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Apple Watch SE 3 Announced With Always-On Display, Fast Charging, and More

For the first time in three years, there is a new Apple Watch SE.

Apple Watch SE 3
The budget-conscious Apple Watch SE 3 features an S10 chip, an always-on display, a new Sleep Score feature, Double Tap gesture support, wrist temperature sensing for retrospective ovulation estimates, sleep apnea detection, fast charging support, 5G support on cellular configurations, on-device Siri, and many other improvements.

Here is how the new Sleep Score feature works, according to Apple:

Sleep quality is influenced by several factors, such as sleep duration, bedtime consistency, how often a person wakes up, and how much time is spent in each sleep stage. With sleep score, Apple Watch helps track each of these categories to offer users a transparent and easy-to-understand metric for their overall sleep quality. After each night, sleep score provides an overall score and classification in the Sleep app on Apple Watch, plus a clear breakdown of the most critical components so users know what to prioritize to improve their sleep.

Apple Watch SE 3 is available in Starlight and Midnight, in 40mm and 44mm sizes. In the U.S., pricing starts at $249. Pre-orders begin today, ahead of a Friday, September 19 launch.

Apple Watch SE 3 Features
With watchOS 26, which will be released on Monday, September 15, the Apple Watch SE will support the new Workout Buddy feature powered by Apple Intelligence.

Related Roundup: Apple Watch SE 3
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Top Rated Comments

Corrode Avatar
13 months ago
Wow a ton of value in the SE now. Especially that always-on display.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
13 months ago

This seems like a really solid value. I'm torn between getting an Apple Watch SE with cellular for my 6th grader who needs some cellular connectivity for calling us for various after school activities, or if I should try to hold out for another year and get her a used iPhone. Don't really feel like a 6th grader needs a smartphone, but she says most of her friends have one. If I get her an SE, it might hold her off on bugging me about it for a couple more years and save some money on the phone bill, lol.
Good for you on not giving a smartphone to your daughter. The more we learn about smartphones & social media for children, especially girls, the grimmer the outlook is. Go read "The Tech Exit" by Clare Morell, find some like-minded families, and hold out as long as you can! You won't regret it.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Populus Avatar
13 months ago

This seems like a really solid value. I'm torn between getting an Apple Watch SE with cellular for my 6th grader who needs some cellular connectivity for calling us for various after school activities, or if I should try to hold out for another year and get her a used iPhone. Don't really feel like a 6th grader needs a smartphone, but she says most of her friends have one. If I get her an SE, it might hold her off on bugging me about it for a couple more years and save some money on the phone bill, lol.
If this Apple Watch is capable of cell phone calls by itself, without a smartphone (I don’t know, I’ve never had an Apple Watch), it’s definitely the right tool for a kid.

If a 6th grader is an 11 year old child, the phone bill is the last thing you should worry about giving open, unrestricted, unsupervised internet access. I mean, sometimes I get the feeling most parents haven’t used the internet like a younger person would, but there are many dangers to a child’s mental and sexual health out there, accessible either through the browser, through social media apps, or now through the use of AI. The safest way to introduce a child to the internet is through a supervised internet connected PC in a shared environment such as the living room.

Keep in mind that most of us who were born before the 2000s had Internet access while we were almost adults, with a well developed brain at 17 or 18 years old. What’s happening now to kids being exposed to such intense stimulus at such early stages is something unprecedented and with unknown consequences…

You could, of course, buy her a feature phone, but that will make her be pointed by her classmates. Little does she know, that the ones doing the wrong thing for their age, are their classmates and not her. And that, ultimately, the responsible of all of this, are the parents, teachers and education institutions that allow this.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BelgianChoklit Avatar
13 months ago
I can't believe how many features Apple put in the cheapest Apple Watch. That's very nice.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
macduke Avatar
13 months ago
This seems like a really solid value. I'm torn between getting an Apple Watch SE with cellular for my 6th grader who needs some cellular connectivity for calling us for various after school activities, or if I should try to hold out for another year and get her a used iPhone. Don't really feel like a 6th grader needs a smartphone, but she says most of her friends have one. If I get her an SE, it might hold her off on bugging me about it for a couple more years and save some money on the phone bill, lol.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Happy_John Avatar
13 months ago
Fast charging, AOD ( if that floats your boat). This is the one to buy.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)