Technologies

The Apple Watch Series 10 Is Hands-Down My Favorite Smartwatch, and It’s 24% Off Right Now

This sleek smartwatch is a CNET Editors’ Choice Award winner — and I’ll never go anywhere without it.

I’ve tested dozens of smartwatches over the years, and whenever I’m done with a review, I like to go bare-wristed for a few days to give myself a break. But after wrapping up my review of the Apple Watch Series 10, I noticed something totally unexpected: For the first time ever, I didn’t want to take the device off.

I’ve always been on the lookout for a hybrid watch that strikes the right balance between a traditional wristwatch and a smartwatch. Plenty of wearables over the years have promised just that, like the Withings Scanwatch range. The Series 10, which tops our list of the best smartwatches for 2025 and is a CNET Editors’ Choice Award winner, strikes the ideal balance for me because it doesn’t compromise on connectivity, fitness tracking features or the overall look.

That’s because of the LTPO 3 technology that lets the screen refresh at 1Hz and gives the Series 10 a ticking second hand on a few watch faces, even when the display isn’t actively being used. It makes Apple’s device feel like a regular watch when I’m not actively using it, which is different from any other smartwatch I’ve tested.

I like being able to change up the look by switching between the Reflections watch face, with its sweeping «analog» second hand, and Activity Digital, with its digital seconds counter. I wish there were more watch faces that supported this ticking second hand. There is Flux, but I’ve found myself siding with Redditors who think it’s kind of goofy. (If you’ve found a color combination that makes it feel less comical, let me know!)

The ticking second hand isn’t just an aesthetic choice, or for the times when I’m anxiously checking to make sure I’m not too early for my next meeting. It’s also practical for folks in different professions, like health care workers who need to have a second hand even after the display times out.

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Apple Watch Series 10 (GPS, 46mm, Black, M/L Sports Band):

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Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 (Bluetooth, 40mm, Cream):

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Amazfit Active 42mm Smartwatch With 14 Day Battery Life (Black):

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Garmin Vivoactive 5 GPS Smartwatch With AMOLED Display:

$200 (save $100)
Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra (Wi-Fi, LTE, 47mm, Titanium Silver):

$500 (save $150)

Deals are selected by the CNET Group commerce team, and may be unrelated to this article.

More than the ticking second hand, it’s the display itself

I was skeptical that the Series 10’s wide-angle OLED display would make that much difference to the viewing experience. Apple says it’s up to 40% brighter than earlier watch displays when you’re looking at it off-axis. So of course I had to compare it to every other Apple Watch in my review cabinet, including the Series 9.

When using my eyes alone I’m not able to quantify how much brighter it appears as a percentage, there’s no question the Series 10 is easier to see and looks brighter than other Apple Watch models with the same watch face.

The Series 10 doesn’t have the same battery life or rugged construction, but I miss its display when I have to switch to the $799 Apple Watch Ultra 2.

Apple Watch Series 10 specs

Case sizes: 42mm, 46mm
Battery life: Up to 18 hours
Screen: LTPO3 OLED Always-On Retina display
Refresh rate: 1Hz
Brightness: Up to 2,000 nits
Water resistance: Up to 50m

Why I never want to take it off

It’s not just the display that’s made it hard for me to remove the Series 10 from my wrist. There’s almost every health and fitness tracking feature I could want, from a range of cycling tools to sleep apnea notifications, which is part of the reason this watch tops our list of the best smartwatches for 2025.

Then there’s WatchOS 11, which brings helpful safety tools like Check In to my wrist, so I no longer have to manually send the «I’m home!» message to friends and family. If only it worked with recipients who don’t use iMessage: I truly hope Apple will add compatibility for RCS messaging for this indispensable safety tool, just like FaceTime works on Android through a web link.

I now understand what people mean when they say they feel naked when they leave their house without their phones. Except for me, it’s a watch.

