At the “It’s Glowtime” event where Apple revealed the iPhone 16 lineup, the company pulled off another annual update with the Apple Watch Series 10. This 2024 smartwatch follows the company’s pattern of slowly upsizing its wearable display over time, though I wonder when the company will push its screens too far for certain wrists.
But there’s a true game changer under this slimmed-down hood: Apple’s adding sleep apnea detection to its watches. While this might sound like a niche medical condition to the uninitiated, I’ll argue Apple’s on the verge of doing something huge and improving the sleep and health of more people than you’d probably guess.
The Apple Watch Series 10 is up for preorder in advance of its Sept. 20 release date; let’s dive into today’s news so you can decide if you should reserve one.
More than just its bigger and better displays, the Apple Watch Series 10 could change lives everywhere thanks to Apple adding sleep apnea detection.?
Apple's also adding a black version of the Apple Watch 2, which is also gaining sleep apnea detection.
A bigger display in a thinner, lighter design
We love a big screen, so I’m not shocked that Apple’s increased the display sizes for its mainline watches, which now measure 42mm in the smaller model and 46mm in the larger model. This is the latest iteration of Apple’s three-year design cycle, as the company offered the watch in 41mm and 45mm in the Apple Watch Series 9 (as well as 7 and 8) and 40mm and 44mm in the Series 4, 5 and 6. The prior editions all measured 38mm and 42mm.
As a 45mm Series 8 owner, I was pleasantly surprised how light and comfortable the 46mm Series 10 felt on my wrist. This partially has to do with how Apple’s thinned the watch down by 9% (a whole millimeter to be exact). The Aluminum Apple Watch is also 2.4 grams lighter than before, which is a 6% cut in weight. Those measurements may sound small on paper, but they make a noticeable difference on such a small device. Those with smaller wrists, though, may still think this is a tad too large. This watch also features impressive charging speeds, as Apple’s presentation claimed you can charge 80% of the battery in “about 30 minutes.”
The final screen tech difference with the Series 10 is that it packs Apple’s first wide-angle OLED display. That enables greater power efficiency than before, which allows Apple to upgrade the refresh rate in the always-on mode from once per minute to once per second. That means select watch faces will show the ticking seconds animation in always-on mode. The company claims the Series 10’s wide-angle panel makes it “up to 40% brighter” when you’re not looking at it directly. I didn’t quite notice a big difference in my on-wrist time with the Series 10, but the lighting in that room didn’t help visibility on any display.
Apple also changed the color options, adding a polished black aluminum design that looked mighty sleek on my wrist. There’s also a new rose gold color option alongside the brushed silver aluminum casing. It also dropped the stainless steel options for lighter titanium options, sold in Slate, Gold and Natural.
Sleep apnea detection is bigger than any specs — trust me
People often want their tech to be faster and smaller, and look for all the little technical upgrades. The Apple Watch Series 10 is nothing like that, as the announcement that it would feature sleep apnea detection had me nearly yelping with excitement. Sleep apnea, if you’re lucky enough to not know, is a condition where people simply stop breathing during sleep, in either light or severely frequent amounts.
Shockingly, this condition can have severe repercussions if gone untreated, including hypertension, type 2 diabetes and cardiac issues, according to Apple, and it’s something that many suffer through silently without a clue. Apple’s keynote presentation suggested “most” go undiagnosed, and said that sleep apnea is believed to affect more than 1 billion people around the world, a figure that’s been used in medical journals since 2013.
If that doesn’t sound like enough cause for concern, my personal experience with sleep apnea should help explain the cause for excitement. I can see my adulthood in two stages: the years I never really knew what a good night’s sleep felt like, and after I started treating my sleep apnea. Not only did this change allow me to be more alert during the day and stop accidentally falling asleep (especially during movies), but it drastically lowered my sleeping heart rate, which makes me feel a whole lot better about my future.
Apple’s sleep apnea detection tech is based on analysis of breathing disturbance data, and users will get a PDF with three months of data to show their health care provider. I truly hope this obviates the need for at-home sleep studies, as those can be wildly expensive.
Wonderfully, sleep apnea detection isn’t going to be exclusive to the Series 10. The company is adding it to the Series 9 and the Apple Watch Ultra 2. All of this is, unsurprisingly, pending FDA approval, but the company spoke extremely confidently about the odds of its clearance.
Other new Apple Watch Series 10 features spark varying levels of interest
Additionally, Apple’s amped up its interest in water sports and athletics, with a Tides app and custom workouts for pool swimming (both coming in watchOS 11), and a depth gauge and water temperature sensors coming to the Series 10. These tricks will probably delight some folks, and leave others scratching their heads.
Equally niche is a new speaker for audio playback, which sounds like a great idea if you’re jogging in a private area or in the wilderness where you want to be aware of the world around you. I immediately thought about everyone who blasts music on their phone’s speakers while riding the NYC subways, and not in a good way.
The Apple Watch Ultra 2 is now available in black
This one’s pretty self-explanatory, with Apple adding a new dark color option for its pricier, larger Apple Watch. Matching bands include the Titanium Milanese Loop option, which bumps the price up from $799 to $899. This bigger Apple Watch didn’t feel excessive on my wrist when I tried it on for the first time.
The takeaway
If Apple’s sleep apnea detection tech is as great as the Apple Watch Series 10 looks, the company will hit its latest grand slam home run in wearable tech. Yes, a $399 watch may be a bit too rich for some, but I can attest that it’s the kind of feature that will change lives.
Otherwise, Apple’s added many of the annual iterative changes that could potentially drive Apple Watch interest, from a larger screen and new colors to coverage of more athletic actions. All of these features, arguably, will be seen as boons to the already indoctrinated, as I’d hope anyone who is concerned about sleep apnea is taking measures to get checked out.
At the end of the day, Apple’s work to popularize this technology, which will come to Android users in the Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 and Galaxy Watch Ultra, could be seen as one of the company’s biggest contributions to the public’s health. Stay tuned for our full review to learn more about the Apple Watch Series 10.
