If it’s purely health tracking you’re after, the Apple Watch SE (released in 2022) is what you should get. This was the Apple Watch I had before I started at Esquire and it’s lasted me multiple years, still in (near) pristine condition.
Under the hood, it’s the same chipset as an Apple Watch Series 8. You get heart rate monitoring, fitness tracking, and decent water resistance—just no extended swims with this one. You can get a model with cellular if you like working out sans phone, or keep it with the more affordable GPS model if cost is your biggest barrier to smartwatch entry.
Where does it fall short compared to the Ultra 2 and Series 10? In a few different places. While the SE is a great health-tracker, it won’t give you as much in-depth altitude data and environmental data as the Ultra 2, nor is it as water resistant. Compared to the Series 10, it’s all the day-to-day stuff—processing, battery life, etc. It’s two whole generations behind the curve.
But like I said, if all you need is a thing to tell you how many calories you’ve been burning, what heart rate you hit, and how well you slept, this is a watch that can do that comfortably. Or just get an Oura Ring for the same price and better tracking.
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