# Apple Watch SE

9 Hacker News commenters recommended Apple Watch SE and 5 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 7 of 13 months; owners who said how long report a median of 1 years (3 owners).

**Verdict:** Cheap Apple smartwatch that handles the basics well: calendar, timers, alarms, and sleep and swimming tracking. Main caveat: battery life is poor without a connected iPhone or Wi-Fi.

## Why people recommend it

- Low price for an Apple watch (3 comments): "for the price of a cheapo apple watch se once every 5 years or so, more than worth it." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47323018)) "it's cheap and it does most of the things that regular people want out of a smartwatch" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49635755)) "That's where you just get the SE on the cheap and don't use the health stuff." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49637772))
- Handles everyday smartwatch tasks (3 comments): "95% of my use is a quick check on my next calendar, setting timers, managing the morning alarm" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48637768)) "it's cheap and it does most of the things that regular people want out of a smartwatch" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49635755)) "it does everything better" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46510649))

## What people warn about

- Battery life is poor (3 comments): "the only downside we’ve seen is that without a connected iPhone or WiFi network, the battery life is unimaginably bad" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48461805)) "my wife's is dead won't last much longer than a day." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50288680)) "has a life of barely 8 hours" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49278249))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Google Pixel Watch](https://hackerapproved.com/p/pixel-watch-5.md): 41 recommend
- [Samsung Galaxy Watch](https://hackerapproved.com/p/samsung-galaxy-watch.md): 11 recommend
- [Amazfit Bip](https://hackerapproved.com/p/amazfit-bip.md): 8 recommend
- [Pebble Steel](https://hackerapproved.com/p/pebble-steel.md): 5 recommend
- [Core Devices Time 2](https://hackerapproved.com/p/core-devices-smartwatch.md): 5 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Apple+Watch+SE+%28GPS%29+2nd+Generation&tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)
- [Official site](https://www.apple.com/apple-watch-se-3/)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Apple Watch SE", https://hackerapproved.com/p/apple-watch-se/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).