Apple Watch Series 10 vs. Series 11 Buyer’s Guide: Apple’s Smallest Ever Upgrade?

The Apple Watch Series 11 is now available for pre-order. The latest models feature just four changes over their predecessors–making them perhaps the smallest generational upgrade in the device’s history. Here’s everything that’s new.

Apple’s latest Apple Watch models bring a very small selection of specific improvements following last year’s design refresh. This guide lists all of the differences between the Series 10 and ‌Series 11 models to help you understand the changes.

Apple Watch Series 10	Apple Watch Series 11
Ion-X glass (aluminum models only)	2x more scratch-resistant Ion-X glass (aluminum models only)
LTE and UMTS (cellular models only)	LTE and 5G (cellular models only)
1.118–1.266 watt-hour battery	1.245–1.403 watt-hour battery (7–10% larger)
Silver aluminum option	Space Gray aluminum option

Somewhat surprisingly, there are no other differences between the Apple Watch Series 10 and the Apple Watch Series 11. Notably, for users interested in the titanium model, the only differences are a slightly larger battery and 5G connectivity.

And if you don’t enable a cellular plan on your Apple Watch, the 5G connectivity is also a redundant upgrade. In fact, in some countries, the Apple Watch Series 11 is still limited to 4G connectivity. 5G is not listed as a supported feature for the new Apple Watch models in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, and several other countries in Europe, South America, Africa, and Asia.

Apple claims that the Apple Watch Series 11 offers 24 hours of battery life, touting it as a significant improvement over the Series 10’s 18 hours. However, this marketing tactic has drawn scrutiny as closer examination of Apple’s own testing data reveals that the increase from the Series 10’s 18-hour rating is largely attributable to changes in testing methodology rather than a major hardware improvement.

Before the Series 11, the smallest generational upgrade arrived with the Series 5. It introduced the always-on Retina display, S5 chip, compass, and 32GB of storage. It also saw the removal of Force Touch and the reintroduction of the Apple Watch Edition. Even this generation-over-generation upgrade was considerably more substantial than the Series 11.

Is It Worth Upgrading?

Normally our buyer’s guides weigh up generational improvements and conclude that while most users should not upgrade every year, a minority of enthusiasts and power-users may be able to justify a purchase. With the Series 11, it is very clear that virtually no users should upgrade from a Series 10 – especially those with a titanium model, those who do not use cellular connectivity, and individuals in countries where the 5G upgrade isn’t available.

Here’s hoping for a bigger upgrade next year.