Perimenopause — the transition leading up to menopause — remains one of the most significant gaps in modern medicine. For years, clinical criteria have focused on a woman’s bleeding cycle, rather than symptom patterns, but research shows that hormonal fluctations and neurological symptoms like anxiety, brain fog, and sleep disruption can occur years before a woman’s period becomes irregular.

Apple is striving to change this, adding menopause and perimenopause tracking to the Health app. Sitting under Cycle Tracking, users can track their symptoms and monitor their cycles. Many women don’t recognize they are in perimenopause, so with iOS 27, users aged 40 and over can receive a notification if a deviation in their logged cycle is suggestive of perimenopause. Users don’t need an Apple Watch to do this — they can use the Cycle Tracking feature on iPhone or iPad. There’s also a new Strong Through Menopause Fitness+ program designed to build strength, improve balance and mobility, and reduce stress.

I’ve been writing about the Apple Watch since before it could even track periods (a feature that was added in September 2019 for anyone wondering), so I was keen to sit down with Dr Lauren Cheung (Clinician at Apple) and Julz Arney (Senior Director of Fitness Technologies), to find out more about its new Women’s Health features.

Why the focus on perimenopause and menopause now?

Through its Health app, Apple has strived to support women through every stage of life. "For us, it's been really important to help users turn their health information into meaningful insights they can better understand and act on", explains Dr Cheung. "We believe everyone deserves powerful personalized health tools, and so we have a track record of focusing on health needs that have often been overlooked and building thoughtful solutions, whether that's for fall risk to hearing health, to heart rhythm notifications, and as you know, cycle tracking and women's health has been long, long been one of those areas of health that's been underserved."

"Cycle tracking is a feature that we design to grow with you from logging a first period to family building, to pregnancy, to ongoing health awareness, and what makes this powerful is that continuity", Dr Cheung tells me as we chat. "It's a system that offers the right tool at the right moment. With our newest updates, we're extending that continuity into a life stage that, as you know, probably affects roughly half the world's population, but again has historically been underresearched, misunderstood, and very often stigmatized, and that's perimenopause and menopause."

What's changing in the Health app in iOS 27?

Users can now log whether they're in perimenopause or menopause, they can track symptoms, and they can monitor their cycles over time. If you're over 40 and the Cycle Tracking app spots irregular or missed periods, users will get an alert that they might be in perimenopause.

There will also be new educational articles to help users understand the new changes.

There's also a new Apple Fitness Plus program, Strong Through Menopause, which is a progressive three-week program featuring weekly Yoga and Strength workouts designed to help users navigating perimenopause and menopause build strength, improve balance and mobility, and reduce stress

Jules Arney, Senior Director of Fitness Technologies, told Tom's Guide, "Staying active, it's one of the most powerful things you can do for your body and mind, especially during this transition, and we just really wanted to make sure we were showing up for users in this moment specifically. We've always believed that fitness should be accessible and welcoming for everyone, and so we looked at what users going through perimenopause and menopause actually mean."

"And what we landed on is that it isn't about performance metrics necessarily in this stage of life. It's about resilience and finding ways to protect your health and feel strong and really feel more like yourself through the journey."

How many consecutive months of cycle data are required before the health app triggers a perimenopause alert?

"We use a six-month window, and we look for essentially more than one abnormal occurrence," explains Dr Cheung.

Anyone tracking their cycle will know it's not abnormal to have one or two cycles that look a little different for several reasons, so Apple explained that this longer six-month period allows them to be more certain when it is something a user actually needs to pay attention to.

When I asked how the tool would be able to differentiate between perimenopausal irregularities and other causes of erratic periods, such as PCOS, Dr Cheung explained, "We are using the FIGO guidelines — that’s the Federation of International Obstetrician-Gynecologists, and they have definitions for irregular and infrequent menses. Anyone at any age can get one of those deviations for an irregular or infrequent period, but once users are over the age of 40, it is more likely that one of those deviations is likely due to perimenopause."

Research suggests that perimenopause can start as early as your late 30s, but Apple has decided to restrict these alerts to users aged 40 or over. Why, I asked Dr Cheung? "Women in their late 30s can develop perimenopause, but it is less common. For anyone under the age of 40, we think it's really important that they still treat this as something that they need to go and talk to their physician about to confirm that it isn't something else that might be causing it," she tells me.

How much does the tracking rely on the Apple Watch's wrist temperature tool vs manual logging?

"It is all based on manual logging," explains Dr Cheung. "However, what the temperature and heart rate data on Apple Watch do is improve the accuracy of our predictions. When someone uses temperature to better track and understand retrospective ovulation and their cycles in general, it improves the period predictions as well as the fertile window predictions," she adds.

At the rollout, the temperature sensor on the Apple Watch won't be able to record symptoms like night sweats and hot flashes; users will have to manually log these. Night sweats also won't be linked to the sleep tracking feature just yet, explains Dr Cheung. "They're not linked at this point, but what users can do is they can track symptoms in the cycle tracking room, including sleep changes, and then through the PDF, they can actually understand the symptoms they've logged in conjunction with the rest of their cycle and things like sleep changes and other symptoms that they have."

What’s unique about Strong Through Menopause compared to other Fitness+ programmes?

"What's unique about this program, compared to others that you might find in a general fitness routine, is that the trainers are going to talk about that pelvic floor activation and help you feel confident in movement, which hopefully will scale to other things that you want to do after this program," explains Arney.

"The trainers themselves, you know, are in this stage of life, and so it's just really relatable. Some of the things that are built in that you are so important to talk about are things like incontinence, which is a big blocker for people doing any kind of movement. It's not that they are harping on the subject, but you just feel this real sense of like we're all in this together because they understand it as well."

• Apple Watch Ultra 4: All the design, health, and battery life rumors so far
• I walked 4,500 steps with the Fitbit Air vs Apple Watch SE 3 — and I'm surprised by the winner
• watchOS 27: All the new features coming to Apple Watch later this year

Apple’s overhauled, AI-powered Siri experience debuted at WWDC 2026, and best of all, it will be available on Apple Watch via the forthcoming watchOS 27 software. However, there’s a catch: Not all Apple Watch users will be able to access the latest release.

As a refresher, Apple teamed up with Google to help power its latest Apple Intelligence features, including Siri AI. The upgraded personal assistant promises a more conversational experience, with the ability to pull relevant information from compatible apps and a database of broad, timely world knowledge, to deliver a richer and more useful experience.

Here’s everything you need to know about support for Siri AI on Apple Watch via watchOS 27.

watchOS 27 support is limited to six models

Apple watches that will support WatchOS 27

• Apple Watch Series 11
• Apple Watch SE 3
• Apple Watch Ultra 3
• Apple Watch Series 10
• Apple Watch Ultra 2
• Apple Watch Series 9

While last year’s watchOS 26 software was supported by smartwatch models as old as 2020’s Apple Watch Series 6, watchOS 27 is compatible with a far smaller selection of models.

All of the 2025 Apple Watch models will be eligible to upgrade to watchOS 27, including the Apple Watch Series 11, Apple Watch SE 3, and Apple Watch Ultra 3. The Apple Watch Series 9, Series 10, and Ultra 2 are additionally supported.

And… that’s it.

It's unclear whether AI features also require the latest iPhone

When Apple first announced watchOS 27, the marketing materials suggested that, in addition to owning one of the best Apple Watch models, you’ll also need to ensure your smartwatch is paired with an Apple Intelligent capable iPhone (15 Pro, Pro Max, or newer) to access the wrist-based AI features.

However, updates to the watchOS 27 page now suggest that Apple's latest smartwatch software will work with any paired iPhone running iOS 27, including models as old as the iPhone 11.

watchOS 27 also brings these AI enhancements

In addition to Siri AI, watchOS 27 also unlocks all sorts of other useful AI-powered features, like a new Dynamic App Grid that auto-populates with your most-used apps, Call Context to display relevant information when mentioned during a phone conversation, and a smarter Smart Stack that automatically populates the Stack with useful apps based on context.

Plus, a new single-tap gesture control makes it even easier to open an app or information via the Smart Stack.

watchOS 27: Outlook

While I’m genuinely excited to take Siri AI for a spin, I’m equally annoyed by the platform's super-limited compatibility with older Apple Watch models. After all, shouldn’t a smartwatch like the Apple Watch Series 8, which isn’t even four years old, be supported by the latest operating system? I sure think so.

Ultimately, I’m hopeful (though not optimistic) that Cupertino will eventually roll out a separate version of watchOS 27 without all the AI features for folks with slightly older, yet still relevant, Apple Watch models.

What are your thoughts on watchOS 27 and the new Apple Watch AI features? Let me know in the poll or comments below.

More from Tom's Guide

• Apple Watch Ultra 4: All the design, health, and battery life rumors so far
• Apple Watch Series 12 rumors — everything we know so far
• I walked 4,500 steps with the Fitbit Air vs Apple Watch SE 3 — and I'm surprised by the winner

Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) just kicked off, and there's a lot to unpack, including all sorts of new Apple Watch features coming later this year via watchOS 27.

Many of these new features and enhancements are powered by Apple Intelligence, including a new Siri AI personal assistant. However, there are some noteworthy limitations to watchOS 27.

Here's everything you need to know about Apple's forthcoming Apple Watch operating system, watchOS 27, including all the upgrades, launch timeframe, and compatibility.

watchOS 27: Key upgrades

• Only six Apple Watch models will support watchOS 27: Apple Series 9, Apple Watch Series 10, Apple Watch Series 11, Apple Watch Ultra 2, Apple Watch Ultra 3, and Apple Watch SE 3
• watchOS 27 delivers a more powerful Siri AI voice assistant
• A dedicated Siri AI app in watchOS 27 lets you access all conversations, even those started on another device
• A new single-tap gesture lets you open Smart Stack widgets
• Improved motivational guidance in Workout Buddy based on past and present fitness data
• Support for tracking perimenopause and menopause in the Health app
• New Dynamic App Grid for quick access to most-used apps
• Wallet app now supports custom passes for anything with a QR code; users can pin a pass to the Smart Stack for quick access

watchOS 27: Apple Watch compatibility and release date

While the latest iOS 27 software will be supported by a record number of iPhone models, going as far back as the iPhone 11, the newest watchOS 27 release is one of Apple's least compatible.

The following Apple Watch models will support watchOS 27: Apple Watch Series 9, Apple Watch Series 10, Apple Watch Series 11, Apple Watch Ultra 2, Apple Watch Ultra 3, and Apple Watch SE 3.

While developers can access watchOS 27 starting this week, the rest of us will need to wait at least a month for the beta to drop. The full release, meanwhile, is set for the fall, when we'll likely see a new Apple Watch Series 12 and possibly an Apple Watch Ultra 4.

watchOS 27: Apple Intelligence updates

The most noteworthy new features introduced in watchOS 27 revolve around Apple Intelligence, which is now partially powered by Google's Gemini AI.

For starters, watchOS 27 will support a custom-tailored version of Siri AI designed for smaller screens. This long-awaited update to Apple's much-maligned voice assistant should prove far more useful than today's Siri.

Siri AI will use personal context from supported apps, along with broad world knowledge, to answer questions and take actions. Better yet, all your Siri AI chats are saved to iCloud and accessible on any supported device.

AI processing in watchOS 27 is handled by private cloud computing rather than on-device. Apple is emphasizing the fact that search queries are completely private, inaccessible even to Apple, and especially to third parties.

Users can call upon Siri AI via voice or access the feature via a new standalone app in the watch's redesigned app grid.

As noted above, you'll need one of the latest/best Apple Watch models to access all of these Apple Intelligence features in watchOS 27, but will you also need an Apple Intelligent-compatible iPhone?

When watchOS 27 was first announced, Apple's marketing materials suggested the answer was yes. However, it now appears that smartphones as old as the iPhone 11 will do.

watchOS 27: New health and fitness features

Not a whole lot has changed in terms of health and fitness features in watchOS 27. The two biggest improvements are related to women's health tracking and Workout Buddy.

First, the Apple Watch Health app's period tracking function now alerts users to potential signs of perimenopause and menopause. It can also be used to log symptoms and monitor trends.

When it comes to working out, Apple's personalized fitness coach, Workout Buddy, has been tuned to deliver more useful/data-backed motivational insights and messages based on insights from current and past workouts.

watchOS 27 also promises improved distance accuracy when tracking indoor workouts, along with better step count syncing between your Apple Watch and iPhone.

watchOS 27: Design improvements

For quicker access to your five most-used apps, watchOS 27 features a new Dynamic App Grid that automatically populates.

watchOS 27 additionally brings a smarter Smart Stack that automatically populates relevant apps based on context. Lastly, for those taking calls from the wrist, Apple's new Call Context feature for Apple Watch can automatically display relevant info when mentioned, like flight times for an upcoming trip.

Meanwhile, the Find My app has been refined visually for a more straightforward, map-centric user experience.

Finally, last year's Liquid Glass update didn't have that much impact on the look and feel of the Apple Watch. Nevertheless, watchOS 27 delivers some tweaks, including better separation between current apps or content and the background.

watchOS 27: Other upgrades

In addition to all of the above, watchOS 27 unlocks faster open times for the Music app, quicker step count syncing between Apple Watch and iPhone, new battery optimization suggestions, and a promising new single-tap gesture control to open items saved to the Smart Stack.

What do you think of the watchOS 27 announcements? Are you excited to upgrade, assuming you have a supported device? How do you feel about its limited compatibility? Let me know in the comments below.

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• I walked 4,500 steps with the Fitbit Air vs Apple Watch SE 3 — and I'm surprised by the winner
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Today is the day to lace up your best running shoes and get out for a run. Why? It's Global Running Day 2026, and if you happen to be wearing one of the best Apple Watches or best Garmin watches, you can earn yourself a special award.

This is a little extra incentive to notch up a run — whether it's outside or on one of the best treadmills at the gym — it all counts. And you get a nice digital souvenir to add to your collection. I personally love collecting Apple's limited edition badges, so if I can get out the door for a quick 5K today, I definitely will.

If you're a determined Apple or Garmin wearer (or you just want a little bit of extra motivation today), then you're going to want to know how to earn these limited edition trinkets.

The good news is that in both cases, it couldn't be any simpler.

An extra bonus from Strava and Runna

There's an added bonus up for grabs today if you happen to use Strava. Recording a run of 5K or more today will give you free access to Runna Premium for two weeks. Runna is our number one pick for the best running apps and a former Tom's Guide Fitness Awards winner.

The app offers a personalized training plan that uses AI to calibrate itself based on your workouts. As your performance increases, so does the plan. If you want to know more about how this works, check out our in-depth Runna review.

If you do decide to head out for a run, whether you want to attempt a PR or just grab one of the aforementioned awards, have fun. I'm coming back from an injury that prevented my marathon attempt this season, so it's slow going for me, but I still can't help wanting to earn those badges.

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• The best treadmills I've tested with hundreds of indoor miles
• I tested the Garmin Forerunner 70 for two weeks — and it’s my favorite running watch for the money in 2026
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I tested the fitness tracking performance of the Apple Watch SE 3 vs the Fitbit Air while walking exactly 4,500 steps, and I'm surprised by the winner.

The Apple Watch SE 3 is Cupertino's latest entry-level, full-featured smartwatch and one of the best cheap smartwatches of 2026. The Fitbit Air, meanwhile, is a brand-new, diminutive, screen-free wearable and one of the best fitness trackers available right now.

Both devices track tons of workout types and deliver similarly detailed post-effort insights, but which one is more reliable? To find out, I walked 4,5000 steps while wearing the Apple Watch SE 3 on my left wrist and the Fitbit Air on my right. As a primary control for tracking accuracy, I manually counted my steps, noting every hundred taken with a click of my trusty tally counter.

I also logged my efforts using the Strava app on my iPhone 16 Plus as a control for distance, pace, and climb data. So, which wearable came out on top, the Fitbit Air or the Apple Watch SE 3? Read on.

Fitbit Air vs Apple Watch SE 3: fitness tracking accuracy compared

Before jumping into the results, it's worth noting some of the primary differences between these two popular wearables. For starters, the screen-less Fitbit Air is designed to be a distraction-free tracker with no notifications or smart features (except just one).

On the other hand, the Apple Watch SE 3 is essentially the opposite: an ultra-connected smartwatch that does much more, in terms of smart features, than just track health and fitness stats. The SE 3 is also considerably pricier than the Air, starting at $249 compared to $99 for the latest Fitbit.

Finally, the Apple Watch SE 3 sports onboard GPS for location tracking without a paired smartphone; the Fitbit Air does not. That said, when you do carry your smartphone while logging an outdoor workout with the Air, fitness tracking performance is excellent.

Now, on to the test results!

Fitbit Air vs Apple Watch SE 3: Walk test results

I logged exactly 4,500 steps (manual count) during my roughly 40-minute walk around a gloomy Seattle, Washington, including a climb up the city's steepest hill. And much to my delight, both wearables logged similar step counts that fall well within a reasonable margin of error; ultimately, any tally within 100 steps of my actual count is considered an impressive outcome.

However, while the Apple Watch SE 3 is just 37 steps of my actual total, the Fitbit Air is off by just 12 steps. Strava, meanwhile, bested them both, logging 4,502 steps.

Distance data is similarly enough across the board, with Fitbit Air proving slightly more in line with the control data. However, the Air's climb data leaves a lot to be desired. The SE 3, in contrast, noted just a bit more uphill effort than Strava.

Thanks to the gloom, I encountered little traffic, which meant that I didn't stop moving at any point during this walk. As a result, I expected my average pace to be pretty similar across the board, which it is. However, Apple's pace calculation is closer to the control than Fitbit's.

Similar to my prior walk test with the Fitbit Air vs Garmin Forerunner 70, the former's heart rate data is noticeably lower than the competition's. This is a somewhat odd result, given that the Fitbit Air's heart rate tracking performed admirably time and again during testing for the review, regardless of which wrist I wore it on.

One possible theory for the discrepancies: I didn't wear the Air tightly enough during my last two walk tests.

Fitbit Air vs Apple Watch SE 3: Winner

Despite the Apple Watch SE 3 costing 2.5x the Fitbit Air, Google's humble, screen-less fitness tracker wins this showdown. However, the SE 3 performed nearly as well when it comes to step count and was more accurate across the board for other key metrics.

Which fitness trackers, smartwatches, smart rings, etc. would you like me to test head-to-head next? Let me know in the comments below.

More from Tom's Guide

• I walked 3,000 steps with the Fitbit Air vs Garmin Forerunner 70 — and I’m seriously amazed by the results
• The Fitbit Air is basically just a screen-less Fitbit Inspire 3 — and that’s a very good thing
• I spent one week with a wallet-friendly Garmin Forerunner 970 dupe — 5 things that stand out about the $300 cheaper Amazfit Cheetah 2 Pro

When I started using my first Apple Watch to track my sleep, I thought I was doing everything I could to get the most accurate results possible; I always used the Apple Watch's vital settings for precise sleep data, for example. But I was completely oblivious to my bad Apple Watch habits that were secretly interfering with its accuracy.

As one of the best sleep trackers on the market, the Apple Watch offers key features that can boost your sleep. However, keeping your Apple Watch in top condition for optimal sleep tracking performance is all down to you.

I learned that the hard way, making little-known mistakes that I didn't realize were skewing my sleep tracker data — until I noticed some things that didn't add up. So, learn from my mistakes with this guide to avoiding bad lifestyle habits that get in the way of sleep tracking accuracy, plus how I'm keeping my Apple Watch in shape so it can live up to its potential.

• Read more: Experts explain why your Apple Watch tracks your wrist temperature during sleep — 5 key things it can tell you

5 Apple Watch habits to avoid for better sleep tracking accuracy

1. Not wearing your Apple Watch's band properly

Let's start with possibly the most common Apple Watch mistake: not checking the fit of the strap is right. Because while we all have comfort preferences, the wrong fit can impact your tracking data.

Your Apple Watch's strap should accommodate your wrist size, but an Apple Watch that fits too tight or too loose can impair the sensors' job.

According to Apple Support, you should wear the Apple Watch in a way that's "not too tight, not too loose, and with room for your skin to breathe."

Afraid that the watch would slip off in the night, I initially pulled my Apple Watch's strap so tight that it caused irritation. To fix this, I overcompensated by loosening the strap too much.

As a result of the loose fit, the Apple Watch's face (otherwise known as its monitor) started to slide down to my hand or to the bottom of my wrist — a huge problem as the sensors only work when it sits on the top of your wrist. Also, make sure your it's positioned above your wrist bone (towards your elbow rather than your hands).

Basically, the Apple Watch must maintain constant skin contact for accurate results, but not so tight that it causes discomfort or prevents your skin from breathing.

2. Charging my Apple Watch at the 11th hour

Now, it may seem obvious that your Apple Watch will need some juice to track sleep accurately (because it is obvious). But if you're anything like me, it's likely you have a habit of charging your devices at night while you sleep.

Nocturnal charging is all well and good for phones and laptops, but for accurate sleep tracking, it's not surprise you need your Apple Watch out of its charging nest and onto your wrist. The amount of times I've had to postpone my bedtime waiting for my Apple Watch to charge at the last minute is more than I care to admit.

To prevent the battery dying overnight, I've made charging the first step of my evening routine. Putting my Apple Watch on charge before I start my nighttime routine gives it enough time to gather the energy needed to track seven to nine hours of sleep.

Alternatively, set charging reminders on your phone to give you a nudge.

3. Forgetting to update

I allow my iPhone to automatically update while I sleep, as it's typically locked, connected to the WiFi and charging at this time. The Apple Watch needs the same settings to update — and I quickly discovered that it's not possible to automatically update overnight when it's strapped to your wrist.

I'm awful at remembering to update manually, and this can cause major issues. Software updates are important for accuracy: they improve the interpretation of sensor data, fix any bugs, and introduce new health metrics.

I now check my Apple Watch app's settings to see if there are any updates available and pay attention to my Apple Watch's reminders to install.

4. Forgetting to clean it after exercising

As it's more than just a sleep tracker, I often wear my Apple watch during the day; I love having it track my steps whenever I go for a walk.

However, daytime use can allow dirt, sweat, sun block, and natural body oils to accumulate on the back crystal, which Apple Support warns can impact sensor functionality.

When by chance I glanced at the back of my watch, I was surprised by how grubby it had become through everyday use.

To combat grime buildup, I follow Apple's cleaning advice: "Wipe your Apple Watch clean with a non-abrasive, lint-free cloth. If necessary, lightly dampen the cloth with fresh water."

5. Putting it on straight after showering or applying lotion

I'm a night shower-er — night showering is actually better for your sleep — and I often reach for my Apple Watch not long after stepping out of the shower.

But a build up of moisture and lotion can impact sensor readings, so putting my Apple Watch on a damp wrist covered in freshly-applied body lotion and lavender essential oil roll-on isn't a great idea.

