The Best Apple Watch for Most People, Tested by Tech Editors

Our editors have tested nearly every Apple Watch under the sun, and while the Ultra 2 is the most advanced model, the Series 10 is the best overall pick for most people. It offers an impressive balance of fitness and health features, durability, and battery life—all at a reasonable price point. It sports a thin design at 9.7mm and a wide-angle OLED display, making it easier to see the watch face at a glance.

In his review, Men’s Health’s Brett Williams praised the Series 10’s wide-angle display for its improved visibility. “When I made the little maneuvers watch wearers have used since the dawn of kept time to surreptitiously check the clock, I was able to see more of the screen with less movement.” This can make a real difference when quickly checking directions or tracking workout progress during activities. Williams also highlighted that the thinner design was more comfortable for sleep tracking and gym sessions compared to the bulkier Ultra 2.

Additionally, the Series 10 boasts a decent speaker for music and podcasts, plus a microphone with voice isolation, so you’ll sound clearer during calls. It can also monitor your sleep for potential breathing disturbances, alerting you to possible signs of sleep apnea. The feature doesn’t serve as a diagnosis, though it can provide data to your doctor, which can be helpful when identifying the problem. Meanwhile, a new Training Load feature provides additional insights into your ability to handle workouts based on impact of physical activity on your body.

Although battery life isn’t dramatically better than the previous Series 9, it was excellent during our testing. Even during intensive marathon training, the watch easily lasted a full day with enough power left to track sleep. While it can’t match the Ultra 2’s endurance, the Series 10 efficiently handles everything from fitness tracking to notifications, medication reminders, and GPS navigation without battery anxiety. When the battery does start to get low, you can charge up from 0–80 percent in just 30 minutes, about the time it takes to eat a hearty meal.

These features make the Series 10 is an ideal companion for iPhone owners who want powerful health and fitness tracking in a sleek, versatile package.

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Starting at $249, the Apple Watch SE is the perfect entry-level option. It delivers the essential Apple Watch experience—from fitness tracking to notifications—in a lightweight, water-resistance aluminum case that shares a similar design to the Series 10.

At 10.7mm thick, the SE has a relatively slim profile that sits comfortably on your wrist during workouts and everyday activities. You can find it in three classic finishes—midnight, starlight, and silver—each with Ion-X glass protection. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have an always-on display, though the screen wakes instantly with a wrist raise.

While it’s not as durable as Apple’s premium models, the SE includes critical safety features like crash detection, fall detection, and emergency SOS. Plus, it offers basic fitness tracking, heart rate monitoring, sleep tracking, and support for dozens of workout types. Like its pricier siblings, it can alert you when your vitals don’t look normal, which can be an indication you’re getting sick.

Apple rates the SE’s battery life at 18 hours, matching what you get from the Series 10. However, it doesn’t offer fast charging, so it’ll take a little longer to replenish. At nearly half the price of the Series 10, the SE makes a few notable compromises (no always-on display, less durability, no ECG, etc.), but it still offers a solid core experience that’s perfect for newcomers.

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The Apple Watch Ultra 2 is the pinnacle of Apple’s wearable lineup, purpose-built for endurance athletes and outdoor adventurers. To meet these demanding lifestyles, Apple equipped the Ultra 2 with a rugged 49mm titanium case, a large battery, and advanced features like precision dual-frequency GPS, customizable Action button, and water resistance up to 100 meters. It’s not drastically different from the first iteration, the Apple Watch Ultra, but the refinements make a difference during everyday use.

“It’s better in the little ways that will make it more useful in the long run,” Williams said in his review of the Ultra 2. It’s a more finely-tuned version of the Ultra, with a brighter 3,000-nit display for better visibility in direct sunlight and a sleek satin black color that gives it a more sophisticated, professional look. At 14.4mm thick, it’s notably larger than the 9.7mm Series 10, but the rugged build delivers impressive durability and the best battery life in the Apple Watch lineup—up to 36 hours of normal use, or 72 hours on lower-power mode.

The Ultra 2’s customizable Action button remains one of its standout features, providing instant access to preferred workouts or functions quickly. Combined with the enhanced altimeter and precision GPS, the watch excels at everything from trail running to deep-sea diving. The upgraded S9 chip enables new features like double-tap gestures and on-device Siri processing, making interaction more intuitive than ever. Beyond extreme scenarios, I’ve found double-tap surprisingly helpful as a busy dad when my hands are full and I need to answer or end a phone call.

For outdoor adventurers, the Ultra 2 includes an automatic night mode, which switches to a red display to preserve your night vision. In emergencies, the built-in siren can be heard up to 600 feet away, helping rescue teams locate you if you’re lost of injured. The Ultra 2’s water resistance goes beyond the Series 10. It’s built to handle extreme water sports like wakeboarding and jet skiing, and meets EN13319 certification for recreational scuba diving. When paired with the Oceanic+ app, it becomes a capable dive computer, allowing you to plan and log your dives, track depth and time, and see the current water temperature.

The $799 price tag puts the Ultra 2 at the premium end of the market, but its combination of rugged durability, extended battery life, and advanced features make it the ideal option for athletes and adventurers. And thanks to some great Ultra 2 bands, you can still wear it for those dressier occasions if you want. According to Williams, if you own the original Ultra, it’s not worth upgrading to the Ultra 2. But if you’re a new adopter, the Ultra 2 is an excellent place to start.

Key Specs

While we generally recommend the latest tech, the Series 9 still has a lot to offer despite being over a year old. It sits between the SE and Series 10, offering premium features like an always-on display, ECG monitoring, and precision finding at a more attractive price point now that it’s the previous generation. The main difference is you miss out on the Series 10’s wide-angle display, water temperature sensor, and depth gauge.

But the Series 9 does offer many of the same features as the Series 10, including double-tap gestures to control music, answer calls, and stop timers. On-device Siri processing means faster response times for common requests like starting workouts or setting timers, and it works even without an internet connection.

While the Series 9’s display isn’t quite as large, it offers the same maximum brightness of 2,000 nits, so it’s perfectly visible outdoors. Meanwhile, the always-on functionality means you can glance at your watch face without raising your wrist. Battery life can easily last a full day, and fast charging can replenish the batter from 0–80 percent in 45 minutes.

The health and wellness features include sleep apnea notifications, training load monitoring, and support for Apple’s Vitals app, which helps track and manage your health data in one place. Combined with medication reminders and mindfulness features, the Series 9 provides virtually the same comprehensive health features as the pricier Series 10.

Since it’s over a year old, the Series 9 isn’t quite as future-proof as the Series 10. But if you want a flagship watch at a more affordable price, it provides excellent value for what you get. Unless you specifically need the Series 10’s wider display or enhanced water features, the Series 9 remains a compelling choice.

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