Apple Watch Series 9 vs Series 10 showdown: Should you upgrade or skip?

Unlike the Watch Series 9, which sports a ceramic and sapphire crystal back, the new watches have a metal back that houses a larger charging coil along with an integrated antenna.

Apple Watch Series 10 is available in both aluminium and titanium cases. (Image Source: Apple)

Display

Apple also seems to have increased the screen by a bit. While the Watch Series 9 was available in 41mm and 45mm sizes with 1.69-inch and 1.89-inch LTPO OLED screens, the Watch Series 10 is available in two sizes – 42mm and 46mm that house a 1.89-inch and 2.04-inch LTPO OLED screens alongside a higher refresh rate and 2,000 nits brightness. The tech giant also says that the Watch Series 10’s OLED screen is up to 40 per cent brighter when viewed at an angle.

Hardware

Apple Watch Series 10 packs a faster and more compact S10 chip compared to the Apple Watch Series 9, which sports the slightly slower S9 chip.

The previous generation watch features a body temperature sensor whereas the Watch Series 10 now has a much improved body and water temperature sensor, depth gauge up to 6 metres and support for Depth and Oceanic+ app for snorkelling.

The new smartwatches also boast a microphone with voice isolation and redesigned speaker grill that has individual holes. Another useful functionality is that the Watch Series 10’s speaker supports media playback, a feature that has been missing on older Apple watches for unknown reasons.

While the Watch Series 9 can be charged from 0-80 per cent in just 45 minutes, the new smartwatches can juice up from 0-80 per cent in just half an hour.

The Apple Watch Series 10 is powered by the new S10 chip. (Image Source: Apple)

Should you buy the Apple Watch Series 10?

The Apple Watch Series 10 does bring several notable improvements over its successor, but still largely remains an incremental upgrade for those who own an Apple Watch Series 8 or the Apple Watch Series 9.

If you are a person who loves to go outdoors or swim often, the new Apple Watch Series 10 is a much better smartwatch compared to its predecessor. Also, the Apple Watch Series 10 may be appealing to those who own an much older Apple smartwatch and are looking for a bigger watch with high refresh rate screen, better audio quality and faster charging capabilities.

The Apple Watch Series 10 is currently available for pre-order and can be purchased from Rs 46,900. It will be available on e-commerce platforms, Apple websites and offline stores on September 20.