{"id":26248,"date":"2025-09-17T03:24:09","date_gmt":"2025-09-17T03:24:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/26248\/"},"modified":"2025-09-17T03:24:09","modified_gmt":"2025-09-17T03:24:09","slug":"im-struggling-to-find-an-android-watch-that-competes-with-the-apple-watch-se-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/26248\/","title":{"rendered":"I’m struggling to find an Android watch that competes with the Apple Watch SE 3"},"content":{"rendered":"

Following the Apple launch event<\/a> held on September 9, brands selling Android smartwatches should hang their heads in shame.<\/p>\n

The newly updated Apple Watch SE 3 looks like the best value smartwatch of the year, and I\u2019m struggling to find an Android equivalent that can truly compete.<\/p>\n

What makes the Apple Watch SE 3 so good?<\/p>\n

A key feature upgrade<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Apple<\/a><\/p>\n

The Apple Watch SE 2 was always the dark horse of Apple\u2019s wearables range, offering good value with only a few small downsides.<\/p>\n

The new Apple Watch SE 3 closes one of the largest feature gaps between it and the Series models with an always-on display, so it never just shows a black screen. It makes it far more watch-like, and a more enjoyable product to wear.<\/p>\n

It also has the latest S10 chip, the Double Tap gesture control, and all the safety features found on the more expensive Series 11.<\/p>\n

While other features are \u201cmissing\u201d from the SE 3, such as the electrocardiogram (ECG), blood oxygen, and hypertension monitoring, these have less of an impact on everyday use and enjoyment, and likely only appeal to people who feel they need, or have been medically recommended, to use such advanced health monitoring features.<\/p>\n

All the expected fitness and sleep tracking is onboard, though, making it especially tempting for smartwatch newcomers.<\/p>\n

Apple could have raised the price of the Watch SE 3, but it didn\u2019t, and it\u2019s yours for the same $250 entry price as the old SE 2.<\/p>\n

This is where Apple has shown up the brands making Wear OS smartwatches, as reasonably priced Android-compatible alternatives have simply disappeared, leaving potential buyers staring at pricey alternatives.<\/p>\n

The Watch SE 3 represents good value, even to those who aren\u2019t minutely examining spec sheets, and that\u2019s what\u2019s missing from the world of Wear OS smartwatches at the moment.<\/p>\n

\"Apple<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\tCase Material \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAluminum<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\tDisplay \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tOLED<\/p>\n

This newest version of the budget Apple Watch line includes some of the Series 11’s new health features, such as Sleep Score.<\/p>\n

Get your wallets out<\/p>\n

You\u2019re spending $300 or more<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

The most obvious Wear OS competitor to the Apple Watch SE 3 is the standard Samsung Galaxy Watch 8<\/a>, and for the last few years, it has started at $300.<\/p>\n

The next competitor is the Google Pixel Watch 4<\/a>, which starts at $350, and the recently introduced OnePlus Watch 3 43mm is $300. If you want the 46mm OnePlus Watch 3<\/a>, it\u2019s $350.<\/p>\n

Neither Google, OnePlus, nor Samsung sells a full smartwatch for less than $300, and it\u2019s a problem.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re all, in one way or another, driven by price, especially for a non-essential piece of mobile tech like a smartwatch.<\/p>\n

Smartwatches aren\u2019t ubiquitous like a smartphone, and there needs to be a realistic, desirable model to encourage people to try one out, preferably without sacrificing many features or settling for a lesser-known brand or old model.<\/p>\n

Whether newcomers end up buying the Apple Watch SE 3 for $250 is actually irrelevant. It gets people in the metaphorical door and looking at smartwatches, with the potential to be upsold to a Series 11 or Apple Watch Ultra 3.<\/p>\n

\"Google<\/p>\n

A $250 smartwatch is always going to be more instantly appealing than a $300 smartwatch. We\u2019re all shrewd enough to know we may end up spending more when we look at these items.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s why a lower entry price is so important, because if we go in expecting to spend $250 and actually spend $300 or $350, it\u2019s still much more appealing than thinking we may end up spending $350 or $400.<\/p>\n

Ask yourself if you need them<\/p>\n

\"oneplus-watch-3-review-11\"<\/p>\n

The great thing about the Apple Watch SE 3 is that you may not need to spend more, unless it\u2019s on the larger 44mm model to better suit your wrist.<\/p>\n

The always-on screen has long been the main reason I\u2019ve told people it\u2019s worth getting a Series model instead, but this no longer applies.<\/p>\n

Samsung will argue the $300 Galaxy Watch 8 has an ECG and additional wellness features like the AGEs Index, Vascular Load, and the Antioxidant Index features, but in reality, these are either not very informative<\/a> or of very limited appeal to the general public.<\/p>\n

Saving $50 may look like a better deal, particularly if you\u2019re not absolutely convinced you\u2019ll continue to wear and use a smartwatch long-term.<\/p>\n

Where is the $250 Wear OS smartwatch to compete with the Apple Watch SE 3? Unless you\u2019re willing to buy an older model, it just doesn\u2019t exist.<\/p>\n

Even the old Galaxy Watch 7 costs more than the new Watch SE 3, and although Mobvoi has excellent deals on the TicWatch Pro 5 series at the moment, the Pro 5 is two years old at this point, and its questionable whether it really offers true value.<\/p>\n

Is value too much to ask for?<\/p>\n

A problem that needs fixing<\/p>\n

\"Mobvoi<\/p>\n

Even looking outside the Wear OS camp doesn\u2019t exactly inspire.<\/p>\n

The Amazfit Balance 2 is $300, and although the Amazfit Balance<\/a> is $200, it was released in 2023. A Garmin Vivoactive 6 is $300, while the Withings ScanWatch 2<\/a> starts at $370.<\/p>\n

It really shouldn\u2019t be this hard to find a current non-Apple smartwatch made by a top-tier brand for $250, or even a bit less.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not saying any of the smartwatches I\u2019ve mentioned are bad purchases. Several are excellent, especially when it comes to battery life. Still, I find it difficult to describe any of them as the perfect entry point into smartwatch ownership or as great value.<\/p>\n

Value. It\u2019s a word few usually associate with Apple, which has a reputation for expensive hardware and services.<\/p>\n

However, the Apple Watch SE 3 looks like a genuinely good value, and when I struggle to point to a Wear OS smartwatch or any other Android-compatible smartwatch that represents a similar value proposition, something is very wrong.<\/p>\n

\"Apple<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\tCase Material \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAluminum<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\tDisplay \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tOLED<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\tCPU \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tS10 chip<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\tCellular connectivity \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t5G capable<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\tStrap size \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t40mm or 44mm<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\tColors \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMidnight, Starlight<\/p>\n

This newest version of the budget Apple Watch line includes some of the Series 11’s new health features, such as Sleep Score.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Following the Apple launch event held on September 9, brands selling Android smartwatches should hang their heads in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":26249,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[203,61,60,80],"class_list":{"0":"post-26248","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-gadgets","8":"tag-gadgets","9":"tag-ie","10":"tag-ireland","11":"tag-technology"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26248","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=26248"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26248\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26249"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26248"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26248"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26248"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}