Which watches will get watchOS 11?

Apple announced the Apple Watch Series 10 at its Glowtime event this year, which will come loaded with the previously announced watchOS 11. But it isn’t the only Apple wearable that will be getting watchOS 11 — in fact, if you have a supported model, you may have already been enjoying some of the most exciting watchOS 11 features through the public beta, like the new Vitals app and Training Load. So, while I’ve established that you don’t necessarily need an Apple Watch Series 10 to enjoy watchOS 11, which devices will it support?

Supported older Apple Watches

Enjoy from a few generations back

If you’ve been hanging on to an older Apple Watch, you’ll be pleased to know that Apple’s watchOS 11 will work with Apple Watch models dating back to the Apple Watch Series 6 and Apple Watch SE (2nd Gen). Thus, it works with Apple Watch Series 6, 7, 8, 9, and, of course, 10. This also includes the original Apple Watch Ultra as well as the Ultra 2 model. But, keep in mind that not all features will be supported on all devices. The farther back down the line you go, the less likely some of the more advanced features are to be available, or at least run as smoothly.

Keep in mind that watchOS 11 also requires that you have the watch paired with at least an iPhone Xs or SE (2nd Gen) or later model running iOS 18. The newest version of the iPhone OS is not supported by iPhones older than that anyway. So, if you’ve been hanging onto your ancient iPhone 6, 7, or 8, you’ll need to upgrade.

What comes with watchOS 11?

Lots of feature upgrades are coming

Apple/Pocket-lint

There are tons of cool features coming with watchOS 11. First, as I mentioned, there’s the new Vitals app, which captures three key vitals (heart rate, respiratory rate, and wrist temperature) while you sleep and groups their reports together to check for anomalies from a baseline. Training Load allows you to grade a workout (easy, moderate, or hard) on a point scale to keep track of your performance over time. From there, you can see if you’re over-doing it, not working hard enough, or consistent in your activity.

The new OS also includes the ability to adjust your rings. You can pause them for a day, week, month, or more if you’re injured, ill, on vacation, or just need a day off and don’t want to break a streak. You can also adjust Activity Ring goals based on days of the week, selecting a higher calorie burn, for example, on the days you work out and lower for your rest days.

There’s a redesigned Photos face that intelligently searches your library and analyzes images to create compelling watch faces featuring your personal photos. The Smart Stack, meanwhile, also now shows live activities and supports new widgets. Track everything from a workout in progress to weather alerts, a song you’re listening to, or an Uber that’s on the way.

For safety, there’s a new Check In feature that you can start right from a message, and right from the workout screen as well. Speaking of workouts, there are new distance and route maps, custom workouts for pool swims, and the Tides app for swim and surf conditions. In the app, you’ll be able to adjust your Summary view to highlight the metrics that are most important to you.

Which features will not be available on older models?

If any of these strike your fancy, it might be worth the upgrade

Apple

There are valuable features that will only come with the Apple Watch Series 10, above and beyond the software upgrades. Significant design changes make it thinner and lighter (especially with the new titanium model) with a much bigger and higher resolution screen. It’s a wide-angle OLED, so it’s much easier to read at an angle than its predecessors.

The Apple Watch Series 10 has a more powerful S10 versus S9 SiP (on the Series 9 model) that will purportedly allow the watch to run more efficiently. It may even help improve battery life, though it’s rated at the same up to 18 hours per charge. However, this Series 10 Watch recharges faster, getting up to 80 percent in about half an hour versus 45 minutes with the Series 9 model.

While older model Apple Watches have built in speakers and mics, the Apple Watch Series 10 adds the ability to play back music, podcasts, and more right from the Watch itself. It’s useful if you don’t have a pair of Bluetooth earbuds handy.

There are new depth and water temperature sensors exclusive to this model that will be valuable for swimmers and snorkelers. You can also download and use the Oceanic+ app for snorkeling from the App Store.

Beyond all of the above, all the goodies that come with watchOS 11 will be accessible on your Series 9 and Series 8 smartwatches as well. You’ll get most with older models, too, though they might not run as efficiently. watchOS 11 will officially be available starting September 16, 2024, but you can download the beta now to try out all the great features for yourself.

Apple Watch Series 10

The Series 10 is Apple’s thinnest Apple Watch yet. It also features the company’s largest smartwatch screen to date, allowing the device to display more text and a bigger keyboard for typing. Battery life still comes in at the 18-hour mark, though the device can charge faster than its predecessors.