or a Series 5 or 6, you’ll notice just how brilliant this is as a premium smartwatch.
That said, I do still recommend the Apple Watch SE for shoppers looking for their first-ever Apple Watch. It doesn’t have the always-on display and ECG (electrocardiogram), blood oxygen, or temperature sensors, but it’s still got many of the convenient extras that Apple Watch users swear by, including the great software, activity tracking, heart rate sensor, extensive selection of watch faces, water resistance and 18-hour battery life.
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