Apple Watch SE
Shares rank 11 of 20 smartwatches by recommenders
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.
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.
14 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 9
- criticize it
- 5
- approval share
- 64%
Recommended in 7 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Owned for 1 year
Median of the 3 owners who said how long they have had it.
Each square is one year.
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 9 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 1.8 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 7 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Low price for an Apple watch
“for the price of a cheapo apple watch se once every 5 years or so, more than worth it.”
Comment from 10 Mar 2026 in “I put my whole life into a single database” “it's cheap and it does most of the things that regular people want out of a smartwatch”
Comment from 9 Sep 2026 in “Apple Watch Series 12” “That's where you just get the SE on the cheap and don't use the health stuff.”
Comment from 10 Sep 2026 in “Apple Watch Series 12” Handles everyday smartwatch tasks
“95% of my use is a quick check on my next calendar, setting timers, managing the morning alarm”
Comment from 22 Jun 2026 in “Tacky men with ridiculous glasses want you to wear them too” “it's cheap and it does most of the things that regular people want out of a smartwatch”
Comment from 9 Sep 2026 in “Apple Watch Series 12” “it does everything better”
Comment from 6 Jan 2026 in “Pebble Round 2 – The Most Stylish Pebble Ever”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Battery life is poor
“the only downside we’ve seen is that without a connected iPhone or WiFi network, the battery life is unimaginably bad”
Comment from 9 Jun 2026 in “Apple Watch for Your Kids” “my wife's is dead won't last much longer than a day.”
Comment from 29 Oct 2026 in “MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display and Touch” “has a life of barely 8 hours”
Comment from 12 Aug 2026 in “Pixel Watch 5”
Other smartwatches people recommend
The four most recommended other smartwatches, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apple Watch | 246 | 272 | 47% | 12 | 5 yrs29 owners | — |
| Pebble smartwatch | 117 | 37 | 76% | 12 | 12 yrs4 owners | Approved |
| Pebble Time 2 | 53 | 19 | 74% | 10 | 3 mo4 owners | Approved |
| Google Pixel Watch | 41 | 57 | 42% | 10 | — | — |
| Apple Watch SEThis page | 9 | 5 | 64% | 7 | 1 yr3 owners | — |
What people said
14 of the 15 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“my wife's is dead won't last much longer than a day.”
“That's where you just get the SE on the cheap and don't use the health stuff.”
“it's cheap and it does most of the things that regular people want out of a smartwatch”
“I feel like the sleep is more accurate on the Apple watch than on the Garmin”
“My left wrist had formed an indent where I wore my se3.”
“has a life of barely 8 hours”
“Apple - not your service provider - blocks it from international roaming.”
“It's private, it's secure, and it works with the stuff you already have.”
“to track my daily swimming in the sea and it's been working great”
“95% of my use is a quick check on my next calendar, setting timers, managing the morning alarm”
“the only downside we’ve seen is that without a connected iPhone or WiFi network, the battery life is unimaginably bad”
“for the price of a cheapo apple watch se once every 5 years or so, more than worth it.”
“it does everything better”
“you literally cannot type a lower case 'n'”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.