Six months with Apple Watch Series 10: Fantastic hardware under-utilized

Time flies, and somehow Apple’s last fall launches happened a whole six months ago. That means I’ve been using an Apple Watch Series 10 for half a year. Here’s how the new Watch has measured up in that time, and why its hardware is being held back by software.

Apple Watch Series 10 hardware impresses in several ways

Apple Watch Series 10 comes with a variety of impressive hardware upgrades.

It starts, of course, with the display.

The display tech itself is better, with a wide-angle OLED that makes it easier to see the time without turning my wrist. The new always-on ability to show seconds is another great addition.

I’ve loved having a larger 46mm Watch, even if the software hasn’t quite taken advantage of that additional screen real estate (more on that soon).

And Apple delivered its biggest Watch screen ever while drastically reducing the casing’s thickness. The Series 10 is very noticeably thinner than before, which makes wearing it 24/7 more comfortable. I started sleep tracking again with the Series 10 and I rarely even think about the Watch being on my wrist.

Faster charging is another important hardware improvement. Since I’m sleep tracking nightly, the Watch’s ability to charge even quicker than before has made a big difference.

Oh and Jet Black aluminum? Yes, it’s beautiful.

I personally haven’t tried the built-in Series 10 speaker when using Music and Podcasts, but I know that’s another hardware change that’s been huge for a lot of users.

Overall, on the hardware front, the Apple Watch Series 10 is a compelling new model.

Software optimizations are lacking

I’m generally happy with my Apple Watch Series 10 upgrade. But I can’t help but think how much more satisfied I’d be if it weren’t for two software issues:

• the lack of watch faces optimized for large screens
• and limited support for showing seconds in always-on mode

Watch faces are at the core of watchOS, but they sadly keep the Series 10 from living up to its full potential.

Apple Watch Ultra has two exclusive faces: Modular Ultra and Wayfinder. Both take great advantage of the Ultra’s large display, so they’re a natural fit for the device.

But they would also be fantastic on the Series 10, which in its larger version exceeds—just barely—the Ultra’s screen size. If I could use Modular Ultra on my Series 10, I would no doubt find a lot more value in the device’s large display.

Similarly, it’s disappointing that not many watch faces support the new always-on display’s ability to show seconds.

For example, most of the time my preferred watch face is Modular, which doesn’t use analog time at all. But when I do want an analog view, I switch to Palette. I like how Palette shows seconds by slowly filling the watch face with a new color. In always-on mode, though, the seconds view disappears. The Series 10’s new always-on feature is completely absent from Palette, Activity Analog, and other ‘older’ faces.

Apple Watch Series 10: Lots of potential still ahead

Overall, six months in, the Apple Watch Series 10 offers a lot of benefits that make it a solid upgrade—especially at a $100 discount. But I wish its software took full advantage of those new features to really complete the package.

Apple is all about the integration of hardware, software, and services, but for now at least, its newest flagship Watch only partly honors that principle. Here’s hoping watchOS 12 brings some changes that can take my Series 10 to new heights.

How have you been enjoying the Apple Watch Series 10? Let us know in the comments.

Best Apple Watch deals and accessories