6 features I'd like to see on the Apple Watch Series 11 - including a big one for health

Nina Raemont/ZDNET Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. We're a day away from one of the biggest tech events of the year. Apple's "Awe-dropping" iPhone event takes place on Tuesday in Cupertino, where the tech giant will reveal its latest handsets and devices. Rumors swirl about Apple's thinnest iPhone, new AirTags, and three new Apple Watch drops. As a health wearables editor, the latter particularly excites me. In the lead-up to Apple's event, I've rounded up several Apple Watch rumors, like the Apple Watch Ultra 3's satellite connectivity upgrades or hypertension monitoring. Also: Apple iPhone 17 event live blog: The biggest announcements we're expecting on Tuesday But before any of those rumors are confirmed tomorrow, I want to write up a wishlist today of all the features I'd love to see on the next lineup of Apple Watches. 1. Longer battery Wouldn't it be nice if your smartwatch's battery lasted more than a day? There are features you can enable or disable to prolong your watch's battery for up to 36 hours, but what if Apple's smartwatches lasted at least a few days with no battery-saving adjustments? This is usually the wish among users around product launch season. Also: The Apple Watch Series 11 rumors I'm most excited about Apple has made improvements to its battery life and charging within the past few years. On its Series 10 smartwatch, which debuted last year, the watch's battery life can go from 0 to 85% within 30 minutes. To continuously capture my exercise or sleep data or stay connected when my phone is not within arm's reach, my smartwatch needs to have all the battery power it can muster. I hope Apple acknowledges this widespread wish in its new smartwatch lineup. 2. Brighter display Nina Raemont/ZDNET As I reviewed the season's other hot smartwatches, I found a magic number across the board. Both Google's Pixel Watch 4 and Samsung's Galaxy Watch lineup boast a brightness level of 3,000 nits. The only Apple smartwatch with this brightness is the Ultra 2, and the Series 10's peak brightness comes in at 2,000 nits. I wouldn't be surprised if Apple is making its latest smartwatch lineup brighter to compete with its rivals' specs. Increased brightness also keeps the watch viewable and vivid, no matter the environment. 3. Even thinner The best wearable tech feels discreet and light on its wearer. If a company wants users to keep these devices with them 24/7, the device must be comfortable and unintrusive. Apple made strides in this department last year when it debuted its thinnest Apple Watch ever in the Series 10. I had used its chunkier Series 9 before then and saw serious improvements when I slept with the newer watch. Let's keep the thin and discreet vibes going with the Apple Watch Series 11. There are talks that the tech giant will release a thin smartphone this Tuesday, so why not extend that build to its smartwatches? 4. More FDA-cleared health-tracking features One way Apple differentiates itself from its competition is through its research and FDA-cleared features that advance its health and wellness missions. Apple doesn't just pull a health-tracking feature out of thin air to slap it onto its devices. Also: Your next Apple Watch could have a feature that transforms healthcare Several of Apple Health's studies have resulted in groundbreaking device features, like the FDA-cleared sleep apnea detection feature in the Series 10 or the hearing loss detection feature in the AirPods Pro 2. As Apple competes with its competitors to develop standout smartwatch health features, I hope medical-grade advancements play a major role in this new lineup. 5. Sleep scores Jason Hiner/ZDNET It might seem contradictory to wish for more FDA-cleared health features while also asking for subjective sleep scores. Oh well, can't a girl have both? While its devices can accurately capture sleep stages and time spent asleep, sleep scores are one area where Apple has lagged behind the competition. The closest we get to that is through the Vitals smartwatch app, which shows users whether their wrist temperature, respiration rate, heart rate, and time spent asleep were within a user's normal range. Also: How to hack your sleep with a smartwatch or smart ring This is a very scientific approach to sleep-tracking. The onus is on the user to parse through that data and assess their health. Apple and its AI could help the user along by offering actionable summaries of sleep and activity data, using the data it's already collecting to provide users with even more insights into their sleep and recovery. The tech brand seems hesitant to grade a user's sleep, but leaks show that it seems to be changing. Rumors suggest that sleep scoring could be in the Apple Watch's future. 6. More contextualized stress tracking One of my most-used Apple Watch features is the Heart Rate feature. After I've hauled groceries up my two flights of stairs or had my third cup of coffee during a stressful day at work, I'll use the Apple Watch's Heart Rate app to check in with my body and its stress levels. The app shows my current heart rate, my heart rate range throughout the day, my resting heart rate, and my walking average. My issue with the app is that I can't zoom in or interact deeper with this heart rate information. I can't see what time my heart rate spiked this morning or when it dropped in the afternoon. A more interactive timeline could further uncover insights into my biological response to stress or activity. Other wearables, like the Oura Ring, provide me with by-the-minute stress-tracking using heart rate monitoring tech. It's time Apple developed a functionality that does the same.