Disclaimer: The Run Testers sometimes use affiliate links. This means that we may receive payment if you buy products on our website or YouTube. Our use of affiliates supports the channel and does not affect how we review shoes, tech or gear.
The Apple Watch Series 11 is not as sporty a smartwatch as the Apple Watch Ultra 3, but it’s still a strong option for runners who want a small, lightweight smartwatch that offers reliable run tracking.
It’s also one of the best running watches for beginners in general, being reasonable value and offering a plethora of apps that can provide guided training plans to get you into the sport and prepare you for events.
However, it does lack some key features for runners, such as a dedicated lap button and dual-and GPS, and though the battery life is improved on the Apple Watch Series 11 compared with the 10, it’s still shorter than you get with sports watches.
Design & Key Stats
- Price: £369/$399
- Size: 46 x 39 x 9.7mm or 42 x 36 x 9.7mm
- Weight: 37g (46mm), 30g (42mm)
- Display: 1.9in or 1.5in
- Case material: Steel or titanium
- Screen material: Ion-X glass or sapphire crystal
- Water resistance: 50m
- Battery life (watch): 24 hours
- Battery life (dual-band GPS): 8 hours
- Storage: 64GB
Apple Watch Series 11 Review
What’s New?
The most important upgrades you get on the Apple Watch Series 11 are its longer battery life and tougher display. If you opt for a standard model the reinforced glass used is twice as scratch resistant as the glass on the Series 10, while the titanium model has a sapphire crystal screen.
Other new features include 5G connectivity and software updates that are also available on older models, like hypertension notifications, sleep score and workout buddy.
The Run Test: Likes
The Apple Watch Series 11’s best feature is its design. It’s very small and light on the wrist, but still has a large display and an elegant look that means you can wear it anywhere. Compared with the Ultra 3 and bulky sports watches like the Garmin Fenix 8 Pro, it’s a lot more comfortable to wear 24/7.
Despite not having dual-band GPS, the Series 11 is mostly very accurate with regards to GPS tracking, and its heart rate tracking is also pretty good and a little more reliable than that of the Ultra 3, in our experience.
The smart features on the watch are second to one (unless you have an Android phone, of course), and the App Store is laden with excellent sports apps like WorkOutDoors, which offers more customisation than the native tracking app, along with maps you can see alongside your stats on the run.
While it’s still not a long-lasting watch, the increased battery life is noticeable on the Series 11, which lasted us more than a day comfortably even when doing a long run with the watch. It also charges very quickly, which means you can get a top-up to last the day even with just 15-30 minutes on the charger.
The Run Test: Dislikes
The Apple Watch Series 11 has some important shortcomings when it comes to run tracking in particular, including the lack of a lap button — even when using third-party apps you have to hit two buttons at once to mark a lap.
While its all-system GPS tracking is good, it’s not quite as reliable as dual-band tracking, and we noticed when under tree cover the Series 11’s GPS track would deviate from the path we ran more often than dual-band watches.
Like the Apple Watch Ultra 3, the Series 11 also lacks the detailed training analysis you get from dedicated sports watches, and even third-party apps like Athlytic fail to fill this gap on the watch successfully in our view.
The battery life is still well short of what you get from sports watches too, and even though that’s understandable given how much the Series 11 is doing as a proper smartwatch, finding a time to charge it each and every day is tricky at times.
Verdict And Alternatives
The Apple Watch Series 11 is a great smartwatch and since its price hasn’t risen in years, it’s becoming better and better value compared to sports watches. If you can handle the various inconveniences it presents to runners, like the short battery and lack of a lap button, it’s a very good running watch, and an outstanding smartwatch.
If you do want a better sports watch for the same price or less, then the Coros Pace Pro, Suunto Run and Garmin Forerunner 165 are all lightweight devices with AMOLED screens that offer great run tracking and, in the case of the Forerunner 165, some useful smart features too.
The Apple Watch Ultra 3 is a better running smartwatch if you don’t mind its high price and larger design, and fixes most of the problems runners might have with the Series 11, though its battery life is still shorter than you get on sports watches.
We’d also say that the Apple Watch Series 10 is still worth considering instead of the Series 11, especially if you can find it in a sale. The upgrade in battery life is welcome on the Series 11, but not big enough to make it a much better option than the Series 10, which offers the same sports tracking features as the newer watch.