I'm now in the habit of letting my skin absorb lotion for at least five to 10 minutes before donning my Apple Watch, to make sure my wrist is thoroughly dried. And I save my roll-on for my watch-free wrist.

3 good habits for Apple Watch sleep tracking accuracy

1. Cleaning weekly

You can make sure your sensors are clean enough to do their job properly by treating your Apple Watch to a once-a-week clean.

A quick wipe down with a lint-free cloth dipped in water is sufficient for day-to-day wear, but our guide on how to give your sleep tracker a 15-minute deep clean will have even the dirtiest Apple Watch performing better in no time.

2. Always keep it above a 30% battery

I mentioned before that forgetting to charge your Apple Watch is a major bad habit. However you may be wondering how much battery the Apple Watch needs to bring its sleep tracking a-game.

According to Apple Support, the bare minimum is 30%: "Make sure you charge your Apple Watch to at least 30% before bed with Sleep Tracking on Apple Watch enabled".

3. Try to wear it every night

And the most important Apple Watch habit of all? Consistency.

Wearing your Apple Watch every night (with a few skips when it's really not possible) helps your watch to establish a baseline for your normal metrics, allowing the watch to highlight any anomalies and to get to know your sleep patterns better.

As the first half of 2026 winds down, it feels as though Apple has been relatively quiet while we wait for the big Fall product releases. WWDC 2026 is right around the corner in June and as is often the case, it marks the shift between the barren Apple months and the fruitful ones.

With that in mind, based on rumors and leaks, I expect Apple to debut at least 15 new devices between now and the end of the year.

Some like the iPhone and Apple Watches are your typical annual updates (save the over-rumored iPhone Fold), and potential updates to the MacBook Pro lineup. Others, like Apple's long-awaited smart home lineup, all depend on whether Apple has finally figured out Siri 2.0.

All of these devices could give us an idea if the recently reported hardware shakeup is ready to bear fruit.

So, here are the 15 Apple devices we could see this year in order of potential release date.

iPhone 18 Pro models and iPhone Fold - September

On the whole, the iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max probably won't be a big divergence from the iPhone 17 versions. A new color, a better chip, possibly a revamped Camera Control button and a smaller Dynamic Island are all on the table. Decent updates, but not terribly exciting.

The iPhone 18 is, we expect, a gap year until 2027's 20th anniversary iPhone, which could truly shake up the iPhone design.

However, the bigger news is that Apple is expected to split the iPhone 18 release with the Pro models this year and the iPhone 18, 18 Plus, and 18e launching in the new spring window next year.

If it launches, and there is debate about that, the iPhone Fold (or Ultra) will be the headline stealer as Apple finally steps into the foldable phones market.

The allegedly crease-free foldable could feature a squat 7.7-inch inner display that is reminiscent of an iPad mini. Apple is reportedly developing iOS 27 to be tailored for the folding iPhone. We'll most likely hear more about that at WWDC 2026, depending on how coy Apple wants to be.

Apple Watches - September

Unlike the iPhone 18 family, there has been a dearth of rumors regarding the Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4. They typically launch in September alongside the iPhone.

Here's what we know so far.

The Series 12 could feature new holistic sensor tech on the bottom of the watch, including a new eight-sensor array. If true, this could indicate that new health metrics might be coming to the Series 12, or at the very least, more accurate ones. The big change might be an overhauled Health app featuring an AI-powered, personalized wellness concierge.

Otherwise, it should be largely the same as the Series 11, though it might feature Touch ID, which has been disputed.

The Apple Watch Ultra 4 may or may not launch this year, the rumors are unclear on this part. If not, we might see the Ultra 4 in 2027.

As for the design, rumors hint at a thinner case, fingerprint scanner and improved Hypertension Alerts. But that's about it for now.

iPads - September/October

The iPad mini is one of the best tablets available today and the eighth iteration could launch this year. Apple hasn't had a consistent release schedule for its tiny iPads, but most rumors suggest the iPad mini 8 could launch around October, maybe late September.

It's rumored to get the A20 Pro, the same chip as the iPhone 18 Pro series. It could also be the first iPad mini to feature an OLED display.

As for the larger entry-level iPad 12, it could launch this year with an A19 chipset. It's looking like it will be a simple refresh with Apple Intelligence features and possibly Apple's N1 wireless chip. Design-wise I expect it to look the same as its predecessor. Outside of that, I only have speculation on possible increases in RAM and storage but with the memory crisis, that may take a back seat.

OLED MacBook Pro M6 and other Macs - October

If they launch this year, I expect to see at least four Mac devices, most likely in October.

The most interesting one is the potential MacBook Pro M6 feature an OLED display.

• Mac Studio
• Mac mini
• iMac
• MacBook Pro M6

Beyond the MacBook, all of the other devices will likely just be chip upgrades going from their current versions to the M5 family.

The Pro model might get a new name the MacBook Ultra, which is meant to differentiate it from the MacBook Neo acting as an even higher-end counterpart to the Pro. It should feature an OLED display and the new M6 chipset.

The design should be similar to previous Pro models. The big upgrades will be the display with a touchscreen and the chipset.

Smart Home devices with a catch

Apple has been rumored to be developing its own suite of smart home devices, including the overhauled HomePod. This could come in the form of a new HomePod mini, a new HomePod 3 and the Home Hub.

The long-awaited Apple TV 4K set-top box update would be part of this update, with new features meant to connect it to your smart home. We're expecting Apple to kit out the next Apple TV with an upgraded chip, possibly an A17 Pro chip, though that rumor is nearly a year old now, so a potentially more powerful chip could be in the cards. The device could also get the N1 chip for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity.

Here's the thing, though, this all depends on whether Apple has finally figured out Apple Intelligence and Siri. Using AI to control your smart home with your voice and other tools is supposed to be a main part of the experience. That promise could finally arrive with the Gemini-powered version of Siri that is supposed to launch this year.

Additionally, Apple may have a smart security camera and Face ID doorbell in the works. Apple was reportedly in the early stages of development of those at the end of 2024, but it's not clear where Apple is regarding that now.

If Apple finally reveals the new HomePod and other smart home devices, it likely won't happen until after Siri 2.0 actually launches this fall.

More from Tom's Guide

• I walked 5,500 steps with the Apple Watch SE 3 vs Garmin Forerunner 70 — and the results surprised me
• Apple fixed the single most frustrating thing about browsing on iPhone — you just have to turn it on
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Apple Watch SE 3 vs Garmin Forerunner 70: which is the better smartwatch for fitness tracking? Both devices start at $249, and even though the SE 3 has more smart features and the Forerunner 70 has more training tools for runners, when it comes to basic fitness tracking chops, the two are pretty evenly matched.

So, to determine which smartwatch is best, I tracked a 5,500-step walk with one device on either wrist while manually counting my steps as my primary control. As a control for climb, pace, and distance, I also logged the walk using the Strava app on my iPhone 16 Plus.

Which smartwatch, the Apple Watch SE 3 or Garmin Forerunner 70, aligned more closely with the control data? Read on.

I walked 5,000 steps with the Apple Watch SE 3 vs Garmin Forerunner 70

While the Garmin Forerunner just arrived this month and is currently being reviewed, the SE 3 debuted last fall and is already considered one of the best budget smartwatches of 2026. Moreover, I’ve already had the chance to compare its fitness-tracking abilities head-to-head with the competition.

For example, and much to my surprise, when I tested the Apple Watch SE 3 vs the Series 11, a more premium device, the former proved (slightly) more accurate. Of course, that’s just one test. However, when I pitted the SE 3 vs the Amazfit Active Max, Apple’s entry-level watch again came out on top.

Does the trend continue when the Apple Watch SE 3 goes up against the newer Garmin Forerunner 70? Find the results of my 5,500-step walk test below.

Apple Watch SE 3 vs Garmin Forerunner 70: Test results

Honestly, there's no real surprises here: Both the Apple Watch SE 3 and Garmin Forerunner 70 produced remarkably accurate totals, each within one hundred steps of my manual count. By comparison, Strava noted 5,518 total steps during the duration of my roughly 50-minute walk.

Distance data is consistent enough for my liking across the board. Apple's elevation gain data — this was on a hilly walk — appears slightly inflated compared to Strava, but it's still within the ballpark of acceptable.

The Garmin Forerunner 70, meanwhile, appears to have significantly undercounted my upward efforts. This is likely because the device lacks an onboard barometric altimeter for tracking changes in elevation with precision. The SE 3 sports this valuable piece of tech, as do most modern smartphones.

Strava and Garmin report your average moving pace (shown above) and average elapsed pace for outdoor workouts like walks, runs, and hikes. Apple, meanwhile, only offers one pace metric and doesn't specify which, though I suspect it's the latter. As a result, pace data from even the best Apple Watch models tends to be a tad more sluggish than the competition, as is the case here.

The SE 3 calculated a slightly higher average heart rate, but both smartwatches noted roughly the same maximum. Calorie data is also pretty similar, with the Apple Watch reporting a bit more effort; a sensible conclusion given its higher average heart rate.

Apple Watch SE 3 vs Garmin Forerunner 70: Winner

Going on step count alone, the Apple Watch SE 3 undercounted by 66 steps, while the Garmin Forerunner 70 overcounted by just 28 steps. This makes Garmin's new entry-level running watch the official winner of this Apple versus Garmin showdown.

That said, Apple's distance, and more notably, elevation data lines up better with the control data than Garmin's.

Ultimately, both watches performed remarkably well, but if you're choosing between the two and tend to run/walk/hike in hilly locations, then the SE 3 will almost certainly be a better choice than the Forerunner 70 thanks to its onboard altimeter.

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The Apple Watch Ultra 3 is easily one of the best smartwatch models in 2026 and Apple’s best smartwatch for battery life, but that hasn’t stopped the rumor mill from churning out potential Apple Watch Ultra 4 upgrades. In fact, a new Ultra model could debut as soon as this fall.

I’ve been tracking all Apple Watch Ultra 4 rumors ever since the arrival of the Ultra 3 last fall, and there are quite a few juicy ones to chew on, including hints of a massive redesign, new health tech, and even better battery performance.

Here’s everything we think we know about the Apple Watch Ultra 4, so far.

Apple Watch Ultra 4: Possible price and launch date

The lapse between Apple Watch Ultra refreshes varies from one to two years, which means an Ultra 4 could debut this fall… or it might not arrive until fall 2027.

In terms of price, Cupertino has kept the cost of the Ultra series consistent ever since the first model debuted in 2022. Unfortunately, given inflation — $799 in 2022 is roughly equivalent to $885 in 2026 dollars — there’s a good chance we will see some sort of price hike for the Ultra 4, in my humble opinion.

Pricier smartwatches aren't unprecedented either: Garmin sells numerous models that cost more than the Ultra 3, including the excellent Garmin Fenix 8.

Apple Watch Ultra 4: Design rumors

The Apple Watch Ultra case design has remained essentially the same, going back to the first model. Could a major redesign be on the horizon? According to a report from Digitimes, it’s totally possible!

What might that entail? Rumors suggest a thinner case, at the very least, while a deep dive done by 9to5Mac hints at the possible addition of a fingerprint scanner on the Ultra 4 as an alternative to passcodes to lock your device.

Apple Watch Ultra 4: Possible health upgrades

Significant health tracking upgrades are also rumored for the Apple Watch Ultra 4, including new and improved high blood pressure monitoring tech, according to a report in Digitimes.

Like Hypertension Alerts on the Ultra 3, this new bit of tech is rumored to use the optical heart rate sensor to track how your blood vessels react to individual heartbeats. Presumably, it will do so with better accuracy than currently available, but it’s unlikely that it will be able to provide a numeric blood pressure reading like a traditional cuff.

It also doesn’t seem likely that non-invasive blood glucose monitoring — a holy grail for the wearables industry — will be ready in time for the Ultra 4’s launch, but we know Apple is hard at work on such a feature.

Digitimes also reports that the number of sensors in the Ultra 4 will be double that of the Ultra 3, but we don’t know whether that refers to holistic sensors, fingerprint reading sensors, or both.

Apple Watch Ultra 4: Battery life predictions

Battery consumption improvements are always welcomed. Unfortunately, the jump in battery life from the Apple Watch Ultra 2 to the Ultra 3 was pretty minimal: 36 hours vs 42 hours. Might the Ultra 4 boast even better longevity?

Here’s hoping. While little is known about the physical battery in the forthcoming watch, the Digitimes report suggests that the new device will see at least modest improvements in power efficiency, which could potentially lead to substantial longevity gains… or not.

Apple Watch Ultra 4: Outlook

It’s worth reiterating that an Apple Watch Ultra 4 debut for 2026 is far from certain. However, when the watch does eventually debut, all signs point to it being a pretty significant upgrade over prior models, with potentially a new design, more health sensors, improved heart health tracking, a fingerprint reader, and better battery performance.

The million-dollar question is, will the Apple Watch Ultra 4 cost more than the Ultra, Ultra 2, and Ultra 3? Only time will tell.

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If you’re an Apple Watch wearer, the Health app on your iPhone holds an encyclopedia of (encrypted) data about your overall fitness and wellbeing. From predicting the exact day you ovulate and the time you spend in different stages of sleep, to allowing you to log your daily mood, spending five minutes a day in the Health app can help you spot patterns and trends in your health, and download anything unusual to send to your doctor.

I’ve worn an Apple Watch for the better part of the last decade, but like most people, a lot of the data my watch has been collecting has gone unnoticed. I recently spent some time diving into the Health app, and one big one that passed me by is my cardiovascular fitness level.

Cardiovascular fitness, measured as VO2 max, is widely considered to be the most important predictor of long-term health. Cardio fitness is often viewed as a clinical vital sign, much like your blood pressure or your heart rate, and if you’re an Apple Watch wearer, you can see at a glance how you’re tracking over time, and compared to your peers. Read on to learn more.

Why is cardiovascular fitness important?

Cardio fitness is a strong indicator of your overall health. Individuals who have “high” levels of aerobic fitness for their age group are found to have a significantly lower risk of all-cause mortality than those in the “low” and “below average” groups.

Cardiovascular fitness is measured using a metric called VO2 Max, which is the maximum amount of oxygen your body can consume during exercise. A higher VO2 max puts you at a lower risk of metabolic diseases, such as Type 2 Diabetes.

Many wearables track your cardiovascular fitness, including the best Garmin running watches and the Oura Ring 4. The Apple Watch gives you an estimate of your cardio fitness levels by looking at the data collected on outdoor walks, outdoor runs, or hiking workouts. Using the Apple Health app, you can then see if your cardio fitness levels are high or low for your age and sex, and how they are trending over time.

Even if you’re not training for a race, cardiovascular fitness is a great indicator of how well you’re aging. After the age of 30, your VO2 max typically declines at a rate of approximately 10% per decade. Keeping an eye on your cardiovascular fitness today can help you address how active and fit you are later in life.

How to find your cardiovascular fitness on the Apple Health app

Here’s how to find your cardiovascular fitness. Your Apple Watch gives you a cardio fitness estimate by measuring how hard your heart is working during outdoor workouts in the Workout app, such as: Outdoor Walk, Outdoor Run, Hiking. Indoor workouts, including ones that require gym equipment, do not count towards your cardio fitness estimate.

All Apple Watches can estimate your VO2 max using the heart and motion sensors during outdoor activities. It’ll also take into account your age, sex, weight, height, and medications that might affect your heart rate, so make sure all of this information is up to date in the app for the most accurate readings.

Your Health app will notify you if your cardio fitness levels are low for your age and sex. On the app, you can see your overall cardio fitness trends, as well as all of the workouts that Apple has used to collect the data.

Here’s how to do it:

• Open the Health app on your iPhone or iPad.
• If you’re on your iPhone, tap Search in the bottom right corner. If you’re on your iPad, tap sidebar to open the sidebar.
• Tap Heart, then tap Cardio Fitness.
• Tap D, W, M, 6M or Y to view your average for the day, week, month, 6 months or year.
• Tap Show All Cardio Fitness Levels.
• Tap a cardio fitness level to compare your results to other levels based on your age and sex
• You can also pin your Cardio Fitness to your Health home screen, so you can see your results without having to search.

To increase your cardio fitness, increase the intensity and frequency of cardiovascular workouts. This could be walking, running, swimming or cycling. Remember that certain conditions or medications that affect your heart rate may alter your VO2 max readings. If you are concerned, always seek advice from a doctor or medical professional.

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Despite previous rumors don't expect Touch ID on any of the best Apple Watch models anytime soon. The latest rumor suggests Apple isn't even considering it as an option in favor of other features.

The leak comes from regular Apple tipster Instant Digital on Weibo where they claim that rumors about Apple adding "biometric authentication" on Watches and other wearables devices are "completely false" (machine translated).

"Apple's focus is on packing larger batteries and developing more advanced health sensors," Instant Digital wrote.

Touch ID would apparently take up too much space and would both increase costs and reduce the space available for the battery. This directly contradicts a rumor from last August.

At the time, code found by Macworld suggested that Touch ID was in the works for the Apple Watch Series 12 or Apple Watch Ultra 4. The fingerprint sensor would be underneath the display or integrated into a side button, ala the iPad mini or iPad Air.

At the moment, it's rumored that Apple won't introduce a big redesign for the Series 12. Instead, many of the latest rumors hint at a new suite of holistic sensor tech.

The big new feature may be a massive overhaul of the Health app. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman previously reported that Apple is developing an AI-powered, personalized wellness concierge. It would presumably bring all of your health, fitness and medical data under a single app.

We won't know for sure until the Apple Watch Series 12 launches, likely in September alongside the iPhone 18 Pro. However, new AI features might be announced at WWDC 2026 which kicks off in June.

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Can the $79 Amazfit Bip 6 smartwatch compete with the $249 Apple Watch SE 3, one of the best entry-level smartwatches available in 2026?

I've tested both models and, to answer that question, I've compared the Apple Watch SE 3 and the Amazfit Bip 6 across seven categories: price, design, display, fitness and health tracking, safety tools, smart features, and battery life. At the end, I declare an overall winner, and the Amazfit holds its own, especially when it comes to health and fitness features.

Specs compared

But first, let's compare specs...

1. Price

The Apple Watch SE 3 comes in two sizes, 40mm and 44mm, and with or without 5G connectivity (data plan required). The 40mm SE 3 starts at $249, while the 44mm starts at $279; add $50 to the cost of either for cellular.

The Amazfit Bip 6 comes in one size, 45mm, and without cellular connectivity for $79.

Winner: Amazfit Bip 6

2. Design

The Amazfit Bip 6 is a tad heavier than the 40mm Apple Watch SE 3 but a little lighter than the 44mm model; either way, both devices feel comfortable and and not burdensome on the wrist.

While the Amazfit Bip 6 case is made from a mix of aluminum alloy and plastic, the SE 3 is fully aluminum alloy, giving it a more premium and robust feel. That said, both watches boast a respectable 50 meters of water resistance.

You get two physical controls along the side of either mode. On the Bip 6, that's two buttons; on the SE 3, you get a button and Apple's digital crown, which can be both turned and pressed. Ultimately, I much prefer the tactile response and design of the SE 34's physical controls to that of the Bip 6.

Winner: Apple Watch SE 3.

3. Display

The 40mm SE 3 sports a 1.57-inch display while the 44mm model boasts a 1.78-inch screen, both OLED with a max brightness of 1,000 nits.

The display on the Amazfit Bip 6 is a slightly larger 1.97-inch AMOLED affair with twice the maximum brightness, 2,000 nits, making it easier to view in direct sunlight.

Winner: Amazfit Bip 6

4. Fitness and heath

The Amazfit Bip 6 boasts health tech you won't find on the Apple Watch SE 3, namely an onboard blood oxygen saturation sensor (SpO2), but aside from that, Apple's health and fitness tracking has consistently proven slightly more accurate than Amazfit's in my testing.

For example, though I haven't directly tested the SE 3 vs the Bip 6, Apple's entry-level watch proved more accurate than the newer, higher-end $169 Amazfit Active Max when I recently pitted the two head-to-head in a 7,500-step walk test.

Both the Bip 6 and SE 3 track sleep and present users with morning reports full of insights into total sleep time, sleep cycles, heart rate, and disturbances. The SE 3 provides users with a daily sleep score based on a scale from one to 100, while the Bip 6 offers a readiness score on the same scale.

You get workout auto-dection with continuous heart rate monitoring and GPS-based location tracking for outdoor workouts with either watch; you also get insights into your heart rate variability.

Similarly, the SE 3 and Bip 6 each track most common workout types, but the Amazfit takes things a step further, covering 140+ activities, including a whole bunch of nuanced ones, like shuttlecock, indoor surfing, frisbee, and even checkers, to name a few.

Winner: Draw

5. Smart features

This one isn't even close, assuming you're using an iPhone versus an Android device. While the Amazfit Bip 6 can mirror smartphone notifications from either smartphone type, the Apple Watch SE 3 is jam-packed with native smart features and apps that make the Amazfit feel downright rudimentary.

These include not only access to the world's largest third-party smartwatch app store but a wide selection of handy native apps, including Apple's Notes and Voice Memo apps, Apple Maps for navigation, Walkie-Talkie mode for quick communication, NFC for mobile payments, global tide tracking, on-wrist translations, and so much more.

The SE 3 also has an onboard microphone and speaker for taking calls from the wrist. And if you opt for the 5G-capable model, you can even take and receive calls sans smartphone

Winner: Apple Watch SE 3

6. Safety features

The Apple Watch SE 3 also beats the Amazfit Bip 6 handily when it comes to safety features. While the Bip 6 offers some health-related wellness monitoring tools, like irregular and high/low heart notifications, Apple's best budget smartwatch takes things a mega step forward.

Safety tools on the SE 3 include Apple's excellent Check In safety feature, which allows loved ones to keep tabs on your location in real time with just a few taps of the screen, fall and crash detection, emergency SOS, and compass backtrack to help you avoid getting lost.

Winner: Apple Watch SE 3

7. Battery life

Full-featured smartwatches rarely can compete with fitness/health-centric models, and when it comes to the Apple Watch SE 3 versus the Amazfit Bip 6, the former falls way short.

The Apple Watch SE 3 is Cupertino's poorest-performing smartwatch when it comes to battery life, lasting just 18 hours per charge in normal conditions (32 hours in low power mode). If you're using the onboard GPS to track an outdoor workout, the SE 3 gets between six and seven hours of battery per charge.

The Amazfit Bip 6, meanwhile, lasts for up to two weeks per charge, and can track an outdoor workout with onboard GPS for up to an impressive 32 hours per charge.

Winner: Amazfit Bip 6

Verdict

While the Apple Watch SE 3 starts at more than three times the cost of the Amazfit Bip 6, there's still a lot of solid reasons to choose it over its cheaper dopalganger. Even if you don't opt for the 5G-capable SE 3, the device still offers way more smart features and significantly better safety tools — all in a better-built package than the Bip 6.

