I wore the Apple Watch Series 10 and Ultra 2 for a month. This one is my favorite

The Apple Watch Series 10 may be Apple’s newest smartwatch, but you’ll be surprised to find that it shares a lot of similarities with last year’s Apple Watch Ultra 2. Both have a comprehensive selection of health and fitness tracking tools that work in the same way as WatchOS 11 software and support the same selection of apps. So how do you choose between them? I wore both watches for a month to compare everything from screen differences to health monitoring.

With its sturdy construction and longer-lasting battery, the $799 Ultra 2 is clearly aimed at sports enthusiasts. However, thanks to different display technology that makes it easier to read from different viewing angles and a streamlined design that fits more wrists, the Series 10 can hold its own next to Apple’s most expensive watch.

Of course, none of this matters if you don’t have the budget to afford either watch. And price may be the more deciding factor when it comes to choosing the best Apple Watch for you. Aside from the finish, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 doesn’t offer many options. The Ultra 2 is made of titanium and comes in a single 49-millimeter size for $799 (£799, AU$1,399).

The Apple Watch Series 10 is available in two sizes, 42 millimeters and 46 millimeters, and is made of either aluminum or titanium. The 42mm aluminum Series 10 starts at $399 (£399, AU$649), with some configurations costing as much as the Ultra 2. So if you base your decision on price alone, you might not get the right one Clock for your needs. That’s why I’m here to help.

Apple Watch Series 10 screen: Tick tock beats the clock

Although the Apple Watch Ultra 2 has a larger case, the 46mm Series 10 technically has the largest screen of any Apple Watch – it’s 3% larger than the Ultra 2. And after testing the 46mm Series 10 with the Having compared Ultra 2, I can see no difference between them. Since the watch faces, app list and messaging screens are identical, you’d need a magnifying glass to see the practical difference. Therefore, I wouldn’t go for the 46mm 10 series to brag about the size.

Something you can do Strictly speaking Worth seeing is the wide-angle OLED on the Apple Watch Series 10, which makes the screen brighter than the Ultra 2 when viewed off-axis. This is especially noticeable when you glance down to check the time.

Certain watch faces also support a ticking second hand, e.g. B. Reflections, Flux and Activity Digital. This is ensured by the LTPO 3 display on the 10 series, which drops the refresh rate to 1 Hz when Always-On is active. The Ultra 2 doesn’t have the ticking second hand, even when it uses one of those dials.

If screen brightness is important to you, the Ultra 2’s screen is brighter than the Series 10, maxing out at 3,000 nits compared to 2,000. In my testing, I had no trouble seeing either watch whether I was indoors or outdoors.

The Ultra 2’s titanium case is slightly raised and therefore offers better edge protection for the sapphire crystal display. The Series 10 display has two different covers depending on the case material chosen: Ion-X glass on the aluminum or sapphire glass on the titanium.

Both watches are dust and waterproof, but the Ultra 2 is rated for diving depths of up to 100 meters compared to 50 meters – it also has exclusive diving features, including the Oceanic Plus app, which supports diving.

Comfort is highly subjective, but after wearing the Ultra 2 for a year, my wrist breathed a sigh of relief as soon as I switched to the Series 10. It is much more convenient for daily wearing and sleep tracking.

The Apple Watch Ultra 2’s action button is handy

The Apple Watch Ultra 2 has a design feature that always intrigues me: the orange action button, which can start a workout, stopwatch, flashlight, or even a custom shortcut with just one touch. Its functionality can also change depending on the context. For example, if you’re working out, you can press it to mark a segment.

In WatchOS 11, the Action button becomes even more useful as you can long-press it to see a list of other actions. This means you no longer have to constantly change what the button does on the first press, as you can simply long press to bring up all the options.

The Series 10 does not have an action button. While you can achieve some of the same results with complications on the watch face, there’s nothing quite like pressing a physical button.

