My current Apple watch is four years old. I already preordered the 10.
The iPhone X was a revolutionary update for Apple’s smartphone, doing away with the Home Button and changing how we use our devices forever. Now, for its 10th generation, Apple’s best-selling smartwatch is shaking things up with some big design changes and new features, too.
First and foremost, I’m so glad they stayed the hell away from X, since Elon Musk has forever ruined that letter of the alphabet for so many of us. The Apple Watch Series 10 is significantly thinner than all previous generations, the screen size enjoys a bump for both the 41mm and 45mm models, all the way up to 45mm and 49mm, respectively. For a device that fits on your wrist, a 4mm screen size boost is bigger than it sounds.
Watch 10 also gains the depth detection feature from the Apple Watch Ultra along with new sleep monitoring capabilities. Specifically, the watch will now monitor sleeping and breathing patterns to detect possible sleep apnea. If you stop breathing for an extended period of time — the key symptom of sleep apnea — Apple Series Watch 10 will know, and alert you of the issue when you wake.
Apple Series Watch 10 starts at $399 for the 45mm model, and $429 for the 49mm variant.
Apple’s budget-minded Apple Watch SE also gets a refresh, with a new polycarbonate (read: plastic, basically) body and a bunch of bright colors akin to earlier generations of the iPhone SE. The new SE carries the same price as the previous generation at $249 for the 40mm model and $279 for the 44mm version.
The big-dog Apple Watch Ultra moves on to Gen 3 as well, gaining the more advanced sleep monitoring capabilities from the Apple Series Watch 10, but retaining the two-generation-old design it shares with its predecessors. Pricing remains the same at $799.
All three new Watch models are available for preorder now and will ship starting on September 20th.
Did Apple Update AirPods?
This time around, Apple’s new-generation AirPods borrow in the in-ear adaptors from the AirPods Pro. The new models come in two flavors, with the differentiating feature being noise cancellation which was previously reserved for the AirPods Pro model. They have slightly shorter stems and the case boasts USB-C charging for the first time.
The new buds will set you back $129 without the noise cancellation and $179 with it. They are available for preorder now. Like the Series Watch 10, they start shipping on 9/20.
Sadly, we didn’t get any update to the years-old AirPods Max. It looks like we’ll be waiting for a future event to see what Apple has planned for its top-of-the-line headset.
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Jennifer Jolly is an Emmy Award-winning consumer tech columnist and on-air correspondent. Read Jennifer’s latest columns at USAToday.com/tech or follow her @JennJolly on Instagram.
Contact her at JJ@Techish.com.