On the flip side, if health and fitness tracking chops are your primary focus and you don't care about smarts beyond mirrored smartphone notifications, the Bip 6 is a reliable workout tracker with comparable post-effort insights to the SE 3. Precision may not be quite as good, but it does sport onboard GPS, allowing you to track outdoor adventures sans paired smartphone. Plus, the Bip 6's battery life blows the SE 3 out of the water, and its screen is brighter.

Overall winner: Apple Watch SE 3

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Apple has launched a new Apple Watch Sport Loop band and watch face to celebrate Pride Month, and if you’re signed up to get Beta updates on your watch, you can try the Pride Luminance face right now.

I’ve been using it on my Apple Watch Ultra 3, and it’s a great new watch face, both in terms of the design and the amount of customization available.

As you’d expect from a Pride watch face, it’s extremely bright and colorful, and if you’re a fan of the Luminance face, you can get matching wallpaper designs on your iPhone and iPad.

Apple Watch Pride Luminance face: what you need to know

The new Pride Luminance face is more customizable than you might expect, because you can pick the colors used to make up the pattern, rather than just selecting from a preset list.

Before you do that, though, you have to choose whether you want the pattern to be full screen or used in a circle in the center of the face, which then allows you to pick four complications to go in the corners around it.

If you go for the full-screen pattern, which I think does look better to me, you don’t get any complications.

Then you have to pick the style, opting for either a radial pattern or a vertical one with stripes of color.

Finally, you choose the colors used in the pattern, either selecting up to three yourself, or using one of the preset options, which include several rainbow patterns to celebrate Pride month.

Why the Pride Luminance face is my new go-to

I’m a sucker for a colorful Apple Watch face, and there are several rainbow options in the preset list I’d be happy to go for, but being able to choose three colors myself is even better, and I have a teal and blue setup for now.

I prefer the radial pattern for the watch face, especially because it then has lines indicating every five minutes, making it easier to get the exact time at a glance, but the vertical pattern is also very easy on the eye.

I’ve gone for the full screen face as my main option, but I also have a face set up with the circular option for when I do want easy access to info like battery life, weather, and my activity stats.

My usual watch faces up until now are the data-rich Modular Ultra and the simple Flux face, but the color Pride Luminance is definitely another I’ll be using regularly going forward.

The Pride Luminance watch face will be available to all when the final version of watchOS 26.5 rolls out in the coming weeks, but you can access it now if you’re signed up for Beta updates in the Watch app — you can do this in the Software Update section under General in Settings.

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As an avid runner who’s used every model of the Apple Watch over the years, the day the Apple Watch Ultra launched was a very happy one, and there’s one big, orange reason for that.

The Action button meant it was finally easy to take laps, or 'mark segments', using the watch during runs, without having to use a tricky combination of two buttons or tapping the screen. I use the lap button regularly in my structured training, almost every day in fact, so the Apple Watch Ultra removed a minor but persistent frustration I had with the Series models.

However, I still had one problem with the Action button, which is that in the standard orientation of the Apple Watch Ultra, with the Action button on the left, it felt somehow… wrong.

All of the best running watches I’ve tested have the lap button on the right side, and so I’d automatically go to that side to take a lap.

With the Apple Watch Ultra, you go left, and the natural way to press the button involves putting your finger and thumb on the watch, with the result I sometimes pressed the side button at the same time and paused my workout at the exact moment I started to speed up for a fast segment.

That’s my fault, of course, and over time you can get used to any watch’s orientation, but the good thing with the Apple Watch Ultra is that you don’t have to!

I switched the orientation on my Apple Watch Ultra 3, and now the Action button is on the right, making it easier to press the button without also hitting the side button.

How to change the Apple Watch Ultra’s orientation

It takes seconds to switch up the Apple Watch Ultra’s orientation, which you can do in the settings section of the watch.

• Open the Settings app and go to General
• Select Orientation
• Tick the wrist you wear the watch on
• Tick Left for the position of the Digital Crown

Your screen will then flip upside down and you’ll have to switch your band around to wear the watch the right way up on your wrist, with the Action button now on the right side of the watch.

Why I prefer this orientation on the Apple Watch Ultra 3

Once you’ve made the shift, it takes a day or two to get used to having the crown on the left for general use of the watch, and I found I used the touchscreen a lot more with my index finger.

The main benefit is having the Action/lap button in the right place for me during workouts. No more errant pauses, and even when starting a workout with the Action button, it feels ‘right’ to have it on the right of the watch.

If you’re making the move to the Apple Watch Ultra 3 from a Garmin or other sports watch, this will also make life easier, since muscle memory will have you going to the right of the watch to take a lap.

One other benefit is that sometimes I would hit the digital crown of the watch with my wrist when it was on the right side of the watch, a problem that no longer exists with this new orientation.

Once you make the move, I doubt you'll go back to the classic Apple Watch Ultra orientation. It just makes life easier to have it set up this way.

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If you’re a committed collector of Apple Watch badges, then you’ll know that there’s always a special award available on Earth Day, which you can only earn on the day itself.

Earth Day falls on Wednesday, 22 April this year, so if you want to get hold of the limited edition badge, you need to get moving today, or you’ll miss out.

The first Earth Day badge was made available in 2017, so if you’ve been diligently collecting them each year since then, you definitely don’t want to miss out on 2026’s award.

My own record with the badge is disappointingly spotty — I’ve earned 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2023’s badges, but missed out on the others.

How to get the Apple Watch Earth Day 2026 badge

Earning the Earth Day badge is simple — you just have to get active for 30 minutes on the day and record it with your Apple Watch.

You can do this either in the native Workout app or using any app that syncs the workout over to Apple Health — my favorite Apple Watch running app is WorkOutDoors, for example.

Once you’ve recorded the workout, you’ll be rewarded with the Earth Day 2026 badge in the Fitness app, and you’ll also receive some special edition stickers to use in the iMessage app.

If you don’t see the badge and stickers after completing your workout, make sure you synced the info with your iPhone, then try restarting your watch and phone.

Dance your way to another limited edition badge on 29 April

Seven days after you get active on Earth Day, you have the chance to earn another limited edition Apple Watch badge, and this time you’ll have to dance to get it.

You can earn the International Dance Day 2026 award by recording a dance workout with your Apple Watch.

The workout must be 20 minutes long and can be recorded with any app that syncs with Apple Health. Just make sure you record it all in one workout – you can pause and resume, but don’t end the session before 20 minutes is up.

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The US International Trade Commission has ended the long-running dispute over blood oxygen monitoring on the Apple Watch. Apple has been in legal hot water with rival Masimo, which claimed to own the patents behind the tech, since it added blood oxygen monitoring to the Apple Watch Series 6 in 2020. The smaller company accused Apple of stealing trade secrets to build the health feature.

Apple managed to have all but two of the 17 patents invalidated in September 2023, but despite that, in December 2023, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) upheld a ruling stating that Apple violated Masimo’s patent, which partially halted sales of the Apple Watch 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2.

In January 2024, Apple began selling the Series 9 and Ultra 2 without the blood oxygen sensor, a policy that remained the norm until August 2025. Apple’s next workaround bypassed the ban by using devices sold in the US to track blood oxygen levels to collect raw data, but all calculations and reporting would be shifted to the iPhone. This meant devices sold in the US worked a little different to models sold in other countries, where the SpO2 readings can be displayed on the watch itself.

Masimo then sued US Customs for clearing the Apple Watch blood oxygen feature. In a ruling dated April 17, 2026, the ITC formally said that it will not review any further petitions from Masimo.

What does this mean for Apple Watch wearers?

The ruling terminates the case, which means Apple can now sell models with a redesigned blood oxygen sensor in the United States. It’s not clear whether Apple will roll out an update to allow existing Apple Watch wearers to see SpO2 readings on their devices themselves, or whether this ruling will only change future devices on sale in the US.

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I biked around Seattle’s most famous glacial lake this weekend, a roughly 11-mile ride past houseboats, seaplane docks, gleaming corporate tech offices, rusting industrial remains, and grunge-era strip malls. The big finish is a captivating yet challenging 200-foot ascent that twists and turns for 1.5 miles through a towering, emerald-encrusted innercity forest.

To log my journey, I recorded a biking workout on the Apple Watch Ultra 3 using Apple’s native Workout app and on my handlebar-mounted iPhone 16 Plus using the Strava app. After comparing the data from each post-workout report, these are the five biggest takeaways.

1. Both apps recorded similar distances

Give or take a tenth of a mile, both the Apple Watch Ultra 3 running the Apple Workout app and the iPhone 16 Plus running the Strava app noted similar total distances for my Sunday bike ride, just shy of 11 miles.

It's worth noting that the Apple Watch Ultra 3, unlike some older models, doesn't piggyback off your iPhone's location or elevation data while tracking a workout.

2. Strava noted faster speeds overall

This isn't the first time Strava calculated not just a faster maximum speed for a bike ride against Apple's Workout app, but also a faster average speed. When I biked 12 miles last fall with the Apple Watch Series 10 versus the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8, using Strava as my control, the Apple Watch similarly had slower speed data than the other methods.

The results were also similar when I cycled 11 miles with the Apple Watch 10 versus the Garmin Forerunner 570 and Strava.

3. Apple and Strava measured nearly the same exact climb data

When it comes to elevation gain, the Apple Watch Ultra 3 running Apple's Workout app noted nearly the same exact total as Strava running on the iPhone 16 Plus.

This is a particularly refreshing result, as climb data is one of the primary metrics I use to assess the difficulties of my rides through Seattle, a notably hilly city.

To be honest, I somewhat expected the Ultra 3 to inflate my uphill efforts based on similar performance in recent walk test comparisons against the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra and again versus the Garmin Forerunner 570. Then again, those examples were walking; this is cycling.

4. Apple doesn’t provide a ‘moving time’ metric

Apple's Workout app doesn't provide a 'moving time' metric like the Strava app does for bike rides, which is a bit of a bummer. I find moving time to be a more useful metric, especially when you get stuck halfway through the ride at a raised drawbridge. Suddenly, your 55-minute adventure is closer to 75 minutes.

That scenario didn't play out this time around, but it's all too common when cruising around Seattle's Lake Union in the warmer months.

For what it's worth, Strava's elapsed or total time calculation for the ride was 54 minutes, 36 seconds, which is a little closer to Apple's measure. Note: I tried my best to synchronize each app's start and stop.

5. Strava remains my overall choice for biking

Ultimately, I'll continue to rely on Strava from the comfort of my handlebar-mounted phone as my primary bike workout tracking method. Not only does Strava provide more nuanced workout duration data, but I trust its speed data over that of the Apple Workout app, which consistently claims I'm moving slower than most other means of tracking.

Another notable reason I prefer Strava on the iPhone has nothing to do with data accuracy; rather, I simply find it easier to view my ride progress when it's displayed on a large screen almost directly in front of me, versus on a smaller, wrist-based one.

More from Tom's Guide

• I'm obsessed with hiking — 3 Apple Watch apps I use to keep from getting lost
• Apple Watch Ultra 3 vs Pixel Watch 4 XL — I walked 6,000 steps, and the winner is clear
• 10 Apple Watch innovations that changed the game — from Fall Detection to Hypertension Alerts

I've been wearing my new Apple Watch to bed for a week now, and I must say I'm impressed. From accurately tracking my sleep stages to giving me gentle nudges to start winding down, the Apple Watch has helped me understand my sleep while showing me key ways to improve it.

Still, as with every time I try out one of the best sleep trackers, I feel there are modes and settings that I'm completely oblivious to — and it could be standing in my way of seeing lab-accurate results.

So, to find out, I've called on Dr. Audrey Wells, Chief Medical Officer at SLIIIP.com and Dr. Joshua Roland, Medical Director at Dreem Health, to give me some helpful pointers. Here, the two board-certified sleep doctors reveal the five Apple Watch settings that increase the accuracy of my sleep tracking.

Key takeaways: At a glance

• The Apple Watch can track your sleep duration and sleep stages, but there are key hidden settings that need to be activated for more accurate results.
• Activating Wrist Detection and Sleep Focus are vital for accurate results, as they allow your Apple Watch to know when you're wearing your device and are intending to sleep.
• Other settings, such as Wrist Temperature and Sleep Apnea notifications, can give you invaluable insights into your health, such as sleep disorders, medical conditions, or illness.
• While research shows that consumer sleep-tracking wearables are improving in accuracy and can give you useful data on your sleep duration and patterns, board-certified sleep physician Dr Wells notes that an Apple Watch won't give you data as accurate as a clinical sleep study's data.

The 5 vital Apple Watch settings for accurate sleep data

1. Sleep Focus

Let's begin with one of the most important Apple Watch settings for your sleep: Sleep Focus mode. In fact, it was the first setting I learned about when I set up my Apple Watch, and while it prepares you for rest by reducing distracting notifications, it's also needed for accurate tracking.

"Sleep Focus mode signals to the watch that you’re intending to sleep, and this allows it to more accurately detect when you fall asleep and stay asleep, rather than misinterpreting late-night phone use or movement as wakefulness," says Dr. Roland, a board-certified sleep medicine physician.

"Without it, the watch may confuse quiet rest, like lying in bed scrolling your phone, with sleep," agrees board-certified sleep medicine physician Dr Wells.

• Read more: Experts explain why your Apple Watch tracks your wrist temperature during sleep — 5 key things it can tell you

2. Wrist detection 

Wrist Detection is another important one as it lets the Apple Watch know you're wearing it and, according to Dr Roland, it's "essentially what allows all the sensors to function properly" when you're wearing the watch to bed.

"Without it, the watch can’t reliably track movement, heart rate, or sleep stages, which means your sleep data may be incomplete or inaccurate," the sleep expert warns.

Dr Wells also agrees that Wrist Detection needs to be on so the Apple Watch can track the "main signals" it uses for sleep. The doctor also reminded me of another essential thing you should do that's outside your Apple Watch settings: wear the Watch correctly.

"If it's too loose or not positioned correctly, the device can’t reliably track movement even with Wrist Detection," she reminds me.

3. Sleep apnea notifications

Okay, so the Sleep Apnea notifications tool is the one setting that I actually can't activate as, according to Apple Support, it's only available on the Apple Watch Series 9 or later, the Apple Watch Ultra 2, or Apple Watch SE 3.

However, sleep tech writer Eve Davies swears it's an essential hidden Apple Watch sleep tracking feature if you or your partner are prone to snoring.

This sleep apnea tool flags potential breathing disturbances during sleep, which Dr Roland emphasizes is important, as you probably don't notice these disturbances yourself.

"Sleep apnea often goes undiagnosed, but it can seriously impact sleep quality and overall health," he explains.

"Having a tool that monitors for irregular breathing patterns can prompt you to seek medical evaluation if something seems off," he adds.

4. Wrist temperature

One of the health metrics (or vitals, as Apple calls them) I was eager to see was the Wrist Temperature measurement. Dr. Roland told me the Wrist Temperature setting was important for assessing my "body's overnight physiology".

"Changes in skin temperature while you sleep can reflect things like illness, hormonal shifts, including menstrual cycle phases, or recovery status," notes the physician.

I was a little disappointed to wake up after the first couple of night and seeing no Wrist Temperature data, but Dr Wells assures me this was normal.

"Wrist temperature doesn’t measure sleep quality or diagnose sleep problems, so think of it as a trend over time, not a single-night insight," she tells me.

Dr Wells says that, as wrist temperature can give you helpful context about you nocturnal patterns (including changes to your overall health and circadian rhythm), "it may be worth paying attention if you notice consistent changes."

5. Charging reminders 

Charging Reminders are a setting you may not even associate with sleep tracking, but it's important for accuracy because, as Dr Wells puts it, "If your watch runs out of battery overnight, you won’t get sleep data."

"The real value of wearables comes from consistent trends over time, not one or two nights of data," says the sleep expert. "So charging reminders help you build that consistency so you get to know your own patterns and the information is actually useful."

3 things my Apple Watch data has revealed about my sleep

1. My average sleep duration is way less than the recommended 7-9 hours

The main draw of the Apple Watch's sleep tracking is seeing how much sleep you managed to get each night, along with amount of time you spent in each sleep stage.

After I started building enough sleep data, the Health app gave me overview of how much sleep I get on average. Today's weekly average? 6 hours and 11 minutes.

Now, some people may be tugging on my neck collar, wondering how on earth I can function on so little sleep. After all, the recommended sleep duration for adults is seven to nine hours. But...

2. ...but my high sleep scores say it's not a huge problem

...I'm scoring pretty high sleep scores on less than seven hours of sleep. Apple Watch sleep scores are basically marks out of 100, categorised into four scoring groups: very low, low, high, and very high. On average, I'm achieving a 'high' score — sometimes even in the 90s.

Of course, your sleep score isn't only calculated on duration. It also takes into account your sleep regularity (for example, going to bed within the same window every night) and how many times you experience nighttime awakenings.

3. Health metrics rule out any sleep disorder

As I mentioned above, there are some tools I can't access (most importantly the Sleep Apnea Notifications), but I still get to see important health metrics on the Vitals app, an Apple Watch app that gives me a daily snapshot of key measurements.

These include respiratory and heart rates and blood oxygen levels, which can provide data used to suggest sleep disorders such as sleep apnea, dehydration, or overconsumption of caffeine or alcohol.

Luckily, my health metrics indicate that I'm not experiencing any sleep disorders, but I know that if I spot any changes outside my typical range, I can use these patterns to identify any problems.

Is Apple watch sleep tracking accurate?

If you're wondering how to make your sleep tracking more accurate, you're probably also questioning how accurate an Apple Watch's sleep trackers are (or how accurate wearable sleep trackers are in general).

Luckily, a study has proven the value of consumer sleep-tracking devices, concluding that at-home trackers have a similar accuracy to research-grade actigraphy when estimating total sleep duration.

Other research even predicts that consumer wearables will "likely provide sleep information on par with actigraphy."

But are we there yet? According to Dr Wells, not quite. "The data should be viewed as an approximation of sleep patterns, not a precise measurement of sleep stages or quality," says the sleep expert.

"Remember that the Apple Watch is estimating sleep based on patterns, not directly measuring brain activity like a clinical sleep study would," she adds.

Ultra versus Ultra: Which is the more accurate device for tracking basic outdoor workouts, like walks, runs, and hikes, the Apple Watch Ultra 3 or the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra? I tossed one on either wrist and hit the pavement to find out. Spoiler: Ultimately, one came out on top.

The Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra are the longest-lasting, toughest-built premium smartwatch models from two industry titans. Not only are these two of the best smartwatches you can buy today, but both models have proven themselves to be accurate fitness trackers in numerous prior tests.

Yet somehow, I've never directly compared the fitness-tracking performance of the Apple Watch Ultra 3 against the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra. So, let's change that. Read on to find out which Ultra is the ultimate Ultra in today's step-count showdown.

Walk test ground rules

Before jumping into the walk test results, let's cover some ground rules for this comparison. The primary metric we're going to use to determine a winner today is step count. While step count isn't necessarily the most crucial metric for measuring the intensity of a walking workout, it's the easiest one to manually track as a control.

To help keep a precise tally, I only took odd-numbered steps with my left foot and even-numbered ones with my right. I also recorded every hundred steps taken with a click of my ol' reliable manual tally counter. A pair of the best noise-cancelling headphones keeps things distraction-free (don't worry, I'm extra careful crossing streets).

When analyzing step count data from any smartwatch or fitness tracker, for a roughly one-hour walk, my golden rule is that any tally within roughly one hundred steps of my actual manual count is considered to be outstanding and well within a reasonable margin for error.

Tallies that are within 200 steps of my actual count are still considered acceptably accurate. However, if the device is more than 300 steps off from my actual step count, we may have an issue.

In addition to step count, we'll also compare distance, pace, and elevation gain data against Strava (running on my iPhone 16 Plus), which has proven itself to be a remarkably reliable fitness tracking tool, even if you opt for the free version (like me).

With that cleared, on to the walk test!

I walked 6,500 steps with the Apple Watch Ultra 3 vs Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra

With the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra on my left wrist and the Apple Watch Ultra 3 on my right wrist, I embarked on my 6,500-step walk, determined to enjoy the lovely Seattle spring day as I strolled. With flowers popping off and azure skies overhead, my mission was ultimately successful.

Apple Watch Ultra 3 vs Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra: Walk test results

Before getting into specifics, it's worth calling out that both the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra noted step count totals that are well within 100 steps of my actual count, which is to say, performance here is outstanding.

However, with a tally that's 45 steps under versus 65 steps over, the Apple Watch Ultra 3 beats the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra by a teeny, tiny margin.

That said, the Galaxy Watch Ultra proved more accurate at tracking my elevation gain — Apple Watches across the board have a tendency to inflate this metric — and distance.

Apple's pace data is a little closer to Strava's, but Samsung's isn't too far off either. Reassuringly, both wearables recorded nearly the same average and max heart rate for my walk, while the Ultra 3 noted a greater calorie burn during my roughly one-hour walk.

Finally, the Apple Watch Ultra 3 was still showing 100% battery at the end of the test, while the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra burned through 8% battery.

Apple Watch Ultra 3 vs Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra: And the winner is...

This is another super-close comparison where both devices performed admirably and well within an acceptable margin of accuracy across the board.

But a winner must be declared, dear reader. So, with a step count total that's 20 steps nearer to my actual count, the Apple Watch Ultra 3 wins this showdown against the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra.

Which smartwatches should I test head-to-head next? Let me know in the comments below.

More from Tom's Guide

• Apple Watch Ultra 3 vs Pixel Watch 4 XL — I walked 6,000 steps, and the winner is clear
• 10 Apple Watch innovations that changed the game — from Fall Detection to Hypertension Alerts
• I walked 5,000 steps with the Garmin Forerunner 570 vs Apple Watch Ultra 3 — and the winner was nearly too close to call

I recently got my first ever Apple Watch, and while it has a multitude of functions, I've primarily been using it as a sleep tracker. Each night, it's given me high sleep scores (even up to 92 out of 100), despite the fact that I average around six hours of slumber a night.

However, the expert-backed 7:1 sleep rule has shown that sleeping for at least seven hours a night and following a consistent sleep schedule can decrease mortality risk by 24%— which could add up to four years to your life.

That's why I've decided to use one of the best sleep trackers to help me stick to a regular nighttime routine and increase my average sleep duration from six to seven hours. Here's a breakdown of how I'm using the Apple Watch's sleep tracking to meet the 7:1 sleep rule...

• Read more: These 5 overlooked Google Clock app features helped me quit bedtime doomscrolling to get more sleep

Key takeaways: At a glance

• Recent research shows that that getting 7 hours of sleep and falling asleep within the same 1-hour window — dubbed the "7:1 sleep rule" — can lower mortality risk by 24%.
• While my Apple Watch has awarded me sleep scores of up to 92 for less than seven hours of sleep, I'm using its key features to follow the 7:1 sleep rule.
• Functions such as its Sleep Focus mode, Sleep Schedule and Wind-Down Feature help me maintain a consistent sleep schedule and build a calming nighttime routine.
• The Vitals App offers a panoramic view of my overall health, informing me of any sleep issues and their causes, while also illustrating how the 7:1 sleep can improve health and wellbeing.

