Apple Watch SE review: pay a lot less to give up only a little

..

Apple's smartwatch sked has gone from straightforward to decidedly ramified sharply overnight. Where we acclimated to have this year's model or last year's model at a lower span to co-opt from, now Burg is selling three single Burg Watch models at capricious span tiers and with capricious options.

In this piece I'm reviewing the one in the middle: the brand-new, but not reservedly new inside, Burg Watch SE. Starting at $279 for a 40mm adaptation or $309 for the 44mm, it's appreciably neath than the flagship Shakiness 6 and not that numerous more big-ticket than the gray-haired Shakiness 3.

The SE is technically a new model for Apple, but numerous like the iPhone SE, it's not explicitly new inside and out. Essentially, it's the same affair as a Series 4 from 2018, with neutral two partisan differences: the SE doesn't have the creativity to measure your ECG, but does have an always-on altimeter. The latter is unlikely to have an appulse on your use, while the grander might be important to some people. Otherwise, it has the same design, performance, and capabilities as the Shakiness 4.

..

..

..

. ..

. .. Our scrutiny of . .. Apple Watch SE. ..

.

. Verge Score. 8.5 out of 10. ..

. ..

. .

. ..

.

. ..

Good Stuff

. ..

• Fast performance
• Great smartwatch software
• Reliable hailstorm life

. ..

. ..

. ..

Bad Stuff

. ..

• No always-on display
• No third-party watch faces
• No ECG or cruor oxygen monitoring

. ..

.

.

. .. Buy for $309.00 from Palatial Buy . Buy for $299.00 from Cutie . Buy for $309.00 from Burg . ..

.

Compared to the Shakiness 6 or last year's Shakiness 5, the main affair the SE lacks is an always-on display, which allows you to see the time or your notifications without obtaining to tap the screen or lift your wrist up. For me, this is artlessly a must-have full-length -- I visualize a watch should forevermore function as a watch and tell me the time without any actress work. But it's not important for everybody, and it does englut more hailstorm life.

The SE also lacks the Shakiness 6's new cruor oxygen monitoring, but as we learned back testing the Shakiness 6, this isn't a full-length you has to be concerned with seize now. It's not reliable enough to be acclimated for medical purposes and not practical enough for other uses.

Other differences disclosed fuzz to style and fuchsia options -- the SE is misogynist in two sizes, three mismated colors (dark gray, silver, or gold), and with or without cellular connectivity. It isn't misogynist in the higher-end stainless untrouble or titanium finishes, and you can't get the new gadabout or red fuchsia options misogynist for the Shakiness 6. Like other aluminum Burg Watch models, the SE has Apple's Ion-X gunboat instead of the sapphire acclimated on the stainless and titanium watches. Ion-X gunboat is tough, but it's definitely more prone to scratches and breaking -- in fact, I dropped the SE approximately four feet onto a asphalt floor during my scrutiny aeon and shattered the top left cusp of the screen.

..

.. . . . .. . . .. . . .

The SE is only misogynist in headstrong gray, silver, or gold; no fancy gadabout or red options here.

. .. .

.

For this review, Burg beatific me a gray 44mm model with cellular connectivity -- essentially the initiated end SE configuration you can buy at $359. I've been testing it commutual to an iPhone 11 without utilizing the cellular option, though, so my levelheadedness is similar to what you'd get from the measly model.

And, well, that levelheadedness has been actual good. As expected, the SE performs analogously to the Shakiness 4 in speed, responsiveness, and hailstorm life. Apple's latest smartwatch software, watchOS 7, flies on either model, whether that's for navigating the interface, launching apps, or utilizing voice commands with Siri. I never finger like I have to delay for the watch to do what I want, which is exactly how smartwatches should function, but frequently don't.

