Apple Watch Series 11 – Long-term improvement

When I switch from an Apple Watch Series 10 to the new Series 11, I notice absolutely no difference at all. This means that the extremely few novelties in the Series 11 that are not in the Series 10 do not make any practical difference, but since it is not justified to change smartwatches year after year and never has been, it is also a completely uninteresting comparison. Here, we therefore focus on the overall impression that the Apple Watch Series 11 gives, and I am addressing the text to you who are inclined to either buy a brand new smartwatch or upgrade from one that is several years old.

Not revolutionary yet

Let’s just first deal with the news when Apple unveiled the watch that seemed revolutionary but isn’t. I’m thinking first of all about the new support for 5G. When I use the new watch in Sweden, it only has 4G, assuming you chose the model with esim capability, which is the one I’m testing. Apple’s 5G support where the operators support it uses the technology Redcap 5G, a limited form of 5G for devices that don’t really need high data speed but, on the other hand, feel good about a more energy-efficient connection. Today, none of the Swedish operators offer this, but in the future it should provide the opportunity for a mobile connection with better battery life. It’s nothing that I can use or notice now though, as I said.

When I use the watch for daily health measurement, training, apps and notifications mostly, I have about 30-40 percent battery left after a day of use, then with the always-on screen turned off. Always enough for the watch to last a full day, but never so good that I can go two days without charging.

A night’s sleep measurement takes approximately 6-8 percent charging, an hour’s training session with GPS and streamed music in Spotify in the watch, via the mobile network wirelessly to Airpods takes around 20 percent.

In all essentials, then, the Apple Watch Series 11 is exactly like its predecessor, the same dimensions, the same screen size, almost the same weight. The new watch is a little heavier than the old one.

But now we have already established that a comparison between the latest and next-to-latest Apple Watch is rather uninteresting. If we instead raise our eyes and look at the whole, as well as what the new Apple Watch Series 11 offers compared to other smartwatches or with an Apple Watch that is a few years old, it becomes more fun.

Direct response

It’s clear when I use the watch how quickly and directly it responds to pressure and gestures. Not all watches turn on the screen and are ready when I lift my wrist. It’s always Apple Watch and then it’s at least as direct and easy to manage the intuitive interface. A press of the crown, the round spin button, takes me to the list of apps, but more importantly, a spin of the crown directly from the watch face gives me widgets where the watch picks out important functions that are relevant. If I’m traveling it can be the translation function, if I have a timer running it’s that and this selection can also be customized yourself so you get what you want and use most often. This means that you don’t have to search for and go in and out of apps, which can be time-consuming on a watch.

Precise positioning

One of the most important functions of a smartwatch is probably health and exercise. Here I try the watch in every way it can help me. By walking several laps around the Hötorgsskraporna in central Stockholm, I test the GPS in one of the places where it has to struggle the most. After four laps closely along the house facade, the map shows some spreading, but still approved. The Apple Watch is one of the better ones on that test, now as in previous tests. The same is true when I use it on regular runs, that it nicely follows the route I actually took, but here also most smartwatches we test do well. When I have different marks on each of my arms, there is rarely more than a couple of meters per kilometer difference in their distance indication.

Where the smartwatch can make a real difference is in heart health. The Apple Watch Series 11 can measure the ECG, can warn of high blood pressure, sleep apnea and also sound the alarm in the event of a car crash or when you fall and remain unsteady. Blood pressure in particular is a novelty, but it is not unique to the Series 11, but also comes earlier to the Series 10 thanks to the update to Watch OS 26. All this is only noticeable when the accident occurs and I don’t get any warnings about this because my values ​​apparently look good throughout the test period. Blood pressure and sleep apnea are measurements that are taken over a longer period and only after you have used the watch regularly for at least a month can those warnings come.

Something new in Series 11 is also the new sleep score, which better describes what was good and bad about your sleep, but it, like the blood pressure warnings, also comes to the older watch and is “only” part of Watch OS 26.

Tied to iPhone

In the competition with other watches, this Apple Watch differs above all in how well it is obviously integrated into Apple’s ecosystem. Here you have many apps from iPhone, easily control Apple’s smart home, you have Imessage, Siri, Apple Pay and very smooth syncing of all functions with an iPhone. Most things just work. On the other hand, the disadvantage is that the Apple Watch requires an iPhone and has significantly worse battery life than many watches that also support syncing with the iPhone but are manufactured by other manufacturers, such as Garmin or Huawei.

Apple itself no longer sells the previous year’s model of the Apple Watch, so the clearest cheaper alternative is the Apple Watch SE 3, which now has many of the important functions at a significantly lower price. Or of course if you find last year’s model at a dealer that has it in stock.