The Apple Watch Series 10 with cellular connectivity is normally listed at $499, but you can get one for as much as $119 off right now, so it’s a great time to snatch one up for yourself or to give as a gift. Prices vary quite a bit depending on case size, finish and band type, so be sure to click around to see all your options, and double-check the price of your selected configuration before finalizing your purchase. If you’re looking for more gift ideas, don’t miss our favorite tech gifts under $100.

Impulse Buys Under $25 on Amazon That Make Surprisingly Great Gifts

+17 More

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Technologies

Microsoft Is Testing Letting Copilot AI Interact With Your Whole Desktop

The new feature for Microsoft’s Copilot AI will give it greater access to the contents of your screen.

Microsoft has confirmed an upcoming expansion to its Copilot AI chatbot’s screen-sharing abilities: Soon it will be able to process your entire desktop, not just certain parts of it.

The company said Tuesday that this expansion of Copilot’s Vision capabilities has begun public testing. This update, now rolling out to the company’s Windows Insider program testers, will allow the AI chatbot to view, process and react to all aspects of a user’s desktop, where beforehand it was limited to specific apps or windows.

With this update in place, Copilot should be to process and react to multiple windows and apps at the same time. Microsoft touted the ability for it to assist with all aspects of a project you might be working on.

The Vision feature can be activated by selecting the «glasses» icon and selecting which desktop you’d like to share, and can be closed out by hitting «Stop» or «X» in the composer.

«When you share your desktop (or any specific browser or app window), Copilot can see what you see and talk to you about it in real time,» Microsoft’s blog post said. «It can help analyze content, provide insights, and answer your questions, coaching you through it aloud. Get tips on making improvements to your creative project, help with improving your resume, or guidance while navigating a new game.»

Technologies

Smart Cameras Power a Robot Umpire at MLB All-Stars for the First Time. Here’s How the Challenges Went

The auto-umpire system has debuted and is on track for regular season use, but accuracy could be an issue.

If umpires draw your ire for bad calls, you may soon have a new target: Major League Baseball used its ABS, or Automated Ball-Strike System, to call pitches at the July 15 All-Star Game for the first time. If trials this season go well, it will probably be adopted for the 2026 regular season. But challenges against the camera had an unusually high rate of success.

The ABS uses Hawk-Eye cameras, a technology increasingly common in games with high-speed objects. The cameras judge how a ball travels — in this case, over the strike zone — and are equipped to make a preliminary call.

A human umpire, along with batters and pitchers, have a couple of seconds to review the footage and challenge a call if they think the automated system was wrong. It’s a system the MLB has experimented with since 2019 and is finally ready to bring to the national stage.

This approach has caused some controversy, particularly because the Hawk-Eye cameras are programmed to see the strike zone very differently from human umpires. Instead of the standard cube shape that’s underpinned strike zone knowledge for decades, the ABS uses a two-dimensional rectangle standard that’s automatically adjusted to extend between 53.5% and 27% of the batter’s height. Batters are measured before each game.

Those worried about discrepancies now have new fuel for their worries. In the July 15 game, which the National League won in a home run derby after nine innings ended with a tie, four out of five challenges to the ABS and umpire Dan Iassogna’s combined work were successful. That’s much higher than the ABS spring training test, where teams won only around 50% of their challenges.

The MLB hasn’t revealed definitive plans on whether the ABS could replace umpires altogether, but at this time the human-based, real-time reviews from the umpire appear to be an integral part of the system.

The league did not immediately respond to request for comment.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for July 17, #297

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for July 17, No. 297.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

My blue group hint for today’s Connections: Sports Edition is geared toward Saturday Night Live fans, but if you know your basketball, you should be fine. I think the green group is even easier than the yellow group, but that might depend on how much time you’ve spent on the water. Read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is out of beta now, making its debut on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 9. That’s a sign that the game has earned enough loyal players that The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by the Times, will continue to publish it. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but now appears in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can continue to play it free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: WKRP.

Green group hint: Ahoy!

Blue group hint: The only prescription is more cowbell.

Purple group hint: Fancy fores.