If you’re contemplating an upgrade from an older Apple Watch model, the Apple Watch Series 11 introduces several enhancements over the Series 10. While the design remains largely consistent, the Series 11 brings meaningful improvements in health tracking, battery life, durability, and connectivity.
Overall Look & Feel
The Apple Watch Series 11 retains a thin, lightweight design, making it comfortable for all-day wear, even when sleeping. The aluminium models now feature Ion-X glass with a new ceramic coating, offering 2x more scratch resistance than the Series 10. Titanium models continue to have the sapphire front crystal, the most durable material available. I noticed at home that even when juggling dishes, chores, and cleaning up after the furkids, the watch still felt reassuringly tough without adding bulk – something that will be familiar to Apple Watch users.
Battery Life & Charging
The Series 11 offers up to 24 hours of battery life, which is a step up from the Series 10’s approximate 18 hours. The fast-charging feature is a welcome upgrade: just 15 minutes of charging provides up to 8 hours of battery life. Compared to Series 10, this means that I could plug in briefly before a home workout and have enough charge to track activity overnight.
Health Features & Sleep Tracking
One of the biggest differences between Series 11 and Series 10 is the introduction of Sleep Score. This feature evaluates sleep quality using factors like duration, bedtime consistency, wake frequency, and time spent in each sleep stage. My Apple Watch rarely leaves my wrist, unless when its charging, and I appreciated the transparent breakdowns of my sleep habits, which made it easier to adjust bedtime routines. Series 11 also supports hypertension notifications and keeps the full suite of heart rate, blood oxygen, and sleep apnea monitoring from Series 10, but now adds actionable insights that are more informative for daily life.
Workout & Fitness Enhancements
With Workout Buddy, powered by Apple Intelligence, the Series 11 provides personalized spoken motivation based on heart rate, pace, distance, and activity rings. During indoor HIIT sessions, it felt like having a mini personal trainer on my wrist. The redesigned Workout app allows easy access to custom workouts, race routes, and pacers, which is an improvement over Series 10’s interface that sometimes required toggling between the watch and iPhone. Music and podcast integration automatically plays the right content for the workout type, which made indoor sessions much more enjoyable.
Connectivity & 5G Cellular
The Series 11 introduces 5G cellular, offering better download speeds and more reliable streaming compared to Series 10’s 4G LTE. A redesigned cellular antenna improves signal strength, which I noticed when making video calls indoors where Series 10 occasionally struggled. Whether sending messages or streaming music around the house, the connectivity felt smoother and faster.
watchOS 26 & Apple Intelligence
WatchOS 26 brings a fresh Liquid Glass design, new watch faces like Flow and Exactograph, and Smart Stack hints that offer actionable suggestions. The addition of Live Translation in Messages is handy for quick responses when paired with an iPhone. I found Call Screening and Hold Assist particularly useful while working at home, preventing interruptions from unknown numbers – a feature Series 10 lacked. The overall software experience felt more intuitive and expressive, making day-to-day interactions smoother.
Bands & Accessories
Series 11 introduces new colour options, including forest, neon yellow, anchor blue, and purple fog. The Nike Sport Loop now includes reflective yarn, while the Apple Watch Hermès collection offers the Faubourg Party knit band and matching animated watch face. Compared to Series 10, these new bands add a fun, practical, and customizable element to the watch, making it easier to match your style at home or on casual outings.
To Upgrade or Not?
If you are using a Series 9 or earlier, the Series 11 offers major improvements in battery life, durability, health monitoring, and connectivity. For Series 10 owners, the upgrades are more incremental but still worthwhile, especially if you value Sleep Score, 5G cellular, Workout Buddy, and improved screen durability. Testing it at home made it clear that these features translate to real, everyday convenience and better tracking of daily activities.
Pricing & Availability
Apple Watch Series 11 starts at S$599, and will be available from 19 September 2025, Friday online and in your nearest Apple stores.
What are you most excited about? I know I’m definitely looking forward to stress testing the Apple Watch Series 11 in my daily life and see how it stands up against brushes and swipes against hard surfaces.
