At its “Awe Dropping” event held on September 9, 2025, Apple introduced its newest wearable: the Apple Watch Series 11, alongside updates to the iPhone and AirPods lineup. Pre-orders opened the same day, with deliveries and in-store availability beginning September 19, 2025. This launch continues Apple’s push into health insights, sensor improvements, and more connectivity, but it’s not a radical redesign. Below is everything you need to know on what’s new, how it compares to Series 10, price points, and what you should know.
What’s New in Apple Watch Series 11
The Apple Watch Series 11 brings a collection of thoughtful upgrades that enhance health tracking, usability, and everyday durability. One of the biggest additions is hypertension notifications, which analyze 30-day trends from existing sensors to alert users to possible high blood pressure patterns.
Sleep insights also improve with a new Sleep Score metric that evaluates consistency, duration, wakeups, and stage proportions, while Workout Buddy powered by Apple Intelligence provides real-time prompts and adaptive coaching during exercise.
Beyond health, Apple strengthened the watch’s aluminum Ion-X glass with a ceramic coating that makes it twice as scratch-resistant as before, and added full 5G cellular support for the first time. Battery life now stretches to 24 hours of regular use on a single charge, with fast charging that delivers around eight hours of use in just 15 minutes, and Low Power Mode extends that further to 38 hours.
Design refinements keep the same thin profile as Series 10, rather than making it slimmer. It is available in aluminum finishes like Space Gray, Jet Black, Rose Gold, and Silver, or titanium finishes in Natural, Gold, and Slate. Finally, watchOS 26 introduces a wrist-flick gesture to dismiss calls, alarms, and notifications, plus smarter Smart Stack suggestions.
Pricing & Availability
Starting price in the U.S. is $399 for the base GPS aluminum model. Higher-end options include cellular models and titanium finishes at premium pricing.
Series 11 vs Series 10: What’s Different?
At a glance, the Apple Watch Series 11 is an incremental upgrade over the Series 10, with Apple focusing more on health sensors, durability, and software refinements than radical hardware changes. Both models run on the same S10 chip, so there’s no new processor this year, but Series 11 pulls ahead with longer battery life—up to 24 hours versus 18 hours on Series 10. Fast-charging speeds are similar on both (0–80% in ~30 minutes; ~8 hours of use from a 15-minute charge).
Connectivity also takes a step forward as Series 11 becomes the first Apple Watch to support full 5G, while durability improves thanks to a new ceramic coating on the aluminum Ion-X glass, which makes it twice as scratch-resistant as the Series 10. Health tracking is more advanced as well, with hypertension notifications and enhanced sleep scoring joining the existing ECG, heart rate, blood oxygen, and temperature features.
Visually, Apple has kept the familiar design but expanded the lineup by adding Space Gray to the aluminum finishes.
Top Apple Watch Series 11 Accessories
Getting an Apple Watch 11 or refreshing your accessories for your current Apple watch? Here are the two best accessories for the Apple Watch currently available on the market.
This Magnetic Charger Pad is a compact pad that holds your MagSafe Apple Watch charger in place anywhere you place it on your desk, creating a designated space for it and ensuring it locks in and charges anytime.
It is fully compatible with Series 11 fast charging, and for best results, use with a 20W USB-C power adapter.
A classic and TikTok Viral favorite is this old-school retro macintosh inspired W4 Stand. Not only does it resemble the old "jelly tech" style desktops, but because it holds and charges your Apple Watch, it turns your nightstand mode into a whimsical mini mac display.