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It all depends on where you’re upgrading from. The real winner is my Series 6, which gets to retire. Personally, I’m looking forward to my new Series 11, although I am curious how noticeable the 1mm case offset will look with my existing watch bands.
 
I have the SE2 and it does everything I could possibly want it to do. I think when it comes to watches if you want the health features then get the more expensive model, otherwise save your money and buy an SE model.
 
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"The black model is not as black as the Ultra 2"
Why do you think this is? Some were complaining of the Ultra 2 Black models color chipping. Maybe it's new process to help prevent this?

Not sure, but the Brian Tong review mentioned it. Apple Watch colors often change slightly year to year
 
Looking at my SS Series 8, no reason to upgrade here. Maybe if Series 12 introduces Satellite Connectivity and an improved SoC, but otherwise I’m good.
One thing I find interesting is Blood Ox monitoring while sleeping is not available on the S10 or S11. Assume this is due to the actual calculations being offloaded to the iPhone rather than on-device which was Apple’s workaround to avoid that Massimo nonsense. If that is the case I wonder why my Series 8 doesn’t support Sleep Apnea detection but the 10 and higher do, given that low Blood Ox levels is a key metric when diagnosing that condition.
Maybe that's US only. Here in Canada I'm getting blood oxygen monitoring while asleep on S10.
 
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The Series 9 looks like nicer with a slimmer bezel than all of these.
I never realized this but yes you are correct about this. I didn't realize they went backwards with the 10 and now 11. I wonder why they did that.
 
Probably going for S11 from a S8. Apple Watch hasn't had real updates. I may consider going for a S11 jet black. After the series 0 all of the my watches have been SS (now titanium) I don't know if it's worth it. The only reason why I would go Titanium is because of the screen.
And the only reason I'm considering upgrading is the battery life.
 
I may just keep my ultra 2 as the upgrades are hardly noticeable. I never was in a situation where I used satellite on my iPhone. I'm with ATT and canceled the cellular plan as I never used it and it's a joke. $10 plus $11 in fees and taxes.
 
The Series 11 is just a Series 10. They just rewrote the WatchOS code. Everything is the same. This is a sleazy and courageous move.

Which in turn is a Series 9 in a new shell, which in turn is actually an S6.

The reason why it's still available since introduction.

Battery test in these reviews are the same hours since S6.
The usual BS ...
 
Seems like I'm not the only one with an Ultra 1 (bought it on release day) who isn't upgrading to the 3. There's just not enough reason to.

My Battery Health is still at 90% and even right now, after six hours of use today, the battery is still at 90% charged (though I haven't done any workouts today). Until I start really having battery life issues, or there's a really good new feature, it's just not worth it. Even with trading in my Ultra 1 it would still cost $550 for an Ultra 3 with little noticeable change.
 
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SE is a downgrade in screen size from Series 7, and lacks some health features, but adds others. Looking at the comparison page, you actually get an upgraded chip, storage, on device Siri. Those additions would make the watch run much better than the Series 7. I am 75% sure I am going to order one and compare it to the Series 7.
Yes, I saw the compare page when I posted that. Upgraded chip and storage don't matter to me. There's nothing to store on there as I don't use Apple Music (thus media playback isn't really useful). Upgraded chip? The S7 is fast enough, and don't find any slowdowns. On-device Siri? I don't really use Siri on my iPhone let alone my Watch! I do use my S7 as a fitness / sleep, so those and the health tracking features matter more (ECG, O2, etc.)
 
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The sole reason I bought the S11 watch. The ability to get 5G. I want to be able to use my watch independently. I pay everything with my watch. There have been times I forget my phone and I can't pay with Apple Pay. When I receive calls and do not have my phone with me around the house, it is useless. I hope 5G connectivity fixes this.
 
Seems like a big enough upgrade from my Series 5. Better battery, scratch resistance, hypertension monitor (we'll see how well it works), and sleep score. Worth it for me.
Battery improvements are great, but I still don't see enough reasons to upgrade from my AW S4, other than that it's no longer getting WatchOS updates.
I was expecting a complete redesign with the Apple Watch S10 (X), not just bigger screen, thinner body, but same overall design. Maybe something similar to the Ultra? Now we're at S11 and still same design. Apple is playing super safe with S series. Some of the leaks were showing this design: https://cdn.cultofmac.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/CBFD3712-59EB-4F8E-BAC4-03E390CF72CD.jpeg
A new band mechanism would be great, that would allow you attach special bands, for example to measure blood pressure.

The problem I see with S11 is that it's using the same S10 chip, which is just a rebadged S9 chip, so not a lot of room for improvement. https://www.macrumors.com/2025/09/09/no-new-apple-watch-chip-for-the-first-time/
It seems like Apple is using the same chip for about 3 generations, so the next Apple Watch should finally come with a new chip.
For now, probably a discounted S10 would be a better deal.
Apple Watch-chips.png
 
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I have a S4 and iPhone 12 mini and can still access my sleep score via the health app on iOS 26. I think the sleep score might more of a iOS 26 feature and not a watchOS 26 feature. I’m curious, anyone else with older Apple Watches then S4 getting sleep scores?
 
Just bought a titanium S10 from the Apple refurb store. It cost £10 more than the new aluminium S11 with cellular I was considering buying to replace my aging S7 (also aluminium cellular). Slight misgivings about not buying the latest and greatest but it is hard for me to see how this isn’t a great deal considering the minor differences between S10 and S11.
 
I have a Series 9 which recently become buggy. By buggy, I mean the ECG function wasn't working-- the ECG would time out and start reading again after 2 or 3 seconds. Because of this function failing, I went ahead and ordered a Series 11 with plans to trade in my Series 9 watch.

Reading how "meh" the reviews are on the Series 11 watch, I decided to do some digging and see if I could get the ECG function working on my watch. Mission successful-- the issue seems to be junk trapped in the crown (from sweating-- I'm a runner).

With the ECG function now working, I've gone ahead and cancelled my Series 11 purchase. Based on initial reviews, I can't justify dropping a lot of coin on a watch which doesn't really sound like much of an upgrade.
 
Both the Series 11 and Ultra 3 are incremental updates only. See no reason for anyone with Series 10 to upgrade to 11. For Ultra 3, it is nice to have the LTPO3 display with seconds hand support. The biggest change this year will be the addition of always on for the SE3.

This makes the SE3 a great buy. The sole addition of always on makes it a very good upgrade over the SE 2. The new chip will ensure that it will get updates for a long time. Will recommend the SE 3 over the SE 2.
 
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I have a Series 7 and the battery is not great. I do want to upgrade, but the S11 isn't enough of an upgrade, and the SE3 is a downgrade in most aspects. The U3 isn't going to fit my wrist, but the one I want most just for battery. Ugh!
Had the same. Ended up with Series 10 at a lower price.
 
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