Is the Apple Watch SE worth buying? You have to ask the Series 5 first

With the hot sales of iPhone XR in 2018, Apple tasted the sweetness of "low price", and many of its product lines began a "sinking" journey. Thanks to this, in September 2020, when Apple updated the Apple Watch series 6 as usual, it also launched the lower-priced Apple Watch SE.

Although the starting price of Apple Watch SE has dropped to 2,199 yuan, the special nature of the precision design of smart watch products also determines that the new products will not necessarily have a major breakthrough over the old products. Therefore, the low-priced and "low-spec" Apple Watch SE is likely to cause consumers to have difficulty in choosing when facing the old Apple Watch.

Many people must be very curious about what the highlights of the Apple Watch SE are and what upgrades it has compared to the Apple Watch Series 5. Let's experience this product together today.

No change in appearance

Perhaps because the upgrade of the appearance of Apple Watch series 4 was too big, the appearance of series 5 and the latest series 6 and SE are almost the same - the core screen is 30% larger than that of Apple Watch series 3.

Apple Watch series 5 on the left and Apple Watch SE on the right

For example, in the comparison photos above, one is the Apple Watch SE and the other is the Apple Watch series 5. However, most people probably can’t tell which one is the Apple Watch SE and which one is the Apple Watch series 5 just by looking at the pictures.

However, although the appearance of the Apple Watch SE has not changed much at the macro level, due to the removal of Force Touch and the absence of an additional screen gasket, the body thickness of the Apple Watch SE is 0.34mm thinner than the series 5, which can be regarded as a breakthrough in details.

In general, if you don't choose the new color and strap, the appearance of Apple Watch SE is not much different from the flagship series 6 or the old series 5. Therefore, considering only from the perspective of appearance, Apple Watch SE does not feel "cheap".

Gains and losses in cost control

Although the Apple Watch SE does not look much different from high-end products, it is limited by product costs and is lacking in core functions.

Apple Watch series 5 supports always-on display

First of all, the biggest product defect of Apple Watch SE is that it does not support always-on screen. Although a smartwatch without always-on screen will save more power, consumers who are used to the series 5 will probably have a feeling that the always-on screen will make the Apple Watch more like a watch, which can help us get information more conveniently when it is inconvenient to raise our wrist.

Secondly, Apple Watch SE does not support the two incremental health functions of blood sample testing and electrocardiogram. Since Series 1, Apple Watch's product positioning has focused on health, which is also a significant demand for many consumers to buy Apple Watch. However, as a 2020 product, it is understandable that Apple Watch SE does not have the functions of flagship products, and it is also disappointing that it does not support the electrocardiogram function of Series 5.

However, since it is a new product, Apple obviously does not want the Apple Watch SE to be completely defeated in the comparison with the series 5. Therefore, Apple has also added some new features to the former.

For example, the Apple Watch SE is equipped with the same all-weather altimeter as the Series 6. Compared with the barometric altimeter of the Series 5, it not only has more sensitive detection data, but also can achieve all-weather automatic monitoring, allowing consumers to enjoy the fun of fitness more conveniently.

In addition, as Apple canceled Force Touch hardware in its mobile product line, Apple Watch products equipped with watch OS 7 have replaced the previous hard press operation with a long press, which has made the Force Touch hardware in the old Apple Watch products completely useless. This targeted software and hardware optimization can also bring unique product advantages to Apple Watch SE in terms of battery life.

Performance and battery life are still worrying

In order to differentiate itself from its flagship products, the Apple Watch SE is not equipped with the S6 SiP chip, a 64-bit dual-core processor used in the series 6, but with the S5 SiP chip of the previous generation. According to Apple, the overall operating speed of the S5 is about 20% lower than that of the S6 processor.

However, considering the evolution of Apple Watch, on the one hand, Apple Watch itself cannot handle high-intensity computing, and on the other hand, the computing power of Apple Watch has been greatly upgraded since S4, and there will be no lag. Therefore, when using it, whether switching apps or opening apps, there is no obvious difference between Apple Watch SE and series 6 and series 5.

Unlike its advanced performance, due to the limitations of lithium battery technology, Apple Watch has been stuck in the quagmire of battery life anxiety since its inception.

However, as mentioned above, due to the removal of Force Touch components, the battery capacity of Apple Watch SE has also increased. Under Apple's high-intensity test, the battery life of Apple Watch SE can reach up to 18 hours. However, considering that the battery of Apple Watch SE will drop to about 30% by the afternoon of the next day, it is easy to have battery life anxiety. Therefore, Apple Watch SE still cannot escape the fate of charging once a day.

It is worth noting that Apple has brought fast charging technology to its high-end product series 6, which can be fully charged in just one and a half hours. However, in order to distinguish the product lines, the Apple Watch SE does not support this technology. Therefore, like the series 5, the SE still takes two and a half hours to fully charge.

Considering that watchOS 7 supports sleep detection function, most consumers need to wear Apple Watch products 24 hours a day. Therefore, this actually highlights the poor battery life and charging of Apple Watch SE.

Family Sharing and SE

In addition to regular upgrades, one of the most eye-catching upgrades under watchOS 7 is the addition of the "Family Sharing" function. This means that the iPhone and Apple Watch will no longer need to be connected.

For example, in the past, if we wanted to equip our children with an Apple Watch, we also needed to equip them with an iPhone. However, with the family sharing feature, parents only need to bind their children’s Apple Watch to their own iPhone, allowing their children to use the Apple Watch without being constrained by hardware.

In addition, the main iPhone can also control the secondary Apple Watch in real time. For example, after setting "after class time", the child can no longer handle other tasks except using the Apple Watch to check the time, which can effectively prevent the child from being distracted.

Combined with this function, we can clearly feel that Apple is attempting to shift from occupying iPhone users to occupying the "iPhone family" today. The low-priced Apple Watch SE launched by Apple this year is undoubtedly a profound practice of this concept.

Is it worth buying?

The biggest confusion for those who are interested in Apple Watch SE but have not yet made a purchase is whether Apple Watch SE is the best choice between Series 6 and Series 5. This question can be simply divided into the comparison between Apple Watch SE and Series 6 and Series 5.

In fact, since the series 6 is 1,000 yuan more expensive than the Apple Watch SE and has functions such as blood oxygen measurement and a brighter always-on screen, many people will buy the series 6 without hesitation if they have enough budget.

The next question is which one is more worth buying, Apple Watch SE or series 5?

Compared to the former, the Series 5 does have more features, such as support for always-on display and electrocardiogram, but the Series 5 does not support the all-weather altimeter on the SE and has extremely useless Force Touch hardware.

Therefore, if you need a constantly on screen and are not sensitive to height measurement, then it is more appropriate to spend a few hundred yuan more on the Series 5. If you believe in the concept of "buy new rather than old" and are attracted by the small details of the Apple Watch SE, then the price of SE at around 2,000 yuan will be enough to satisfy you.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.