What is the 7:1 Sleep Rule?

Experts have long recommended that adults should sleep between seven and nine hours a night for optimal health and wellbeing, and a groundbreaking study has recently echoed this advice.

The research, conducted by the the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and insurance company Vitality, found that getting 7 hours of sleep and going to bed within the same 1-hour window can lower mortality risk by 24% if practiced at least five nights a week, .

And it's not the only research that shows how important getting at least seven hours of sleep is to our lifespan. Last year, research conducted by the Oregon and Health and Science University found that getting less than seven hours of sleep can have a worse effect on longevity than a poor diet or lack of exercise.

The 3 key Apple Watch features I'm using to follow the 7:1 Sleep Rule

The Apple Watch's sleep tracker can give you a detailed breakdown of your four sleep stages each night: the N1 and N2 light sleep stages (lumped together as 'core sleep' on the Apple watch), deep sleep, and REM sleep.

However, it's not simply a sleep tracker, it's also a sleep-boosting device that can help you maintain good sleep hygiene.

For instance, Sleep Focus and Schedules on watchOS (the Apple Watch's operating system) can help you keep to a consistent sleep schedule; going to bed within a 1-hour window.

Then there's the Wind Down feature, which can help you stay away from sleep-disrupting habits and distracting iPhone features to reduce revenge bedtime procrastination and help you fall asleep by your chosen time.

However, if sticking to a consistent sleep routine isn't giving you the sleep duration you want, you can identify how long it takes you to fall asleep by using the Health App, which can distinguish between the time you spent in bed vs the time you actually spent asleep.

With all Apple Watches that operate on the watchOS 11 (such as the Apple Watch Ultra that I'm using), you can access the Vitals app only on your Apple watch.

The app, which acts as a snapshot of all your health metrics (it condenses all the vital health data from your iPhone's Health app into a daily health summary), validates the rule as I notice it shows improved Heart Rate and Respiratory data whenever I edge closer to meeting the 7:1 rule.

1. Sleep Focus and Schedules

One of the most important things you should do before tracking your sleep (besides enabling sleep tracking and, y'know, remembering to put your Apple Watch on) is to make sure your watch and phone is in Sleep Focus mode.

This mode prepares your watch for tracking, can silence distracting notifications from your chosen apps (from social media to work emails), and dims and simplifies your watch face and phone lock screen. (My phone's lock screen wallpaper is covered in snoozing emoji faces when Sleep Focus mode).

You can manually activate the Sleep Focus mode via the Control Center of your watch or iPhone, but my Focus mode turns on automatically thanks to the Sleep Schedules function.

This function allows you to set your preferred bedtime and wake-up time, which then creates bedtime reminders and morning alarms.

Both the Sleep Focus mode and Sleep Schedules are helping me to stick to 7:1 sleep by encouraging me to go to bed and wake up within a 1-hour window. This sleep regularity is resetting my circadian rhythm, preparing my body clock for sleep at the right time.

2. Wind Down feature

While the Apple Watch's sleep schedule creates a sleep plan for you, the Wind Down feature helps you stick to the plan by limiting distractions (in a similar way to the Sleep Focus mode) and preparing you for sleep by launching relaxing activities like mediation for calming music.

The great thing about this feature is that you can turn it on just minutes or even hours before your bedtime, and it also activates the Sleep Focus mode outside your sleep schedule.

Mine is set 30 minutes before bed, but a one or two hour wind down is great if you want to stick to the 10-3-2-1-0 rule for longer sleep and consistent routines.

3. Vitals app

Launched in 2024 as part of the watchOS 11 update, the Vitals App provides a condensed view of your health metrics (a.k.a. vitals), such as respiratory rate and blood oxygen levels, as well as your sleep duration.

These metrics give me key insights into my sleep and potential sleep disorders. For example, my blood-oxygen levels are consistently high, meaning I can rule out sleep conditions such as sleep apnea as a cause if my sleep data shows frequent awakenings.

The Vitals App can show you when your metrics are "within typical range" or when your health metrics are higher or lower than usual. The Vitals App can also suggest reasons behind the change. For example, if your heart rate becomes more elevated, the app suggests it could be caused by consuming too much caffeine.

On the flip side, when you follow the 7:1 sleep rule and improve your sleep, your health metrics may improve, such as a lowered heart or respiratory rate.

Why I’m not chasing perfect sleep

It would be remiss of me not to mention one important thing to remember when tracking your sleep with an Apple Watch: Don't use it to chase the perfect sleep because the perfect sleep doesn't not exist.

Becoming fixated with your sleep data will likely exacerbate any sleep issues you're experiencing — this phenomenon even has a name: orthosomnia.

The study behind the 7:1 sleep rule emphasised focusing on the rule for five days a week to help you reap the longevity-boosting benefits, so don't beat yourself up if you sleep in on a Saturday morning or experience a bout of the Sunday scaries. It's all about trying to improve your sleep when you're able (and willing) to.

Besides, tracking my sleep has actually made me feel less worried about my sleep.

Despite an average sleep duration of less than seven hours a night, I'm consistently achieving high sleep scores (sometimes in the 90s), experiencing a normal amount of short nighttime wake-ups, and seeing health metrics that indicate I'm not experiencing any sleep disorders.

Science has even shown that some people are just "short sleepers", thriving on six hours a night without any health drawbacks.

All in all, I'm happy with my sleep, but I'm more than happy to improve it, too.

Circle or square? Garmin or Apple Watch? I review smartwatches for a living, and I frequently get asked about the differences between these two smartwatch powerhouses. So, let’s break it down.

Compared across six categories, here's how the popular, entry-level Garmin Forerunner 165 compares to the beloved, also entry-level Apple Watch SE 3. Short on time? Skip to my verdict at the end for the TLDR.

Specs compared

1. Price

Both smartwatches start at $249. When it comes to the SE 3, that price reflects the smaller 40mm model without cellular; the 44mm non-cellular SE 3 is $279. Add $50 to the cost of either for 5G connectivity capabilities.

The Garmin Forerunner 165 additionally comes in a ‘Music’ edition with extra onboard storage to save tunes for offline listening for $299.

Winner: draw

2. Design and durability

Both watches boast 50 meters of water resistance, enough for short, surface-level swims. Durability is also pretty similar, though the Garmin has a slightly raised bezel that protects the screen, while the Apple Watch does not.

Speaking of screens, the Forerunner 165 sports a 1.2-inch AMOLED panel with a max screen brightness of roughly 1,000 nits. The Apple Watch SE 3, meanwhile, sports either a 1.57-inch or 1.78-inch LTPO OLED screen, depending on which size you choose. It also maxes out at 1,000 nits.

The Forerunner 165 weighs a little more than the SE 3, but both wear quite comfortably on my 6.5-inch wrist. The Garmin offers more physical buttons on the side of the case, five in total, compared to two on the Apple Watch. Both devices are also touch-sensitive and quite responsive in use.

Winner: draw

3. Fitness tracking and training

While the Apple Watch SE 3 offers a decent amount of fitness-tracking and training tools, they aren’t as vast as what you get from the Forerunner 165, especially if you are a runner.

Apple’s Workout Buddy feature, for example, is designed to provide custom-tailored plans for folks prepping for a race or event. We found it useful from a motivational standpoint, but far less impressive than Garmin Coach, which similarly helps you prep for a running event, just way more effectively.

Overall, whether you’re a runner or not, Garmin’s training tools are a lot more extensive than Apple’s. For example, the Foreunner 165 provides adaptive training tips, completion time predictions (for runners), recovery time recommendations, daily workout suggestions, insights into heart rate variability (HRV), ‘training effect’ insights or how your workouts are impacting your overall performance, fitness age predictions, and more.

I also prefer the level of detail you get from Garmin’s nightly sleep tracking compared to Apple’s. Garmin’s Morning Reports tell you more than sleep time and how long you spent in each of the sleep cycles. It additionally provides a training outlook based on your quality of rest and recent workouts, along with your HRV status.

When it comes to tracking accuracy, both watches have onboard GPS and altimeters for location and elevation data, without a paired smartphone. In my testing, the Apple Watch SE 3 and Garmin Forerunner 165 have each proven reliable fitness trackers, though the former occasionally spits out inflated elevation data after outdoor workouts, like runs, walks, and hikes. You can also expect highly accurate heart rate data from each.

Both watches track a wide range of workout types from indoor, gym-based exercises to more extreme outdoor activities like mountain climbing and snowboarding.

Ultimately, for casual athletes wishing to keep tabs on their physical fitness, the Apple Watch SE 3 should serve you fine. However, if fitness and training are your primary focus, the Garmin Forerunner 165 is going to be a better choice.

Winner: Garmin Forerunner 165

4. Smarts and connectivity

While the Forerunner 165 has the SE 3 beat with physical fitness tools, the Apple Watch smokes the Garmin at smart features and connectivity.

For example, the Forerunner 165’s list of smart features is rather short: NFC for mobile payments, onboard music storage (Forerunner 165 Music only), access to a small selection of apps via the Garmin Connect I.Q. store (watch faces, too), and… not much more.

While you can view mirror notifications, including texts, from your smartphone on the Forerunner 165, you can’t reply to them. It also doesn’t have a microphone or speaker for taking calls.

On the flip side, the Apple Watch SE 3 is absolutely brimming with smarts, including access to the world’s largest smartwatch app store, where you’ll find a dizzying array of third-party options. There are also loads of useful smart apps built in, from the Notes app and Voice Memo app, to Apple Maps for navigation and Walkie-Talkie mode for quick communication.

The SE 3 also sports an onboard microphone and speaker for taking calls from the wrist. And if you opt for the 5G-capable model, you can even take and receive calls sans smartphone.

Winner: Apple Watch SE 3

5. Safety features

Apple and Garmin both take safety seriously. The Forerunner 165, for example, has Garmin’s LiveTrack tool, which lets friends and loved ones track your location from afar while you’re, say, running a marathon or taking on an epic hike. It also has Incident Detection, which can alert rescuers and/or loved ones to your location if a fall or crash is detected.

The SE 3 similarly has a crash/fall detection feature, as well as Apple’s Check In safety feature, which, like LiveTrack, keeps loved ones informed of your location. One safety tool that’s unique to the SE 3 is emergency SOS, which lets users contact 911 by holding the side button.

Ultimately, while this one is pretty close, the Apple Watch SE 3 offers slightly more ways to stay safe than the Garmin Forerunner 165.

Winner: Apple Watch SE 3

6. Battery life

When it comes to battery life, there’s really no comparison. Even with low-power mode switched on, the Apple Watch SE 3 is only good for roughly 32 hours (18 hours in standard mode). With GPS tracking enabled, you can expect about 7 hours of use.

On the other hand, the Garmin Forerunner 165 lasts for up to 11 days per charge or 20 days in battery saver mode. When tracking a workout with GPS, battery life is good for between 17 and 19 hours.

Winner: Garmin Forerunner 165

Verdict

Which is the better smartwatch, the Apple Watch SE 3 or the Garmin Forerunner 165? If you’re a runner or primarily looking to track your fitness journey, the Garmin is a better choice than the Apple Watch, thanks to its comprehensive set of training and recovery tools. It’s also the superior option for battery life.

Alternatively, if you’re after a well-rounded smartwatch that can track your workout, plays nicely with a seemingly endless number of third-party apps, keeps you connected to loved ones, and works seamlessly with your smartphone, the Apple Watch SE 3 will likely be a better choice than the Garmin Forerunner 165.

What do you think, which smartwatch do you prefer, the Garmin Forerunner 165 or the Apple Watch SE 3? Let me know your favorite and why in the comments below.

Overall winner: draw

More from Tom's Guide

• I walked 7,500 steps with the Apple Watch SE 3 vs Amazfit Active Max — and there's a clear winner
• I review smartwatches for a living, but these are 5 reasons why I sometimes still wear a 'dumb' watch
• Garmin’s rumored screen-less wearable just might be the subscription-free Whoop rival I’ve been waiting for

As a daily Apple Watch wearer, I’m forever on the hunt for the perfect watch strap. While the Nike Sports Loop has been my go-to on the Apple Watch SE 3, and before that, the Series 10, over the past few weeks, a new strap has climbed the ranks, knocking the Sports Loop out of the top spot.

And for good reason. The Solace Imperium Adapt strap for Apple Watch has a lot going for it, including a comfortable, PFA-free design made of stretchy, sweat-wicking nylon. It’s also available in a huge selection of stylish colors and patterns, and costs less than the Nike Sports Loop.

But that's not all! Below are the five biggest reasons I recommend the Solace Adapt as your next Apple Watch strap.

1. Comfortable and adjustable

Few things bother me more than an itchy or abrasive watch band, which is to say, I have zero tolerance for crappy, low-grade silicon or rubber straps. Fortunately, this strap is anything but scratchy.

That said, right out of the box, the Solance Imperium Adapt is a tad stiff, but things start softening up after a day or two of wear. Made from stretchy nylon knitted in a Chevron-style pattern, the Adapt is plush without feeling thick.

It can also fit wrists as large as ~9 inches or as slender as ~4 inches. The magnetic clasp slides up and down the strap, letting you dial in just the right fit for maximum comfort, whether you like to wear your smartwatch loosey-goosy or nice and tight.

2. Breathable, sweat-wicking, and fast drying

The knitted nylon is highly breathable. I get pretty sweaty when I work out, and I found the Solace strap just as comfortable, if not more so, than the Nike Sports Loop.

The thick knitted pattern also allows the straps to dry really quickly. I ran my Apple Watch SE 3 + Solace strap on the sink for about thirty seconds to see how long it would retain moisture for. Afterwards, I gave the strap a quick blot with a paper towel and put it back on my wrist. Less than an hour later, there was no dampness to speak of.

3. Machine washable

With so much contact time with the body, your smartwatch and strap are probably filthy. While it’s recommended that you wash your Nike Sports Loop by hand, the Solace Imperium Adapt strap for Apple Watch is machine washable.

Better yet, it comes with a lifetime warranty, so feel free to toss it in with your other stinky workout gear.

4. Tons of stylish designs to choose from

As of publishing, the Solace Imperium Adapt strap for Apple Watch is available in no fewer than 24 styles, including my favorite, ‘Calypso,’ shown here. They should also accommodate nearly any Apple Watch model ever made, with one size for 38, 40, 41, and 42mm watches and another for 44, 45, 46, and 49mm models.

I opted for the larger, which means that my Calypso Solace strap not only fits my 44mm Apple Watch SE 3, but also the Apple Watch Series 11 (46mm) and Apple Watch Ultra 3 review units I have in for testing.

5. Nifty magnetic clasp closure

Last but not least, I’m a huge fan of the magnetic buckle system on the Solace Imperium Adapt strap. As noted above, the receiving half of the buckle can be slid up and down, allowing the strap to accommodate an enormous range of wrist sizes.

When the top of the buckle, with the logo, is placed over the bottom, the two lock together with a satisfyingly audible ‘click.’ More importantly, the magnets are strong enough to ensure a secure closure

Priced at $39.99 via Amazon— $10 less than the Nike Sports Loop — the Solance Imperium Adapt strap is my new go-to for the Apple Watch for the foreseeable future. Stay tuned for a long-term review.

More from Tom's Guide

• I review smartwatches for a living, but these are 5 reasons why I sometimes still wear a 'dumb' watch
• Apple Watch Series 12 rumors — everything we know so far
• Garmin’s rumored screen-less wearable just might be the subscription-free Whoop rival I’ve been waiting for

Lately, I’ve started running again, using my Apple Watch Series 9 to keep track of my workouts. While it’s been phenomenal at showing me the week-over-week improvements I’ve been making, I’m still forced to bring my iPhone 17 Pro on all of my runs.

It’s annoying because the whole point of wearing the best smartwatch around my wrist is to free myself from my iPhone when I exercise, so it’s one less thing I have to worry about. The problem is partly due to how the YouTube Music app doesn’t let me download music locally to my Apple Watch. Instead, it simply functions as a glorified Bluetooth controller to access the app's functions on my iPhone — and that’s not helpful at all.

That’s why I’ve started wearing a Google Pixel Watch 3 on my other wrist, simply to allow me to listen to my music without my phone. Don’t get me wrong, I love my Apple Watch, but it desperately needs to fix this. Here’s why.

YouTube Music app for watchOS is just a controller

Obviously, I like the convenience of using my Apple Watch to control the music I’m listening to on my AirPods Pro 3. At first, it wasn’t a problem because I was carrying my iPhone whenever I went for a run. However, the moment I left my home without my phone, the music immediately stopped.

I soon realized that I needed my iPhone on me to use the YouTube Music app on my Apple Watch. I thought it might work if my watch were connected to Wi-Fi — and it did, even when I put my phone into airplane mode. But the moment I stepped out to run without my iPhone, it stopped working.

You can imagine my frustration by this point, but it’s apparent that the app is nothing more than a controller. I verified this by shutting down my iPhone completely, at which point I was finally given a message that my phone was disconnected and out of range.

Standalone streaming on Pixel Watch

After a couple of days trying to figure out what to do, I decided to set up an old Pixel Watch 3 I previously used — and not surprisingly, it works like a charm. For context, both my Apple Watch and Pixel Watch are LTE versions with active cellular data plans. These plans allow them to operate independently, but the Pixel Watch is the only one that truly severs the tether to a phone.

I’ve paired my Pixel Buds Pro 2 with my Pixel Watch 3, which lets me stream my entire library while I’m running. Beyond that, it also stores songs from my Downloads playlist locally, so I’m not forced to constantly stream and eat up my data.

It’s honestly the only fix I have until Google addresses this. You read that right: it’s actually Google that needs to fix this, not Apple.

Apple has the door open, but Google hasn’t walked through

This is more of a Google problem than anything else, as Apple has provided the necessary APIs for developers to stream and locally store songs on the Apple Watch. In fact, I can already stream via LTE using apps like Spotify and Pandora.

Yet, the YouTube Music app for watchOS remains reluctant to offer this simple functionality — which serves as a massive incentive to choose a Pixel Watch over an Apple Watch. You could argue that I should just subscribe to another music streaming service, but that’s just throwing money away.

I might look weird wearing two smartwatches for now, but I’m going to have to do it until Google decides to stop gatekeeping its best features and actually support the platforms its customers are using.

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• I review smartwatches for a living, but these are 5 reasons why I sometimes still wear a 'dumb' watch
• Apple Watch Series 12 rumors — everything we know so far
• Garmin’s rumored screen-less wearable just might be the subscription-free Whoop rival I’ve been waiting for

I review smartwatches and other wearable tech for a living, but sometimes, I swap out my Apple Watch (or Garmin, Samsung, Google, etc.) for a good-old-fashioned ‘dumb’ watch. And you know what? You should, too.

Beyond telling the time, a traditional watch also allows you to better disconnect from an often overwhelming digital world, while showing off your personal style, and/or accessorizing your outfit. Below are the five biggest reasons why I recommend placing your smartwatch on sabbatical from time to time in favor of something a bit less fussy.

1. You're in formal wear

Say it with me now, “No smartwatches with formal wear.” And one more time for the folks in the back, “NO SMARTWATCHES WITH FORMAL WEAR.”

Just imagine if James Bond wore an Apple Watch Ultra 3 instead of his classic Omega Seamaster or Rolex Submariner (depending on the era of 007). Rather than being the smooth-talking, immaculately-dressed spy we’ve all come to know and love, suddenly, he’s more finance bro than action hero.

Smartwatches are incredibly amazing devices, with serious benefits from health and fitness tracking tools to safety and communication features. However, nothing makes a finely tailored suit or an elegant evening dress look tackier than a glowing mini-computer on the wrist.

So, next time you’re dressing up, whether for a wedding, a fancy date night, the opera, a funeral, etc., skip the Apple Watch and opt for a dressy dumb watch instead.

2. To take a break from the health stats

The best smartwatches are brimming with features to encourage a healthy, active lifestyle. Moreover, attempting to keep a healthy streak going, whether it's hitting a certain daily step count or getting eight hours of sleep every night, is a great way to develop and maintain new habits.

Sometimes, though, you just need a break, and that’s okay! After all, all those metrics and physical health tracking insights can at times be a detriment to one’s mental health. I certainly feel this way occasionally, which is why I make a point of going for walks and workouts sans smartwatch every so often.

Thankfully, most smartwatches make it easy to skip a day or two without affecting your physical fitness achievements. Apple, for example, lets users pause their Activity Rings at any time without penalty, i.e., you won’t ruin a hard-earned Ring-closing streak.

3. You appreciate vintage charm

There’s no such thing as a vintage smartwatch, unless you want to count some of Garmin’s earliest Forerunner models, which look more like digital kitchen timers on a strap than actual smartwatches.

On the flip side, you can spend the rest of your life combing through the seemingly endless and complex back catalogue that is 100+ years of mechanical and battery-powered quartz watches.

Whether we’re talking the fun, color-splashed plastic Swatches and retro-futuristic Casios of the 1980s and 90s, or older all-metal mechanical wonders from legendary brands like Cartier, Longines, and IWC, vintage watches offer infinitely more personality than any modern smartwatch.

And while the aforementioned big-name mechanical brands are often quite spendy, wallet-friendly, vintage-inspired alternatives from companies like Timex, Orient, and Seiko offer all the fun of an actual heirloom timepiece, without breaking the bank.

4. Durability and water resistance are paramount

Most smartwatches offer just 50 meters of water resistance, which is enough to keep your watch protected for short periods of surface-level swimming, but not snorkeling, diving, or high-impact water sports.

Smartwatches also don’t mix well with salt water, unless you thoroughly rinse the device after every swim with fresh water. Similarly, you should never wear your smartwatch in a hot tub, sauna, or similar environments.

So, what’s a guy to do when he’s looking to take the soak of the century, but still wants to know the time? I grab my trusty $99 G-Shock and a towel, without a second thought.

Offering a whopping 200 meters of water resistance, a shockproof case, and an overall design that's basically indestructible, it just might be the toughest bang-for-your-buck dumb watch in existence; mine has survived years of hot tub soaks and still works like a charm.

5. You need a digital detox

Last but not least, occasionally, a digital detox is in order. And frankly, I highly recommend taking at least one day off a month from all your tech gadgets. That’s right, leave your smartphone, earbuds, and smartwatch at home.

Need to tell the time? Look at a dumb watch. Want to look up somewhere to eat? Ask an actual human for advice! Bored without music or podcasts trumpeting in your ears? Try enjoying the sounds of the city or nature instead.

