Apple launches Apple Watch Series 10 with new health-tracking features, refreshes Watch Ultra 2

Apple has announced the new Watch Series 10 at the “It’s Glowtime” event where the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro series also debuted. The smartwatches will offer improvements in health tracking and fitness measurement while retaining features such as a double-tap gesture from last year's models. The Watch Series 10 now has a 49mm screen option, which the company said is bigger than the display on the Watch Ultra 2.

“The Watch Series 10 has the biggest display and thinnest design,” said Apple 's chief executive officer Tim Cook. It starts at Rs 46,900 ($399 in the US) and goes on sale from September 20. The pre-orders go live immediately after the event.

The new Apple Watch Series 10 has the “biggest wearable display we've ever built,” featuring more space for an additional line of text. The design uses curved glass and a wide-angle OLED display that is claimed to emit more light at wider angles. This display updates once every second in the Always-On mode and offers 40 per cent more brightness. It is 9.7mm thick, coming as the company's thinnest smartwatch.

Design-wise, the Apple Watch Series 10 has a new glossy black option made of aluminum, while continuing with rose gold and silver options. The metal back of the new smartwatch integrates different antennas, including those for cellular connectivity. It also has a bigger charging coil, which the company says allows for 80 per cent charge in 30 minutes. The smartwatch has 50-metre water resistance, as well.

Other than the aluminium variants, the Apple Watch Series 10 also comes in titanium, available in natural, gold, and dark slate gray colours. All three models have matching bands. Apple claims titanium models are 100 per cent carbon neutral, bolstering the company's efforts towards minimising carbon footprint.

The Apple Watch Series 10 is powered by a new S10 chip, which has a four-core neural engine for new intelligent features that could be a part of Apple Intelligence. There are new watch faces based on neural processing, alongside smarter smart stacks, a better Photos app, and the Translate app.

The health features now include sleep apnea. Apple claims the Watch Series 10 can detect sleep apnea that often goes undiagnosed and log the details into the Apple Health app. The company can offer insights from the data and help users improve their sleep. The fitness features include a built-in depth gauge for underwater sports, such as snorkeling.

Instead of introducing an Apple Watch Ultra 3, the company has announced the refresh of the Watch Ultra 2. The upgrades include a new “satin black” option that is made of zirconia back crystal. There is also a new titanium Milanese loop and a new Hermes band. Apple has updated the watch-faces on the Ultra 2 with a new “maritime” option. The Ultra 2 starts at Rs 89,900 ($799 in the US) and will be available from September 20.