Apple Watch Series 11 Review: Two-Day Battery, Sleek Design, and a True Premium Upgrade

Refined design, improved battery life, and tough competition from the SE 3.

The Apple Watch has become the undisputed leader in the smartwatch market, blending health, fitness, and connectivity into a single, polished device. With the arrival of the Apple Watch Series 11, Apple refines its flagship wearable, focusing on a critical pain point: battery life. But in a year where the more affordable Apple Watch SE also receives significant upgrades, does the Series 11 do enough to justify its premium price?

This in-depth review breaks down the new features, real-world performance, and key buying considerations to help you decide if the Series 11 is the right upgrade for your wrist.

Executive Summary

• Massive Battery Upgrade: The marquee feature of the Series 11 is its dramatically improved battery life, now officially rated for 24 hours of normal use and demonstrating true two-day longevity in testing. Fast charging has also been improved.

• Iterative Design & Features: The design is largely unchanged from the Series 10, retaining the same slim profile and powerful S10-based chip platform. The always-on display remains a key differentiator.

• Enhanced Durability: Aluminum models feature a new anti-scratch ceramic coating, doubling the scratch resistance of the previous generation’s Ion-X glass.

• New Connectivity Option: For the first time, a 5G cellular option is available, offering faster connection speeds for users who are away from their iPhone, though its practical benefit is niche.

• Tough Competition: The Series 11 faces stiff competition from the newly upgraded Apple Watch SE 3, which now includes features like wrist temperature sensing, making the value proposition for the premium model more complex.

Feature Breakdown: What’s New and What’s Not