The Apple Watch is hugely popular, and a new budget-friendly SE model should be on the way but how long will you have to wait? As rumours circulate, we investigate the Apple Watch SE 3.
Here’s all we know so far about the pricing, release date and features of the Apple Watch SE (3rd gen).
When will the Apple Watch SE 3 be released?
There’s no official date for when the next generation of Apple Watch SE will arrive. Although Apple has been consistent with the launch windows of its previous two generations, the SE 3 didn’t arrive in September with the iPhone 16.
Instead, Apple unveiled the Watch Series 10 and a new Black Titanium colourway of the Ultra 2, and it relaunched the Watch SE 2. It confused us at first as it went up for preorder with the same release date, but it turns out that new bands had arrived.
Recent events put the SE 3 and Ultra 3 into question and it now seems likely that both will arrive in 2025.
Mark Gurman agrees in his most recent Power On newsletter for Bloomberg, stating that “the Ultra and SE will get updated in 2025”, adding that “Apple’s hardware innovation has slowed down, so it makes sense to save up two years’ worth of features to make a bigger splash”.
Here’s when the previous Watch SE models made their debuts:
How much will the Apple Watch SE 3 cost?
Again, we haven’t had any confirmed details about pricing from Apple since the product doesn’t officially exist yet. So, we need to look to the previous generations for guidance. Here’s how the baseline models lined up:
Apple Watch SE (1st gen)
- Apple Watch SE (1st Gen, GPS, 40mm) – $279/£269
- Apple Watch SE (1st Gen, GPS+Cellular, 40mm) – $329/£319
- Apple Watch SE (1st Gen, GPS, 44mm) – $309/£299
- Apple Watch SE (1st Gen, GPS+Cellular, 44mm) – $359/£349
Apple Watch SE (2nd gen)
- Apple Watch SE (2nd Gen, GPS, 40mm) – $249/£219
- Apple Watch SE (2nd Gen, GPS+Cellular, 40mm) – $279/£289
- Apple Watch SE (2nd Gen, GPS, 44mm) – $299/£289
- Apple Watch SE (2nd Gen, GPS+Cellular, 44mm) – $329/£319
The UK pricing was actually a little higher at launch, but this seemed to be linked to the high inflation and distribution issues caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The prices have dropped to the current figures now, perhaps illustrating a correction in the market.
We can’t see Apple raising these asking prices much, as it wouldn’t want to get too close to the more premium models. So, we’d expect the Apple Watch (3rd gen) to come in at very similar levels to the second generation model it replaces.
What new features will we see in the Apple Watch SE 3?
As you’ve probably surmised, Apple is keeping tight-lipped about what we might see in the next generation of its Watch.
Some rumours and leaks have already surfaced though, along with some pretty obvious upgrades that usually mark the release of a new model.
Here’s what we think you should expect from the Apple Watch SE (3rd gen).
New design
According to Bloomberg’s Marc Gurman, the new Apple Apple Watch SE might feature a fresh design. Gurman’s speculation from last year suggested a plastic body could be introduced to keep costs down.
This change might either define the new design direction or, in an ideal scenario, align the Apple Watch SE with a more contemporary Apple Watch aesthetic.
If a plastic body is indeed part of the redesign, it could allow Apple to offer a wider variety of colours for the device, making it more appealing to a broader audience.
Faster processor
This one isn’t difficult, as Apple always brings a new generation chipset to its upgraded devices.
The Apple Watch SE (2nd gen) currently employs an S8 SiP (System in Package), and it seems likely that the newer model could be blessed with the S9 SiP that’s found in the Apple Watch 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2.
Meanwhile, the relevant upgrades to those models move to the S10 SiP. The S9 would deliver improved performance over the S8, thanks to 60% more transistors built-in, being able to process machine-learning tasks up to twice as fast as its predecessor, and GPU performance that’s boosted by around 30%.
Apple
Larger displays
Another strong rumour is that Apple will alter the design of the Apple Watch SE (3rd gen) to match the Apple Watch 7.
The reason for this is that it will enable the platform to move from the 40/44mm display sizes to the larger 41/45mm that was introduced with the Watch 7.
In real terms, this would give the increased panels around 20% more space for information – and the Mickey Mouse watch faces.
Health upgrades
One area in which the SE models lag behind the premium models is in the area of fitness tracking. While the main versions come with ECG, SpO2 tracking and a temperature sensor, the SE range doesn’t have any of these.
It had been speculated quite widely that the SpO2 feature might make its way to the Watch SE 3, but that’s now in doubt, after Apple became embroiled in an argument with a company called Misimo, which asserted that the technology violated its patents.
This resulted in the watches with the feature onboard removed from shelves. They now come with the feature disabled (in the US).
Due to this ongoing disagreement, it’s uncertain whether Apple will press on with introducing the feature to the new SE model.
That’s all we’ve seen so far regarding the Apple Watch SE (3rd gen), but we’ll keep updating this article as more information comes to light. In the meantime, you can read our guide to the best smartwatches as well as the Macworld roundup of the best Apple Watch deals to see if you can find the right smartwatch for you at a price that suits.