Apple Watch SE 3 Review: Premium Features Without the Premium Price

[MacRumors]

After a three-year wait, Apple finally upgraded the Apple Watch SE. The new Apple Watch SE 3 has several features that were previously reserved for more expensive models, but Apple didn't change the price at all.

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The Apple Watch SE 3 supports Always-On display technology, which the SE 2 lacked. You can now glance at the time and see complications without having to wake the watch, which is much more useful. The standard Apple Watch models have had Always-On displays since the Series 5, so it's long overdue for the SE. The Ion-X glass that protects the display is more durable than before, and it is 4x more resistant to cracking.

There's a faster S10 chip inside the Apple Watch SE 3, which means it works with the Double Tap and Wrist Flick gestures that have been limited to newer Apple Watch models. Double Tap enables one-handed interactions with notifications, while Wrist Flick lets you dismiss notifications, calls, and more while your hands are full.

On-device Siri works faster thanks to a 4-core Neural Engine, plus Siri can answer health-related queries like giving you your heart rate. The Apple Watch SE 3 also has double the storage of the SE 2, with 64GB.

Temperature sensing, Sleep Apnea detection, and Sleep Score are all Apple Watch SE 3 functions that weren't available on the prior-generation version. Temperature tracking is used for women's health features and monitoring vitals, while Sleep Apnea detection detects potential breathing issues at night. Sleep Score assigns a numerical value to your sleep quality, taking into account bedtime, time asleep, and number of times you were woken in the night.

Compared to the more expensive Apple Watch Series 11, the SE line lacks ECGs, blood oxygen sensing, and hypertension notifications. It is also limited to 40mm and 44mm screen sizes, and doesn't have the newer, thinner display that Apple introduced with the Series 10.

Like the Series 11, the SE 3 supports 5G connectivity instead of relying solely on LTE. It is able to charge faster than before, reaching an 80 percent charge in 45 minutes. A 15 minute charge allows for eight hours of normal use, and an eight minute charge is enough for eight hours of sleep tracking.

If you have an Apple Watch SE 2, the Apple Watch SE 3 is a great upgrade. It's also ideal if you've been waiting to upgrade from an older watch like the Series 4 or the Series 5.

The Apple Watch SE 3 is priced starting at $249 for the GPS model, so it's $150 cheaper than the Apple Watch Series 11, which starts at $399.

Article Link: Apple Watch SE 3 Review: Premium Features Without the Premium Price

 

[rickey939]

I am a first time AW owner and this SE 3 has been wonderful so far! Very happy with the purchase after holding out all of these years from getting a AW. The value was just too good to pass up.

 

[Plutonius]

It sounds more like an advertisement.

 

[Rychiar]

those confetti bands are so hideous

 

[turbineseaplane]

those confetti bands are so hideous

Agree.. Looks like someone wore it when spray painting for a while.

 

[BelgianChoklit]

I was absolutely stunned to hear how many features made it to the Apple Watch SE3. This is an incredible deal now.

 

[JCCL]

This is tremendous value. Great update for those looking for an entry level watch without much compromises.

 

[dannyyankou]

Apple really said, let’s give the budget models (almost) everything people want. Really good value between the iPhone 17 and Apple Watch SE 3.

 

[WarmWinterHat]

If I was in the market for an Apple Watch, I would absolutely choose the SE 3. Can't think of anything that would push towards the 11.

The Ultra is a different beast...and way too chonky for my taste, but that's a preference.

Agree.. Looks like someone wore it when spray painting for a while.

I don't hate them, but you're right that they look like they have been in a paint booth.

 

[Max_G]

If you want the boring design of the Apple Watch, the Huawei Watch Fit 4 Pro is a better choice imo.
An even better watch with a less boring design is the OnePlus Watch 3.

 

[Rychiar]

If you want the boring design of the Apple Watch, the Huawei Watch Fit 4 Pro is a better choice imo.
An even better watch with a less boring design is the OnePlus Watch 3.

Huawei looks like a knockoff ultra

 

[bmir]

Any idea if the 5g/cell improvements are meaningful compared to earlier SE? My kids have SE gen 1 watches and they do not reliably get reception for cell/texting (Bay Area, AT&T). Probably < 50% of times I've wanted to text or call it won't go through.

I'm debating whether to upgrade them to either this or the Series 11, or if it won't make a difference, find some other work around.

 

[bluecoast]

The only thing that sucks about the SE3 is the 2018 screen & bezel size.

And it’s hard to downgrade screen & bezel sizes

However, if it’s your first AW, you probably won’t care.

I predict that a LOT of people this holiday season are going to be very happy owners of their first AW - the SE3.

 

[noanker]

I was absolutely stunned to hear how many features made it to the Apple Watch SE3. This is an incredible deal now.

Perhaps an incredible deal for some, but not so much for me.

Purchased two Apple Watch SE2 this past January to replace 2 Apple Watch series 4 watches purchased in December 2018.

After reviewing the SE3's features, I'm waiting for the next iteration. Just don't see the value in trading up at this time.

 

[ikramerica]

Any idea if the 5g/cell improvements are meaningful compared to earlier SE? My kids have SE gen 1 watches and they do not reliably get reception for cell/texting (Bay Area, AT&T). Probably < 50% of times I've wanted to text or call it won't go through.

I'm debating whether to upgrade them to either this or the Series 11, or if it won't make a difference, find some other work around.

Wondering as well

I got an SE3 on launch day for my son to replace a 1, and due to carrier issues was only able to activate cellular this morning. The old 1 had poor cellular performance.

The SE3 didn’t connect when I tried to call in from my phone and it couldn’t call me out either, but our house has 0-1 bars of signal so required wifi calling. Also, sometimes right after provisioning things don’t work well, but work better after a few hours so will try at home. I did get a notification on the watch a few seconds later that it missed some calls.

