Apple made it clear it was getting serious about endurance athletes a few years ago with the launch of the Apple Watch Ultra, You were paying a pretty penny for that watch, though. The Ultra certainly combines the many health and tech features that make the Apple Watches such a hit, and also serves as a more than able training tool for triathletes and endurance junkies, but it does lack the battery power to sustain the most extreme of endurance activities.
For even the most serious triathletes, though, the Apple Watch Ultra does the trick. There’s more than enough battery power to get through an Ironman or even the longest training days. And Apple has steadily upped the ante on the features of the watch, as we reported earlier this summer, too.
But what if you’re not an Ironman triathlete. You’re an active athlete, who participates in the sport, but maybe also does lots of other different activities. You like the idea of having an Apple Watch, and you’d like something that can track your training. Well, as long as you don’t have an Ironman on your schedule any time soon, the 10th iteration of the Apple Watch will certainly do the trick.
Last week Apple announced the new Apple Watch Series 10, the thinnest watch the company has ever made that also features the biggest and most advanced display on an Apple Watch, too. Retail pricing for the new watch starts at C$549/ US$399. That’s a lot less than you’ll pay for the Ultra (starting at C$1,099/ US$799).
Apple sets its sights on the rest of the triathlon population
But is the Series 10 enough to keep an active triathlete happy?
We spent just under a week putting the Series 10 through its paces. Here are some thoughts.
Size and Screen
Going thinner makes a huge difference – the Series 10 just feels way smaller on your wrist. That’s going to be especially exciting for people like my wife, who has extremely small wrists and feels like the Ultra is just a lot of watch to wear. (The main photo for this story features her wearing the Series 10 – she isn’t ready to try the new watch all the time until she’s finished the Ironman World Championship in Nice this weekend.)
The Series 10 is also lighter – noticeably lighter than the Ultra 2 and 10 per cent lighter than the Series 9. We tested the 46 mm size, and were impressed with the feel of the watch. You can save even more weight by springing some extra cash for one of the titanium cases that are now an option with the Series 10, too.
The screen size is noticeable, for sure – there’s just so much information available on the screen for texts, emails and even news stories (as you can see above), but also for training information.
The OLED display on the Series 10 is also easier to see from an angle, making it easier to see details during workouts without having to turn your wrist quite as much.
Training and Health Features
The Series 10 features 50-m water resistance, so you’ll have no qualms taking the watch into the water with you for a swim workout and it’ll keep track of your distance and lots of other metrics. The new OS11 announced this summer allows you to upload custom swim workouts, too. As with the Ultra, you now get a depth gauge and water temperature sensor. (It’s always nice to be able to tell everyone what the temperature of the pool is, and you can now track data while you’re snorkelling, too.) Bike and run workouts are easy to track, too – all the features you’d have in the Ultra are there, too.
The new OS11 is jam packed with training and health features, including the new Training Load feature that helps you gauge your fatigue level and help you dial in the optimal training levels you should do. The Vitals app makes it really easy to track health metrics, especially overnight sleep data – another training feature that should be important to many athletes. Apple also announced new sleep apnea detection last week, offering yet another reason to start wearing the watch at night to track health data. All that is available in the Series 10 as well as the Ultra 2.
Anyone who has used the Ultra or the Ultra 2 will miss the action button on the left side of the watch, though. It’s much easier to get to the workout mode with the Ultra and, while you can pause a workout by pressing the dial and button on the right side of the Series 10 to pause a workout, it’s just not as easy to do as with the Ultra.
Speakers
Apple has really upped the game with the speakers in the Series 10. While my guess is you won’t ever want to play music from your watch, it actually sounds pretty good when you try it. There is also improved voice isolation for calls, which could make a difference if you get a call during a workout and aren’t plugged in to a set of AirPods.
Battery Life
Here’s the sticking point with the Apple Watches. We’ve reviewed watches from other companies that have literally run for weeks in between charges. That’s not happening with an Apple Watch. You can get a few days out of the Ultra 2 with ease, but the Series 10 is rated at 18 hours. (It seemed like we got longer during our test, but you are still charging this watch every day.)
One big improvement has been the speed at which the watch recharges – 30 minutes gets you 80 per cent battery, so it’s easy to throw the watch on the charger at some point during the day. You’ll especially want to do that every night so you can keep track of health data while you’re sleeping.
Triathlon ready?
The new Series 10 will get all but the most avid of triathletes through all their training and racing. Despite the large screen, the watch feels much smaller on the wrist, which will be a popular feature for many women. All that screen real estate makes it easy to keep track of all kinds of data.
Battery life, though, is the kicker. If you’re racing an Ironman any time soon, you’re going to need a second watch to race with, so this likely isn’t the watch for you. If your race distances are shorter, though, the Series 10 is certainly worth a look. You’re saving a lot of money and getting so many of the advantages of the Ultra 2 – a larger screen size and so many training and health features. And for those who want to jazz things up a bit, the available titanium finishes and straps sure look stylish, too.
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