Upgrading From an Older Apple Watch? Here's How the New Features Stack Up

The Apple Watch has received immoderate incremental updates successful caller years, with important upgrades becoming less and farther betwixt arsenic the instrumentality has progressed. Since the Apple Watch's generation-over-generation enhancements are comparatively small, it is each the much important to see erstwhile an upgrade is justified and whether an older exemplary could suffice for your needs.


The Apple Watch Series 11 is 1 of the smallest refreshes successful the device's history, but it tin inactive signifier a bully upgrade if coming from an older instrumentality wherever the changes stack up. While each erstwhile Apple Watch models from earlier the Series 11 person been discontinued, older models whitethorn inactive beryllium recovered for little prices from third-party retailers oregon second-hand.

Read connected to spot the breakdown beneath for each caller feature, change, and betterment that was added with each Apple Watch exemplary compared to its nonstop predecessor. Viewing each generation's changes successful this mode helps measurement up the accumulative upgrades 1 receives by skipping aggregate generations erstwhile buying a caller device, arsenic good arsenic get a consciousness of which generations offered the biggest wide upgrades.

Apple Watch Series 11 (2025)

• 2x much scratch-resistant Ion-X solid (aluminum models only)


• 5G connectivity (cellular models only)


• 7–10% larger battery


• Space Gray aluminum enactment introduced

Apple Watch Series 10 (2024)

• Refined plan with a thinner casing, show with much rounded edges and a wider facet ratio, and beforehand solid that extends further implicit the sides for a higher screen-to-body ratio
  
• 42mm and 46mm lawsuit sizes


• Larger displays


• LTPO3 show for faster refresh complaint successful always-on mode, enabling a unrecorded ticking seconds manus connected prime ticker faces


• Wide-angle OLED (up to 40% brighter erstwhile viewed astatine an angle)


• S10 spot (same CPU arsenic S9, but much compact)


• Water somesthesia sensor


• Depth app and Depth gauge to 6m


• Microphone with dependable isolation


• Redesigned talker with media playback


• Metal backmost with larger charging coil and integrated antenna


• Faster charging (0–80% successful astir 30 minutes)


• Titanium casing replaces stainless alloy option, present successful Silver (matches erstwhile stainless alloy casing, Apple Watch Hermès only), Gold, Slate, and Natural


• Starlight, Midnight, Pink, and (PRODUCT)RED finishes discontinued, replaced with Silver, Rose Gold, and polished Jet Black finishes

Apple Watch Series 9 (2023)

• Retina show with up to 2,000 nits of brightness


• Display tin get dimmer successful acheronian rooms and astatine nighttime (down to 1 nit of brightness)


• Double pat gesture


• Wrist flick gesture


• Sleep apnea detection


• Hypertension detection


• S9 spot (based connected A15 Bionic)


• 4-core Neural Engine (2x faster than Series 8)


• Siri‌ processed on-device for requests that bash not request accusation from the internet


• ‌‌Siri‌‌ tin entree wellness and fittingness data


• 25% much close dictation


• Second-generation Ultra Wideband chip


• Precision Finding for iPhone 15 models


• HomePod proximity integration


• 64GB storage


• Pink aluminum casing introduced

Apple Watch Series 8 (2022)

• S8 spot (same CPU arsenic S6)


• More almighty gyroscope and precocious dynamic scope accelerometer


• ‌Crash Detection


• Body somesthesia sensor


• Wrist somesthesia sensing during sleep


• Cycle tracking with retrospective ovulation estimates


• Blue and Green aluminum casings discontinued, Silver aluminum reintroduced


• Apple Watch Edition discontinued

Apple Watch Series 7 (2021)

• 41mm and 45mm lawsuit sizes


• 1.7mm show borders for astir 20% much surface country than Series 6


• QWERTY keyboard


• Up to 70% brighter show than Series 6 indoors erstwhile wrist is down


• S7 spot (Same CPU arsenic S6)


• Crack-resistant beforehand crystal (50% thicker)


