Apple Watch SE Review
The Apple Watch SE is a low-profile wristwatch that offers all of the best watchOS features at a low price. Despite several obvious improvements it fails to solve the issues that remain in Apple’s smartwatch line. The lack of an always-on display may turn off some users, but Apple has already addressed this with the Apple Watch 3. The Apple Watch SE is a great running buddy because it includes a lot of fitness features. However, Apple still has work to do in terms of battery life to make up for the Watch 6’s lack of juice.
Although the Apple Watch SE boasts the longest battery life of any Apple Watch, it pales in comparison to competing smartwatches. Because charging isn’t a natural option at any time during the day, you end up performing small top-ups here and there. In terms of power and features, it falls halfway between the Apple Watch 4 and Apple Watch 5, and if you can find the older Watch 4 on sale, it’s probably worth a look.
Design:
It comes with an all-new Solo Loop band that stretches over your hand, eliminating the need to repeatedly buckle and unbuckle your Watch SE to put it on and take it off. If you’re looking for a new smartwatch, Apple has sent us two sizes: the largest and third-largest, which turned our watch into a bangle. There are plenty of various brands to select from, so you’ll always find something that suits you, however, they’re pricy and not always easy to put on and take off — we wish Apple would build a design that makes changing straps easier.
Display:
The Apple Watch SE uses the same low-temperature polycrystalline oxide (LTPO) technology like Apple Watches with always-on displays. Unfortunately, it does not appear that Apple will support this technology in the future. The Watch 6’s outdoor brightness is comparable to that of the Watch 6, thus trying to see the time when dazzled by the sun’s rays isn’t a problem.
WatchOS7:
With watchOS 7, the Apple Watch SE has been updated, but how does it compare to the Apple Watch 6? Siri is fantastic when it works, but it is frequently unreliable. You can activate Siri by merely raising your watch to your lips, and it worked very well for the most part. However, we began to learn to wash more vigorously to ensure that the effort was recognized, and we soon discovered that we had improved our ability to wash for the appropriate length of time and with the appropriate level of power.
Fitness:
The Apple Watch SE is nearly identical to the Apple Watch 5, except for the lack of an always-on display. Dance and Cooldown have been introduced to running, walking, cycling, yoga, and more in watchOS 7, giving you new options to measure your fitness in the Workouts app. When you’ve reached your fitness rings, which are colored, animated rings that fill up based on how much exercise you’ve done, you’ll know. Because there is no GPS lock at the start of a run, erroneous values may appear in places where coverage is sparse. When coverage gets patchy in forested regions, it’s more prone to error, highlighting the fact that you could be better off investing in a dedicated fitness device.
Battery Life:
With 24-36 hours of use from a full charge, the Apple Watch SE boasts one of the best battery lives of any Apple Watch. Despite having an outdated S5 chipset, the Watch SE had exceptional battery life when compared to earlier Apple Watch models — even better than the Watch 5 at launch. The new sleep monitoring feature in watchOS 7 is still having issues (more on that in a moment).
Pros:
- High-end design
- A fantastic phone buddy
- A wide range of features is available.
Cons:
- There isn’t an always-on display.
- Battery life is insufficient.
Conclusion:
The always-on display is conspicuously absent, but the fitness monitoring remains excellent. Some apps and functionalities are too light, and the watch’s battery life is simply insufficient to get the most out of it.