Just like the iPhone SE, the Apple Watch SE is the affordable yet featured-filled Apple Watch. Although there are some compromises, it nonetheless delivers an expertise true to what’s anticipated from an Apple Watch, and is type of a mishmash between the 4, 5 and 6 pulling in several options from every.
The most effective information right here is perhaps the value: $279 for 40mm with Wi-Fi, $329 for 40mm with Wi-Fi + Cellular, $309 for 44mm with Wi-Fi and $359 44mm with Wi-Fi + Cellular.
After two weeks with it, this isn’t only a terrific entry-point for a primary smartwatch, nevertheless it’s crammed to the brim with options. However bluntly: Should you don’t want {an electrical} heart-rate sensor, blood oxygen monitoring and an always-on show, the Watch SE is the clear choice when it comes to Apple Watches. Right here’s why.
The SE doesn’t stray a lot from the traditional Apple Watch design.
The Apple Watch SE keeps the 30% larger display that first debuted on the Series 4. With SE, the bezels (or edges) across the show are slim, so not even the 40mm feels almost as cramped as we thought it might.
You continue to get the Digital Crown with haptics and an motion button on the appropriate facet. The haptics within the crown offer you suggestions when adjusting quantity, scrolling by means of a message and naturally utilizing the interfaces. The Apple Watch SE nonetheless retains WR50 resistance of as much as 50 meters in water. Meaning you’ll be able to put on it within the bathe, wash your fingers and even go swimming.
On the rear of the Watch SE is the place issues get slightly totally different. Notably, the SE includes a second-generation optical coronary heart fee sensor. It’s not electrical, which means no ECG (electrocardiogram) support and no blood oxygen sensors. No tremendous superior well being options right here, however the SE can nonetheless monitor your coronary heart fee in realtime and nonetheless ship alerts. The core coronary heart fee sensor on the SE is identical optical sensor discovered on the Collection 6.
Alongside this core sensor, the SE features an accelerometer, a gyroscope for fall detection, the always-on altimeter, a compass, GPS and an ambient light sensor. The always-on altimeter just premiered on the Series 6, we’re fairly stoked it’s discovered on the SE. This shall be useful for mountaineering and monitoring elevation.
The largest change for us with the Apple Watch SE was the removing of the always-on show observe. It is smart as Apple wants so as to add in some compromises to get the value down. You’ll want to boost your wrist to wake the display or faucet it to interact with it. A small value to pay to, nicely, pay much less.
The tech for the display is pretty much on-par with Series 6 as well. On the 40 and 44mm SEs, it’s protected by a layer of Ion-X glass and includes a low-temperature poly-silicon and oxide OLED Retina show. Each sizes can attain a most of 1,000 nit brightness. It’s a 324X394 decision on 40mm and 368X448 decision on 44mm. To our eyes, it’s a vibrant smartwatch show that delivers no noticeable pixelation round textual content or any photographs.
The Apple Watch SE boasts the Apple-made S5 processor — the identical one contained in the Collection 5.
Put merely: That means that the SE delivers big value. It’s working watchOS 7 out of the field and arrange was fairly fast. As soon as linked with an iPhone, both for private setup or Household Setup, we have been capable of run by means of choices and get apps copied over as a contemporary set up inside 10 minutes. Going from a backup from a Collection 5 or Collection 6 took solely about 5 minutes longer. Consider, that is additionally depending on a stable web connection to drag knowledge from the cloud.
As soon as arrange, you’ll be able to simply swipe left and proper to search out the watch face of your desires. Lengthy-pressing on a singular watch face brings you into the customization zone. Right here you’ll be able to regulate colours, sort fonts and even the issues on the show. The latter are like mini-apps in your homescreen. We selected the present temperature from Darkish Sky, our exercise rings, calendar and quick access to coronary heart fee. There are many third-party apps that provide issues as nicely.
Our favourite new characteristic is real-time translations by way of Apple’s digital assistant. It’s fairly useful to get a fast translation proper out of your wrist and with out opening a devoted app. Most impressively, it exhibits how succesful the S5 chip inside actually is.
Apple Pay works simply as nicely — and as shortly — as with the Collection 5 and Collection 6. And, due to watchOS 7, the Apple Watch SE can track handwashing just the same as the Watch 6. The microphones particularly pay attention for water from a faucet, hand motions and even the sound of cleaning soap being pumped from a bottle. And when it detects you’re washing your fingers, you’ll see a countdown seem in your wrist. As soon as the 20-seconds is up, you’ll really feel a vibration and listen to a brief jingle. You may as well select to obtain a reminder when you’re again residence to clean your fingers. This faucets into the GPS constructed inside and a few enhancements to Apple Maps.
Sleep monitoring is on board as nicely, and means that you can set a objective for the variety of hours, and tracks whether or not or not you’re hitting that objective. You received’t discover knowledge about totally different cycles such as you would possibly on a Fitbit, nevertheless it’s the identical sleep monitoring expertise as on the Collection 6 or another Apple Watch that helps the characteristic. It simply received’t observe your blood oxygen periodically in a single day.
Like earlier Apple Watch fashions, it’s a lithium-ion battery cell inside and helps round 18 hours. For us that meant about a day and a half, including sleep tracking. The SE helps wi-fi charging with useless to 80% in about an hour and a half. Charging as much as 100% is a bit longer at two and a half hours.
The health points on the SE are basically the identical expertise you’ve had on each different Apple Watch with transfer and train objectives you’ll be able to observe.
You may as well use the Exercise app to choose from a plethora of workouts — indoor or out of doors biking, purposeful power coaching, barre, dance, working, jogging, browsing and numerous others — that the Apple Watch SE will accurately track through an array of sensors. We didn’t discover any gradual downs or monitoring variations between the SE and Collection 6. Each have been capable of get an correct variety of energy burned, minutes exercised and coronary heart fee tracked all through.
The biggest thing we missed was the always-on display during activity. You may’t simply look down at your wrist whereas in a stretch to see the time. And we missed seeing the minutes labored out, energy burned and our coronary heart fee. The answer? Elevate your wrist or faucet the display. Some actions make this simpler stated than performed, although.
The Apple Watch SE delivers a tremendous amount of value with minimal compromises — as any Apple SE product ought to.
Should you can look previous no electrical heart-rate sensor, blood oxygen monitoring and an always-on show it’s the clear selection in the case of Apple Watches. And even if you opt for a cellular enabled variant, you’re still saving some dough.
But if you have a Series 5, the SE doesn’t take advantage of sense. We’d advocate you stick together with your present mannequin or opt for the Series 6 for the new health features.