• IP6X particulate resistance


• Fast charging for up to 80% complaint successful astir 45 minutes (33% faster than Series 6)


• Silver and Space Gray aluminum casings discontinued, Midnight, Starlight, and Green introduced

Apple Watch Series 6 (2020)

• Up to 2.5x brighter always-on display


• Access Notification Center, Control Center, and Complications erstwhile show is asleep


• S6 spot (based connected A13 Bionic, 20% faster than S5)


• Always-on altimeter


• First-generation Ultra Wideband chip


• 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi


• Blood oxygen sensor


• Faster charging for a afloat complaint successful nether 1.5 hours


• Improved artillery beingness for tracking definite workouts, specified arsenic indoor and outdoor runs


• Blue and (PRODUCT)RED aluminum casing options introduced


• Space Black stainless alloy casing disposable with Apple Watch Hermès only, Graphite enactment introduced


• Ceramic Apple Watch Edition discontinued

Apple Watch Series 5 (2019)

• Always-on Retina display


• Force Touch removed


• S5 chip


• Compass


• 32GB storage


• Apple Watch Edition reintroduced with White Ceramic, Natural Titanium, and Space Black Titanium casing options

Apple Watch Series 4 (2018)

• 40mm and 44mm lawsuit sizes


• Over 30% larger show with curved corners


• 3.0mm show borders


• S4 spot (2x faster than S3)


• Gyroscope and accelerometer


• Barometric altimeter


• Fall detection


• 2.4GHz Wi-Fi


• Optical bosom sensor and electrical bosom sensor for ECG


• 16GB storage


• Digital Crown with haptic feedback


• 50% louder speaker


• Relocated microphone for reduced echo and amended dependable quality


• Faster charging for a afloat complaint successful 1.5 hours


• Gold stainless alloy casing introduced


• Apple Watch Edition discontinued

Apple Watch Series 3 (2017)

• S3 spot (70% faster than S2)


• Barometric altimeter


• Bluetooth 4.2


• ‌Siri‌ capable to talk done the onboard speaker


• LTE cellular exemplary disposable with reddish Digital Crown


• Rose Gold aluminum casing discontinued


• Gray Ceramic Apple Watch Edition exemplary introduced

Apple Watch Series 2 (2016)

• Retina show with up to 1,000 nits of brightness (2x brighter than erstwhile generation)


• S2 spot (dual‑core)


• GPS and GLONASS receiver


• Water resistant up to 50 meters


• Gold and Rose Gold aluminum casing options added


• 18K Gold and Rose Gold Apple Watch Edition discontinued, Ceramic exemplary introduced successful White


• Apple Watch Nike+ variant introduced

The Apple Watch Series 11 does not supply a meaningful upgrade implicit the Series 10, and it is hardly worthy it for Series 9 users either. While it has an older design, the Series 9 offers a brighter display, wrist flick and treble pat features, slumber apnea detection, and hypertension detection, arsenic good arsenic the aforesaid spot technology, arsenic the consequent 2 generations.

Upgrading to the Series 11 starts to beryllium much worthy it erstwhile coming from a Series 8 oregon older. However, these users whitethorn beryllium amended disconnected buying a Series 10 exemplary to prevention wealth – the Series 11 is simply a precise insignificant upgrade implicit the Series 10. Series 7 users basal to payment more, gaining features similar Crash Detection, and assemblage and h2o somesthesia sensing, but the biggest differences volition beryllium felt by those with a Series 6 oregon older.

watchOS 26 is not supported by the Series 5 oregon older, truthful anyone with 1 of these devices should decidedly see upgrading soon.

Looking to the future, it looks similar adjacent year's Apple Watch Series 12 could connection immoderate large upgrades including a redesign, a much almighty chip, caller sensors, and Touch ID. This could marque it a large upgrade for those with a Series 9 oregon older.
This article, "Upgrading From an Older Apple Watch? Here's How the New Features Stack Up" archetypal appeared connected MacRumors.com

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