Apple Watch SE: Apple’s more affordable wearable features WatchOS 7 and ships Sept. 18 for $279 – CNET

This story is part of Apple Event, our full coverage of the latest news from Apple headquarters.

At Apple’s virtual event on Tuesday, the tech giant announced the new Apple Watch Series 6 as well as an entirely new wearable called the Apple Watch SE. Featuring WatchOS 7, water resistance and the same Apple S3 processor as the Apple Watch Series 3, the Apple Watch SE serves as a cheaper option to the flagship Apple Watch. It will come in cellular and Wi-Fi only variants, starts at $279 and ships out Sept. 18.

Though it doesn’t have all the same high-end features as the Series 6, like metrics to measure your blood oxygen level, the Watch SE still has some features that are new to WatchOS 7. That includes new watch faces and Family Setup. It will also be compatible with Apple’s two new watch bands, the Solo and Braided loop.

And while the Watch SE has the same dual-core processor as the Watch Series 3, the company said the SE is twice as fast. Staple features such as sleep tracking, fall detection and messaging are also built into the Watch SE.

Priced at $279 (£269), the Apple Watch SE starts at $120 cheaper than the $399 (£379) Apple Watch Series 6. But as the more “affordable” Apple Watch, the SE is hardly the cheapest wearable on the market. The Galaxy Watch Active 2, for example, costs the same and the Fitbit Versa 2 is cheaper at $200. The SE also isn’t even the cheapest wearable you can buy new from Apple. Its own Apple Watch Series 3, which launched in 2017, currently goes for $199.

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