Apple Watch SE 2nd Generation – Best Budget Smartwatch?

Design:

The Apple Watch SE looks no different to another Apple Watch but there are some differences when it comes to the size, display and the material that it is made out of. So what are those differences?

Case Size and Material:

The Apple Watch SE 2nd Generation comes in two sizes 40mm and 44mm making it the smallest of all the Apple Watches, with the smallest size for the series 10 being 42mm. This is great for people who like smaller sized watches or have smaller wrists, but it does still offer you a bigger size as well so it’s kind of the best of both worlds.

In terms of the material that the casing is made out of the only comes in aluminium whereas in the Series 10, you have the option of either aluminium or titanium. I don’t think that this is a big deal and I can understand why it only comes in aluminium at this price range. It will still be very durable and if you want to be a bit more cautious you can also get a protective case for additional protection and peace of mind.

Display:

The Apple SE 2nd Generation still gives you a beautiful Retina display that goes up to 1000nits brightness. This is not as bright as the Series 10 which which is up to 2000nits or the Ultra which goes up to a whooping 3000nits, which basically means that you can see everything on the display nice and clear even in the bright sunshine. So with the SE only going up to 1000nits, it may not be as visible on a very sunny day but if you live in the UK like me it shouldn’t be an issue 😂.

The other display feature that you will be missing with the Apple Watch SE 2nd Generation is that you will not have the always-on display option. So rather than your watch face being visible all of the time it will wake up when you raise your wrist and goes to sleep when you put it down. I personally like having it always on display but in the grand scheme of things it is not something that you really need.

Features:

There are features that you are not going to get with SE 2nd Generation but to be fair you are going to get most of the features that you will ever use on a watch in this price range. In terms of smartwatch features like notifications, resounding to messages etc. you will get them all. It is mainly in the health and fitness features that you will be missing features that are on the more expensive models.

Although you are missing a number of features which I will list shortly you still get the common features that people want to track on a daily basis. One of those is sleep tracking, this is probably one of the main health metrics that people are paying more and more attention to. It also has a comprehensive list of workouts so you will more than likely find the workout that you are looking for so that you can track things like distance, pace, heart rate etc.

What I would say here is that if you are looking for a watch that trackings your workouts with real precision then you might want to look at the Apple Watch Ultra or Garmin which will have Dual Band GPS.

Missing Features:

So we have talked about what you will get but what are you missing. You will not be able to perform an ECG on your SE and you also not be able to see what your blood oxygen levels are. Another missing feature compared to the other models is that there is no nightly wrist temperature tracking. I like to track my health and fitness but I can safely say that I very rarely use these features. So, really it comes down to what you want to be able to track as to whether the SE will work for you.

Battery Life & Performance:

Now Apple Watch battery life is not the best out there we all know this but for a watch in this price range, it’s not bad. You can get up to 18 hours of battery life which is the same as the series 10 so you will get a good day out of this watch with normal use including workouts. You will need to charge this every day but to get better battery life you will need to make the jump to the Apple Watch Ultra which will set you back considerably more at nearly £800.

This could be an issue if you are going to use your watch for sleep tracking. You will need to make sure that you have enough battery to see you through to the morning so you are likely to have to charge before you go to bed.

Performance:

The Apple Watch SE 2nd Generation comes with the S8 Processor which is not going to be as quick as the S9 or S10 but is still going to be more than powerful enough. The watch is quick and responsive and with all Apple Watch, you are unlikely to have any lags when flipping through the UI.

Final Thoughts:

If you have an iPhone and looking for a great smartwatch between £200-£300 then this is a great option for you. It will work seamlessly with your iPhone to receive smartwatch features like notifications flawlessly.

Most of us want to use our watches to track our health and fitness and this budget watch allows you to do this with ease. It allows you to track all your key metrics like your sleep, heart rate and tracking your workouts. It lacks the ECG and Blood Oxygen features but as I mentioned I don’t think that these are features that the majority of us would use on a regular basis. If they are then this is not the watch for you and you will need to look at the series 10 or Ultra.

For me, I think you are getting a lot of bang for your buck with this little powerhouse of a watch. It will obviously depend on what you want your smartwatch to do but this is a watch that you should really look at before making a decision on your next smartwatch purchase.