I've had Apple Watch 11 for a month – these are the features I'm actually using (and a few I'm skipping)

I've been using the new Apple Watch 11 for a month now, and I have so many thoughts about it. For context, I'm completely trapped in the Apple ecosystem and don't want to escape from how all the tech fits together so seamlessly. I used the Apple Watch SE 2 for a very long time, before moving up to the Apple Watch 10, and this journey impacts how I feel about the 11. I like it just fine, and it's clearly best in class at what it does – but the upgrades over the 10 feel so incremental that I sort of wish they'd upgrade it every two years rather than every year.

I've written before how I was actually pretty happy with the SE 2, since I'm not deep sea diving or getting lost up mountains. But when I upgraded to the Apple Watch 10 I was surprised by how much I appreciated the faster charging and the brighter screen. These are material upgrades that make a big difference, which is unsurprising when bouncing from a basic model to the flagship.

So far, I'm not feeling any of those increased benefits from upgrading from the 10 to 11 (except more battery life, which is always appreciated). But given only a fraction of people will be making this small upgrade, maybe it doesn't matter. Anyway, here is what I'm using the new model for – and the features I just haven't found useful.

See the Apple Watch generations guide if you're lost on which model does what.

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What I'm using it for

The main reason I use a smartwatch at all is because of the fitness features. I need it to keep me on track (i.e. shout at me to close my rings) and for that reason the Apple Health and Apple Fitness integration is helpful – as is its universal compatibility with other apps (I mainly use Peloton). To be honest, the SE 2 did everything I needed it to in this area, and that means the 11 is completely fit for purpose – even adding an element I didn't know I needed in the new Workout Buddy function. This talks to me to provide motivation and praise. And as a friend recently told me, I am someone who likes a pat on the back. It would be even better if it could work when you leave your phone at home, though.

The fact that the Apple Watch also syncs up with my iPhone perfectly is the only other part of the jigsaw puzzle I really need. While I used to get paranoid at friends checking their watches mid-sentence I now like that I don't always have to look at my phone to receive messages, and the new wrist flick gesture control gets them out of the way quickly if I don't want to break eye contact with whoever I'm talking to.

Being able to bark orders at Siri is a great thing, and I love being able to go out running without taking my phone. I track my cycle and have Shazaam constantly on my watch face, which is something teenage me could only dream of (what is this modern magic?). The screen is beautiful (and much harder to scratch now, thanks to a more resilient material), and of course, the design remains classically Apple sleek.

I love Liquid Glass, by the way. And it looks really lovely on WatchOS.

What I'm not using it for

Okay, so I'm the wrong demographic for the sleep features – ask me again in a couple of years when I don't have young children. I have little to no control over how much sleep I get so the sleep functionality on the Apple Watch 11 is useless for me. But if you're someone who does want to track their sleep, the new sleep score metric is probably useful as it's clearer to read. It breaks the score down into three categories of bedtime, duration and interruptions.

Added to that you can track your overnight vitals like blood oxygen level, heart rate and wrist temperature. I'm sorry that I haven't tested this to tell you about it, but I just can't get past the screen when they ask for a target sleep length without either crying or laughing. There's only so much I'll do for my job.

Luckily I've had no Hypertension alerts, so I guess I'm not using that new feature whilst also using it. It tracks your vitals over 30 days and lets you know if you have any blood pressure issues you need to worry about, so that's useful.

Existential thoughts

I can't help feeling that smartwatches have a functionality limit. While I really, really like the Apple Watch, I can't imagine any other health tracking that would actually be useful – beyond something like insulin monitoring for diabetics, and that feels outside of its remit. The reason I say this is most of the benefits at this stage do feel like non-essential trackers and I don't know what might be up next for the Apple Watch.

But for the things I've listed above, I really enjoy using the Apple Watch 11. And I don't think I need to try the Ultra unless I have a drastic lifestyle change, or have to join the scouts for my children. See the iPhone 17 Pro review for our thoughts on the latest model.