{"id":167833,"date":"2025-11-30T16:18:14","date_gmt":"2025-11-30T16:18:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/167833\/"},"modified":"2025-11-30T16:18:14","modified_gmt":"2025-11-30T16:18:14","slug":"apple-watch-se-3-vs-se-2-this-is-the-cheap-apple-watch-you-should-buy-this-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/167833\/","title":{"rendered":"Apple Watch SE 3 vs SE 2: This is the cheap Apple Watch you should buy this week"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Apple Watch<\/a> SE series is Apple<\/a>‘s cheapest form of smartwatch. It’s an entry-level watch, designed to be affordable as a result of a few cost-cutting measures, such as reusing parts of older watches and opting for different cases or backings, without skimping on functionality or power. As a result, they’re the best value Apple Watches you can get, and the best for most people.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Black Friday Apple Watch deals<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The Apple Watch SE 3 came out this year, and we gave it 4.5 stars in our official Apple Watch SE 3 review<\/a>. Priced from $249 \/ \u00a3219 \/ AU$399, with larger sizes and LTE models going up in price, it’s already an outstanding value smartwatch.<\/p>\n

However, the new model coming out means the older Apple Watch SE 2 (which also got 4.5 stars in our Apple Watch SE 2 review<\/a>) has gone down in price. Getting an Apple Watch for $150 \/ \u00a3150 is a very attractive prospect – but is it worth spending the extra cash to get the new SE 3?<\/p>\n

Below, I’ll take you through the pros and cons of buying an SE 2 over an SE 3 and vice versa, and which of the best Apple Watches<\/a> I think you should get in the Black Friday deals<\/a>. But first, let’s check out the best prices for each watch in the US and the UK using our deals-checker widget.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Today’s best Apple Watch SE (2022) and Apple Watch SE 3 deals<\/p>\n

Next, let’s compare the specifications of the two watches.<\/p>\n

Apple Watch SE 3 vs Apple Watch SE 2: Specifications compared<\/p>\n

Image 1 of 2<\/p>\n

\"AppleApple Watch SE 2(Image credit: Future)\"Apple(Image credit: Future)Swipe to scroll horizontallyApple Watch SE 3: Specifications<\/p>\n

Component<\/p>\n

Apple Watch SE 3<\/p>\n

Apple Watch SE 2<\/p>\n

Price<\/p>\n

From $249 \/ \u00a3219 \/ AU$399 (full price)<\/p>\n

From $249 \/ \u00a3219 \/ AU$399 (full price)<\/p>\n

Dimensions<\/p>\n

40 x 34 x 10.7mm (40mm), 44 x 38 x 10.7mm (44mm)<\/p>\n

40 x 34 x 10.7mm (40mm), 44 x 38 x 10.7mm (44mm)<\/p>\n

Weight<\/p>\n

26g (40mm) or 32.9g (44mm)<\/p>\n

28g (40mm) or 33g (44mm)<\/p>\n

Case\/Bezel<\/p>\n

Aluminum<\/p>\n

Aluminum<\/p>\n

Display<\/p>\n

Always-On Retina LTPO display with OLED, Ion-X scratch-resistant. <\/p>\n

Retina LTPO OLED display with Ion-X scratch-resistant.<\/p>\n

GPS<\/p>\n

L1 GPS, GNSS, Galileo, and BeiDou<\/p>\n

GPS \/ GNSS<\/p>\n

Battery Life<\/p>\n

18 hours, fast-charging<\/p>\n

18 hours<\/p>\n

Connection<\/p>\n

Bluetooth 5.3, Wi-Fi, LTE 5G (Optional)<\/p>\n

Bluetooth 5.3, Wi-Fi, LTE 5G (Optional)<\/p>\n

Water Resistance<\/p>\n

WR50 and IP7X<\/p>\n

WR50 and IP7X<\/p>\n

Chipset<\/p>\n

S10<\/p>\n

S8<\/p>\n

As you can see, both watches are very similar, sharing the same design, sizes, and weights. They were even priced the same at launch.<\/p>\n

However, there are a few key differences between these two watches. For one thing, the Apple Watch SE 3 has fast-charging and an always-on display, two fantastic quality of life updates much needed \u2013 especially the fast charging, as the battery life of the Apple Watch SE series is only 18 hours.<\/p>\n

It’s also got the same S10 chip as the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Series 11, meaning it’s got all the latest smarts, such as hands-free gesture controls and ultra-wideband technology. This will make it more compatible with future iPhones and software updates, so if it’s longevity you’re after, the SE 3 is the better pick, and perhaps better value as it’ll last longer.<\/p>\n

However, the SE 2 is no longer sold by Apple, and is subject to far bigger discounts than the recent SE.<\/p>\n

Apple Watch SE 3 vs Apple Watch SE 2: Which one gets my vote?<\/p>\n

\n

\"Apple\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

Out of the two watches, I would pick the Apple Watch SE 3, because it’ll be well-supported with new features for many years to come, while the Apple Watch SE 2 nears the end of its life cycle.<\/p>\n

However, this comes with a caveat: there are some really exciting deals on the Apple Watch SE 2 right now, as retailers try and clear old stock. If you can get the SE 2 for $150 \/ \u00a3170 or lower, as I’ve seen it at some retailers, I would say it’s still worth buying.<\/p>\n

Below are the best deals live right now, at the time of writing, for both watches in the US and UK.<\/p>\n

US dealsUK dealsMore Black Friday deals in the USAmazon: 45% off TVs, AirPods, air fryers & vacuums<\/a>Apple: iPads, AirPods & MacBooks from $119<\/a>Best Buy: $1,000 off TVs, laptops & headphones<\/a>Dell: laptop deals from $249.99<\/a>Home Depot: 40% off appliances, furniture, grills & tools<\/a>Lenovo: 45% off laptops & tablets<\/a>Lowe’s: up to 30% off appliances, holiday decor & tools<\/a>Samsung: up to $2,000 off appliances, TVs & phones<\/a>Target: 40% off Christmas decor, clothing & furniture<\/a>Walmart: furniture, cheap TVs & vacs from $69<\/a>Wayfair: 54% off Christmas, furniture & decor<\/a>Shop more of today’s best UK Black Friday sales<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Apple Watch SE series is Apple‘s cheapest form of smartwatch. It’s an entry-level watch, designed to be…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":167834,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[203,61,60,80],"class_list":["post-167833","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-gadgets","tag-gadgets","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/167833","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=167833"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/167833\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/167834"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=167833"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=167833"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=167833"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}