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While it remains unlikely that 2026 will deliver a replacement for the Apple Watch Ultra 3 or SE 3, a flagship Apple Watch Series 12 debut is all but certain. Apple has added a new model to the lineup every year ever since the very first Apple Watch launched.

With plenty of leaks and rumors to go off of, we already have a general idea of what the Series 12 could deliver, from health and fitness tech upgrades to design tweaks and display improvements. Read on for everything we know about the Apple Watch Series 12 so far.

Apple Watch 12: Price and release date predictions

Apple tends to hold an annual launch event in the second week of September, and this year is likely no exception. The Apple Watch Series 12 will likely debut alongside the new iPhone 18 lineup, with a starting price of $399, the same starting cost as the Series 11.

Apple usually opens up preorders on the Friday following a Tuesday product announcement, with units hitting store shelves in the weeks that follow. Again, I suspect this will be the case for the Series 12.

Apple Watch 12: Health and fitness tech rumors

One of the juiciest Apple Watch 12 rumors hints at a new holistic sensor tech on the bottom of the device. According to DigiTimes (via Wccftech), the Series 12 could feature a brand-new eight-sensor array arranged in a ring pattern (similar to the Series 11). This might mean that new health metrics are coming to the Series 12, or, at the very least, improved accuracy for existing metrics.

We may additionally see an expansion of Apple’s groundbreaking Hypertension Alerts feature. According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple’s most prolific insider for hints at murmurs about future products, Cupertino is hard at work on a wrist-based blood pressure monitor. However, there seems to be considerable doubt that the technology is ready for a primetime debut this year.

On-wrist blood glucose monitoring is another focus for the Apple Watch team, but according to Gurman, that tech is even further out than blood pressure monitoring.

Apple is additionally working on a massive overhaul of the Health app, according to Bloomberg's Gurman, featuring an AI-powered, personalized wellness concierge. The concept is apparently code-named Project Mulberry, and in theory, could bring all of a user’s health, fitness, and medical data under the roof of a singular app.

That said, like blood pressure and blood glucose monitoring, we have no confirmation that an overhauled Health app will be launch-ready by September.

Apple Watch 12: Design and display rumors

The Apple Watch 12 will almost certainly be more power-efficient than its predecessor thanks to an upgraded S12 chip. It could also deliver a less power-hungry LTPO display. I’d personally like to see Apple increase the screen brightness on the Series 12 to 3,000 nits (from 2,000 nits) to better match competition from Samsung and Google.

While some rumors hint at a massive design overhaul for the case, that seems somewhat unlikely, given that 2024’s Series 10 ushered in an updated design and Apple only tends to switch things up every four-ish launch cycles. Moreover, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman says a major design shift is unlikely for the Series 12.

One of the more interesting rumors that has been around for a while is the addition of a front-facing camera to the Apple Watch Series 12. This likely wouldn’t be for taking pictures, but rather for unlocking the screen with Face ID or for AI-backed visual scene and object recognition. The best iPhone models already have a similar Visual Search tool that uses the camera. Perhaps Cupertino is bringing the tech to the Apple Watch next.

Finally, according to a report from Macworld, the Apple Watch Series 12 could introduce a long-retired iPhone feature to the Apple Watch: Touch ID. Of course, it makes little sense for the device to offer both Touch ID and Face ID to unlock the watch, so probably only one of these rumors is true.

Apple Watch 12: Outlook

Last year’s Apple Watch Series 11 represented a fairly minor upgrade over the Series 10, with the primary benefit being better battery performance. This makes me hopeful that the Series 12 will be an even bigger jump in performance and features.

A redesigned holistic sensor array would definitely be a big deal, especially if it unlocks new wellness insights. The same can be said for blood pressure monitoring. I’m additionally intrigued by the concept of an onboard camera as a real-world visual search tool.

What do you think? Is the Apple Watch Series 12 something you're excited for, and if so, what features are you hoping for the most? Let me know in the comments below.

More from Tom's Guide

• 10 Apple Watch innovations that changed the game — from Fall Detection to Hypertension Alerts
• I walked 5,000 steps with the Garmin Forerunner 570 vs Apple Watch Ultra 3 — and the winner was nearly too close to call
• Garmin’s rumored screen-less wearable just might be the subscription-free Whoop rival I’ve been waiting for

If you have an Apple ecosystem at home, you probably already know the rarity of finding a good deal from the iPhone maker. With the most affordable Apple products still costing upwards of AU$800, it's safe to say that an Apple purchase is a certified investment.

That said, any discounts that undercut Apple devices by 10% or more are worth cheering for, and these killer prices I've just found are no exception.

Now celebrating its fiftieth year, Apple has cheekily discounted a range of its best-sellers on Amazon. With up to 40% off Apple Watches, MacBooks, iPhones, iPads, and accompanying accessories, Apple's Amazon storefront has a complete list of discounted items.

To get you started on finding your next Apple product, I've handpicked my favourite nine deals below. With hot prices across the latest Apple Watch 11, AirPods 4 and iPhone Air, these discounts aren't exclusive to older products, which is a big win in my book.

You'll need to act fast to secure an Apple bargain, though — these Amazon prices won't stick around too long!

I’m a fitness editor and marathon runner, and I’ve been wearing the Apple Watch for the past decade and I’m here to tell you about the simple feature you’re probably not using — Heart Rate Zones. When used correctly, they can transform your watch from a simple heart rate monitor, to a far more sophisticated tool that can help you train smarter, and avoid injuries.

Apple introduced heart rate zones onto its watches in September 2022, giving wearers the option to track exercise intensity in real-time across five different zones. These zones are calculated automatically based on health data, or you can adjust them manually — read on to find out how.

How to adjust your heart rate zones

If you’re already wearing one of the best Apple Watches, your watch will already have been collecting data to estimate your heart rate zones, based on your current fitness level. This is generally more accurate than the “220-age” formula, but if you’ve done tests to find your specific Max Heart Rate, you can enter your own data to make your data more reliable.

To find your heart rate zones during a cardio workout, use the digital crown to scroll upward, and the heart rate zones will appear. You’ll see your current BPM, your current color-coded zone, and how much time you’ve spent in each zone so far.

To manually adjust your heart rate zones, head to the Watch App on your iPhone, click My Watch in the bottom left, then scroll to Workout, then Heart Rate Zones. From here, switch from Automatic to Manual, and tap on each zone to enter your specific BPM ranges.

What are the benefits of using the Heart Rate Zones when training?

‘Zone 2’ training

You’ve probably heard about the magic zone 2, but it is not just another fitness fad, it's a scientifically proven method utilized by athletes and fitness enthusiasts alike to enhance cardiovascular fitness and endurance. For example, one study published in the Healthcare journal demonstrates how a group of cross-country ski athletes improved their athletic performance by taking up zone two training. It’s not limited to skiing, it's a popular training method used frequently in endurance sports like running, cycling and swimming.

Training in zone 2 can improve the body’s mitochondrial efficiency, meaning your body is more efficient at burning fat for fuel. By keeping an eye on your Apple Watch during your training you can ensure you’re not pushing yourself too hard during ‘easy’ runs.

Prevents overtraining

It’s a common pitfall many runners fall into — pushing too hard on days that are supposed to be ‘easy’. The Apple Watch color-codes the different zones, so if you see yourself pushing into the red zone 5 on a recovery cycling session, it’s a signal to slow down. This helps prevent injuries in training blocks.

Teaches you about effort awareness

If you’re run down, exhausted or getting ill, your heart rate will tell you. Training to your heart rate will help give you a better idea of how to “feel” your intensity. Most running coaches will stress the importance of being able to hold a conversation in a Zone 2 jog, but if you’re running alone, it can be tricky to gage how to pace your run. Using your heart rate is a great indicator.

What’s more, as you get fitter and stronger, your heart rate zones will change as your resting heart rate will drop, and your heart will become more efficient at clearing lactic acid. The Apple Watch will update your zones automatically, helping you to increase your pace, while still ensuring you’re not pushing yourself too hard.

More from Tom's Guide

• 5 Apple Watch settings you should change right now for more accurate heart rate tracking
• 7 hidden Apple Watch features I swear by
• I walked 5,000 steps with the Garmin Forerunner 570 vs Apple Watch Ultra 3 — and the winner was nearly too close to call

The first Apple Watch debuted almost 11 years ago on April 24, 2015, and while Cupertino didn’t invent the smartwatch, Apple’s square-shaped wearable is easily the most popular and recognizable smartwatch in the world today.

2026 marks 50 years of Apple, and to celebrate the brand’s history, I’ve taken a look back through the brand’s entire catalog of smartwatches — from the original ‘Series 0’ to the current Series 11, Ultra 3, and SE 3 — to narrow down the ten most significant Apple Watch innovations that revolutionized wearable tech.

2015: First Apple Watch debuts

The year is 2015. ‘Uptown Funk’ is booming on the car stereo, ‘Pizza Rat’ is trending on Instagram (TikTok has yet to launch in the U.S), selfie sticks have invaded public space en masse, and Apple has a shiny new wearable computer called the Apple Watch.

The original Apple Watch lacked the health, fitness, and safety features found in the best Apple Watch models in 2026. It also lacked waterproofing, cellular connectivity, and onboard GPS, relying on a paired phone for location data. The device was groundbreaking and hugely popular, nonetheless.

A status symbol for techies, Apple moved over eight million smartwatches in the first year it went on sale. Like today’s flagship, the original model came in two sizes, with a starting price of $349 for the 38mm model and $399 for the 42mm option. Key features included support for Apple Pay, an onboard heart rate monitor, and Apple’s nifty digital crown.

The first Apple Watch also debuted alongside the official Apple Watch App Store, which offered roughly 3,000 apps at launch.

2016: Onboard GPS

The following year, Apple announced the Apple Watch Series 1 and Apple Watch Series 2, beginning an annual September release schedule that the brand still sticks to today. These upgraded models had the same basic design as the original, but now with splash-resistance, and perhaps more notably, onboard GPS.

This meant that users could now track an outdoor workout on their watch without having to carry along a phone for location data, a huge perk for runners, walkers, hikers, and cyclists.

2017: Apple Watch goes cellular

Apple wasn’t the first brand to offer a cellular-capable smartwatch — that was Samsung — but 2017’s Apple Watch Series 3 certainly popularized the concept of on-wrist connectivity, sans-smartphone. For the first time, Apple Watch wearers could receive calls and messages on their watch with no phone in sight.

The LTE-capable Apple Watch Series 3 model used eSIM to connect to mobile internet, with the watch’s display serving as the cellular antenna.

2018: Fall Detection

One of Apple’s most well-known safety features, Fall Detection, officially made its debut in 2018 alongside the Apple Watch Series 4. Now a mainstay on all Apple Watch models, Fall Detection uses the device’s onboard gyroscope and accelerometer to determine when a user takes a tumble and how hard they fell.

In 2022, Apple expanded on this useful bit of safety tech by adding car Crash Detection via the Apple Watch Series 8. Like Fall Detection, it can automatically call for help in an emergency and share location data with loved ones and rescuers if you’re unresponsive.

2018: FDA-approved ECG readings

2018's Apple Watch Series 4 was also the first smartwatch on the market with FDA-approved electrocardiogram (ECG) functionality capable of detecting Atrial fibrillation (AFib).

This was the exact moment, in my mind, that the Apple Watch began to shift away from being a companion device to the iPhone, focused on connectivity features, and more of a standalone device centered around a user’s health, fitness, and safety.

ECG reading took just 30 seconds and required you to simply press your thumb and finger against the digital crown and back of the device. Two years later, Samsung would add a similar FDA-approved ECG functionality via the Galaxy Watch 3.

2019: Always-on display

The Apple Watch Series 5 in 2019 ushered in the era of always-on displays. The watch’s innovative LTPO panel allowed the screen to remain active at all times, using a low refresh rate to save battery.

This meant that your Apple Watch could now display the time and your choice of complications without the need to raise your wrist, tap the screen, or press a button to wake it. It’s worth noting that Apple was far from the first smartwatch maker to introduce an always-on display, but the brand no doubt popularized the feature.

2020: Blood oxygen monitoring

2020’s Apple Watch Series 6 saw the introduction of another marquee health feature: blood oxygen saturation (SpO2) monitoring. While the Series 6 was one of the world’s first mainstream smartwatches with the feature, its debut would ultimately land Apple in hot legal water with rival, Masimo, which claimed to own the patents behind the tech.

The Apple vs Masimo debacle would ultimately result in a U.S. import ban on later Apple Watch models (the Series 9 and Ultra 2) and years of back-and-forth litigation.

Nevertheless, the feature launched just in time for the COVID-19 pandemic. By monitoring the percentage of oxygen in a user’s bloodstream (anything 95% and up is considered ‘normal'), the feature could potentially indicate early signs of a viral infection based on consistently low readings. Of course, it was no substitute for an actual COVID-19 test.

2022: Apple Watch Ultra debuts

2020 also gave us the debut of the more wallet-friendly Apple Watch SE, with a starting price of $279. However, it would be another two years before Apple’s tough-built Apple Watch Ultra arrived.

Arguably the most groundbreaking model since the debut of the very first Apple Watch Series 0, the $799 Ultra promised far better battery, a tougher build quality with a sapphire crystal display and titanium alloy case, an additional, programmable ‘Action Button,’ and double the water resistance of the standard and SE models. It also offered a massive, ultra-bright screen packed into a larger-than-life 49mm case.

Designed with outdoor enthusiasts and endurance athletes in mind, the Apple Watch Ultra found a curious fanbase amongst tech and finance bros eager to swap out their Rolex Submariner for something even cooler.

2024: Sleep apnea detection

Apple was a little late to the sleep apnea detection train, but 2024 was when Cupertino officially started taking sleep tracking seriously. While prior models monitored your sleep patterns and total time spent resting, this was the first time the Apple Watch could inform you whether signs of the deadly condition, which often goes unnoticed, are present in your sleep data.

For sleep apnea detection to work, users need to wear their Apple Watch Series 9 or newer for at least ten nights in 30 days.

2025: Hypertension alerts

As of writing, hypertension alerts remain unique to only Apple Watches. Offered on the Series 9 and newer, along with the Ultra 2 and 3, the device needs 30 days of wrist data to predict whether or not the user shows potential signs of high blood pressure.

To do this, the watch uses the onboard heart rate sensor to monitor how your blood vessels respond to your heartbeat. That data gets fed through an algorithm to determine whether or not the user is at risk of hypertension.

(Honorable mention) 2025: Satellite SOS messaging

Currently only available on the Apple Watch Ultra 3, the new emergency SOS messaging feature is designed to let users connect to rescuers and/or loved ones from off-the-grid via satellite with the ability to share location data and a text-based message.

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• I walked 5,000 steps with the Garmin Forerunner 570 vs Apple Watch Ultra 3 — and the winner was nearly too close to call

Apple versus Google: Which brand makes the better smartwatch for tracking fitness? To find out, I strapped the best smartwatch model from each to opposite wrists and embarked on a 6,000-step walk around my neighborhood.

As a control for step count data — the primary metric we'll use to determine our fitness tracking accuracy champion — I manually counted my paces; a click of my trusty, old-school tally counter marked every hundred taken.

So, which top-shelf smartwatch, the Apple Watch Ultra 3 or Google Pixel Watch 4 XL, proved victorious in my comparison? Read on.

Apple Watch Ultra 3 vs Google Pixel Watch 4 XL

Unlike Apple and Samsung, Google doesn't offer an 'Ultra' model in the brand's current smartwatch lineup. This means that the Pixel Watch 4 XL (45mm), with superior battery life but a higher price tag than its smaller (41mm) sibling, is Google's most capable and exspensive model.

Starting at $399 for the non-cellular model or $449 for LTE connectivity, the Pixel Watch 4 is notably cheaper than the $799 Apple Watch Ultra 3. Despite this, you get better battery performance from the Google option, along with support for Google's AI-powered virtual assistant Gemini, while Ultra 3 owners are stuck with a dated, non-AI version of Siri.

That said, the Ultra 3 is a tougher-built device, with 100 meters of water resistance and a titanium case, compared to 50 meters and aluminum. Ultimately, though, none of these differences should impact either model's ability to count my steps accurately.

With that, on to the walk test!

I walked 6,000 steps with the Apple Watch Ultra 3 vs Google Pixel Watch 4 XL

For this walk test, I wore the Apple Watch Ultra 3 on my right wrist and the Google Pixel Watch 4 on my left wrist. For additional data to compare the results to, I ran Strava on my iPhone 16 Plus.

With Seattle's cherry blossoms in full bloom and cheery blue skies overhead, I made my way up and down steep hills, past perfectly manicured lawns, quaint bakeries, and no fewer than a dozen 'Little Free Libraries. '

At exactly 6,000 steps, I parked myself on a park bench, ended tracking on all three devices, and catalogued the data. Find the results of my Apple Watch Ultra 3 vs. Pixel Watch 4 XL walk test below.

Apple Watch Ultra 3 vs Google Pixel Watch 4 XL: Walk test results

The Apple Watch Ultra 3 undercounted my efforts by a mere 104 steps, an impressive result and certainly within a reasonable margin for error. However, the Pixel Watch 4 was even closer, with a tally that's just 16 steps over my actual count. Strava, for what it's worth, noted an even closer total of 6,012 steps.

All three tracking methods measure a distance of roughly 3.2 miles, but both Apple and Google noted greater elevation gain than Strava. Assuming, for a moment, that Strava's climb data is correct (the app tends to be on the money in this regard), Apple overcalculated by 51 feet, and Google inflated the climb by 65 feet; neither being an insignificant amount.

Moving on to pace, Strava registered a faster overall speed, but this is likely due to the app's aggressive tendency to pause tracking during even very short breaks in movement. Apple and Google also autopause during stoppages, just less often than Strava.

In terms of heart rate, Apple measured a slightly more elevated average and max compared to Google, but the Pixel Watch 4 noted a tad more calories burned than the Ultra 3. Finally, the Apple Watch used 2% battery to track my roughly 55-minute walk compared to 1% for the Pixel Watch.

Apple Watch Ultra 3 vs Google Pixel Watch 4 XL: And the winner is...

As is often the case with these walk tests, this showdown was a close one. Ultimately, I'm impressed anytime a watch's step count is within a few hundred steps of my actual count, as was the case for both the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Pixel Watch 4 XL here.

However, let's give credit where due: With a step count total of 6,016 — well within a reasonable margin for error — the Google Pixel Watch 4 wins this fitness tracking accuracy showdown.

Does this make the Pixel Watch 4 a better fitness tracker than the Apple Watch Ultra 3? Certainly not! I've tested both of these devices countless times against their peers, and can say with confidence that both are extremely accurate and dependable at monitoring not just your workouts, but your sleep and fitness recovery, too.

Which smartwatches should I test head-to-head next? Let me know in the comments below.

More from Tom's Guide

• Your Google Pixel Watch now has earthquake alerts — here’s why they could be an actual lifesaver
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• I walked 5,000 steps with the Garmin Forerunner 570 vs Apple Watch Ultra 3 — and the winner was nearly too close to call

The Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Garmin Forerunner 970 are two of the best sports watches available, and two of my favorites to wear as a marathoner. I rate the Forerunner 970 as the best running watch money can buy, while the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is the best sporty smartwatch.

I wore both watches to run the Surrey Half Marathon at the weekend, testing their GPS against each other and their heart rate tracking against a chest strap, which I paired to a Coros Pace 4 watch in my pocket.

I had a good day myself, running 1:09:06 for a PR, and both watches were strong on GPS accuracy, but one had a bit of a meltdown with heart rate tracking.

GPS Accuracy

The Surrey Half Marathon mostly takes place on country roads, with the start and finish in the town of Woking. It’s a pretty easy course for GPS accuracy as a result, with no tall buildings and minimal tree cover to stymie satellite signals.

Both watches were close to the official half marathon distance of 13.1 miles, with the Garmin clocking 13.15 miles and the Apple Watch 13.22 miles, so the Forerunner 970 was a little closer to the right distance.

During the race, I was rarely in a big crowd of runners, so I was able to take the most direct racing line throughout and probably only ran a little over the official distance. I think both watches were in the right ballpark.

I also looked at the GPS tracks from the race afterward, and they matched very closely throughout, to the point where I’m not sure how they ended up with even a 0.07-mile disparity. Both are reliable GPS watches for sure.

HR Accuracy

The optical sensors on watches aren't as reliable as a chest strap sensor, which measures electrical signals directly from the heart. I compared the Garmin and Apple readings with the Garmin HRM 600 chest strap for average and maximum heart rate.

Unlike with the GPS accuracy, there was a big difference in the accuracy here, with the Apple Watch Ultra 3 often reading far too high a heart rate, as well as frequently being unable to read my heart rate at all.

Meanwhile, the Forerunner 970 was very close to the reading from the chest strap throughout. It took longer to reach the correct heart rate at the start of the race and had a couple of erroneous dips, but overall, its accuracy was impressive.

Design

This is a small point, but I did notice the extra size and weight of the Apple Watch Ultra 3 compared with the lightweight, slim Forerunner 970. As someone with thin wrists, I prefer the feel of the Garmin on my wrist.

That said, the Apple Watch Ultra 3 has a more premium design and should be more durable thanks to the titanium case.

Verdict

On this occasion, the Garmin Forerunner 970 proved to be the more reliable running watch, with slightly better GPS accuracy and considerably better heart rate accuracy than the Apple Watch Ultra 3. The Forerunner 970 is my go-to watch, so it’s great to see it prove so reliable on race day.

However, I have run many races with both watches and each has proved very reliable for the most part — the Apple Watch Ultra 3 was very good for a marathon test last year, for example — so you can shop either watch with confidence you’re getting a strong option for running.

Running essentials we love

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I walked exactly 5,000 steps with the Apple Watch Ultra 3 on my left wrist and the Garmin Forerunner 570 on my right wrist to find out which is the more accurate step-counter when tracking a walking workout.

As a control for pace, elevation gain, and distance data, I ran ol'reliable, Strava, on an iPhone 16 Plus. Which of these popular, premium smartwatches, the Apple Watch Ultra 3 or Garmin Forerunner 570, came out on top? Read on.

Garmin Forerunner 570 vs Apple Watch Ultra 3

While the Garmin Forerunner 570 is one of the best running watches on the market today, the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is the brand's highest-end, toughest-built model and the best Apple Watch for battery life.

We already tested the Apple Watch Ultra 3 versus the Garmin Forerunner 970, the latter of which is nearly the same price as the former. Cupertino won that showdown (by a very small margin). Will Tim Cook and Co. pull off a repeat win? Find out below.

I walked 5,000 steps with the Garmin Forerunner 570 vs Apple Watch Ultra 3

Despite the emo Seattle skies, today's walk test coincided with the Spring Equinox, and the flowers were out in full bloom, adding a cheerful splash of color and perfume to an otherwise gloomy day.

