The Apple Watch Series 11 made its debut at Apple’s “awe dropping” event in Cupertino, California, on Tuesday, vying for a spot on your wrist with a mix of fresh updates including new hypertension notifications, sleep score analysis, 5G connectivity and increased battery life.
With a decade of upgrades and refinements, the Series 11 represents a big move for Apple as it leans further into its health and fitness features across its Apple Watch lineup. Alongside the Series 11, Apple also unveiled the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Apple Watch SE 3, along with the new iPhone 17 lineup (including the brand new iPhone Air), and the latest generation of AirPods (Pro 3).
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Both the Series 11 and the new Ultra 3 will ship with WatchOS 26, which Apple previewed at the Worldwide Developers Conference in June. The update brings a cleaner “liquid glass” UI, live translation for text messages, a redesigned Notes app for your wrist and Workout Buddy; Apple’s new AI-powered companion that offers real-time motivation based on your personal metrics during certain workouts.
Pricing and availability
The Apple Watch Series 11 is available for preorder now and will hit stores on September 19. Pricing starts at $399 (£369, AU$679) for the 42mm aluminum Wi-Fi model, while the LTE version of the same watch runs $499. The titanium LTE version of the 42mm model is priced at $699.
New health features
The biggest addition is a feature that can notify you when you’re showing signs of hypertension or high blood pressure. The Apple Watch will send alerts if it notices consistent patterns over a 30-day period that could warrant a follow-up with a doctor, and then allow users to log their blood pressure on the Health app (from a cuff) to confirm.
Another health upgrade is the new Sleep Score, which grades your sleep session on a scale of 1 to 100 or low to excellent. The watch doesn’t just hand you a number with no context; it breaks down your score and shows you factors that may be contributing like bedtime, sleep interruptions and duration, highlighting specific factors that may have impacted your sleep.
Design updates
Visually, the Series 11 looks much like the Series 10, with the same thin profile and edge-to-edge display. But there’s a subtle, practical upgrade: the aluminum model now uses stronger, more scratch-resistant glass, making it more durable for everyday wear.
Connectivity and battery
For the first time, the LTE model of the Series 11 supports 5G connectivity, which Apple says is not only faster but also more efficient at conserving battery life when in use.
Battery life has also received a bump. The Series 11 now promises up to 24 hours on a charge, compared to the 18 hours of the Series 10. Apple tends to be conservative with its battery claims. In real-world use, we may see it stretch beyond the official promise as I’ve consistently been able to stretch out the Series 10 claim to almost 30 hours.
This is a developing story. Follow all of CNET’s 2025 Apple Event coverage for live updates, hands-on impressions, and more announcements as they’re revealed.
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