Alongside the Apple Watch Series 6, Apple also announced the Apple Watch SE, though it is not an Apple Watch Series 3 replacement as rumored. Instead, the Apple Watch SE will sit above the Apple Watch Series 3 in Apple’s wearable lineup.
In terms of features and specs, the Apple Watch SE brings the Apple Watch Series 6 design language to a lower price point. This means you get the same 30 percent bigger display than the Series 3, though Always-on Display support is notably missing here. Under the hood, the smartwatch uses an S5 chipset that should bring about a 2x jump in performance from the S3 chipset found inside the Series 3.
Other key features of the Apple Watch SE includes the same speaker and microphone setup as the Series 6 along with Bluetooth 5.0 support.
In terms of health tracking sensors, the Apple Watch SE misses out on all the advanced sensors like ECG and SpO2 found in the Apple Watch Series 6. It only features a heart rate tracker along with the usual array of sensors like Barometer, Accelerometer with 32g of g-force and fall detection, ambient light sensor, and more. It also has an Emergency SOS feature that allows one to quickly connect to the emergency services.
The Apple Watch SE will be available in two different sizes — 40mm and 44mm — with GPS and Wi-Fi-only configurations. Apple Watch SE starts from $279. It can also be purchased for $12/month on financing using Apple Card. The Apple Watch SE goes up for pre-order later today and it will be available in-stores from September 18.
