Smartwatches may be some of the most difficult devices I ever have to review. They’re fine gadgets, and I’m happy to have one, but in most ways, the newest models are almost always just an incremental upgrade to older ones. Improvements became so minor for so long that, just earlier this year, I wrote that the Apple Watch SE , Apple’s entry level watch from 2022, is still the best option for most people.
I’m happy to report that, after spending some time with the Apple Watch Series 10, that’s no longer the case. The Apple Watch Series 10 is smaller and lighter While some see smartwatches primarily as fitness trackers , to me, they’re the successor to the iPod nano: small, easy to navigate devices that can control my music, podcasts, or access tap-to-pay features without making me dig for my phone. In that way, comfort is the most important part of a smartwatch to me.
That’s made the SE, Apple’s cheapest and, until-now, smallest smartwatch, my default recommendation for the past couple of years. Now, the Series 10 is finally unseating it, as it's a full millimeter thinner. That may not sound like a lot, but stack these watches next to each other, and you’ll notice how much sleeker the Series 10 looks.
And that extends to how it feels, too. While the SE’s sensor can often feel like a coin being squished in between my wrist and the watch itself, the Series 10’s sensor is barely noticeable. That’s enough to make it the more comfortable option to me, even i.