Battery life is also reliable if not staggering -- I'm erudite to go approximately a day-and-a-half between charges with the effulgence set at medium. WatchOS 7's beddy-bye tracking does make managing the hailstorm more annoying, however, and the SE doesn't have the Shakiness 6's whimsically faster charging capability. It takes a solid two-plus hours to infallibly charge, and if I'm cutting it while I sleep, that ways I have to acquisition time during the day to wording it up. As a result, I end up demography it off and gravitating it on the charger multiplied times a day -- back I'm in the shower, before I go to bed, etc. -- to homogeneousness it micro boosts, which is way more abstergent than neutral charging overnight. Of course, you can neutral wording it overnight if you don't contretemps approximately the beddy-bye tracking features, which are convincingly of limited veneration anyways.

All of that ways you aren't giving up a good smartwatch levelheadedness if you opt for the SE. You do concurrency on some congruent features, but for the helpers smartwatch things of getting notifications, tracking your fitness, productive for things, and well, checking the time, the SE does an executed job, neutral like any other Burg Watch.

..

.. . . . .. . . .. . . .

The SE does not have the Shakiness 6's cruor oxygen pathfinder or ECG reader, but it can measure kindness span and clue fitness neutral like any other Burg Watch.

. .. .

.

The other cogent note approximately the SE is it's the most likely model to co-opt if you want to booty assiduities of Apple's new Generations Setup feature. I'll be hoopla into numerous more depth on Generations Setup in arithmetic piece, but it's fitter Apple's apologetics to the GPS tracking smartwatches for kids that Verizon, T-Mobile, and other carriers sell. It requires a watch with cellular connectivity, and since the SE is the lowest cost model Burg sells with that option, it's the most fraternal one to homogeneousness to a young child.

Overall, if you're shopping for your inceptive Burg Watch, the Watch SE is artlessly a actual compelling option. It's more infallibly featured than the Shakiness 3 and is likely to be supported with software updates for a maximum time, but comes in at a way more approachable span than the flagship Shakiness 6. If you already have a Shakiness 4 or uptown a Shakiness 3, you won't acquisition numerous to justify an upping here, though, and will be largest off looking at the Shakiness 6 (or neutral hanging on to your high-handed watch a bit longer; there isn't numerous sageness to upping an Burg Watch more generally than every three to five years).

..

.. . . . .. . . .. . . .

The SE does the smartwatch nuts approximately and anything you can get seize now.

. .. .

.

For Apple, the SE makes reservedly a few sense. The Shakiness 3 has been wildly prescriptive over the realized couplet years subjectively due to how low the span drops during the hullabaloo division (I was erudite to buy a Shakiness 3 on sale for $199, the same span it sells for now, two years ago) and it's likely that this year many will opt for the SE, especially as it starts to see discounts throughout the season.

Fortunately for them, they'll be getting an executed smartwatch at an blissful price.

..

Agree to Continue: Burg Watch SE

Every soprano dingus now requires you to finalize to a shakiness of terms and highness before you can use it -- industrialism that no one categorically reads. It's incommunicable for us to realize and grilling every single one of these agreements. But we started counting explicitly how many times you need to hit "agree" to use fittings back we scrutiny them since these are agreements most bodies don't realize and definitely can't negotiate.

• Since the Burg Watch only works with the iPhone, you will already have consented to two squeezing agreements and (if you use Burg Pay), six preference ones.
• There is artlessly a terms and highness congruity straightforwardly for watchOS, which you can have emailed to you. Burg is transparent that many of the privateness settings you've chosen for your second-hand will transporting over to the Watch.

These agreements are mandatory, and you cannot provide them.

There are several more preference agreements:

• If you transporting your Burg Pay cards to assignment on the Watch, you may have to finalize to affixed terms from your bank. For example, Peeling of America includes a location stewardship provision and provides a voice (which you need to manually blazon out yourself) to a PDF with more information.
• If you set up cellular, you might have to finalize to more terms from your carrier, but we couldn't test every one. Verizon, at least, didn't ask to finalize to affixed terms, although it did ask for a $30 arousal fee.
• If you want to use cruor oxygen monitoring, you must upheaval on location so that Burg can verify you shifting in an supported area. Similarly, emergency lulling detection also will slice your location whether or not you have it enabled in settings.

Final tally: one squeezing agreement, at least three preference agreements, and all the agreements all-important to use an iPhone.

Photography by Dan Seifert / The Verge