Both Apple Watches have the same storage

The Apple Watch Series 10 runs the newer S10 chip, while the Ultra 2 features the earlier S9 chip. I tried my best to find noticeable performance differences between the two watches, like opening the same apps, using Siri on the device, or selecting something with Double Tap, but the Ultra 2 was just as fast at all of these tasks the Series 10.

Both watches support Precision Search when paired with an iPhone 15 or 16, and each has 64GB of storage.

The Ultra 2 features two exclusive watch faces: Modular Ultra or Wayfinder. They bring a lot of detail to the screen and offer space for seven or eight complications. Each supports a night mode that automatically turns red when it’s dark, or you can leave it on all the time. With the Ultra 2 you can also add another data field to the training screen.

Apple Watch Series 10 vs. Ultra 2 call quality and speakers

You can answer calls on both watches when your phone is within range as both have a speaker and microphone. LTE is standard on the Ultra 2 and Titanium Series 10, so you can answer calls or send messages even when you’re out of range of your phone. The LTE option is available on the Aluminum Series 10 at an additional cost. Don’t forget that you usually have to pay an additional fee to your carrier to activate LTE on a compatible watch.

I compared the microphone quality of both watches and recorded the audio of a phone conversation, which you can hear in the video on this page. In short, the call quality is very similar and I didn’t notice much difference between them at all, although the hardware configuration is slightly different. Both did a good job of canceling out background noise and isolating my voice.

With both watches you can jam to your favorite songs without headphones and play the music via the integrated speaker. Simply load music, audiobooks or podcasts, press play and pipe the sound through the watch’s speaker.

Apple Watch Series 10 and Ultra 2 sensors and health tools

When it comes to health and fitness tracking, the Apple Watch Series 10 and Ultra 2 are similar. They each have a temperature sensor, an ECG or electrocardiogram app, high and low heart rate alerts, and irregular heart rhythm alerts. They feature the same heart rate sensor, allow you to connect Bluetooth accessories like power meter pedals, and track your daily activities with Apple’s ring-based system.

Both also offer sleep apnea notifications, fall detection, car crash detection, and emergency SOS. If you are in the US and purchase a new Ultra 2 or Series 10, you will not have access to the blood oxygen sensor due to a patent dispute. However, if you find an Ultra 2 that was sold before January 18, 2024, the blood oxygen sensor should still work.

However, not everything is equal when it comes to outdoor features. The Ultra 2 features an 86dB siren designed to draw attention if you end up stranded. It also has a longer range than the 10 Series. This means you can take it in colder temperatures and at higher altitudes than the 10 Series. It also has a depth gauge rated at 40 meters, compared to 6 meters the series 10.

GPS performance also varies. The Ultra has dual-frequency GPS with the L1 and L5 bands, while the Series 10 uses L1. In my testing, the Ultra 2 was more accurate at tracking distance and route information in built-up areas.

The Apple Watch Ultra 2 delivers a clear gain in battery life

Apple officially states the battery life of the Series 10 as 18 hours and the Ultra 2 as 36 hours. But in real-world use, you can get a lot more out of each one. With phone notifications, the always-on display, a one-hour GPS workout, and sleep tracking, I can use the Series 10 for a day and a half before needing to charge it. With the same usage, I can get closer to three days with the Ultra 2.

Both have a power saving mode to extend the battery even further, but of course your mileage will depend on how you use the watch. Resource-intensive tasks like using LTE will drain your battery faster. In any case, I noticed that the battery discharges faster than usual when playing music via the speaker, for example.

Both watches support fast wireless charging as long as you have a 20-watt adapter or more. The Series 10 gets you to 80% charge in 30 minutes, while the Ultra 2 gets you to 80% charge in an hour.

Takeaways from the Apple Watch Series 10 and Ultra 2

Even though they look completely different from the outside and are suitable for different use cases, the Series 10 and Ultra 2 are surprisingly similar on the inside.

If you want the best battery life, a sturdier construction, and dedicated diving features, get the Ultra 2. But for most people, myself included, I recommend the Series 10. It’ll do pretty much everything you need, as long as it’s there You don’t mind charging it more often.