Apple Watch Series 10 vs Series 9: What are the Differences in 2025?

2025 marked the 10^th Anniversary of the Apple Watch product line, culminating in the release of the Apple Watch Series 10. Now that the Series 10 has been on the shelves for a few months, we’ve been able to truly assess its performance, features, and durability over long-term daily use.

For those looking to enter the Apple Watch world, or those who currently own the Series 9 and are considering an upgrade, it's worth examining every new feature of the Series 10. Here, we offer an in-depth comparison of the two latest Apple Watches.

We explore every detail of both models and break down the differences (and similarities) in our 2025 guide to the Apple Watch Series 10 and Series 9.

The Apple Watch range

In the last decade, the Apple Watch brand has grown to encompass a range of separate lines, including the rugged Apple Watch Ultra, the stripped-back SE, and collaborations with Nike and the Parisian fashion house Hermès. 

Every year has seen a new update to the core Apple Watch line, with the latest, the Apple Watch Series 10, launching on September 20, 2024. As with all Apple launches, the Series 10 was announced to some fanfare during a live product launch event, with subsequent marketing efforts focusing on the model’s slimline aesthetic, larger screen, and faster charging speeds. 

Some previous models, like the Series 3, were genuine gamechangers that redefined what a smartwatch was capable of. Others, like the Series 5, merely refined the advancements of their predecessors.

With $100+ difference in price between a new Series 9 and Series 10, it’s important to understand exactly what the 10 brings to the table, and to determine whether it's best to buy an Apple Watch Series 10 or Series 9 in 2025. 

The Apple Watch Series 9

Launched in September 2023, the Apple Watch Series 9 differentiated itself from earlier models with vastly improved health and fitness tracking capabilities, including a number of overhauled sensors. This made it a firm favorite with fitness enthusiasts, though the model has enjoyed mainstream success as well, becoming the best-selling smartwatch model of 2024.

The Apple Watch Series 10

Debuting nearly a year to the day after the Series 9, the Apple Watch Series 10 continued the clockwork precision of Apple's annual smartwatch releases. The model refines, rather than revolutionizes, the smartwatch concept, with a noticeably larger, slimmer body and a new titanium housing option.

The Apple Watch Series 9 vs. the Apple Watch Series 10: Every key difference explained

1. Design

Unlike previous Apple Watch generations, the major developments of the Series 10 are hardware-based. The Series 10 marks the first significant visual change to the line in a few generations, with a larger screen, thinner body, and all-metal casing. Available in both aluminium and titanium options, the new model also introduces a new black anodized aluminium colorway. 

As with the Series 9, the Apple Watch 10 is available in a choice of different case sizes: Series 9 buyers can choose between 41mm and 45mm casings, while the Series 10 offers 42mm and 46mm options. Within these new parameters, Apple has redesigned the Series 10 to fit in a larger screen while slimming the body down to deliver a surprisingly delicate and comfortable smartwatch. 

While a few extra square millimeters of screen may not sound like much in theory, the 9% expansion over the Series 9’s screen makes a marked difference in day-to-day use. Longer messages, emails, and even articles are noticeably more comfortable to read and reply to, while the beefed-up brightness and new wide-angle OLED screen make it genuinely easy to view key information at a glance. 

2. Environmental impact

The Series 9 made headlines for its much-debated claims to be 100% carbon neutral – Apple has continued this line of advertising with the Series 10, including a 100% recycled aluminium case (or 95% recycled in the titanium models).

Buyers should be aware that only specific combinations of watch band and casing fulfil Apple’s definition of a carbon-neutral product.

In terms of raw materials, the Series 10 marks a step backward in Apple’s environmental credentials by reintroducing beryllium into the watch's composition. Though this metallic element was denoted as a “harmful substance” in Apple’s Environmental Report for the Apple Watch Series 9, it has found its way into the Apple Watch Series 10.

Both the Series 9 and Series 10 are eligible for Apple’s trade-in policy, where Apple will recycle or resell old watches from verified buyers for free.

3. Battery

For day-to-day use, the faster charging of the Series 10 is probably one of the key benefits over its ancestors. Battery life has traditionally been a weak spot throughout the Apple Watch line, with only the top-of-the-range Ultra and Ultra 2 offering more than a day’s usage on a single charge.

