We’ve been watching along as Apple unveiled a host of new devices today—including the flagship iPhone 16 series—but here I’m going to take a deep dive into the Apple Watch 10: a significant step forward for the Apple smartwatch.
But is it significant enough to challenge the Google Pixel Watch 3 and the Samsung Galaxy Watch 7? All three smartwatches launched this year, and are competing for a place on your wrist. Read on for a guide to their key differences and similarities.
What’s new with Apple Watch 10
The brand new Apple Watch 10.
Credit: Apple
There’s a lot that’s new with the Apple Watch 10 (or Apple Watch Series X), which sports a refined design. The screens are bigger than ever, and brighter too (especially at an angle). There’s also an improved on-board speaker for listening without headphones, and it’s the thinnest Apple Watch ever at 9.7mm (0.38-inches) front to back—that’s almost 10% thinner than the Apple Watch 9.
There’s also a new S10 processor on the inside, and new finishes on the outside: A glossy black aluminum finish, as well as new titanium finishes that are lighter (and more expensive), give you more case styles to choose from, and there are new straps and bands on offer as well.
New in health features is sleep apnea detection, which will help you figure out if your breathing starts and stops during sleep. This often goes undiagnosed and can have serious health consequences, but the Apple Watch 10 will be able to alert you if it thinks you might have sleep apnea, so you can get checked out. The feature is yet to get FDA clearance, but Apple says it expects it to arrive soon.
This year, the Apple Watch 10 comes with a depth gauge and a water temperature sensor, making it more useful for any activities in the water, and an integrated Tides app is included with data on coastlines around the world. There’s still the same 50 meter water resistance as well.
Throw in the fastest charging speeds for an Apple Watch to date—it takes just 30 minutes to get from 0 to 80% battery—and it’s one of the more significant Apple Watch updates we’ve seen in a while. What hasn’t changed is the price: it starts at $399 for the cheapest model, though it can quickly get more expensive.
Apple Watch 10 vs Pixel Watch 3
The Pixel Watch 3 from Google.
Credit: Google
The Pixel Watch 3 is the first Pixel Watch to come in two sizes (41mm and 45mm), so it just about lines up with the 42mm and 46mm Apple Watch 10 options. However, with a thickness of 12.3mm (0.48 inches), it can’t match Apple in that department, and at 29.3 grams and up, the Apple Watch 10 is lighter, too.
The Pixel Watch 3 also makes use of a circular face rather than a rectangular one, and doesn’t offer as many case finishes as the new Apple Watch 10 does: The casing options on the Google wearable are all aluminum, and there are four different colors to pick from across the two sizes, plus plenty of strap options.
Google says the Pixel Watch 3 can be charged from 0 to 80 percent battery in just 35 minutes, so it’s not quite as speedy as the Apple Watch, but is pretty close. For battery life, you can expect 24 hours between charges with the always on display enabled, which actually beats the estimated 18 hours of the Apple Watch 10.
There’s no sleep apnea detection on the Pixel Watch 3, but it still offers a host of sleep tracking features through the Fitbit app. The Google wearable also offers something unique of its own that the Apple Watch doesn’t have: Pulse loss detection that’s able to alert emergency services if it appears your heart has stopped.
As for pricing, the Pixel Watch 3 starts at $349.99, which is a little less than the $399 of the Apple Watch 10. However, pricing can vary significantly depending on the casing and strap options, and whether or not you want 4G LTE included.
Apple Watch 10 vs Galaxy Watch 7
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 7.
Credit: Samsung
The two sizes that the Galaxy Watch 7 comes in are slightly smaller than those offered by the Apple Watch 10: 40mm and 44mm rather than 42mm and 46mm. Front to back, the Galaxy Watch 7 measures 9.7mm (0.38-inches), matching the Apple Watch 10 exactly when it comes to thinness. The Samsung wearable is also lighter, at 28.8 grams vs 29.3 grams.
When it comes to design, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 has a circular case rather than the rectangular one of the Apple Watch 10. You’ve also got fewer finishes to choose from with the Samsung watch: Green, cream, and silver are your color options and aluminum is the only material on offer.
In terms of health and fitness, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 offers FDA-approved sleep apnea detection, just like the Apple Watch 10. Otherwise, it’s difficult to tell wearables apart in this particular category, at least on paper. The Galaxy Watch 7 does offer blood pressure monitoring—something you don’t get with the Apple Watch 10.
Unfortunately, Samsung doesn’t give battery life or charging specifics for the Galaxy Watch 7, so it’s difficult to compare it to the Apple Watch 10, at least officially. The general consensus I’ve seen is that you’re not going to get beyond a day with the Samsung watch with general use, so it’s broadly comparable with what Apple promises with the Apple Watch 10.
On both watches, you can opt for models with just Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, or add on 4G LTE as well, but Samsung has the more affordable options here: The prices for the Galaxy Watch 7 start at $299.99 for the smallest model without 4G LTE, compared to $399 for the Apple Watch 10. Ultimately, it depends which casing color, size, and strap options you pick as to how the prices stack up.
