The Apple Watch SE is the highlight in Apple’s smartwatch lineup for those who want the best Apple Watch on a budget. It comes with many of the features you’d expect from a smartwatch, without some of the more expensive bells and whistles that drive up the price of the Series 10 and Ultra 2.
2025 promises a new version, the Apple Watch SE 3, the first budget upgrade in three years. As such, there are some exciting new features and changes reportedly on the horizon.
So, should you upgrade? Who would the Apple Watch SE 3 be for, and what might be new for 2025? Here are some reasons to consider upgrading, and some reasons why you might want to skip the potential next iteration.
Reasons to consider upgrading…
Redesign
The Apple Watch SE 3 is expected to be the only model that gets a redesign this year. The Apple Watch Series 11 and Ultra 3 will largely be the same as their forebears, while the SE 3 should get a design overhaul.
That doesn’t mean we’ll get a major new form factor, but we should get at least some sort of a tweak. The existing SE 2 is based on the design of the Apple Watch Series 8, and the obvious move is a design that reflects the more modern, sleeker Apple Watch Series 10 from 2024. That could mean a more vibrant display, and another upgrade worth your attention.
Larger display
A move to the Series 10’s form factor seems likely for the Apple Watch SE 3, which would pave the way for a larger display and chassis housing of 42mm and 46mm for the smaller and larger sizes, respectively. As such, one of the key reasons to upgrade to the Apple Watch SE 3 could be a bigger display that lets you read more text while scrolling and typing on a much larger area.
New Chip
The Apple Watch SE 2 is the S8 SiP that’s also borrowed from the Series 8. As such, it’s ripe for an upgrade in the 2025 model, and the prime candidate is the S11 we’d expect to debut next year. While Apple saves on the Apple Watch SE’s price tag by dumbing down some features and parts, the chip isn’t usually one of them. As such, we’d expect the SE 3 to share the chip of the Series 11.
Reasons you might want to skip
Lacking health features
While the Apple Watch SE 3 might add some new health chops, it’s unlikely to get the full suite of tools you’d expect in Apple’s best smartwatch. As such, the Apple Watch SE 3 is probably going to be one to skip if you want Apple’s ECG feature, sleep apnea, blood oxygen (outside the US), or temperature sensing.
Blood pressure
The 2025 Apple Watch headline should be blood pressure monitoring. Apple is reportedly preparing a hypertension detection feature. Like its sleep apnea monitoring, this will reportedly give alerts for abnormal or high readings, rather than a specific or ongoing score. This feature will almost certainly be limited to the Series 11 and Ultra 3, or perhaps just the Ultra 3. Either way, it won’t be on the Apple Watch SE 3, so if it’s important to you, this won’t be the watch for you.
Plastic casing
The plastic casing was a change rumored for the Apple Watch SE 3 late last year. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman had previously reported that Apple was exploring a cheaper plastic housing that would be more colorful while saving on overall cost, something Apple tried with great success with the iPhone 5C.
Personally, I see this one as a double-edged sword. If you like the premium feel of the Apple Watch line, I’d say moving to plastic is a reason to skip the device this year. Conversely, Apple might be having major issues with the tech behind the scenes, and plastic could get shelved. As such, if you were excited for this change, it may not materialize, so another potential reason to skip.
