Apple·smartwatch
Apple Watch SE
Based on 20 credible posts from Bluesky & Hacker News. 11 filtered out as bot-like or off-topic.
Low confidenceFew owner reviews so far, so this score can still move a lot. How we score
Scored September 27, 2026
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Owner reviews
Overall owner mood
Owners are split: 50% of 20 reviews are positive, 20% negative, and the rest mixed or neutral. Praise centers on battery & charging and price & value. The most common complaint is software & ai (2 owners). Owners with 6+ months of use are less positive (40%), which suggests it wears on people over time.
What owners like
Battery & charging praised by 5 owners
“The current iteration of the the product (which is what I had) claims that the battery lasts 18 hours and can charge from 0-80% in 90 minutes: I'm much happier with a watch that does fewer things but does them well.”
Price & value praised by 3 owners
“I think my M1 Mac Mini, my the product, and the iPhone SEs that I bought for my teenagers were actually quite reasonably priced.”
What owners complain about
Software & AI raised by 2 owners
“I tried a Garmin for a while but the UI bugs/inconsistencies/onboarding process put me off a lot so I eventually got rid of it.”
What owners talk about
- Battery & charging5 praise · 0 complain
- Price & value3 praise · 1 complain
- Software & AI0 praise · 2 complain
- Build & durability1 praise · 1 complain
Built from the reviews themselves — every quote links to the owner who wrote it.
Full text of every credible post we scored. Bot-like and off-topic comments are hidden.
[...] I have an Apple Watch SE that I got the battery refurbed after 5 years, 95% of my use is a quick check on my next calendar, setting timers, managing the morning alarm, and tracking medication and exercise. Oh, and constantly putting it into power save mode after I take it off the charger. It's not a cellular model, so the other 5% is basically letting me know my phone has something to tell me. [...]
I made the switch a few years ago, but I recall the Apple watch taking much longer than 30 mins to charge. The current iteration of the Apple Watch SE (which is what I had) claims that the battery lasts 18 hours and can charge from 0-80% in 90 minutes: I'm much happier with a watch that does fewer things but does them well. Only having to charge it for 30 minutes once every few weeks means that I can just leave it on all the time like the non-smart watches I used to wear.
[...] My daughter has an apple watch se that they also stopped updating after just 3 years, so now the LTE on it is useless as the carriers here require a newer version. [...]
So let me get this straight….the Apple Watch SE 2nd gen…that I bought 2 years ago…and still has apple care….doesn’t get WatchOS 27….which is almost entirely a bug fix update I’m happy the iPhone support is still solid, I’m hoping it addresses the really bad performance on my 13 mini but bruh
Last year in early July I bought myself an apple watch SE, this year like 4 days after the warranty expired it started forcing through a 911 call every 30s unless i unpaired it. Tried every suggestion, but didn’t have time to waste on non-critical stuff for myself. But had to repair my laptop…
[...] Nothing life-changing, but for the price of a cheapo apple watch se once every 5 years or so, more than worth it. [...]
I tried a Garmin for a while but the UI bugs/inconsistencies/onboarding process put me off a lot so I eventually got rid of it. Using an old Apple watch SE at the moment and apart from the minor inconvenience of charging it overnight (no need for sleep tracking) it does everything better.
[...] My most expensive watch is a Fenix7 (used) @ $300. [...] I had two (used) pebble watches back in the day, pre-ordered the PT2 before they went bankrupt, and have preordered the "new" PT2 (at $200 price range). [...] Timex "Transcend" is a fun one in the $100 price range. Apple Watch SE is $250, and all the re-pebbles are $200 price range? [...] I hate to say that Pebble Round 2 is "almost an impulse buy" (prior to Time2 shipping), but there are occasions (eg: last night) where my Garmin was out of battery, I went to a friends house, so I pulled out my slightly fancier round-dial analog watch. The fact that pebble is hitting $200 price points is actually an incredible (and hopefully sustainable!) value for what they offer!
[...] I set up my daughter's Apple Watch SE which we got her because phones are depression machines for teen girls (according to the Biden controlled MSM anyway) and I just set it up using my backup phone. I then backed up her setup, restored my setup, and when I need to update her watch or do something else administrative I just restore her backup to the phone, do what I need, then restore my backup to the phone, ready to fill in at a moment's notice if my phone needs to be repaired or gets lost or whatever. I also take calls on my airpods connected to my watch pretty frequently because I exercise without my phone. [...]
