Apple Watch Series 11 Review: Excellent Gesture Control with Longer Battery Life
The newest Apple Watch 11th generation introduces the one thing most people actually want from their wrist gadget: longer battery life.
In other aspects, the updated device functions as a direct replacement to the Series 10, keeping pace in styling, size measurements and functions, with the majority of enhancements coming from software.
The latest version is also priced £30 lower in the UK, priced starting at £369 sterling (449 euros/$399/A$679), placed higher than the fresh redesigned SE model costing £219 in the budget category alongside the £749 Ultra 3 for top-tier users.
Design and Display
Like last year's Series 10, the latest iteration comes in at 9.7mm thick, which makes it a trim appearance to the wrist, simple to slide beneath shirt sleeves and easier to wear at night.
The 2,000nit interface remains sufficiently luminous for seeing indoors and out, staying legible when viewed from different angles, which makes glancing down for timekeeping or alerts simple.
Protecting the display using glass that is significantly more durable as before, although not as hard of sapphire crystal, that remains exclusive on the pricier titanium versions.
Capability and Runtime
This latest device incorporates identical S10 processor as last year's model while adding support for cellular 5G capability and stronger reception when you're exploring remote areas.
The batteries show improvement in capacity significantly with the smaller and larger versions correspondingly.
Bigger version achieved approximately two full days during evaluation with sleep tracking when not used for fitness.
Typical wearers can nearly monitor 48 hours including sleep prior to requiring power, needing 66 minutes using a 20W or greater power adaptor (available separately), hitting about 70 percent in half an hour.
Should you participate in workouts, the device can continue approximately eight hours of tracking, which is long enough for a marathon or extended activities.
Technical Specifications
- Case size: 42mm and 46mm
- Profile depth: 9.7 millimeters
- Device weight: around 30 to 37g
- Computing engine: S10 processor
- Memory: 64 gigabytes
- Software platform: watchOS Twenty-Six
- Water resistance: 50 metres (50m waterproof)
- Health tracking: HR, Electrocardiogram, Blood oxygen, Temperature, depth, Microphone, Speaker, NFC, Global navigation, Compass, altimeter
- Communication options: Bluetooth technology, Wi-Fi connectivity, NFC capability, UWB, optional 5G
Operating System Updates
This new model includes watchOS 26, which runs on each iteration since the sixth generation and newer.
This includes Apple's new transparent design elements, creating display features partially transparent, plus introducing two new watch faces: an expansive digital display titled Flow sensitive to gestures plus an analog display named Exactograph, that separates hours, minutes and seconds into individual displays.
The best new feature involves wrist movements, where you rapidly twist your wrist away from you then returning to close applications and go back to the watch face.
It works even without lifting your arm to look at the watch, enabling wearers to stop notifications using a quick gesture via arm movement.
Wellness Monitoring
This smartwatch includes the same comprehensive health monitoring suite of tools available in prior generations but adds some additional functions along with updated exercise application.
Hypertension alerts check for symptoms of hypertension over a 30-day period, alerting users to seek medical advice if cardiac metrics shows possibility of underlying conditions.
The new sleep score metric improves sleep monitoring easier to interpret, comparable to rivals from Google, Samsung and others.
Daily upon waking the screen presents a score out of 100 separated into components into three categories: time asleep, schedule and wakeups, which are all self-explanatory and available via the health software through your mobile as well.
Workout buddy serves as automated guidance that uses your historical exercise information to deliver motivational messages around exercise sessions, such as recognising that you have already run multiple weekly exercises and exertion levels you achieved.
It also provides spoken alerts upon achieving certain milestones during exercise, including certain tempo, heart rate, distance, duration or other metrics.
Options include from three speaking tones, which speak to you over Bluetooth headphones synced to the wearable for multiple workout categories, such as walking, jogging or biking.
But, this feature depends on if you also carry recent smartphones with you, creating frustration sufficient to avoid the feature preventing inconvenience with a phone on runs.
Green Initiatives
Apple says energy storage maintains more than 1,000 full power cycles with at least 80% of initial performance and can be replaced at £95 cost.
Repairs cost approximately £300-400 depending on the model.
Materials include more than 40% recycled material featuring aluminum, cobalt, copper, glass, gold materials, lithium components, uncommon minerals, steel parts, tin, {titanium|