As noted above, the Apple Watch Ultra 3 adorned my left wrist and the Garmin Forerunner 570 accesorized my right wrist. Note: Both the Garmin and Apple Watch apps allow you to toggle wrist preference. For this test, preferences were correctly set.

To keep an accurate manual count of my steps, I mentally assigned my left foot even steps and my right foot odds. As always, for every hundred steps counted, I clicked my trusty manual tally counter before beginning the count over at one.

It might sound involved, but after a few hundred steps, the process of counting feels like second nature. A high-quality pair of noise-canceling headphones also helps to limit distractions.

Garmin Forerunner 570 vs Apple Watch Ultra 3: Walk test results

The last half dozen smartwatch step count tests I've performed have all been absolute nail-biters when it comes to declaring a winner. The same can be said for this one. It's also worth repeating that being within 100 steps of the actual manual count is considered an excellent result and well within a reasonable margin for error.

While the Apple Watch Ultra 3 ultimately edged out the Garmin Forerunner 570 with a total just 11 steps greater than my actual count, Strava was somehow even closer with a step count total of 5,004.

All three tracking methods measured roughly the same amount of distance covered. Meanwhile, Garmin and Strava pretty much agree on how much elevation gain the walk entailed, while Apple seems to think I climbed 40+ feet more than the competition.

This isn't the first time an Apple Watch has apparently inflated elevation data. I had similar results when I recently tested the Apple Watch Ultra 3 vs. the Garmin Venu 4.

Strava noted a quicker pace than Garmin and Apple, which is par for the course based on numerous previous walk test results. Meanwhile, Apple's average pace proved slowest.

It's always reassuring to see two popular smartwatch models record similar heart rate data for a workout, as is the case here. The same goes for calories burned. Lastly, each device drained about 2% battery during this ~46-minute walk.

Garmin Forerunner 570 vs Apple Watch Ultra 3: And the winner is...

By a margin oh-so-slim, the Apple Watch Ultra 3 proved ever so slightly more accurate at tracking my steps than the Garmin Forerunner 570. So, does this mean you should definitely buy the Apple Watch over the Garmin? Certainly not.

Both devices proved more than accurate enough in this challenge. Ultimately, the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Garmin Forerunner 570 are designed with different customers in mind. The former is a full-featured, rugged smartwatch packed with not just health and fitness tools, but loads of smart functions too.

The Forerunner, on the other hand, is all about helping you train and improve your running. It has far fewer smart features than the Ultra 3, but much better battery life and personalized workout tools.

Which wearables should I test head-to-head next? Let me know in the comments below.

More from Tom's Guide

• 5 reasons why the Apple Watch SE 3 is the smartwatch I recommend most
• 7 hidden Apple Watch features I swear by
• I walked 5,500 steps with the Garmin Forerunner 570 vs Amazfit Active Max — and it's not even close

The best running watches go beyond simply tracking your training; they provide active guidance to help you get fitter and perform at your best. Fueling reminders are a great example of this — your watch can help you stay on top of your nutrition so you don’t run out of energy during long workouts and races.

It’s a feature that I think is especially useful for marathoners, because you need to take on carbs throughout your longest training runs and the race itself to avoid hitting the wall and even with a strict nutrition plan in place it’s easy to forget when you’re 15-20 miles into a run.

All of the best sports watches now offer fueling reminders as a standard feature you can set up, but it’s sometimes buried deep within the menus on the watch, while with some smartwatches you need to download a separate app to get fueling alerts.

I’ve explained how to set up fueling alerts on Apple, Garmin, Coros, and Polar watches below, so if you have one of those strapped to your wrist use this guide to plan your nutrition for your longest runs.

How to set up fuelling alerts on a Garmin watch

You can set alerts based on time or distance in the run activity with the best Garmin watches, here’s how.

1. Open up the run activity and scroll down to run settings.
2. Select ‘Alerts’ and then ‘Add New’
3. Choose ‘Custom’ and then select ‘Eat’
4. Choose either ‘Time’ or ‘Distance’ and set how often you want to get an alert

You can then customize the alert to say whether you want it to repeat or not and also the message that appears — you could set up several alerts and name them to the exact gel or drink you should take at that point.

How to set up fuelling alerts on an Apple Watch

While there’s no explicit nutrition alert option available natively on the Apple Watch or Apple Watch Ultra, you can set recurring time alerts for an activity in the Workout app, which you can use to remind you to eat.

1. Open the ‘Workout’ app and select the running activity you want to use
2. Select the bell icon in the bottom left corner of the screen
3. Scroll down to’ Time’, turn the alert on and select the time interval you want to use

You can get dedicated nutrition alerts by using third-party apps on the Apple Watch, including my favorite run tracking app WorkOutDoors, which has an eat reminder option in its settings screen under ‘Alerts’.

How to set up fuelling alerts on a Coros watch

It’s quick and easy to set up alerts on a Coros watch, but you can only do them based on time, not distance.

1. Open up the run activity and scroll down to ‘Activity Alerts’
2. Scroll down and select ‘Nutrition Alerts’
3. Choose how often you want to get the alerts and turn them on

How to set up fuelling alerts on a Polar watch

Polar’s FuelWise feature is more advanced than the basic alerts you get on other watches, because the smart carbs reminder it offers can suggest when you need more fuel based on the time and intensity of your run.

You can also set manual alerts based on time if you prefer, as well as setting up a separate drinks reminder.

For the smart carbs reminders:

1. Open up the run activity and select ‘Fueling’
2. Choose ‘Smart Carbs Reminder’ and set how long your activity will be — the minimum is 30 minutes
3. Select the expected intensity of your session based on heart rate zones
4. Set the carbs per serving of your fuel — you’ll find this in the nutritional info of a gel or drink
5. Hit ‘Next’ to see an overview of your fueling then start your run
6. Throughout the run you’ll get alerts to take carbs based on the intensity of your workout

For the manual carbs reminder:

1. Open up the run activity and select ‘Fueling’
2. Choose ‘Manual Carbs Reminder’ and set the time interval you want between reminders

Running essentials we love

More from Tom's Guide

• Not the Fenix 9 — this is the new Garmin watch I want to see in 2026
• Coros Pace 4 vs Coros Pace 3 vs Coros Pace Pro: Which is the best Coros watch for you?
• Garmin Fenix 8 vs. Garmin Fenix 8 Pro: should you upgrade?

The London Marathon is one of the most iconic races in the world — trust me, I’m running it for the fifth time this April. Yesterday, Apple announced it was now an official partner of the TCS London Marathon, and it could hint at bigger future announcements for the Apple Watch.

The partnership places Apple amongst some of the biggest names in running, as a sponsor of one of the biggest races in the world. More than 1.13 million people entered the ballot to run the 2026 London Marathon, with this year’s race taking place on Sunday, April 26.

For Apple, this looks to be the next move in its pursuit to be taken seriously as a running wearable, not ‘just’ a lifestyle watch.

Apple has always been more than capable of tracking your runs, but with recent updates, the watch has gotten smarter, especially with the launch of the Apple Watch Ultra 3, with a 42-hour battery life, dual-band GPS, and it’s lap button, which is a massive win for runners.

You can read what happened when our resident 2:25 marathon runner, Nick Harris-Fry, raced a marathon with the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Garmin Fenix 8 Pro here.

Partnering with a global event like the London Marathon further signifies this commitment to running. Personally, as a female runner, I’d love the opportunity to choose a smaller Apple Watch Ultra 3 that would sit more comfortably on my wrist as I clocked up the miles.

What’s more, when comparing the Ultra 3 to any Garmin, it always falls short on battery life.

Of course, as always, Apple remains tight-lipped about future plans and announcement but what Jay Blahnik, Apple’s vice president of Fitness Technologies has said is: “The London Marathon is one of the world’s greatest sporting events and a powerful celebration of the global running community. Apple’s technologies support runners at every level with powerful tools and insights that help them stay motivated, track their progress, and better understand their health and fitness. We couldn’t be more excited to be a partner of the 2026 TCS London Marathon.”

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• 'I’m a Pilates instructor, and I recommend these 5 core exercises to help older clients build strength and improve posture'

Ever woken up from what you thought was a solid eight hours sleep, expecting to find an excellent sleep score on your Apple Watch, only to find one lingering in the low 50s?

Firstly, don’t be disheartened. There are several valid reasons why your score may be lower than you expected. It may well mean the sleep you had wasn’t great quality, or you’re making some common sleep hygiene mistakes.

It can also be caused by a device error.

More importantly, there’s plenty you can do to fix these things to improve your sleep health, sleep tracking, and your sleep score.

To help you get to the bottom of why your Apple sleep score may be low even after clocking the CDC-recommended at least 7 hours sleep a night, this Sleep Awareness Week I’ve called upon sleep specialist at Empower Health, Dr. Sahil Chopra, and medical director at digital sleep clinic Dreem Health, Dr. William Lu.

3 reasons your Apple Watch sleep score is low even if you had enough sleep

• 1. Your sleep was light or fragmented
• 2. You're sleeping at irregular times
• 3. You drank alcohol the night before

Dr. Chopra says that, outside of sleep duration, inconsistency and interruptions are the two drivers of a low score.

The California-based intensivist and pulmonologist explains: “Even if someone slept a full 7 to 8 hours, their score can still come in low if their bedtime and wake time have been inconsistent over the past two weeks, or if their sleep was frequently interrupted, even by brief arousals they don't remember.”

Let's dig into why...

1. Your sleep was light or fragmented

Your Apple Watch may report a ‘low’ sleep score despite eight hours in bed because the score heavily weighs sleep quality over total duration — as it should considering research shows sleep quality matters as much as quantity.

“Devices like the Apple Watch look at restlessness, time awake, heart rate, and breathing patterns, not just total time in bed,” explains Dr. Lu. “If you were tossing and turning, waking up frequently, or spending less time in deep and REM sleep, your score will reflect that.”

For your sleep to be of good quality, you must spend ample time cycling through restorative sleep stages like deep and REM sleep (where your mind and body really recovers), rather than coasting through light sleep, or ‘core sleep’, as Apple terms it.

As your watch deducts points for low amounts of REM or deep sleep, your score can drop regardless of total sleep time.

How to fix it

To improve deep and REM sleep, you must follow healthy sleep habits like getting plenty of sunlight during the day, stick to a consistent sleep schedule (more on that below), avoid caffeine late in the day, and follow a calming bedtime routine.

It’s also worth keeping in mind that the Apple Watch is proven to underestimate the duration of deep sleep by an average 43 minutes and overestimate light sleep by an average of 45 minutes compared to polysomnography.

This is according to a 2024 study by researchers in the Division of Sleep Medicine at Harvard Medical School. So, there’s the possibility of a discrepancy between the sleep you actually had and the data you’re given.

• Read more: Experts explain why your Apple Watch tracks your wrist temperature during sleep — 5 key things it can tell you

2. You’re sleeping at irregular times

Sure you may be clocking eight hours a night, but experts continually say sleep regularity (going to bed and waking up at roughly the same time night in, night out) is crucial to getting good sleep and maintaining good health — and your Apple Watch knows this.

Why so much emphasis on regularity? “Because your body runs on a circadian rhythm that thrives on consistency,” says Dr. Lu. Therefore, “a consistent seven and a half hours will leave you feeling better than an erratic eight or nine,” advises the physician.

Consistent sleep timings help regulate your internal clock, so that your body gets used to releasing sleep-inducing hormones at the right times of day.

A well regulated circadian rhythm helps you fall asleep fast, sleep soundly through the night, and wake up on time, feeling restored; hence why it is such an influential factor in your Apple sleep score.

How to fix it

Dr. Chopra adds: “The absence of regularity is associated with a dysfunctional circadian system, and the downstream consequences are significant: cognitive decline, cardiovascular disease, metabolic dysfunction, and mental health issues.”

A 2023 study in SLEEP Journal found sleep regularity is actually a stronger predictor of all-cause mortality than sleep duration. The results showed people with the most consistent schedules had a 20% to 48% lower risk of death.

Therefore, experts including Dr. Chopra agree that sticking to a consistent sleep schedule is the single most important thing you can do, not only to improve your sleep health and ace your Apple Sleep Score, but to boost your longevity, too.

“From a longevity and precision medicine standpoint, this is one of the highest-leverage behavioral targets we have,” concludes the Harvard Medical School fellow turned CEO.

3. You drank alcohol the night before

“Alcohol, late meals, stress, or heavy workouts close to bedtime can disrupt sleep architecture, which wearables pick up through changes in heart rate variability and movement,” explains Dr. Lu.

Alcohol is specifically harmful to sleep quality because it acts like sedative, so you fall quickly into what you think is a deep sleep. But plenty of scientific studies suggest the initial sedative effect of alcohol will wane as its levels in the blood decrease.

This means that while there may be a reduction in sleep onset latency (the time it takes to fall asleep), your sleep is more likely to be disrupted later in the night.

After drinking, your nighttime heart rate increases (your body must work harder to get rid of the alcohol), which can fragment sleep and stop you entering those restorative and REM stages.

Therefore, your sleep is not helping to flush out toxins in the brain or repair muscles, so you wake up groggy rather than well rested.

Your Apple Watch identifies potential alcohol consumption by tracking significant overnight changes to physiological metrics like elevated heart rate and decreased heart rate variability (HRV). When these metrics deviate from your baseline, your sleep score decreases.

How to fix it

If you want to have an alcoholic drink, or eat a heavy meal, do so earlier in the evening and well away from bedtime.

This will give your body enough time to stop breaking down the alcohol, and to digest your food, so that come bedtime it can focus on the business of helping you to sleep, rather than spending energy getting rid of toxins and aiding digestion.

According to Clinical Psychologist Dr Leah Kaylor: "It's best to stay away from alcohol at least three to four hours before your usual bedtime."

Some drinks are worse for your sleep than others. Dr Paul Daidone, Medical Director at True Self Recovery told us this when speaking about the effects of alcohol on sleep: "A very small amount of alcohol — one serving (5 oz) of wine, one bottle (12 oz) of beer, or one small serving (1.5 oz) of liquor — is less likely to interfere with sleep significantly if taken earlier in the evening.

"Low-alcohol beer or red wine, which are lower-strength drinks, will interfere less with sleep than stronger liquors," he explained.

Eating your largest meal of the day for breakfast (known as breakfasting like a king, a metabolism hack that helps avoid 3am wake ups), and your smallest at dinner, can also help you sleep better.

Digesting food raises your core body temperature, which can make it harder to fall asleep. Digesting spicy, rich foods can also wake you up through the night, especially if you have GERD symptoms.

So eating lighter meals in the evening helps make this process easier and doesn't raise your temperature too much right before bed.

The best foods to help you sleep are those naturally brimming with sleep-friendly nutrients and minerals such as magnesium, b vitamins, and tryptophan.

Aim to load up your dinner plate with foods like spinach, peppers, black beans, turkey, and roasted veggies, and banana for pudding.

What your Apple sleep score means

Every morning, the Apple Watch — worn by over 129 million people globally from serious fitness enthusiasts to people interested in their general health — rates your rest on a scale of 0 to 100.

That means, nowadays, the first thing many people do in the morning is check Apple’s verdict on last night’s sleep. But what does this score mean and what goes into calculating it? Let’s dig in…

Apple was in fact late to the sleep score party, only introducing the feature with the drop of watchOS 26 in September 2025.

The score, out of 100, is calculated by analyzing several different sleep metrics — overall sleep duration compared to time spent in bed, the frequency and duration of wake periods through the night, and how close your bed and wake-up time is compared to your average.

Apple categorizes your score in one of five categories from ‘Very Low’ (0-40) to ‘Low’ (41-59), ‘OK’ (60-74), ‘High’ (75-89), and ‘Very High’ (90-100).

The score is built from three key factors, each with a different weighting:

• Sleep Duration (up to 50 points): The biggest contributor to your score, your Apple Watch measures how long you actually slept, rather than time spent in bed, and compares it to your sleep goal. The amount of points you collect (out of 50) depends on how close you are to that target.
• Bedtime Regularity (up to 30 points): Apple tracks how consistent your sleep timing is from night to night. Going to bed at wildly different times — even if you get eight hours shut eye — will cost you points.
• Interruptions (up to 20 points): Brief awakenings through the night are a normal part of a healthy sleep cycle, but too frequent or long periods awake reduce the restorative nature of sleep. Hence, Apple measures the number and duration of interruptions in your sleep and scores accordingly.

Perceived sleep quality > Sleep tracking data

As mentioned above, you shouldn’t take the data as the be-all and end-all. “The Sleep Score is a crude composite metric that gives you a rough sense of the relative health of someone's sleep. But it also has blind spots that we need to be aware of,” Dr. Chopra reminds us.

Therefore, these wearables shouldn’t absolutely govern your perception of your health and performance. Your energy levels and mental clarity give a strong indication of how well you slept, despite what the data says. No orthosomnia here.

Wearable trackers are, however, helpful tools to keep you accountable around your sleep hygiene and activity levels.

Your Apple Watch can help you monitor your sleep patterns from night to night and understand how your habits may help or hurt your sleep.

Explaining its sleep score, Apple itself states: “The classification is not necessarily an indication of how you feel when you wake up, but can give you a sense of whether or not your body got the sleep it needed to rest and restore itself.”

Dr. Chopra emphasises they should be used as a tool for self-awareness, not as a diagnosis. “Sleep trackers are good at surfacing patterns. Maybe you notice your score drops every time you have alcohol, or that your consistency falls apart on weekends. That kind of data-driven behavioral feedback is very valuable,” he says.

“But don't let the number become a source of anxiety. We see patients who lose sleep worrying about their sleep score, which is counterproductive.

"Focus on the fundamentals: consistent bed and wake times, a cool and dark sleep environment, limiting alcohol and screens before bed.”

How to check your Apple sleep tracking settings are accurate

If your sleep quality and schedule are both in check, you feel like you’re sleeping well and waking up with energy, the other explanation for your low score could be a wearable error.

From getting the right fit to enabling six crucial sleep settings, there are several things you can fine tune to ensure you're getting the best sleep tracking from your Apple Watch.

First you want to make sure your watch is sitting securely, and comfortably, through the night. Poor sensor contact can skew your sleep data as the built-in accelerometer may interpret your movements and any restlessness through the night as awakenings, decreasing sleep efficiency and, therefore, your overall score.

Moreover, you can turn on settings like Wrist Detection (enables overnight heart rate tracking) and blood oxygen monitoring in the Apple Health app.

Both these features are vital for detecting different sleep stages, which shape the quality of your sleep. Without this recording and data being accurate, your sleep score won’t be a true reflection of your rest.

Although we shouldn’t take them as gospel, your sleep score does provide a helpful reflection of how well your body has rested and recovered overnight.

As a sleep tech writer I do get solid rest on the whole. But after a busy festive period, I came into this year with the intention of really focusing on my sleep and recovery to help prepare me for the spring marathon I’m training for.

I’ve made three significant changes to my sleep in the last week and it seems like they’re paying off – last week I finally bagged a 97 sleep score on my Apple Watch, one of the best sleep trackers I've tested.

That’s the highest score I’ve earned in a long time. And it’s all down to a little discipline and mindfulness around my sleep and bedtime routine. Here’s what I’ve been doing…

• Read more: These 5 overlooked Google Clock app features helped me quit bedtime doomscrolling to get more sleep

The 3 changes that bagged me a 97/100 sleep score on my Apple Watch

After dialling in on my sleep hygiene and fine-tuning my bedtime routine, my scores have improved through February and into the beginning of March.

How exactly did I supercharge my sleep? Let’s dig in…

1. I got into bed later in the evening

While you may think darker evenings mean better sleep (it’s true we need darkness for sleep hormones like melatonin to be released), they actually made my sleep worse.

That’s because I was getting into bed too early. In the depths of winter in the UK, 7pm can feel like midnight; it’s already been dark for 3 hours, it’s too cold to go out, and the thought of curling up under the covers is all too inviting.

Falling into the trap of getting into bed two hours before my intended sleep time clearly took a toll on my sleep quality.

After lounging around in bed, scrolling on my phone or watching something on Netflix, I found myself feeling wired rather than tired by the time my actual bedtime came around.

Now, I’ve reinforced expert advice around keeping your bed a sleep sanctuary and training your brain to associate it with sleep.

I’m making a conscious effort to spend more time relaxing in the living room rather than my bedroom in the evenings. This simple switch has made it easier for me to fall asleep fast when my head hits the pillow.

2. I turned off my 5.30 a.m. alarm

Thanks to my sleep-central algorithm, I’ve seen a lot of content on social media lately revealing the truth behind 5 .a.m. wake ups — once a token of productivity and success, they’re now recognised as a path to burnout and energy crashes.

This post from Emily Austen, podcast host and author of Smarter: 10 Lessons for a More Productive and Less-Stressed Life, got me thinking about my own sleep routine…

Last year, I was waking up super early to cram an early run in before a long commute. A recent change in work circumstances has meant I no longer have such a long commute and I’ve now been afforded more time in the mornings.

Instead of sticking to that super early alarm, I’ve shifted my wake up time to around 7 a.m., and I’m seeing the benefits in my sleep.

I don’t know about you but an early alarm causes me a lot of anxiety the night before — what if it doesn’t go off? What if I sleep through and don’t make my train? Without that anxiety, I’m now drifting off easier and not waking up in a panic at 4 a.m.

3. I kept my phone out of my bedroom

If you’re prone to revenge bedtime procrastination and often find yourself scrolling into the small hours, this is a key sleep habit to adopt.

Experts advise banning your phone from your bedroom to preserve your sleep and your mental health.

Not only is scrolling, flicking, or swiping literally addictive, but the content we tend to consume online is stimulating (those funny reels) as well as distressing (those news headlines). In other words, it’ll get in the way of peaceful sleep.

To clear my mind before bed and kick my doomscrolling habit, I’ve been putting my phone on charge outside my bedroom. Instead I’ve been reading at least 10 pages of a book before going to sleep, and using a sunrise alarm clock to wake up.

Lulled to sleep by reading, I’m finding it easier to stick to a consistent bedtime and I’m falling asleep faster.

Not having my phone in the room means that when I briefly wake up during the night I can’t check the time. Instead of making mental calculations, worrying about how many hours I’ve slept and how long I’ve got until my alarm rings, I’m calmly nodding back off.

My average sleep score before I made these changes

I’d describe myself as a good sleeper. But after a busy December and stressful January, my sleep scores and my perceived sleep quality were beginning to slip.

I just wasn’t getting the sleep my mind and body needed, especially considering I’ve been training for my next marathon.

And the Apple Watch was picking up on my sub-par sleep.

Here’s an example of an average night’s sleep score for me in December and January (before I implemented the above changes in my sleep routine), compared to last week’s average scores...

Thanks to the Apple Watch settings to help you follow the 7:1 sleep rule, I’m now sleeping an ideal seven and a half hours sleep and, crucially, that sleep is of good quality with less interruptions.

