Note: This feature was first published on 16 September 2025.
After every Apple September event, I’m inundated with texts from friends and family asking me which Apple Watch I think is best, or if I think they should upgrade or hold off for another year. But since I’m going to need more time to evaluate them properly, I’m going to pen down my initial thoughts here so that I can forward this article to them.
This year was a huge year for Apple Watches. For the first time in a while, we had updates to the entire lineup in the form of a new Apple Watch Ultra 3, the Apple Watch Series 11, and the Apple Watch SE 3.
The Apple Watch SE 3 gets new features like Sleep Score too.
Apple Watch SE 3 sleep score
I know some were disappointed last year that Apple didn’t give us a new Apple Watch Ultra. Instead, all we got was the Ultra 2 in a black finish. Happily, we have a new model this year, but the updates are actually minor. There’s a new, larger wide-angle OLED display, a faster chip, better connectivity, a larger battery, and that’s about it.
The list of changes going up from Series 10 to Series 11 is even smaller. The newer Series 11 has a stronger Ion-X glass, better connectivity, a larger battery, and a new Space Grey finish. Furthermore, the newly announced hypertension notification and sleep score features aren’t exclusive to these watches. This means there’s little reason to upgrade to the new Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Apple Watch Series 11, especially if you are coming from a fairly recent Apple Watch.
There’s no doubt Series 11 is nicer to have, but you do really need its additional features?
It’s a different story with the Apple Watch SE 3. It’s been three years since the last Apple Watch SE, so the list of updates is more substantial. To start, the Watch SE 3 gets the same S10 SiP as the Ultra 3 and Series 10. It also gets the latest Ion-X glass for the best scratch and crack resistance, and support for 5G cellular connectivity. Although display size remains the same, it now has an always-on display. Finally, it supports gesture controls like double tap, wrist flick, and most of the latest health tracking features, including sleep apnea notification, wrist temperature, and Sleep Score.
As far as I can tell, only things the Watch SE 3 misses out on are the following:
- Hypertension notification
- ECG
- Blood oxygen level
- Depth gauge
- Water temperature sensor
- UWB chip for precision finding
- Larger display and slimmer case design
Though the new hypertension notification sounds like an important feature to have, I’d like to see how it works when it’s available to the public before deciding if it’s a must-have feature. As for the others, features such as ECG and blood oxygen level are certainly nice, but not essential. And with prices starting at S$349, it represents remarkable value over the Series 11, which starts at a much higher S$599.
The Apple Watch SE 3 comes in an aluminium case and is available in Starlight and Midnight.
So my early advice to anyone looking for a new Apple Watch this year is to take a good look at the Apple Watch SE 3 and consider if you really need the extra features of the pricier Apple Watch Series 11 or Ultra 3. You may just find that the Watch SE 3 is all the Apple Watch you need.
You can pre-order the new Apple Watches from Apple’s official storefronts on Lazada, Shopee, and the Apple Online Store. The watches will go on sale on 19 September.
Also, stay tuned for my full review.