Last year, the Apple Watch Series 10 was extensively renewed with an energy-efficient Always-on LTPO3 Retina-Oled Wugehoek display and a thinner design. This is therefore the reason that the Apple Watch Series 11 is expected to be renewed.
The most important renewal relates to a faster processor and may be added exclusive functions such as hypertension detection (high blood pressure, calculating sleep scores and 5G support.
Unchanged design
The Apple Watch Series 11 will probably get the same design as the series 10 without major changes to the appearance. Apple usually adjusts the design once every three years and the series 10 already brought a new, flatter design with rounded corners. That is why the series 11 is expected to retain the same slim, thin appearance, so that existing straps will continue to fit.
Just like the Series 10, the Apple Watch Series 11 has an OLED War angle display that optimizes each pixel for a larger light output from wider corners. This makes the screen up to 40 percent brighter compared to the series 9 when it is viewed from a corner.
The wide-angle OLED screen is also more energy efficient, making a faster refresh speed possible when the Apple Watch is in the Always-on mode, from once per minute to once per second. As a result, users can now see a ticking second guide without lifting their wrist on selected dials.
Faster S11 chip
Rumors report that the Apple Watch Series 11 will be provided with an S11 SIP with 64-Bits Dual-CoreProcessor with 4-core Neural Engine. The S11 chip is based on an advanced 3NM architecture, making it more powerful and energy efficient than its predecessor.
5G support
The Apple Watch Series 11 will probably receive support for 5G for the first time thanks to a new modem from MediaTek with 5G RedCap technology. This 5G RedCap network is more energy efficient and better suited for small devices such as the Apple Watch, which benefits the battery life. This allows the Apple Watch Series 11 to independently use a faster mobile data connection than the earlier 4G models.
Satellite connection?
On an iPhone 14 or newer it has been possible in the US and Canada since iOS 18 Send messages via a satellite connection When you are in an emergency situation. Earlier there were rumors that the Apple Watch Ultra 3 may get a similar function with which you can send a message via the Apple Watch when you are in need. Whether this function also comes to series 11 is still unclear.
Hypertension detection (high blood pressure)
The Apple Watch Series 11 may get detection for hypertension, high blood pressure. It is not that you can measure your blood pressure in real time, but in the background the Apple Watch will keep an eye on your blood pressure on changes.
Hypertension Detection is the process in which increased blood pressure is determined, usually defined as a blood pressure of 140/90 mmHg or higher. The Apple Watch is expected to check through repeated measurements over a certain period, whether there is a deviation. If this is the case, the user will receive a notification with a warning.
The user can then contact a doctor for further steps in the event of repeated reports. The intention is that the Apple Watch discovers early that a person suffers from high blood pressure so that he can consult a doctor for treatment.
The only warning in the event of high blood pressure can be compared with the sleep apnea function that was added last year. Here you can also not read exactly what the values are, but it gives a good insight into your health.
Sleeping score
Being in the beta of iOS 26 References found To a sleep score function for Apple Watch. This score provides a summary assessment of your sleep quality in one clear figure, based on data such as movement, heart rate and possibly pole temperature. This score combines information about different sleeping stages, including REM sleep, deep sleep and the time that you are awake, so that you can quickly see how well you slept.
The score is displayed in the Health app, along with graphs over your sleep patterns and trends. Whether this function is available for all Apple Watch models or is exclusively for new models is not yet known.
Availability
The Apple Watch Series 11 is expected in the autumn of 2025, but 100% certain is not yet. It was previously suggested that Apple may want to get off an annual product cycle. So it could just be that Apple will only release the series 11 in 2026 and this year the series 10 will provide new functions using a software update, just like last year with the Apple Watch Ultra.