I've tested all of Apple's smart watches - I recommend this one in 2026 (and it's $100 off)

ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

• The Apple Watch Series 11 is connected merchantability for $299 close now, $100 little than its archetypal price.
• Apple's newest baseline smartwatch offers upgraded wellness features and fantastic artillery life.
• Although affordable, it's trumped by the sheer worth of its younger sibling, the SE 3.

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If you've been considering an Apple Watch to way your wellness successful the caller year, determination are a fewer watches that could acceptable your needs. In this review, I'm going to absorption connected the Apple Watch Series 11, 1 of the astir fashionable astute watches connected the marketplace close now, and the 1 I usage personally to way my workouts, show my sleep, and bash a full batch more. Allow maine to interruption down the pros and cons. 

Also: AirPods review: Apple pulled disconnected thing I thought was impossible 

Apple rolled retired 3 caller Apple Watches successful 2025 -- the Apple Watch Series 11, Apple Watch Ultra 3, and the Apple Watch SE 3, and I've been investigating each 3 for months since.  

Many of the features stayed the aforesaid from Series 10 to Series 11, but the astir important happening is Apple's chipset. Normally, it updates its chips each year, but the Series 11 keeps the S10 processor, the aforesaid spot arsenic 2024's Series 10. 

When comparing the Apple Watch Series 11 to the Ultra 3 or SE 3, artillery beingness is 1 of the biggest differentiating factors. The SE 3 gets 18 hours of mean usage artillery life, portion the Series 11 gets 24, and the Ultra 3 gets 42.    

Also: The 10 features that made maine power to the Apple Watch full-time 

Apple says that successful adding much artillery beingness done an interior plan alteration that replaced its jelly rotation cells with a metallic tin design, it was capable to support the signifier origin of the ticker the aforesaid and usage 2024's spot to process the caller device. This means that the physique of the ticker is identical to the Series 10. 

The surface brightness besides remains the aforesaid astatine 2,000 nits, contempt its competition, the Pixel Watch 4 and Galaxy Watch 8, amping theirs up to 3,000 nits. You person to upgrade to the Apple Watch Ultra 3 to get a 3,000 nit surface successful the Apple ecosystem. 

Nina Raemont/ZDNET

The caller watches travel successful 4 colorways: Jet Black, Rose Gold, Silver, and a caller Space Gray. My set of prime is the Sport Loop, which I tested successful a striking Neon Yellow. I wasn't expecting to emotion arsenic overmuch arsenic I did: It's lightweight connected the wrist, casual to slumber with, and water-wicking (especially if you ablution with your watch, which I do). 

Sleeping, working, and exercising with the ticker is simply a lightweight and comfy experience. The show is vivid, notifications look quickly, and the ticker lasts a time of regular use. If you haven't slept with a ticker before, it mightiness instrumentality a fewer nights to get utilized to it. However, the bladed physique of the Series 11 and its slumber mode, which dims the surface and dismisses interruptions, marque it easier than different watches to drift away. 

The upgrades you should cognize about

Apple made respective upgrades to the Series 11 that its predecessor, the Series 10, lacked. The astir desired update is six further hours of artillery life. This boosts the wide capableness to 24 hours, enabling all-day communication, enactment tracking, and slumber tracking. This means you tin way workouts and slumber without charging successful between. 

The FDA-cleared Hypertension Detection diagnostic is different important addition, not conscionable for those who privation to further recognize their humor unit without needing a humor unit cuff, but besides for Apple's semipermanent ngo to usage exertion to proactively amended wellness and wellness. 

Also: I compared the champion smartwatches by Google and Samsung - here's however Pixel wins out

The caller hypertension diagnostic doesn't supply readings by the infinitesimal connected humor pressure. Instead, it uses Apple's PPG bosom sensor to instrumentality a 30-day mean speechmaking that its algorithm determines is either supra oregon beneath the hypertension threshold. Because I had lone a fewer days with the watch, I wasn't capable to usage the diagnostic yet, arsenic it requires 30 days of monitoring, but I'll study backmost successful a period erstwhile I person further acquisition with it. 

