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I’m an Apple loyalist, but I don’t upgrade my devices every year. Longevity is one of my favorite things about Apple hardware; I can be reassured that my investments will last me for years.
When a shiny new product rolls around, I don’t feel the pull to swap out the one I have at home that still works perfectly. This is why I still rock my Apple Watch Series 7 after four years, and why I have yet to upgrade my iPhone 14 Pro Max.
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Every time a new Apple Watch drops, I weigh the pros and cons of upgrading before making a decision. Most of the time, the upgrade doesn’t seem worth it, but there are a lot of new Apple Watch Series 11 features this year that make it a compelling buy. Here’s how the new Apple Watch 11 compares to the most popular older Apple Watch models.
Apple Watch Series 11 vs. Series 10
Most recent Apple Watch models are visually very similar, and the Series 10 and the new Series 11 are no exceptions. The latest Apple Watch 11 follows the previous model’s trend of being the thinnest Apple Watch and carries all of the Series 10’s features and then some, including extending the Series 10’s 18-hour battery life to up to 24 hours.
The Apple Watch Series 11 is twice as scratch-resistant as the Series 10, supports 5G cellular networks, and features the biggest update yet: blood pressure monitoring to alert you of potential hypertension indicators. Apple is also adding a sleep score to give you better insights into your sleep quality, taking into account sleep duration, interruptions, sleep cycles, and bedtime.
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Even with all the new Series 11 features, you really can’t go wrong sticking to the Apple Watch 10. The truth is that many users wouldn’t justify upgrading from the Series 10 to the 11, simply because it’s an iterative upgrade — there aren’t any major operational or design changes. Many of the most eye-catching features, like hypertension notifications and sleep score, will be available in older models, including the Series 10.
It’s worth noting that hypertension notifications are still under FDA review. Apple expects this to be cleared this month, after which it will make it available on Apple Watch 9 and newer, as well as Apple Watch Ultra 2 and newer.
The Apple Watch 10 supports irregular rhythm notifications, the ECG app, blood oxygen monitoring, sleep apnea monitoring, fall detection, sleep tracking, and the Vitals app.
Apple Watch Series 11 vs. Series 9
Similar to the Apple Watch 10, the Series 9 is still a worthy alternative to the latest model. The Series 9 is only a couple of years old, and Apple made a lot of the newest features available for it via software updates.
Now that oxygen monitoring is available again, the Apple Watch 9 supports all of the features from its predecessor, plus many of the ones introduced with the Series 10, like sleep apnea notifications, fall and crash detection, and wrist temperature sensing. The Series 9 is also the first Apple Watch to introduce the second-generation ultra-wideband chip, a more energy-efficient chip that supports precision finding.
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Like the Series 10, the older Series 9 will support hypertenstion notifications once it’s cleared by the FDA, and will also support the sleep score.
The Series 9 is visually similar to the 7 and 8, but it has twice the peak brightness of the older models. Unfortunately, Apple Watch models before the Series 10 have a slightly smaller active screen area because their displays are about 9% smaller.
Apple Watch Series 11 vs. Series 8
If you have an Apple Watch Series 8 or older, an upgrade to the new Apple Watch 11 may be justifiable. While the Apple Watch hasn’t ever been subject to major redesign changes, noteworthy features have come to the wearable to make the Series 11 a good candidate for an upgrade.
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The Apple Watch 8 supports heart rate monitoring, ECG, blood oxygen tracking, crash detection, and an 18-hour battery life. It supports WatchOS 26 but doesn’t have the built-in capabilities to capitalize on some of the new operating system’s best features, like the Vitals app, hypertension notifications, and sleep apnea monitoring.
While Series 6 and newer Apple Watches will support Apple’s sleep score, hypertension notifications requires an Apple Watch 9 or later, so the Series 8 won’t support it.
Apple Watch Series 11 vs. Series 7
As a current Apple Watch Series 7 user, I suspect the Apple Watch 11 will be the first one in four years that may actually convince me to upgrade. Before this year, the mere loss of blood oxygen monitoring was enough to put me off upgrading altogether, since a Series 9 or 10 meant losing the feature. Yet this feature has already been reinstated, and many more health features make the switch more compelling.
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My Apple Watch 7 works just as it did the first day I set it up, albeit with a few scuffs and scratches. I’ve worn it daily since its launch with little deterioration to its battery life. It also still supports WatchOS 26, Apple’s latest smartwatch operating system.
But as someone who enjoys wearables’ health monitoring features, I look forward to testing the new Apple Watch’s hypertension alerts, Workout Buddy, Vitals app, sleep apnea notifications, and temperature sensing on a newer model that supports them.
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