The Apple Watch Series 8 and new SE go on sale Sept. 16. The SE is Apple’s cheapest smartwatch at just $249 and comes with all of the features you need.
I’ve been testing the new Apple Watch Series 8 and Apple Watch SE second generation ahead of its release Friday.
If you already have an Apple Watch, the $399 Series 8 doesn’t have enough new features to justify an upgrade. Most of the worthwhile innovations are available on Watch OS 9, which you can download as long as you have an Apple Watch Series 4 paired with iPhone 8 or later.
The Apple Watch SE, on the other hand, has gotten a pretty big makeover. The new SE has a starting price that’s $30 less than the first generation SE at just $249. It’s Apple’s most affordable watch and it has new upgrades including a new Apple S8 processor — which makes for faster and smoother performance — low-power mode, sleep tracking, crash detection, and you’re able to set up the SE for a family member without an iPhone.
The Series 8 and the SE are pretty similar, except for the $150 price difference. The benefits you’ll get from paying the premium for the Series 8 are a few more health tracking features and a bigger screen.
(The $799 Apple Watch Ultra, built for people who are into extreme sports, won’t be available until Sept. 23, and we’ll cover that when we get our hands on it.)
Apple doesn’t break out its watch revenue the way it does for the iPad, iPhone and Mac. However, the company’s Wearables, Home and Accessories business — which includes Apple Watch, HomePod, AirPods and Apple TV — saw sales fall in Apple’s latest quarter to $8.08 billion from $8.78 billion a year earlier. The two watches that go on sale Friday probably won’t have much effect on this business segment, but the pricey Ultra — if successful — could help increase wearables sales for the company’s next fiscal year, which starts in October. (So could the new AirPods Pro 2, which I’ll be reviewing later on.)
Here’s why I would hold off on splurging for the Series 8, and why the SE is a great value.Series 8 has a larger screen & always-on display
The Series 8 comes in two sizes: 41mm and 45mm. Like the new iPhone 14 Pro or Pro Max, the Series 8 comes with an always-on display, meaning you can see the time even when your watch is inactive.
