Putting on the Apple Watch Series 10 made me realize Apple has made a watch. Not just a smartwatch, but a watch, and there’s a distinct and important difference between the two words.
To understand how this has come about, we need to go back in time to the Apple Watch Series 3 and compare it to the latest version. After doing so, I think you’ll begin to appreciate how much the Apple Watch has evolved since those early days and how it’s now set to forge a new path forward.
What’s the difference between a watch and a smartwatch?
The difference between a watch and a smartwatch is both obvious and nebulous. A smartwatch has a level of high-tech functionality unavailable on a mechanical watch that requires it to connect to your smartphone, but I don’t think it needs to have a touchscreen to be considered a smartwatch. Watchmakers Frederique Constant and Alpina have made smartwatches without a touchscreen in the past, while Casio continues to do so today with its G-Shock watches, but they still have a connected element that makes them “smarter” than an unconnected watch.
A watch tells the time and date without a connection to your phone. It’s not a piece of technology but is instead regarded as a mechanical piece of precision engineering. Any level of additional functionality beyond the time is usually further down the list of reasons to buy it than with a smartwatch. Most watches have form and shape that make them aesthetically pleasing, and many watch brands have an enticing history. We mostly buy them because of how they make us feel rather than what they do.
Despite each type of watch being worn on our wrists, they’re quite different. Regardless of how smart a watch is, size and shape matter, as do comfort and design because we wear them on our bodies — sometimes 24 hours a day.
When we go back to the Apple Watch Series 3, it was very far removed from watches of the day in these respects. To me, it’s very obviously a smartwatch. But with the Apple Watch Series 10, things have changed to such a degree it now blurs the line like never before.
An icon
It’s easy to think Apple has not changed the shape of the Apple Watch over the years and that it’s still “square” and not round, therefore “not a real watch.” In reality, the Apple Watch is commonplace and accepted. By steadily refining its shape, Apple has taken it from oddball to icon. When the Series 10 is placed alongside the Series 3, those old preconceptions are shown up as misguided, and it’s here the Apple Watch’s transformation from smartwatch to watch is best illustrated.
Just look at the flatness and squared-off corners of the Series 3 compared to the rounded, curved Series 10. Observe how the touchscreen sits on top of the Series 3’s case while it blends into the body of the Series 10, and the display is visible from the side rather than only from the front. The Series 10 shows the time constantly and even features a moving second hand on some watch faces. The available watch faces are varied and interesting, shifting away from the focus on technical, information-heavy dashboards and more toward elegant and stylish dial-like designs.
The Apple Watch has grown in size but reduced in thickness, the Digital Crown has become daintier and less obvious, while the button beneath it is now flush with the case. The practical band attachment system hasn’t changed, and instead, the alterations to the case’s dimensions de-emphasize it in the overall design. Despite all the design and internal updates and improvements over the years, the Series 10 with a Sport Loop band is just a single gram heavier than the equivalent Series 3, but the way the shape flows and curves makes it almost unnoticeable on your wrist.
Everything coming together
Ten years ago, the Apple Watch looked like a piece of technology on your wrist. People were shocked at the almost square shape and chunky proportions and irked by the fact it didn’t always show the time. The Series 3 model in our photos shows how valid these arguments against it were, and it (like so many other smartwatches of the time) was little more than a companion to your phone built within the constraints of what was technically possible, rather than taking on a traditional watch you’d choose to wear and enjoy, despite designer Jony Ive’s understanding and appreciation of mechanical watches.
It has taken time, technical advances, and gradual changes to the shape and design — along with a subtle shift in the thinking behind what the Apple Watch could represent — for it to evolve. When looked at in context with where it all started, the old objections fade away. To me, it’s no longer a “square” watch, and although it’s certainly not round, it’s so much more organic and natural, suiting its position on our body more. This applies to the underside of the watch, too, making it supremely comfortable. There’s not even a need to always touch the screen anymore, separating it further from its technological roots and similarity with our smartphone.
The aluminum feels higher quality, the glass has a deeper shine, and the screen’s larger size and higher resolution make the watch faces sharper and more realistic looking. Pair the watch with the metal Milanese Loop band and the full-screen Reflections watch face, and the Apple Watch becomes elegant and stylish, all without actually changing the shape of the case.
No other smartwatch can pull off this trick, and no round smartwatch comes close to the delight of seeing the Series 10’s screen cascade over the side of the glass either. Choose the titanium model, and it’s not actually the metal that elevates it beyond the aluminum version, but the beautiful sheen from the sapphire crystal over the screen. Does it matter that it doesn’t have a mechanical movement inside? Not as much as it once did.
This really is the Apple Watch X
Ahead of the Series 10’s launch, many expected Apple to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Apple Watch by overhauling the design and introducing features like a magnetic band attachment system, along with an even larger screen and thinner case. Disappointment spread when the Series 10 wasn’t seen as a substantial enough change over the Series 9, but in reality, the small alterations have made a massive difference to the look, feel, and ownership of the Apple Watch — which is far more welcome than any flashy-but-unnecessary headline-bothering tech changes.
Moving beyond being only considered a smartwatch is a more fitting 10th-anniversary gift, and 10 years is a not insignificant amount of history when it comes to making this kind of product either. Current watch brand du jour Christopher Ward has only been making watches for 20 years, for example.
I’ve owned and worn every Apple Watch since the very first model, but the Series 10, when matched with a metal band, is the first that has truly captured what it’s like to own and wear a non-smart watch. It’s beautifully made from high-quality materials, the organic, flowing shape feels like part of you when it is worn, it’s never heavy or awkward on your wrist, and the technology fades into the background through clever use of gesture controls, the curved always-on screen, and expertly designed watch faces. The Milanese Loop band blends the supreme comfort and adjustability of the Sport Loop with an intricate style better associated with a piece of jewelry than a smartwatch.
I want to wear the Apple Watch Series 10 not only because of its health features, notifications, and apps but also because it no longer feels like or appears to only be a smartwatch. It’s time to stop labeling it as such and for it to be considered just as much of a “watch” as any non-smartwatch, regardless of what’s inside or whether it connects to your phone or not.
Just like how quartz changed watches in 1969, the Apple Watch Series 10 should change how we think about connected watches from 2024 onward.
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