Not sure if SE3 does wifi calling. But will experiment more later today.

 

[bmir]

Wondering as well

I got an SE3 on launch day for my son to replace a 1, and due to carrier issues was only able to activate cellular this morning. The old 1 had poor cellular performance.

The SE3 didn’t connect when I tried to call in from my phone and it couldn’t call me out either, but our house has 0-1 bars of signal so required wifi calling. Also, sometimes right after provisioning things don’t work well, but work better after a few hours so will try at home. I did get a notification on the watch a few seconds later that it missed some calls.

Not sure if SE3 does wifi calling. But will experiment more later today.

Oh great! Looking forward to your results. Hope it works well!

For series 11, Apple says "To boost reception in areas with weak coverage, Apple Watch Series 11 features a redesigned cellular antenna to cover more bands, and simultaneously engages the two system antennas when needed, significantly increasing the signal strength."
(https://www.apple.com/nz/newsroom/2...-11-featuring-groundbreaking-health-insights/)

There is no such text on the SE 3 page (https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2025/09/apple-introduces-apple-watch-se-3/) but again I'm not sure if there is a real-world difference.

Our house is also 1-2 bar. Our phones can manage it most of the time. But when we pull into our driveway the kids watches all start buzzing from all the missed calls and texts that come through once they are back on wifi...

 

[ikramerica]

Oh great! Looking forward to your results. Hope it works well!

For series 11, Apple says "To boost reception in areas with weak coverage, Apple Watch Series 11 features a redesigned cellular antenna to cover more bands, and simultaneously engages the two system antennas when needed, significantly increasing the signal strength."
(https://www.apple.com/nz/newsroom/2...-11-featuring-groundbreaking-health-insights/)

There is no such text on the SE 3 page (https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2025/09/apple-introduces-apple-watch-se-3/) but again I'm not sure if there is a real-world difference.

Our house is also 1-2 bar. Our phones can manage it most of the time. But when we pull into our driveway the kids watches all start buzzing from all the missed calls and texts that come through once they are back on wifi...

Tested this afternoon and it rang my son’s watch within 2 seconds of attempting and he was able to answr and talk to me. This was inside the same house but near a window. So I am guessing the provisioning took a while to populate around the servers in the US.

Hopefully the cellular is improved over the original SE which was pretty poor.

NOTE: I am using 1GLOBAL/TRUPHONE/WHATEVER ITS CALLED NOW for Family Setup for my son’s watch because Spectrum doesn’t offer standalone watch plans. This service has worked for years and now they offer a $100 per year plan, which is a good deal.

I like Spectrum as a service otherwise but wish they would offer additional IoT phone numbers for customers who already have service with them.

 

[cdsapplefan]

Any idea if the 5g/cell improvements are meaningful compared to earlier SE? My kids have SE gen 1 watches and they do not reliably get reception for cell/texting (Bay Area, AT&T). Probably < 50% of times I've wanted to text or call it won't go through.

I'm debating whether to upgrade them to either this or the Series 11, or if it won't make a difference, find some other work around.

The 5G Redcap in the new SE gen 3 is a massive improvement in cell reception 📶 over the 4G LTE in the SE gen 1. The SE gen 1 only had 4G LTE, but the SE gen 3 has 5G redcap which should be leaps and bounds better than the SE gen 1 cell reception. 📶

 

[cdsapplefan]

Wondering as well

I got an SE3 on launch day for my son to replace a 1, and due to carrier issues was only able to activate cellular this morning. The old 1 had poor cellular performance.

The SE3 didn’t connect when I tried to call in from my phone and it couldn’t call me out either, but our house has 0-1 bars of signal so required wifi calling. Also, sometimes right after provisioning things don’t work well, but work better after a few hours so will try at home. I did get a notification on the watch a few seconds later that it missed some calls.

Not sure if SE3 does wifi calling. But will experiment more later today.

What cell carrier do you have?

 

[cdsapplefan]

Tested this afternoon and it rang my son’s watch within 2 seconds of attempting and he was able to answr and talk to me. This was inside the same house but near a window. So I am guessing the provisioning took a while to populate around the servers in the US.

Hopefully the cellular is improved over the original SE which was pretty poor.

NOTE: I am using 1GLOBAL/TRUPHONE/WHATEVER ITS CALLED NOW for Family Setup for my son’s watch because Spectrum doesn’t offer standalone watch plans. This service has worked for years and now they offer a $100 per year plan, which is a good deal.

I like Spectrum as a service otherwise but wish they would offer additional IoT phone numbers for customers who already have service with them.

Yeah the 5G in the new SE 3 should be much improved cell reception over the 4G LTE in the old SE 1 watch.

 

[Richard8655]

I really don't see the SE 3 as a "great upgrade" from the SE 2. Slightly faster chip I won't notice. Wrist temperature not a big deal - digital thermometer works more accurately. Wake at wrist flick and double tap already work on SE 2. Always on to me a waste of battery usage.

In the meantime, the case stays aluminum, the size stays the same, the battery stays the same. Not significant enough for my usage. So keeping SE 2 (GPS).

 

[ResolutionNZ]

Agree.. Looks like someone wore it when spray painting for a while.

That's the only time I wear mine.

 

[CATiNTHESTORE]

It sounds more like an advertisement.

It is, nowadays all is ads

 

[sugarquay]

Temperature sensing, Sleep Apnea detection, and Sleep Score are all Apple Watch SE 3 functions that weren't available on the prior-generation version.

Sleep Score is available on the SE 2.

 

[svish]

The SE is now a good watch as it now has the always on display. That was the one much needed feature. Happy to see Apple using the newest chip for this model. Think there will be discounts for it by November and that will further reduce the price.