When people ask me which Apple Watch to buy, I usually steer them toward the SE. It’s the model I think makes the most sense for first-time smartwatch owners. To sum up the Apple Watch SE, it's an affordable way to get the essentials of fitness tracking and iPhone connectivity without overspending.
But with the Apple Watch SE 3, most of the trade-offs or caveats I needed to disclaim with the Apple Watch SE 2 are gone. It feels less like a compromise than ever with an always-on display, 5G connectivity, on-device Siri powered by the same S10 chip found in the Apple Watch Series 11 and Apple Watch Ultra 3, plus a skin temperature sensor and all the software upgrades in watchOS 26.