With a maximum lifetime of 18 hours on a single charge, the Series 10 offers no increase in overall battery life over the Series 9. Crucially, though, it charges much faster: the Series 10 is the fastest-charging Apple Watch yet, charging up to 80% in just 30 minutes.

For daily usage, this is a marked improvement over the Series 9, and a lifesaver for those days when you forget to charge your watch overnight.

4. Performance

The Apple Watch Series 10 marks the debut of Apple’s new S10 chip, replacing the S9 found in the Series 9. While the S10 doesn’t offer a noticeable difference in speed or processing power over the S9, the Series 10 performs admirably, even with multiple tabs and apps open.

The audio options on the Series 10 also set it apart from the Series 9: both models have integrated speakers and microphones, though the Series 10 is the first Apple Watch to offer media playback options through the speaker. The overhauled microphone also features a new voice isolation feature.

5. Connectivity

Both the Series 9 and Series 10 are available in GPS-only and GPS+ cellular models with eSIM connectivity. GPS-only models must be connected via Bluetooth to a paired iPhone in order to function fully and access online features. When enabled with an Apple Watch Plan from a certified provider like BetterRoaming, a GPS+cellular Apple Watch can get online anywhere and function as a standalone mobile device, with no need for a nearby paired iPhone.

This has led to a growing number of people replacing their smartphones with the stripped-back experience of a smartwatch. A cellular smartwatch is an ideal option for children, teenagers, and older adults who require mobile connectivity without the unfettered internet access and screen time that a smartphone offers.

Apple have recently leaned into this niche with Apple Watch For Your Kids mode, a software feature that allows parents or caregivers to set up multiple Apple Watches for others, and use their iPhone to manage kid-friendly features on the Watches, including location updates, contacts, screen time, and more.

In both cases, the cellular model is approximately $100 more expensive than a GPS-only Watch.

6. Health and fitness

The Apple Watch Series 9 boasted a raft of new health and fitness functions, including Sleep Apnea monitoring, improved sensors, and a high-sensitivity gyroscope.

The Series hasn’t replicated its forebears' leap forward with new health and fitness technology, with the new water temperature and depth sensors the only notable differences between the 10 and the 9. This maritime theme is continued in the new Tides service and support for the snorkelling companion apps Depth and Oceanic+, which can be used up to 20 feet underwater.

As with all Apple Watch models, the Series 10 is not a medical device and should not be used as a sole source of health data.

Other 2025 Apple Watches to consider

As of 2025, the Apple Watch branch encompasses four separate product lines, each visually and functionally distinct. The flagship Series 10 provides a balance of value, performance, and functionality, though Apple offers alternative models for a range of budgets.

The Apple Watch Series 11

The predicted launch of the Series 11 later this year will likely make the Series 10 available for sale, and large numbers to enter the second-hand market. Patient shoppers can use this time of year to pick up a Series 10 for a lowest-ever price.  

Android Smartwatches

Major competitors include Google’s Pixel Watch 3, which mirrors the Series 10’s slimline dimensions, though in a circular housing; and the Samsung Galaxy Watch, which provides Android adherents with a similar experience to the Apple Watch.

The wearables market is rapidly growing, accelerated by technological developments like eSIM connectivity and shrinking processor sizes. These have enabled new, specialized connected wearables targeting distinct niches and lifestyles, from the hiking-focused Garmin Fenix to the kid-friendly Verizon Gizmo or the screenless WHOOP Band.

While the Apple Watch remains the world’s best-selling smartwatch, the rapidly expanding wearables market is continually broadening in scope to include a selection of alternatives.

BetterRoaming Apple Watch eSIM plans

Both the Apple Watch Series 9 and 10 are available with cellular connectivity, meaning they can download an eSIM and get online anywhere with mobile data.

Installing an eSIM on an Apple Watch is simple - it takes less than a minute. As an official Apple partner, BetterRoaming is one of a select few network providers trusted to provide Apple Watch eSIMs. Visit the BetterRoaming Apple Watch site to learn more about an Apple Watch cellular plan and get online on your smartwatch today.