This New Apple Watch Feature Has Me Scratching My Head

At Monday’s Glowtime event, Apple unfurled a laundry list of products and new features — from the iPhone 16 to USB-C charging on the AirPods Max — but one thing stood out as being particularly weird.  

The Apple Watch Series 10 can now play music and podcasts from a redesigned speaker, but my question is: Why would you do this? The existing Watch has a speaker which works for alerts and the very-occasional phone call, but Apple says this is the first of its watches to play back media.

According to the exploded diagram the company showed during its event, the new speaker appears to be a “racetrack” driver — so named because it’s shaped like an oblong NASCAR course. On soundbars and other devices, these drivers are used because they are more efficient than circular ones and fit in a smaller area. The side of the watch seems like a good place to put one of these, but then we’re talking a driver which is a quarter-inch wide or less. The company doesn’t quote frequency numbers, but you’re unlikely to get any sub frequencies out of that thing. The power drain alone might make it not worthwhile. 

I’ve racked my brain to imagine a comparable speaker, and nothing I can come up with is anywhere near that small — phones, for example, have much bigger sound systems. Maybe in-ear headphones, but then they’re not designed to project sound. We’re in uncharted territory here, people. 

There’s a reason a speaker needs to be “big” to make sound. Its job is to push air, and the deeper or “bassier” a sound goes, the more air it needs to push. High frequencies are the opposite: very little effort is required to make a high-pitched sound. For a practical example of how size affects sound think of the animal kingdom. Mosquitos buzz, elephants trumpet.

So how will such a tiny speaker sound? We reached out to Apple for comment but haven’t heard back. And having not yet heard it myself I can only use physics and fauna as my guide. Even TVs, with a speaker as long as your arm, sound terrible compared with a decent soundbar. In your head, as you think about the Apple Watch’s speaker, envision the smallest Bluetooth speaker you’ve ever heard and then take out all of the bass. 

Watch this: Apple Debuts Apple Watch Series 10

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I’m curious what a new, even-worse way to listen to music will lead to. Are we about to see this become a new nuisance in public places? Finance bros “blasting” their workout tunes and middle schoolers on public transport entertaining each other with the sounds of Skibidi Toilet?

Even if you’re at home, and want to listen to something, what can be done about the sound quality of this watch? Well, have you ever done one of those tricks when you’re stuck with just your phone speaker? Like putting your phone in a cup to get better sound? Now, I suppose you’ll need to put your watch in something — like a cone collar for dogs, but for your whole fist. “Look at me, everyone, I’m Iron Man! Pewpewpew!”

We have yet to test the speaker ourselves but expect a full review review of the Apple Watch Series 10 soon.