Still, hypertension impacts implicit 1 cardinal radical and is the world's astir undiagnosed disease. Apple's first-of-its-kind, FDA-cleared hypertension detection volition not lone promote proactive monitoring but besides dispersed consciousness of the condition's ubiquity. Apple forecasts that its caller hypertension diagnostic volition notify implicit a cardinal radical of their undiagnosed precocious humor unit during its archetypal 12 months connected the market.  

Nina Raemont/ZDNET

Apple adds 5G to Series 11 for businesslike connectivity, Ion-X solid for durability, and a wrist-flicking motion to disregard messages oregon calls. The caller solid could assistance adjacent the durability spread betwixt the Series 11 and Ultra 3 and marque the cheaper smartwatch adjacent much appealing to those stuck betwixt the two. 

Interestingly enough, this year, respective upgrades are not exclusive to the 3 caller Apple Watches' caller hardware. The bundle upgrades successful WatchOS 26 widen beyond the Series 11, Ultra 3, and SE 3 to the Series 9 and aboriginal and Ultra 2. 

What I'd similar to spot connected the Series 12 

I recovered that Apple's caller Sleep Score tended to inflate my prime of sleep. I tested the ticker against my Oura Ring, which delivers slumber and readiness scores each morning. My Apple Watch regularly delivered scores successful the precocious 90s erstwhile my Oura Ring offered up scores successful the 80s, adjacent connected days erstwhile I felt sluggish and needed a nap. Apple says it bases the 3 factors that marque up your Sleep Score connected guidelines from 3 starring slumber foundations. 

Also: Are AI wellness manager subscriptions a scam? My verdict aft investigating Fitbit's for a month

In general, slumber scores are a reasonably subjective metric that tech brands make to visualize slumber wellness easily. Throughout my investigating of slumber trackers, I've recovered that a slumber people reflects the brand's priorities much than it is an nonsubjective measurement of slumber tracking. 

If astir Americans aren't getting bully sleep, according to recent stats, and Apple is appealing to a wide American user base, its slumber people metrics mightiness beryllium generous to assuage the user. Any consistent, seven-hour slumber with fewer interruptions could inactive onshore you an 80 oregon 90-something slumber score. 

Nina Raemont/ZDNET

Despite their subjectivity, slumber scores convey slumber accusation successful an easy digestible manner, overmuch to the dismay of individuals with mediocre sleep. Many radical person stopped utilizing slumber trackers due to the fact that of slumber scores that people them poorly. It's successful a brand's champion involvement to make products that don't alienate users portion besides delivering utile and close information. Apple says it is doing truthful by lone grading a idiosyncratic connected their bedtime consistency, interruptions, and slumber duration. 

Additionally, Apple is already capturing a wearer's Training Load, and I'd emotion to spot Apple adhd a Recovery people that takes a user's enactment information into relationship and optimizes their Training Load metric each day. 

ZDNET's buying advice

The Series 11 is perfect for you if you person already utilized a smartwatch and are acceptable for an upgrade. You mightiness beryllium utilizing it for workout and for closing your regular enactment rings, and you privation to further recognize your wellness done Apple's Sleep Score, Hypertension Detection, the Vitals app, and precocious workout features similar Training Load. The accrued artillery beingness makes the Series 11's 24-hour capableness a cardinal upgrade. 

Also: I compared Apple and Samsung's champion smartwatches - here's who wins for now

So the bigger question is whether Series 11 shoppers should see the Series 10 instead? If you don't request the other six hours of artillery beingness and privation to maximize your savings, past the Series 10 is inactive a large choice. You tin adjacent find a refurbished 1 for nether $300 connected Amazon and different retailers. 

Keep successful caput that whichever Apple Watch you choose, determination are usually fantabulous discounts astir deals events similar Cyber Week and Prime Day, and ZDNET volition ever support you updated connected the champion deals. The $100 woody connected the Series 11 is charismatic for those aiming to bargain a smartwatch astatine a discount close astatine the caput of 2026.