Image: Apple · source
Apple Watch SE 3
The budget watch finally gets an always-on screen.
Overview
For its third generation the SE borrowed heavily from the main series. The case stayed aluminium in 40 and 44 mm, but the screen now remained lit at all times with a low refresh rate, a feature once reserved for pricier models.
Inside sits the same S10 chip used in Series 10 and 11, with a four-core Neural Engine that powers on-device Siri and the Double Tap gesture. The battery is rated for 18 hours, and fast charging gets it to 80 percent in about 45 minutes or gives eight hours of sleep tracking from an eight-minute top-up.
A temperature sensor supports cycle tracking and sleep scoring, but ECG, blood oxygen and the full-size heart sensor array stay exclusive to Series 11. The cellular option uses 5G RedCap for better efficiency.
Why it mattered
Gave the affordable SE tier an always-on display and the modern chip for the first time.
At a glance
- Announced
- September 9, 2025
- Released
- September 19, 2025
- Launch price
- $249
- Chip / processor
- Apple S10
- Display
- 1.57" / 1.78"
- Storage
- 64GB
- Status
- Available
Highlights
- Always-on display
- S10 chip and Double Tap
- Optional 5G cellular
- Fast charging to 80% in about 45 minutes
- Starts at $249
Tech specs
Specifications as published at launch. Some values (like battery life) are manufacturer estimates.
Display
- Case sizes
- 40 mm and 44 mm
- Type
- Always-On LTPO OLED Retina
- Brightness
- 1,000 nits peak
- Resolution
- 324 x 394 (40 mm), 368 x 448 (44 mm)
Chip
- Chip
- Apple S10 64-bit dual-core with 4-core Neural Engine
Memory
- Storage
- 64GB
Health
- Sensors
- Optical heart sensor, temperature sensor, compass, always-on altimeter, high-g accelerometer, gyroscope, ambient light sensor
Battery
- Battery life
- Up to 18 hours (32 hours in Low Power Mode)
- Charging
- About 80% in 45 minutes
Connectivity
- Cellular
- Optional 5G (RedCap) and LTE
- Wi-Fi
- Wi-Fi 4 (802.11n, 2.4 GHz only)
- Bluetooth
- Bluetooth 5.3
- GPS
- L1 GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS, BeiDou
Design
- Materials
- Aluminium (100% recycled), Ion-X glass
- Water resistance
- 50 metres
- Dimensions
- 40 x 34 x 10.7 mm (40 mm); 44 x 38 x 10.7 mm (44 mm)
- Weight
- 26.3 g (40 mm GPS) to 33.0 g (44 mm cellular)
Software
- Launch OS
- watchOS 26