It honestly depends on the particular product. I think my M1 Mac Mini, my Apple Watch SE, and the iPhone SEs that I bought for my teenagers were actually quite reasonably priced. My iPad Pro, Magic Keyboard, and Apple Pencil feel a little overpriced on the other hand.
I bought an Apple Watch SE, thinking I could save some money for only a 1mm difference in size. Turns out that's the difference in case size, but the bezels on the SE are enormous. It's like going from the Series 7 screen size back to the Series 3.
Got my Apple Watch SE 3 today and I think I have a problem. Here’s my watch face. [...] Anyways, I hope battery life is good enough on the SE 3, otherwise I’ll have to see if I can exchange for Series 11.
I bought the Apple Watch SE (2nd generation) yesterday on Black Friday plus got a free Apple gift card and have been testing it out since today. Despite the less function than the very expensive models, but I'm okay with it. Especially can watch the sequences of my workout.
Think I’m going to try doing a mile walk every day in 2024! I got the Apple Watch SE the other day and I like it a lot more than my fitbit that randomly died one day. The daily goals are really nice.
I am currently using both an apple watch SE 2 and a garmin vivoactive 5 simultaneously. Even if the Garmin has better battery life, I don't really like it for 2 reasons: - the round watch UI is ugly and doesn't work with the other UI elements. [...] Also, as you already said, I just charge the watch everyday while I shower, so battery life is not really an issue for 80% of the time. [...] but I think a newer model (and I hope that the new ones will be even better on that side) will have better battery life. When the battery life will be 48 hours it will be perfect for me.
I got my child an AppleWatch SE (a few years ago), which yeah, technically has a bunch of apps but they're not really useful or of interest to them, and if they don't have social media accounts (which mine don't), then it acts as a phone and locater without all the rest. [...]
The only connection tmk my Apple Watch SE (fortunately 2nd G) has is through my phone and WiFi. Was it different for 1st G? Even the charger is magnetic.
No but they’re meant to work on it lmao I broke the Apple Watch SE first, which literally had an open water swimming mode. Then the Fitbit (also had a similar mode iirc, but was a cheaper one), then it was some xiaomi thing I bought years ago 😭
[...] The rumor was they were gonna get rid of the button and go with the more recent iPhone style and such. I wonder if they will rebrand the Apple Watch SE as an Apple Watch 10e or something along those lines.
[...] We will be maintaining screentime controls, and won't allow TikTok to be installed on her phone. [...] My eldest has had an apple watch SE since year 7 and we use that for communicating, and she can get in touch with friends that way. [...]
The claims, and the evidence
What the brand claims
No published claims on file for this product yet.
What owners report
“[...] I have an Apple Watch SE that I got the battery refurbed after 5 years, 95% of my use is a quick check on my next calendar, setting timers, managing the morning alarm, and tracking medication and exercise. Oh, and constantly putting it into power save mode after I take it off the charger. It's not a cellular model, so the other 5% is basically letting me know my phone has something to tell me. [...]”
after 5 yearsView on Hacker News“I made the switch a few years ago, but I recall the Apple watch taking much longer than 30 mins to charge. The current iteration of the Apple Watch SE (which is what I had) claims that the battery lasts 18 hours and can charge from 0-80% in 90 minutes: I'm much happier with a watch that does fewer things but does them well. Only having to charge it for 30 minutes once every few weeks means that I can just leave it on all the time like the non-smart watches I used to wear.”
after 3 yearsView on Hacker News“[...] My daughter has an apple watch se that they also stopped updating after just 3 years, so now the LTE on it is useless as the carriers here require a newer version. [...]”
after 3 yearsView on Hacker News“So let me get this straight….the Apple Watch SE 2nd gen…that I bought 2 years ago…and still has apple care….doesn’t get WatchOS 27….which is almost entirely a bug fix update I’m happy the iPhone support is still solid, I’m hoping it addresses the really bad performance on my 13 mini but bruh”
after 2 yearsView on Bluesky
Common Apple Watch SE problems
Issues at least two owners independently report.
- Software & AI2 mentionsView on Bluesky
“So let me get this straight….the Apple Watch SE 2nd gen…that I bought 2 years ago…and still has apple care….doesn’t get WatchOS 27….which is almost entirely a bug fix update I’m happy the iPhone support is still solid, I’m hoping it addresses the really bad performance on my 13 mini but bruh”