Apple Watch Series 11 Review

Design and Screen

• Same design and sizes as the Series 10
• More scratch-resistant glass on aluminium models
• New Space Grey colour option

Apple didn’t mess with the Watch’s design this year because it didn’t need to. Having lived with the slimmed-down case Apple introduced on the Series 10 last year, I am thrilled things stayed the same for the Watch Series 11. It’s lightweight, comfortable, and much slimmer than the Apple Watch Series 9 from 2023, making it less noticeable to wear.

As has been the case since the Apple Watch was first introduced back in 2015, a rotating Digital Crown sits on the right edge of the casing to access apps and navigate the touchscreen if you don’t want to use your finger. Meanwhile, a single press of the side button below that crown takes you to the Control Centre for quick access to settings, while a double press launches Apple Pay. 

The Series 11 hasn’t changed the size options either, with 42mm and 46mm sizes, both of which come in aluminium and titanium finishes as the Series 10 did. There is a new Space Grey finish for the aluminium Series 11 however, rounding the options up to four – Rose Gold (pictured), Silver, Space Grey and Jet Black, while the titanium models cap out at three – Gold (my favourite), Natural and Slate.

The aluminium finish is more appealing than ever this year with a £30 drop in its starting price compared to the Watch Series 10, and that’s especially true when you consider that Apple claims to have made the Ion-X display on the aluminium Series 11 twice as scratch-resistant as previous models. It’s not the sapphire crystal of the titanium models, but my Series 11 still looks box fresh eight months on, and I can’t say I have been especially careful. 

The screen itself is otherwise unchanged: bright, colourful, and easy to read at a glance, and that applies whether you’re indoors or out on a walk in the summer sunshine. The touchscreen is lovely and responsive (unless you have wet hands), and the Always On display means you are never looking at a black rectangle. 

Performance and Software

• Runs on the same Apple S10 chip as the Series 10
•  watchOS 26 offers a translucent look and small gesture upgrades
• Everyday interactions are excellent

Under the hood, the Series 11 uses the same S10 chip as its predecessor, but I have yet to feel short-changed by that – it was more than adequate with the Series 10, and it remains a very capable chipset in this latest model. Apps open quickly, on-device Siri requests return promptly, and scrolling through the menus is lovely and smooth.

The Series 11 currently runs on watchOS 26, which introduced Apple’s new translucent “Liquid Glass” design to Apple Watch. It’s a subtler makeover here than on iPhone, unsurprising given how little room there is to play with, but you’ll spot it in the way menus and widgets layer over each other.

More useful day-to-day is a new gesture that also arrived with watchOS 26. Joining Double Tap, which allows you to answer calls or dismiss notifications one-handed while holding a lead or a coffee, is Wrist Flick. This enables a satisfying little flick of the wrist away from your body to dismiss a notification or an unwanted call. I use both daily, and they’re features I’d miss if I moved back to an older Apple Watch. 

With watchOS 27, due to arrive in September, there’s another tap gesture coming, too – a single tap with your index finger and thumb will let you select widgets from the Smart Stack at the bottom of the Apple Watch screen. The new software will also introduce Siri AI to your wrist, offer more Workout Buddy insights and deliver helpful Smart Stack suggestions.

Elsewhere, everyday usability remains the area Apple thrives against its competition. It handles notifications from an iPhone brilliantly, Apple Pay is lovely and easy to use, and pinging my misplaced iPhone remains a small convenience I use multiple times a day. You don’t need the Series 11 for any of these latter points, but they all run very well on it.

Tracking and Features

• Reliable heart rate and GPS accuracy for cycling and walking
• Sleep Score remains (though still generous)
• Hypertension notifications monitor for chronic high blood pressure

For fitness tracking, the Apple Watch Series 11 is one of the more dependable watches I have tested. Across several indoor cycling sessions and outdoor walks, I compared its readings against a chest strap and found the heart rate figures tracked closely throughout, rarely drifting by more than a beat or two even during sharp changes in effort. For outdoor activities, the GPS consistently locks in quickly too, kicking in within a few seconds of starting a walk or run.

Sleep Score, which was introduced last year and is now available across every watch compatible with watchOS 26, breaks your night down into duration, bedtime consistency and interruptions to produce a score out of 100. It’s easy to read at a glance, but it’s definitely more generous than other sleep trackers, though depending on the type of person you are, you may not consider that to be a bad thing.

My nights regularly come back in the low-to-mid 90s on the Apple Watch, while my Oura Ring 5, measuring the same nights, tends to land closer to the low 80s. It would be great to see Apple pull in more signals here, and I’d still love a daily readiness or recovery score to sit alongside the Sleep Score, something Garmin, Samsung, Fitbit and Oura all offer and Apple continues to leave out.

In terms of new fitness features, Apple introduced hypertension notifications with the Watch Series 11 and the Watch Ultra 3, though this feature is also available on the Watch Series 10 and Watch Ultra 2. The feature works in the background, analysing your heart rate patterns over a rolling 30-day window and surfacing an alert if it detects signs consistent with chronic high blood pressure. I haven’t triggered one in the eight months I’ve been testing this smartwatch, which I’m taking as good news, but this is exactly the kind of feature that, in my mind, justifies wearing a smartwatch full-time. You don’t have to do anything beyond setup, and it could flag something worth bringing to a doctor’s attention. Who knows, it might even save your life.

Elsewhere, Workout Buddy, another watchOS 26 addition, provides spoken updates at set milestones during a workout session when you’re wearing headphones. It will tell you your pace or encourage you along, and while some will find it a good motivator, I’d say it is more of a nice-to-have feature than a sole reason to buy this smartwatch. It’s also worth noting that some older Apple Watch models are compatible with Workout Buddy so you don’t necessarily need the Apple Watch Series 11 to try it.

Battery life

• Around 24 hours battery life
• Decent improvement over the Series 10
• Still requires nightly charging for anyone wanting continuous sleep tracking

Where the Apple Watch Series 11 does make a clear case for itself is battery life. Apple’s 24-hour claim has held up well over the last few months, comfortably outlasting the Series 10 I wore last year. Ultimately, you’re still looking at daily charging here, so there are still improvements to be made, but it did allow for a real shift in my charging habit. Rather than plugging in before bed, I can now wear the Series 11 through the night for sleep tracking and charge it the next morning while I get ready.

It’s far from the multi-day stamina you’ll find on a Garmin or an Amazfit, and if battery life is your priority, the Watch Ultra 3 remains the better fit within Apple’s own portfolio. But for a watch this size and this smart, the jump from the Series 10 is meaningful, and it’s the improvement I’ve appreciated most day-to-day.

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