When you look at the sleep stage data below, you can see my sleep cycles are much more stable.

I’ve spent ample time in restorative deep sleep and REM sleep stages rather than getting fragmented, less restorative core sleep — and this is down to better preparing my body and mind for good sleep.

Safe to say, I’ll be sticking with these three key changes to my sleep habits for a while to come yet.

I’m in Barcelona, Spain, reporting on Mobile World Congress, Europe’s largest consumer technology show. With no shortage of ground to cover, for day two of the show, I logged my walking efforts wearing two of the best smartwatch models (and personal favorites of mine), the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Garmin Instinct 3.

With the Garmin on my right wrist and the Apple Watch on my left, I made my way to the convention center from my hotel, a roughly two-mile walk. Intent on maximizing my workout for the day, I opted to not only avoid taxis and public transit on my way to and from the show, but also chose the stairs over escalators and solid ground over moving walkways, every chance I got.

With roughly 15,000 steps in the books on day 2 of MWC, here are the five biggest takeaways I gleaned from the data logged by the Apple Watch Ultra 3 versus the Garmin Instinct 3.

Apple Watch Ultra 3 vs Garmin Instinct 3: MWC day 2 results

1. Garmin logged far more distance covered

After about four hours and 45 minutes out and about, I returned to my hotel room, concluded tracking on both devices, and analyzed the results. Much to my surprise, the Garmin Instinct 3 recorded a substantially greater amount of distance (+1.13 miles) covered compared to the Apple Watch Ultra 3.

2. Apple and Garmin recorded nearly the same step count totals

Despite vastly different distance tallies, the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Garmin Instinct 3 noted remarkably similar step count totals of roughly 15,000 steps, with just 106 steps separating their calculations. That’s impressive, for sure, but then again, it only adds to my confusion on the distance front.

3. Apple's elevation gain data seems inflated

The area of Barcelona I’m currently operating in is relatively flat, which is why I was somewhat surprised to see that my Apple Watch logged 935 total feet of elevation gain. The Garmin Instinct 3, meanwhile, noted a much more reasonable climb metric of 548 feet. So, why is Apple’s ascent data so high? I’m guessing that the handful of times I had no choice but to take an escalator upwards were a factor.

4. Apple and Garmin measured similar average heart rates and calories burned

Both the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Garmin Instinct 3 logged roughly the same average heart rate for my day out and about covering the latest tech. The smartwatches also recorded a similar amount of calories burned; however, Garmin noted a considerably higher maximum heart rate than Apple, something I’m at a loss to account for.

5. The Instinct 3 used far less battery than the Ultra 3

I spent just shy of five hours out at MWC on day 2, with both smartwatches running full-steam, logging my location, heart rate, and more. During that period, the Garmin Instinct 3 drained just 6% of its battery compared to 20% for the Apple Watch Ultra 3.

Ultimately, both smartwatches performed well in tracking my journalistic efforts from a step count standpoint while covering day two of Mobile World Congress. However, with what appears to be more accurate ascent and distance data, and far superior power management, I’m leaning toward sticking with the Garmin to track day 3.

Which of these two powerhouse smartwatches do you prefer? Let me know below.

More from Tom's Guide

• I walked 5,000 steps with the Garmin Instinct 3 vs Amazfit T-Rex Ultra 2 — and this watch won by a single step
• My favorite Garmin watch feature isn’t for fitness — and it’s only available on one model under $500
• I walked 7,500 steps with the Apple Watch Ultra 3 vs Garmin Venu 4 — and the winner surprised me

Don’t have the latest, greatest Apple Watch model? Don’t worry, neither do the majority of Tom’s Guide readers, according to a recent poll we ran. With 6,458 of you chiming in about your smartwatch preference, the most popular model isn’t the Apple Watch Series 11, Ultra 3, or even the wallet-friendly SE 3.

So which Apple Watch(es) topped the list? Read on.

TG readers are savvy shoppers

With 1,949 votes, the most popular response to our poll, ‘Which Apple Watch model do you wear?’ was the Apple Watch Series 10 (or older). That’s a massive 30% of respondents sticking with the prior generation of the flagship series, rather than springing for the latest Apple Watch Series 11.

This isn’t too surprising, given the jump from the Apple Watch Series 10 to the Series 11 is relatively minor. Both devices share the same design, display, and useful health-monitoring tools, such as Hypertension and Sleep Apnea Detection. That said, the Series 11 boasts a better battery, 5G instead of LTE, and a tougher screen.

26% of you upgraded to the Series 11

Though a healthy chunk of readers are hanging onto older models, the Apple Watch Series 11 was our second most popular response, with 1,697 of you selecting it. That’s a whole lot more than the next most popular answer, the beefy Apple Watch Ultra 3, which received 14% of the votes, or 897 clicks.

The Apple Watch Ultra 1/2 was the fourth most popular response, selected by 777 readers for 12% of the vote.

TG readers prefer the finer things

Bringing up the rear is the Apple Watch SE 3, with 672 votes (10% of respondents), followed by the Apple Watch SE/SE 2022 with 466 votes (7% of our readers). This means that more than 80% of you prefer Apple’s flagship series or premium Ultra series to the more entry-level SE lineup.

Will you be upgrading to the next Apple Watch?

All this talk of Apple Watch models begs the question: Do you plan on upgrading to a new Apple Watch this fall when the Series 12 will almost certainly launch, possibly alongside a new Ultra or SE? Let me know in the poll below.

More from Tom's Guide

• I just went hands-on with the Amazfit T-Rex 2 Ultra — and it beats the Apple Watch Ultra 3 in 5 big ways
• I'm obsessed with hiking — 3 Apple Watch apps I use to keep from getting lost
• I walked 7,500 steps with the Apple Watch Ultra 3 vs Garmin Venu 4 — and the winner surprised me

The ground-shaking, terror-inducing Amazfit T-Rex series is the brand's answer to the rugged-built Apple Watch Ultra series, and the newest Amazfit T-Rex Ultra 2 is Amazfit's priciest and most impressive smartwatch yet, with a large, ultrabright screen, a massive battery, preloaded maps for offline navigation, and support for over 180 workout types.

I’ve only begun testing this tough-built wearable, aimed at outdoor enthusiasts like myself, but I can already think of five key ways it beats the latest Apple Watch Ultra 3, one of the best smartwatches in 2026, and also one of my favorite wearables for tracking hikes.

1. Lower cost

While Amazfit is better known for wallet-friendly wearables, like the Amazfit Active 2, my favorite smartwatch under $100, and the best cheap smartwatch in 2026, the new Amazfit T-Rex Ultra 2 costs considerably more: $549.

The good news is that the folks at Amazfit have assured me this is not a sign of the brand abandoning the price-conscious, entry-level smartwatch market. Rather, this is the brand's take on an ultra-premium model that can go toe-to-toe with not just the Apple Watch Ultra 3 but the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra, and high-end Garmins as well.

The Apple Watch Ultra 3 costs $799, making the T-Rex Ultra 2 a slight bargain in comparison. It's also cheaper than the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra, which costs $649.

2. Better battery performance

The Apple Watch Ultra 3 is the brand's longest-lasting smartwatch, averaging roughly 42 hours per charge in normal conditions, or 72 hours when using low-power mode. If you're tracking an outdoor activity using the onboard GPS, you can expect around 20 hours of power.

Those stats are pretty solid, especially for a full-featured smartwatch, but the T-Rex Ultra 2 (which is notably less 'smart' than its Apple counterpart) has the Apple Watch Ultra 2 beat by a long shot.

Under standard conditions, the T-Rex Ultra 2 should provide up to four weeks of usage before needing to visit a charger or up to 50 hours of power when using the GPS to log an outdoor workout or adventure.

3. More workout tracking modes

Apple has increased the number of tracking modes in the default fitness app over the past few years, with welcomed additions like snowboarding and surfing. However, Apple's list ultimately pales in comparison to that of the T-Rex Ultra 2, especially if you love extreme outdoor activities.

While the Apple Watch Ultra 3 supports 77 workout types (by my count), the Amazfit T-Rex Ultra 2 supports over 180, including highly nuanced ones (absent from the latest Apple Watches), like spearfishing, free diving, trail running, snorkeling, and parkour.

4. An onboard LED flashlight

Amazfit lovingly borrowed the concept of an onboard LED flashlight from Garmin, and I, for one, am glad they did. When I first tested an LED flashlight-sporting smartwatch — the outstanding Garmin Instinct 3 — I was truly blown away by the usefulness of the simple yet brilliant feature.

Suddenly, I could navigate my darkened bedroom with ease, without waking my sleeping partner or tripping over the dog.

The LED flashlight on the T-Rex Ultra 2 is tucked into the titanium alloy bezel at the 12:00 position and supports multiple output options, as well as red and green light modes.

The Apple Watch Ultra 3, on the other hand, technically has a flashlight function, but it simply uses a white screen at max brightness, rather than a dedicated LED. By comparison, it's dimmer, less directional, and ultimately, much less useful.

5. Preloaded hiking maps

While the Apple Watch Ultra 3 supports downloading and saving maps for offline navigational use, whether you're going on a roadtrip or a hike, the Amazfit T-Rex Ultra 2 ships with navigational hiking maps preloaded on the watch. Better yet, Amazfit's maps provide a greater level of contour detail and elevation markings for hikers compared to Apple's.

Ultimately, the new Amazfit T-Rex Ultra 2 has a lot going for it, and even though it beats the Apple Watch Ultra 3 in several key areas on paper, we won't know if it really competes with the other 'Ultras' until I've had a chance to fully test it.

With that in mind, stay tuned for my complete Amafit T-Rex Ultra 2 review, along with head-to-head fitness tracking accuracy testing versus the Apple Watch Ultra 3, the best Garmin smartwatches, and more.

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• I walked 7,500 steps with the Apple Watch Ultra 3 vs Garmin Venu 4 — and the winner surprised me

The Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Garmin Venu 4 are two of the best smartwatches in 2026, but which is the more accurate fitness tracker? To find out, I walked 7,500 steps with the Apple Watch Ultra 3 on my left wrist and the Garmin Venu 4 on my right wrist.

The Apple Watch Ultra 3 is Cupertino's premium, tough-built smartwatch with a heavy price tag of $799 to match its impressive specs. The Garmin Venu 4, meanwhile, is the Kansas-based gadget-maker's answer to the popular Apple Watch Series 11, with a starting price of $549.

While the Venu 4 is arguably Garmin's smartest smartwatch under $1,000, it can't match the smarts of the Apple Watch Ultra 3. However, Garmin offers a more comprehensive set of fitness training and recovery tools. That said, when it comes to fitness tracking chops, these two devices are evenly matched.

The Venu 4 already has a walk test win over the Apple Watch 11. Will it keep the streak going against the pricier Ultra 3? Read on.

I walked 7,500 steps with the Apple Watch Ultra 3 vs Garmin Venu 4

To keep this head-to-head between the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Garmin Venu 4 fair, I synchronized their tracking modes before departing on my one-hour and four-minute walk. Meanwhile, as a control for distance, elevation, and pace data, I turned to the trusty Strava app, running on my iPhone 16 Plus.

To ensure as accurate a step count total as possible, I manually counted, noting every hundred steps taken with a click of my old-timey tally counter. Find out how the fitness-tracking accuracy of the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Garmin Venu 4 compares below.

Apple Watch Ultra 3 vs Garmin Venu 4: Walk test results

I walked 7,500 steps (manual count) during my roughly one-hour and four-minute walk around Seattle, Washington. Confirming the accuracy of my manual count, Strava noted a similar step count total of 7,520.

I've done dozens of these tests, and as a general rule of thumb, a smartwatch step-count tally that's within 100 of the control is a very impressive feat. So, before jumping into the result of the Apple Watch Ultra 3 vs. the Garmin Venu 4, it's worth giving props to both smartwatches for their precision when it comes to the primary metric of comparison.

That said, the Garmin Venu 4 is closer to the control data, not just when it comes to steps taken, but also elevation gain — the Ultra 3 was quite generous here — and average moving pace.

It's worth noting that both Strava and Garmin provide moving and elapsed averages, while Apple has just one pace metric, which I'm guessing reflects an elapsed pace (given that it's slower).

Heart rate data between the two smartwatches is similar enough to not keep me up at night, with Apple noting a slightly higher average and Garmin measuring a tiny bit higher maximum.

When it comes to GPS battery life, the Apple Watch Ultra 3 smoked the Garmin Venu 4, using just 1% during the walk compared to 5% for the Venu 4.

Apple Watch Ultra 3 vs Garmin Venu 4: And the winner is...

In this head-to-head fitness tracking accuracy test between the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Garmin Venu 4, the Garmin comes out on top as the (slightly) more accurate wearable (for this one walk, at least).

Keep in mind, both devices calculated step count totals that are within 100 steps of my actual count, which is extremely impressive. The Venu 4 was just a tad closer. Overall, though, the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Garmin Venu 4 each performed with enough accuracy for me to confidently recommend either.

Need some help choosing between the two brands? Read my explainer on Garmin vs. Apple Watch.

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I write about the best smartwatches for a living, and have been wearing an Apple Watch on my wrist for the past decade, but recently I made my life a lot easier by tweaking the layout of my watch. If, like me, you find yourself scrolling through your grid, endlessly looking for your alarm, this is the article you need to read.

If you’re after more Apple Watch hacks, here’s how I added my daily step count to my watch face, and the steps to take to make your Apple Watch heart rate tracking more accurate.

I wear an Apple Watch every day, and this simple trick made my life a lot easier

Like most Apple Watch wearers, I only use about 10% of the features on my watch. In an attempt to get more out of my watch, I’ve been trying new apps and using my watch for my marathon training, rather than switching between Apple and Garmin.

Yet as I spent ages scrolling through the grid looking for Runna, the training app I’m using for my marathon plan, I realized I could make my life a lot easier by switching to the List View. To do that, just press the Digital Crown to go to the Home Screen. Then turn the Digital Crown to scroll to the bottom of the screen, then choose List View.

You can also go to the Settings app, tap App View and then choose Grid View or List View.

This sounds like a basic switch, but it allows you to see all of your apps alphabetically, to save that time-consuming scrolling, as you try to remember what the app icon looks like. You can use the Digital Crown to scroll up and down the list — handy if, like me, you find yourself wearing running gloves, which make it difficult to use the touch screen.

Of course, if you prefer the Grid View, it’s worth remembering that you can rearrange your apps to place the ones you use the most in the middle of the grid. To do this, touch and hold the app icon you want to move until it starts to jiggle, and drag it into a new position on your watch screen. Alternatively, you can use the Watch app on your iPhone, selecting My Watch, then App View, and selecting Arrangement, where you can drag and rearrange your apps.

Little tweaks like this can help personalize your Watch and make it easier to use every day. Keep an eye on Tom’s Guide for more simple Apple Watch tips and tricks, and check out the best Apple Watches to buy in 2026 here.

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As a marathon runner, I know how important rest days are, but having worn an Apple Watch for the past decade, I also know how addictive closing your rings can be. Read on to find the simple trick I’ve used to help me get fitter and stronger than ever.

As a reminder, rest days are when the actual transformation happens. When you work out, whether that’s lifting weights in the gym or, like me, training for a marathon, you create microscopic tears in your muscle fibers. On your rest day, your body repairs those tears, making the fibers ever so slightly thicker and stronger than before. If you never let your body rest, you’ll keep tearing the same tissue, and you’re likely to get injured, rather than stronger.

Rest days are also vital for restoring the glycogen needed to work out. This can lead to feelings of heaviness in your muscles. Plus, constant training can hurt your central nervous system and raise cortisol levels, as both will keep your body in high alert. This can, in turn, affect your sleep and even cause weight gain, which is probably something you’re trying to avoid.

I wear an Apple Watch every day, and this is the one feature I changed to help me avoid getting injured

So how can you stop those pesky Apple Watch rings from keeping you more active than you should be on days when you need to rest? Luckily, in the past few years, Apple has heard our pleas, and you can now easily pause your rings if you’re injured, or taking a week’s recovery following a race or big event.

Here’s how to pause your rings:

• Go to the Activity app on your Apple Watch (this is the icon showing your rings)
• Tap the graph icon in the left-hand corner
• Turn the Digital Crown to scroll to the bottom of the screen and tap Pause Rings
• Choose a duration, or Custom to set a specific time

To resume your rings at any point, head back to this screen and tap Resume Rings.

But what if, like me, you’re following a more structured plan? Apple also allows you to customize you Apple Watch Activity ring goals based on the day of the week. I’m training for my sixth marathon, so most weeks, Tuesday and Saturday are rest days. I can easily tailor my weekly schedule for my Move, Exercise and Stand goals, rather than having the same goal each day.

How to make a weekly schedule for your Activity Rings:

• Go to the Activity app on your Apple Watch (the icon showing your rings)
• Turn the Digital Crown to a ring, then tap on the plus/minus sign in the bottom right corner
• You can choose between changing your Activity ring goal for the day (perhaps you’re taking an unscheduled rest day) or changing your daily goal. Click on Change Daily Goal if you want to customize your rings for certain days of the week.
• From here, tap plus or minus to change your goal, either by how many calories you want to burn on a rest day or how active you want to be, then tap the schedule app in the top-right corner and select Schedule.
• You’ll need to repeat this step for all of the rings.

Every Monday, you’ll be notified about your previous week’s achievements, and you can adjust your goals for the next week. Your Apple Watch will also suggest goals based on your previous week’s performance.

If you’re currently in the middle of a training block and you’re finding you’re exhausted, irritable, or your resting heart rate is elevated, these are all signs you should probably add an extra rest day to your week. If this continues, or your muscle soreness lasts longer than 72 hours, it’s worth talking about your symptoms with a doctor or physiotherapist.

Of course, a rest day doesn’t mean sitting still with your feet up. Active recovery is important — it can help ease sore muscles, improve mobility, and lower stress levels. Think walking, swimming, yoga, and Pilates workouts. All of these will also contribute to closing those all-important Apple Watch rings, if you’re as addicted to them as I am.

Happy resting!

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I’m obsessed with hiking, almost as much as I’m obsessed with testing the best smartwatch models. In 2026, the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is one of my favorite, go-to smartwatches for logging my outdoor endeavors. But what’s the best Apple Watch hiking app?

I’ve tested dozens of options that promise useful navigational tools and accurate, digestible post-hike reports. And while there are plenty to choose from, three rise to the top as the best Apple Watch apps for hikers in 2026.

1. Best overall: AllTrails app

AllTrails is more than just a hiking companion app. In addition to tools to help you navigate once on course, AllTrails boasts one of the largest worldwide trail databases known to man.

Not only that, trail pages include basic stats like length, elevation gain, average completion time, and difficulty ratings, plus user reviews, up-to-date trail conditions and weather reports, 3D route previews, recent photos shot by other users from the trail, and more.

Now, some of these features are for paid subscribers only — AllTrails has two paid tiers, Plus ($35.99 a year) and Peak ($79.99 a year) — however, from my experience, the most useful hike-planning tools remain free for all.

For navigation, one of my favorite AllTrails features is the ability to predownload hiking maps from the AllTrails app on your phone to your Apple Watch for off-the-grid route maps with turn-by-turn directions, path deviation alerts, real-time stats, and more.

2. Best for navigation: WorkOutDoors app

If you love geeking out on your hiking stats, the WorkOutDoors app for Apple Watch offers even more post-trek data than AllTrails. A one-time purchase of $8.99, there's no hike database component, like what you get from AllTrails. However, WorkOutDoors does provide an impressive range of navigational tools to ensure you stay on course.

It's also not just for navigating and logging hikes. WorkOutDoors can be used to track pretty much any outdoor activity involving distance, including running, mountain biking, skiing, and more.

Better yet, the home screen and mid-trek data fields are completely customizable. Navigational maps are also seriously detailed, with topographic elements and points of interest labeled. Users can choose from a wide range of navigation options, including trekking to a waypoint, following a pre-saved route, or trekking a previously completed route.

Post-hike stats include insights into distance, elevation, pace, cadence, heart rate, speed, and total steps.

3. Best no-effort needed: Apple's Workout + Maps apps

Ultimately, one of my favorite methods for tracking and navigating the great outdoors requires virtually zero effort on your part, aside from firing up the native Workout app and selecting Hiking as the activity. For navigation, bust open Apple's Map app and chart your course.

Apple's default Workout app provides a decent amount of insights into your performance while hiking, including details on your cardiovascular health, speed, distance, pace, and more. Really, the only metric missing is a total step count (Apple only provides daily totals, not totals for tracked activities).

There is one downside to using this method to track your next hike. Toggling between navigation and real-time workout data requires physically jumping back and forth between the Workout and Maps apps. This is hardly ideal, and something Apple Watch users have been begging Cupertino to make more seamless. Perhaps when watchOS 27 debuts later this year, we'll see an improvement.

What's your favorite Apple Watch app for documenting and navigating your adventures in the great outdoors? Let me know in our poll below.

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I review some of the best smartwatches on the market for a living, and have worn an Apple Watch for the better part of the past decade, but I’m still absolutely useless at remembering to charge it. This is one of the reasons I’ve opted for the Apple Watch Ultra 3, as it has the longest battery life of any Apple Watch, but I still find myself in low power mode more often than I’d care to admit.

If, like me, you’re useless at remembering to charge your Apple Watch, this is the article for you. After much digging through Apple’s support pages, I found a simple fix — it won’t let you ditch your charger for days on end, but it will help your Watch hold its charge a little longer.

The one Apple Watch feature I turned off to save my battery

Of course, the best way to extend the battery life of your Apple Watch is to enable low power mode. This turns off features like Always On Display, background heart rate and blood oxygen measurements, and heart rate notifications to allow your Watch to last longer.

Yet if we’re talking about daily wear, another thing you can do to improve the battery life of your Apple Watch is to prevent your apps from refreshing in the background. It’s a feature I always turn off whenever I’m switching to a new Apple Watch, and I’ve found that it makes a tangible difference when it comes to battery life.

What you might not have realized is that, without this setting turned off, every app on your Apple Watch is checking for updates and new content in the background, even when you’re not using it. This uses power.

To maximise the battery life of your Apple Watch, you can choose to turn this option off. It does mean that you’ll have to manually update your Apple Watch apps, but this isn’t too much of a challenge.

Here’s how to turn this setting off from your Watch:

• Go to the Settings app on your Apple Watch
• Tap General
• Find Background App Refresh
• You can either toggle all apps off or scroll down to choose which apps you’d rather turn off. An easy way to save battery life is to toggle off apps you’re not using to stop them from refreshing in the background.

It is worth noting that if you have any apps on your Apple Watch face, even with this setting turned off, they’ll still refresh. I use this third-party app to display my daily steps on my Apple Watch face, and it’s a game-changer, as well as my activity rings and weather, but if you’re using another app to customize your watch, know that it’ll still update, even if none of your other apps are.

