Good but stagnant

Review: Apple Watch Series 11 - Long-term improvement

When Apple introduced the Apple Watch Series 11, they managed to make a watch with very few new features still seem a bit updated. Now that I've tested it, I can confirm that the features that make a real difference are even fewer than we thought.

Published 9 December 2025 - 16:39

When I switch from an Apple Watch Series 10 to the new Series 11, I notice absolutely no difference at all. This means that the extremely few new features in Series 11 that are not in Series 10 make no practical difference, but since it is not justified to change smartwatches year after year and never has been, it is also a completely uninteresting comparison. Therefore, we focus here on the overall impression that the Apple Watch Series 11 gives, and I am addressing you in the text who are inclined to either buy a brand new smartwatch or upgrade from one that is several years old.

Not revolutionary yet

Let's just first deal with the news when Apple presented the watch that seemed revolutionary but is not. I am primarily thinking of the new support for 5G. When I use the new watch in Sweden, it only has 4G, provided you have chosen the model with esim capability, which is the one I am testing. Apple's 5G support, where operators support it, uses the Redcap 5G technology, a limited form of 5G for devices that do not really need high data speeds but benefit from more energy-efficient connectivity. Today, none of the Swedish operators offer this, but further down the line, it will provide the opportunity for mobile connectivity with better battery life. However, it is nothing that I can use or notice now, as I said.

When I use the watch for daily health measurement, exercise, apps, and notifications mostly, I have about 30-40 percent battery left after a day's use, with the always-on display turned off. Always enough for the watch to last a whole day, but never so good that I can manage two days without charging.

A night's sleep measurement takes about 6-8 percent charge, an hour's workout with GPS and streamed music on Spotify on the watch, wirelessly via the mobile network to AirPods takes around 20 percent.

In all essentials, the Apple Watch Series 11 is exactly like its predecessor, same dimensions, same screen size, almost the same weight. The new watch is a bit heavier than the old one.

But now we've already established that a comparison between the latest and the second latest Apple Watch is quite uninteresting. If we instead lift our gaze and look at the whole picture, and what the new Apple Watch Series 11 offers compared to other smartwatches or with an Apple Watch a few years old, it becomes more fun.

Direct response

GPS walk four laps around the Hötorget skyscrapers in Stockholm shows some deviations but an acceptable result nonetheless.

It's clear when I use the watch how quickly and directly it responds to taps and gestures. Not all watches light up the screen and are ready when I lift my wrist. It's always Apple Watch, and then it's at least as direct and smooth to handle the intuitive interface. A press on the crown, the round spinning button, takes me to the list of apps, but more importantly, a spin on the crown directly from the watch face gives me widgets where the watch selects important functions that are relevant. If I'm travelling, it might be the translation function, if I have a timer running, it's that, and this selection can also be customised so you get what you want and use most often. This means you don't have to search for and go in and out of apps, which can be time-consuming on a watch.

Exact positioning

One of the most important features of a smartwatch is likely health and fitness. Here, I test the watch in all the ways it can help me. By walking several laps around the Hötorgsskraporna in central Stockholm, I test the GPS in one of the places where it struggles the most. After four laps close to the building facade, the map shows some dispersion, but still acceptable. Apple Watch is among the better ones in this test, now as in previous tests. The same applies when I use it for regular running sessions, as it nicely follows the route I actually took, but here most of the smartwatches we test are good. When I have different brands on each of my arms, there is rarely more than a couple of metres difference per kilometre in their distance indication.

Where the smartwatch can make a real difference is in heart health. Apple Watch Series 11 can measure ECG, can warn of high blood pressure, sleep apnoea, and also alert in case of a car crash or when you fall and remain immobile. Blood pressure is a novelty, but it is not unique to Series 11 as it also benefits the previous Series 10 watch through the update to Watch OS 26. All of this becomes apparent only when an accident occurs, and I receive no warnings about this as my values apparently look good throughout the test period. Blood pressure and sleep apnoea are measurements that are taken over a longer period, and only after you have used the watch regularly for at least a month can those warnings appear.

A little new in Series 11 is also the new sleep score which better describes what has been good and bad with your sleep, but like the blood pressure warnings, it also comes to the older watch and is “just” a part of Watch OS 26.

Tied to Iphone

In competition with other watches, this Apple Watch differs mainly in how well it is integrated into Apple's ecosystem. Here you have many apps from Iphone, easily control Apple's smart home, you have Imessage, Siri, Apple Pay and very smooth syncing of all functions with an Iphone. Most things just work. On the other hand, the downside is that Apple Watch requires an Iphone and has significantly worse battery life than many watches that also support syncing with Iphone but are made by other manufacturers, such as Garmin or Huawei.

Apple themselves no longer sell the previous year's model of Apple Watch, so the clearest cheaper alternative is Apple Watch SE 3 which has now received many of the important features at a significantly lower price. Or of course if you find last year's model at a retailer who has it in stock.

Review: Oneplus 15 - Magnificent

Latest reviews

Review: Xiaomi 15T Pro - Flagship at a low price

Review: Oppo Find X9 - Oppo's first flagship now in Sweden

Oppo is a new acquaintance on the Swedish mobile market and even though they have been present in other European countries for a long time, this is their first flagship model to reach the Swedish market. An opportunity, therefore, to see what this mobile manufacturer is really capable of.