my watch serise 6 vs 11

1. 5G support - First Apple Watch with 5G. Real question: who really needs 5G on a watch? 🤔 It might help with battery efficiency when on cellular, but otherwise not a big use-case yet.

2. Stronger glass - 2× more scratch-resistant Ion-X glass. Nice durability bump, but it comes with a small weight increase.

3. Battery life - Now officially tested for 24-hour use including 6 hours of sleep tracking. Series 10 was rated for 18 hours without sleep tracking. Slight bump here, but feels more like Apple optimized usage assumptions (and maybe the 5G chip helps a bit) rather than a massive hardware change.

4. Wrist flick gesture - Lets you navigate UI with just a flick. But older devices are also getting this via watchOS 26, so not Series 11 exclusive.

5. Hypertension notifications - Cool new health feature, but again rolling out to older devices with watchOS 26.

6. Sleep Score - Same story: comes with watchOS 26, so not Series 11 exclusive.

So Apple is hyping the Watch Series 11 as having 24 hours of battery life compared to 18 hours on the Series 10. That looks like a huge 33% improvement, moving away from their 18h goalpost for the first time ever since the very first Watch. But if you read their testing methodology in the footnotes it’s not really what it seems.

Here’s what Apple says:

• Series 11 (24h test): 300 time checks, 90 notifications, 15 min of app use, a 60-min workout with music playback, plus 6 hours of sleep tracking.

• Series 10 (18h test): 300 time checks, 90 notifications, 15 min of app use, a 60-min workout with music playback. No sleep tracking included.

That’s the whole difference. The “extra 6 hours” is just Apple finally including sleep tracking in the test. But sleep tracking barely sips power, and previous Apple Watches have already been able to easily surpass their 18 hour claims and go through a night of sleep tracking on top.

But fine, we can't be sure without actually having the Watch and testing it out. Thankfully, Apple provides us with another claim, Low Power Mode:

• Series 11 (38h test): 530 time checks, 160 notifications, 26 min of app use, 60-min workout, and 6 hours of sleep tracking.

• Series 10 (36h test): 600 time checks, 180 notifications, 30 min of app use, 60-min workout.

So here, not only is the difference just 2 hours (38 vs 36), a measly 5% increase, but even then Apple also quietly lowered the “active usage” assumptions for the new model. Fewer checks, fewer notifications, less app time. Again, not really an upgrade, just a shift in methodology.

So the headline "24h battery" isn’t an actual hardware improvement. It’s just marketing.

Given that hypertension monitoring and sleep score is coming to older Watches via an update anyways, the only things new with the Series 11 are the ceramic coating on the display and 5G (lol). Oh right, and a slightly lighter Space Gray, tweaked for the millionth time. Not even the chip got a number upgrade, they usually do that even though the chip itself stays the same. Should Apple switch to a bi-yearly upgrade cycle like they did with the Ultra?

Sources:
Series 11 Series 10 (via Wayback Machine)

Edit: I admit scam is a bit harsh, I would change the title if I could. But still, Apple marketing 33% improvement (even if technically correct in this very specific circumstance) while their other, more comparable, test only claims 5% is kind of scummy in and of itself.

Hi everyone,

I’m planning to buy an Apple Watch, but I’m confused — should I wait for the Apple Watch Series 11, or is it better to just get the Series 10 now? Will there be any significant upgrades in Series 11 that are worth waiting for?

Also, I’m torn between the GPS-only and the cellular version. Which one is better when it comes to receiving calls, emails, and WhatsApp message notifications (especially when the phone isn’t nearby)?

My main uses will be:

• Sleep tracking

• Heart rate monitoring during running

• Staying notified without always checking my phone

Would love to hear your suggestions and experiences. Thanks!

1. x2 Resistance on scratches for the glass

2. 24 hour battery (from 18h the previous versions) not really!

3. The “amazing” wrist flick gesture. not really!

That’s all, all the other features are coming to Series 10 and Series 9

Oh and 5G for Cellular versions in some countries!