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Your Apple Watch typically measures your heart rate every five minutes when it’s on your wrist, but did you know there are a few tweaks you can make to ensure these measurements are as accurate as possible?

I’ve been wearing an Apple Watch on my wrist for the past decade and writing about them frequently in my job as Tom’s Guide’s fitness editor, but after doing some research, some of these settings were new to me. If you’re using an Apple Watch to keep track of your health and training, read this article.

5 Settings you should check or change right now for more accurate heart rate monitoring on your Apple Watch

1. Check that your personal information is accurate

If you’re like me, it’s unlikely you check your personal information all that often. Whether you’re wearing an Apple Watch to lose weight or get in better shape, it’s likely your weight may have changed. Weight significantly affects heart rate — individuals with higher body weight typically have a higher resting heart rate. As you lose weight and get fitter, this may change, and your heart rate will decrease during rest and exercise.

One of the easiest ways to ensure this is accurate is to invest in one of the best smart scales that can connect to your Apple Watch and send data without you having to log into the Health app. If you don’t have a smart scale, you’ll manually change the data using the Health app on your iPhone.

It’s also worth remembering that this is where you log any medication that may be affecting your heart rate.

2. Make sure Wrist Detection is turned on

This is a simple, but important setting. Wrist Detection must be turned on to measure your background, resting and active heart rate accurately. Turning this off automatically disables automatic heart rate tracking.

3. Double-check the fit of your watch (and give it a clean)

All Apple Watches measure your heart rate using an optical heart rate sensor. This works by shining light into the skin and measuring the light reflected. For your watch to do this well, it needs to fit properly. Your watch should be snug against your wrist — not so tight that it’s cutting off your circulation, but tight enough that it doesn’t move.

It’s also worth noting that if you flip your watch to the underside of your wrist during strength sessions to avoid your weights hitting your watch screen, the reading will be affected. The reading will also be affected if the back of the watch that sits against your skin is dirty due to a build-up of sweat or body lotions, so be sure to clean your Apple Watch regularly.

Finally, tattoos can interfere with this optical sensor, so if you do have tattoos on your wrist, wear your watch on the other wrist if possible, or connect an external chest strap to your Apple Watch during workouts to get a more accurate reading.

4. Check your privacy settings

Another simple fix, but if your Apple Watch isn’t recording your heart rate, check your privacy settings. Open the Watch app on your iPhone, tap Privacy, and ensure Heart Rate is enabled. You’ll also need to do this if you plan to share your heart rate data with a third-party app on your Apple Watch.

5. Use proper workout types

Your Apple Watch will record your heart rate throughout the day, but for more accurate heart rate monitoring, it’s recommended that you select the right workout types.

This is especially important if you’re not moving predictably. For example, if you’re heading out for a walk and holding a dog’s leash or pushing a stroller, this might affect your arm swing. Manually selecting Outdoor Walk mode allows your watch to provide better, more accurate readings.

Remember, you can always check your heart rate at any time by opening the Heart Rate app on your Apple Watch and taking a reading.

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Apple makes some of the best smartwatches in 2026, but their battery life is nothing to write home about. While the Apple Watch Ultra 3 can last nearly two days per charge, the Series 11 lasts for just one, and the budget-minded SE 3 lasts for only 18 hours. The same goes for the older Apple Watch Series 9 and Series 10.

If your Apple Watch’s battery life, or lack thereof, has you feeling down, I’m here to help. As the one of the lead smartwatch reviewers at Tom's Guide, I’m obsessed with maximizing my wrist time in between charges.

What follows are my five surefire tricks for limiting power consumption and maximizing your Apple Watch's battery life.

1. Switch off the always-on display

While this one doesn’t apply to some older Apple Watch models — namely the first two SE models and the Series 5 (and older) — one of the biggest overall drains on your watch’s battery performance is the always-on display feature, which shows a dimmed version of your screen with basic info, like the time and weather, when the watch is asleep.

While I’m a huge fan of this feature, it makes the Apple Watch feel more like a real wristwatch; it’s an absolute battery hog, and turning it off will instantly improve battery performance by a noticeable margin.

It’s worth noting that even with the always-on display turned off, you can still use Apple’s Raise to Wake gesture to unlock the device and view the homescreen whenever you want.

2. Avoid overly complicated watch faces

On the subject of the always-on display, if you do choose to leave the feature enabled, you can still limit its power consumption by opting for a simple watch face with minimal complications. Better yet, avoid any of the ones with animations or those that refresh frequently (like Stocks or Weather). These are the biggest power hogs.

3. Turn off cellular data when not needed

Cellular data is another big battery sucker, but you can mitigate power consumption by switching it off when you’re at home or anywhere with a decent WiFi connection. Your Apple Watch should automatically do this for you if you’re running recent software.

However, it’s not a bad idea to manually switch cellular off for extended periods when you know you won't need it. Ultimately, maintaining a WiFi connection is much kinder to your Apple Watch’s battery life than a cellular one.

4. Turn off Background App Refresh for less-used apps

Apple’s Background App Refresh option makes it painless to maintain the latest versions of all your favorite apps. Unfortunately, it can also be a drag on your Apple Watch’s battery performance.

Fortunately, you can manually choose which apps you want to automatically update behind the scenes and which you don’t. I recommend leaving Background App Refresh switched on for only your most-used apps and no others.

5. Turn on low-power mode

When all else fails, the quickest, easiest, and most effective way to improve your Apple Watch’s battery life is by switching on low-power mode.

On the Apple Watch Series 11, this increases the rating from 24 hours per charge to 38 hours. On the Ultra 3, low-power mode bumps longevity from 42 hours to 72 hours. And on the SE 3, rather than 18 hours per charge, low-power mode delivers 32 hours.

Of course, there are some downsides to low-power mode. It disengages low-power mode, background heart rate monitoring, blood oxygen saturation monitoring (for watches with the feature), and gesture controls, to name the big ones.

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My longest ever Apple Watch move streak was 270 days, and I still remember the day it ended. I went out for a few drinks after work, lost track of time and didn’t manage to slip in the walk or workout needed to hit 500 active calories for that day.

At the time, I was addicted to filling the Apple Watch’s activity rings each day, which was a good thing in many ways — I’d make sure I walked regularly for extra activity, or did a short workout in the evening if I was short of my goal.

However, it also meant I never changed my activity ring goal, and this is where I think breaking my Apple Watch move streak actually helped me get fitter, because once my streak was broken, I was happy to set more ambitious goals each day.

Why your move goal should be a challenge

I think that daily activity goals like the move ring are at their most valuable when they’re a challenge to hit, and for that to be the case, you need to adjust the targets to suit your fitness level.

The standard setting of 500 calories on the Apple Watch was something I could hit most days without doing a specific workout. Walking as part of my commute would get me all the way there.

That’s a great way to maintain your fitness, but to use the move goal as a way to motivate myself to get fitter, upping the target was needed, and that was something I was reluctant to do during my long streak.

Having a target that is a manageable challenge means you do push yourself and (sometimes) inevitably fail, ending whatever streak you're on.

Overall, however, pushing to hit the goal most days will result in a bigger jump in fitness than coasting towards an easy goal just to maintain your streak. This is in line with the principles of progressive overload, where you keep increasing the difficulty of your workouts to avoid a plateau.

How much should you increase your target?

Naturally, there’s a limit to this — I wouldn't suggest ramping up your goal to thousands of active calories a day — but if you’re hitting it with ease, try adding 10-20 calories a week until it becomes a little more of a challenge.

If you are finding it a challenge already, it’s important to also factor in rest days to your training week. As a keen runner, I actually enjoy the challenge of not hitting my move goal on my rest day to prove to myself I’ve actually taken a day off.

You can even change your move goal just for certain days of the week if you want to be more specific about the days you want to push yourself with regard to training. So you could go all-in on Wednesday, then have a reduced target on Thursday for a rest day, or because you know you’ll be busy with work or life that day.

How to change your Apple Watch move goal

If you scroll to the bottom of your weekly activity summary on the Apple Watch, you actually get a suggested move goal based on your previous performance, which you can simply accept.

You can also change the goal manually by following these steps:

1. Open the Activity app on the watch
2. Tap your rings to bring up the option to Change Goals
3. Adjust the active calories you want to target each day, and hit Set.

You can also change the goal just for one day, if you want to try it out:

1. In the Activity app, scroll to the Move section
2. Tap the -+ button in the bottom right corner of the screen
3. Choose to change the target for today, or permanently
4. Select your target and tap Set.

If you want to change your goals for each day in advance, hit the calendar icon in the top right corner when adjusting your target, and you’ll be able to select your active calorie goal day by day.

You can also adjust your active minutes and stand goals in the app, and getting active for more minutes is an equally good way to push yourself, even if there is no active exercise streak to worry about.

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Garmin and Apple make some of the best smartwatches money can buy in 2026, including rugged, outdoor-centric models like the Garmin Instinct 3 and Apple Watch Ultra 3.

The Garmin Instinct 3, launched in early 2025, remains one of my all-time favorite smartwatches for tracking my adventures in the U.S. Pacific Northwest. The Apple Watch Ultra 3, meanwhile, is easily one of, if not the, best tough-built full-featured smartwatches for extreme sports lovers (and those who aspire to be).

When it comes to basic exercises, like walks, runs, bike rides, swims, and gym sessions, both models are solidly reliable performers, with similar tracking capabilities and post-workout stats, but what about when it comes to more extreme activities?

I took the Apple Watch Ultra 3 vs Garmin Instinct 3 snowboarding

As an avid snowboarder with more years of experience than my whacky riding style might suggest — shredding both the icy, rocky wonderland that is the Northeast U.S. and the fluffy, free-spirited mountains of the Pacific Northwest — I'm nothing short of obsessed with tracking my winter mountain efforts with the latest, greatest wearables.

For the past year, the Instinct 3 has been my go-to on the slopes. Can the Apple Watch Ultra 3 dethrone it? I decided to find out during a recent ski mission to Whistler Blackcomb Mountain in British Columbia, Canada.

Despite somewhat socked-in conditions and a lack of recent accumulation, the snow was soft, forgiving, and most importantly, ample. After nearly three straight hours of fantastic riding, I called it a day.

With my merino wool layers shed and après in full swing, I decided to check in on my stats. Ultimately, one smartwatch thoroughly proved to be the superior winter sports performer. Find out which, the Apple Watch Ultra 3 or Garmin Instinct 3, below.

The Instinct 3 tracked my entire day riding... the Ultra 3 didn't

As is likely evident from the chart above, the Apple Watch Ultra 3 did't quite track my entire day of riding, despite clocking the same number of runs and almost the exact same amount of vertical descent as the Garmin Instinct 3 and my control, Strava.

It wasn't until taking the lift up for what would be my final run that I noticed the Apple Watch had stopped tracking my snowboard session and instead, for some reason, started tracking a walking workout instead. Had I taken a long break between runs, say, to enjoy some hot cocoa, this might make sense, but that wasn't the case.

Obviously, there are ways to lock your Apple Watch to avoid such hiccups, which I have to assume resulted from unintended button mashing while putting on and taking off my gloves.

Nevertheless, the Garmin Instinct 3 recorded my entire day of riding while the Apple Watch Ultra 3 fell short.

The Apple Watch Ultra 3 didn't record a top speed

At the end of an epic day of snowboarding, there are generally three metrics I care about most: total descent, total ride time, and my top speed. Unfortunately, the snowboard tracking in the standard Apple Watch workout app neglects to make the final data point easily viewable.

Garmin and Strava, meanwhile, present your top speed front and center and even make it easy to figure out where and when on the mountain you achieved such quickness. Both options additionally provide data points for your average moving speed and total elapsed speed for those trying to maximize runs.

Garmin's battery performed better than Apple's in the cold

The Garmin Instinct 3 is an undisputed battery life king. And even though I was using the AMOLED model versus the solar-powered option, over the course of my 2.5+ hours of riding, the Instinct 3 used just 1% of its battery.

By comparison, despite clocking out early on the tracking, the Apple Watch Ultra 3 managed to burn through nearly a quarter of its total battery capacity.

I prefer the Garmin Instinct 3 to the Apple Watch Ultra 3 for snowboarding

Ultimately, with a longer-lasting battery, a greater variety of post-workout metrics, and a design that's less prone to accidental button-pressing, when it comes to tracking a day of snowboarding with Apple Watch Ultra 3 versus the Garmin Instinct 3, I'll almost certainly be reaching for the Garmin the next time I hit the slopes.

What's your favorite smartwatch for tracking ski and snowboard adventures? Let me know if the comments below.

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Even though there are plenty of great smartwatches out there from brands like Garmin, Samsung and even OnePlus, owning an Apple Watch brings a different level of convenience. The ecosystem features and how seamlessly it works with an iPhone are things that rival wearables just can't match.

Whether you are using the Apple Watch SE 3, Apple Watch Series 11, or the top-of-the-line Apple Watch Ultra 3, the overall experience is consistently solid across the lineup.

That said, I've been using an Apple Watch for over five years now, and I've realized that it is not set up in the best way right out of the box. While the default settings are fine, there are several tweaks I like to make that significantly improve the experience.

With that in mind, here are seven Apple Watch settings I recommend changing as soon as you set up your Watch.

1. Choose which apps can send you notifications

One of the first things you should decide on with your Apple Watch is which apps are allowed to send notifications to your wrist. By default, Apple lets every app installed on your iPhone push notifications to your Watch, but that's rarely what you actually want.

To adjust this, open the Watch app on your iPhone and go to Notifications. Scroll down to the Mirror iPhone Alerts From section and turn off alerts for apps you don't want sending notifications to your Apple Watch.

After this, your Apple Watch should (hopefully) only tap your wrist for notifications that matter, like work-related apps or important personal messages. Notifications from shopping apps, games, or random services can wait on your phone.

2. Change the wake duration

By default, the wake duration on the Apple Watch is pretty short. This could mean the screen dims or turns off entirely while you are still reading a long notification or checking information on your watch face.

This is why I always increase it to the maximum available option. I find it gives me enough time to read an email or go through a longer notification without the screen turning off prematurely.

You can change this by opening the Watch app on your iPhone, going to Display & Brightness, tapping Wake Duration, and selecting 70 seconds.

Alternatively, you can turn off the Always On display from the same section and rely on Raise to Wake instead. This way, your Apple Watch only uses power when you are actively looking at it, and thanks to the longer wake duration, the screen stays on long enough for you to check everything you need to.

3. Disable stand reminders and other activity alerts

One of the most annoying notifications you will get on your Apple Watch is the stand reminder. By default, if you've been sitting for the first 50 minutes of an hour, the watch nudges you to stand up and move around.

While this sounds useful in theory, it can get irritating very quickly in day-to-day use. Thankfully, you can disable these alerts, along with other activity-related notifications, if they are not your thing.

To do this, open the Watch app on your iPhone and head to Activity under the My Watch tab. From here, turn off Stand Reminders.

You can also disable alerts like Special Challenges and Daily Coaching if you do not want those notifications. I've got those turned off as well.

4. Use different watch faces for different places using Focus modes

Apple Watch offers a wide range of watch faces, but most of us end up using just one or two at most. What many people don't realize is that you can automatically switch watch faces based on where you are or what you are doing.

For example, I have a Nike Hybrid watch face set to appear when I am at the gym, with my regular everyday face returning when I am home. You can do the same for work, or any other routine location, each using an individual face with its own set of complications selected.

This, however, doesn't work directly based on location or time of day alone. You'll need to set this up using Focus modes on your iPhone.

When creating or editing a Focus mode in your iPhone's Settings, you can choose a specific Apple Watch face and decide when that Focus should activate. Once set, your watch face will automatically change, along with the Focus mode.

5. Enable hypertension notifications

Apple recently added a new health feature to the Apple Watch that can flag potential hypertension, even though the Watch cannot directly measure blood pressure. Instead, it looks for patterns over a 30-day evaluation period and notifies you if it detects something unusual.

If you get a notification, it's an early warning so you can consult a doctor. This feature is not enabled by default, though, so you'll need to turn it on manually.

To enable it, open the Health app on your iPhone and tap your profile icon in the top corner. Go to Health Checklist and then Hypertension Notifications.

During setup, you will need to confirm your age (you must be 22 or older) and state whether you have already been diagnosed with hypertension. Once done, the feature will start monitoring in the background.

While the Apple Watch cannot tell you your exact blood pressure, having this enabled does add a bit of peace of mind.

6. Enable sleep apnea detection

Another genuinely useful health feature that is oddly disabled by default is sleep apnea detection. The Apple Watch can monitor signs of sleep apnea, a respiratory condition in which breathing repeatedly stops and starts during sleep.

Just like hypertension notifications, this feature works over a 30-day monitoring period. Sleep apnea detection is only available on Apple Watch Series 9 and newer, Apple Watch Ultra 2 and newer, and Apple Watch SE 3. You also need to track your sleep with the watch for it to work.

To enable it, open the Health app on your iPhone, tap your profile icon, then go to Health Checklist. Scroll down, and you will see Sleep Apnea Detection. Go through the setup by confirming your age and whether you have previously been diagnosed with sleep apnea.

After each night of sleep, you can come back to this section to see whether your breathing disturbances were marked as elevated or not.

7. Enable fall detection

Your Apple Watch can detect if you've taken a hard fall, something that can genuinely be a lifesaver, especially for older users.

When the watch detects a fall, it will sound an alarm and show an alert on the screen, giving you the option to call emergency services right away or simply tap to say "I'm OK" if you are fine.

If the watch detects that you have not moved for about a minute after the fall, it'll automatically place an emergency call on your behalf. Of course, you can cancel this at any point if it was a false alarm.

To enable fall detection, open the Watch app on your iPhone and go to the My Watch tab. From there, tap Emergency SOS and turn on Fall Detection. You can choose to keep it Always On or limit it to Only During Workouts, depending on how you use your watch.

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I’ve been wearing an Apple Watch for the better part of the last decade, but, like most users, I only use about 10% of the features loaded onto it. My colleague Dan highlighted 7 hidden Apple Watch features he swears by, but it turns out every day really is a school day, and I recently found this handy hack that has helped me feel more organized.

Did you know that you can set location-based reminders on your Apple Watch to help you remember to grab your keys before leaving the house, call your mom, or take out the trash as soon as you get home? Hopefully, I’m not the only one late to the party, so read on to find out how to use this handy feature if you don't know about it.

If you are looking to upgrade your Apple Watch, check out our Apple Watch Ultra 3 review, our Apple Watch Series 11 review, and our Apple Watch SE 3 review.

It’s pretty simple to set up location-based reminders on your Apple Watch. If, like me, you have the memory of a goldfish, this simple Apple Watch hack is life-changing. Here’s how to do it:

If you find you no longer need a reminder, you can simply swipe left on it to delete it from the Reminder app on your Apple Watch. You can also tap on the reminder itself to mark it as complete — oddly satisfying if, like me, you love a to-do list.

Watch out, world, because my Apple Watch just made me more organized than ever before. Now, where did I leave my keys…

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I haven’t used one exclusively for a long time, but dumbphones do still exist today. You’ve got retro-looking flip phones like the TCL Go Flip that remind me strikingly of my first phone, and then there are keyboard phones like the $499 Clicks Communicator that try to convince you they're more of a companion to your smartphone.

They’re all good ways to untether yourself from the distractions of today's best phones, but the best dumbphone isn’t one I need to buy — it’s already something I have wrapped around my wrist. I’ve had my Apple Watch Series 9 for a good while now and recently used it exclusively as a dumb phone to better free myself from the digital noise of my primary device.

Even though dumbphones have quietly been making a comeback, I’m not too optimistic about using one long term. While it’s been a refreshing experience, I’ve come across a few surprising things using my Apple Watch as a dumbphone. Here’s what it can (and can’t) do.

What you need to know

First of all, I have an Apple Watch Series 9 with cellular connectivity — which is essential for making it a true, dedicated device. Secondly, it requires its own data plan to function properly when it’s not connected to a Wi-Fi network.

Of course, this is an additional expense — and you’ll generally pay about $100 more upfront for a model with cellular capabilities. You don’t necessarily need an Apple Watch either, given how many of the best smartwatches on the market also offer cellular versions. If you do want to stick with Apple, the most affordable option right now is the Apple Watch SE 3 at $299.

Phone calls, texting, and (yes) emails

Just like any dumbphone, I’m able to make phone calls and send text messages with my Apple Watch. For texting, I’ve leaned on Siri for voice dictation since the on-screen keyboard isn’t ideal for long messages. It also helps that iMessage offers several quick-reply suggestions; often, I just tap one and that’s all there is to it.

This also applies to emails, which I’ve been trying to steer clear of during this experiment. Unlike on my smartphone, I’m less inclined to actually read through them because doing so on such a tiny display is a bit of a chore.

Forget social media

Now this one’s probably the biggest benefit of switching to a dumbphone, since none of the popular social media apps I use daily on my smartphone are available on the Apple Watch. This means I’m spending less screen time as a whole, choosing instead to pass the time during my commute on the train by doing other things like listening to music.

Connect wireless headphones

Speaking of music, I’m able to connect my AirPods Pro 3 directly to my Apple Watch. I typically do this because, while the internal speaker is a fallback, I’d much rather take phone calls in public using earbuds to keep my conversations private. What’s even better is that I can pair almost any Bluetooth device to the Watch, including my Pixel Buds Pro 2.

Most music apps don’t work offline

The most infuriating part about using my Apple Watch this way is that it only supports standalone streaming with a few apps. I already have subscriptions for Amazon Prime Music and YouTube Music, but neither lets me stream directly from the Watch — they simply act as remote controls for my iPhone.

Not surprisingly, Apple Music streams over cellular without needing my iPhone nearby, but I can only listen to so much of that old U2 album that's been tied to my account for years. While the radio function provides some variety, my only other real option for fresh music is Spotify, which also supports standalone cellular streaming.

It’s frustrating because I would much rather access the specific playlists and songs I’ve already saved with my YouTube Music subscription.

Other ways to wear it

As much as it’s convenient to have my phone on my wrist, there are times and special occasions when I’d rather be wearing something fancier — like my Withings ScanWatch Nova. For this exact reason, I ended up buying an accessory that acts more like a phone case for my Apple Watch. It’s definitely something worth thinking about because it still gives me that feel of a phone, without all of the distractions of a typical smartphone.

If you’re like me and love wearing your Apple Watch, but not on your wrist, here are some other solutions I’ve explored.

Bottom line

Using my Apple Watch as a dumbphone has been a sobering experience. It exposes how much time I really waste scrolling endlessly on my phone. Without those distractions, I was able to focus on priorities that matter—like working on small projects around my home that I’ve been putting off.

At the same time, I know that I can’t use this setup forever. But if I ever do need to disconnect and refocus, I know I already have the perfect tool right on my wrist. This is why I can’t stress enough how the best dumbphone could already be something you own and you don’t need to waste more money buying yet another gadget.

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