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Featured in this articleBest for Most People
Apple Watch SE (2nd Gen)
“Best for Outdoor Sports
Apple Watch Ultra 2
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We on the The Zero Byte Gear team agree: If you have an iPhone, the Apple Watch is the ” to go with it. But which version should you buy? This question has recently gotten more complicated. Last year, “, but “. I test each new one for two weeks and often for many months after that. (Now ” and all about the new “, “.
Updated June 2024: We added more information on Apple’s lawsuits, new information on WatchOS 11 and iOS 18, and information on the upcoming Apple Watch X.
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Photograph: Apple
Best for Most People
Apple Watch SE (2nd Gen)
If you have any doubt as to whether you should get an Apple Watch at all, the SE is Apple’s entry-level option. OK, so it isn’t the most exciting Apple watch. The SE series only gets updated every other year, rather than every year, and it doesn’t have the latest standout health features, like the ability to check your skin temperature or your blood oxygen. The smaller, 1,000-nit display is now very noticeable now that bigger, brighter screens have come to Series 9. Most regrettably of all, it does not have the next-gen ultra-wideband chip to precision-locate your many other Apple devices.
However, it is the most affordable of what Apple touts as its first “, so you’ll be able to take advantage of the new Vitals app, which will finally let you check your heart rate and respiration in a dashboard without hunting through the Health or Fitness apps. It has the last S8 chip, which is what the Series 8 has, and features like Crash Detection to call your emergency contact and emergency responders if you’ve been in a car accident and are unresponsive for 10 seconds. It also has the newly redesigned Compass app, fall detection, and support for international roaming, and it works with Family Setup. It comes in a teeny 40-mm case size, and the nylon back makes it even lighter. If you have an Apple Watch, everyone in your family wants an Apple Watch. The SE will serve you, your nana, and “, which borrows from Apple’s accessibility learnings. The accelerometer, gyroscope, and optical sensor will detect the minute shifts as you tap your index finger and thumb on your watch hand twice to activate the primary button on your watch screen; it’s nice for stopping and starting music or timers around the kitchen.
The Series 9 has health sensors that the SE doesn’t have, like ECG monitoring, blood oxygen sensing, and skin temperature sensing. It’s also compatible with ” of the Series 9 (“) is for you. Like the Series 9, it has the new S9 chipset for faster processing and “. Again, if you bought a Watch Ultra last year, I would wait to upgrade. If this is your first, however, you will thoroughly enjoy the Watch Ultra 2. This is the watch to get if you love outdoor sports but also want the full functionality of ” of the Watch Ultra 2 and Series 9 on Apple.com starting December 21 and in its retail stores December 24, pending an expected ban by the International Trade Commission. The federal agency is considering a ban because of a dispute over a patent for the technology that Apple uses in the newest Watch models’ blood-oxygen sensor. On December 27, an ” is only compatible with the second-gen of Watch SE and newer. R.I.P. Watches Series 4, 5, and first-gen SE. However, that makes every watch from the Series 6 on good to go. The Series 6 was the first Apple Watch to have blood oxygen sensing, and the ITC’s ban does not affect it or the Series 7 or 8.
If you can find it on sale, the Series 8 (” and the “.