Should you buy the Apple Watch SE 2 now or wait?

Skip the Apple Watch SE 2. A newer model is already out, and it does more for the money. Paying for this one now means paying for a watch Apple has already moved past.

Who should skip it

Skip it if you are shopping new. It works only with an iPhone and never with an Android phone, and an older watch keeps getting fewer software updates as the years go by. A watch this old runs fewer of the newest features, and each year it gets closer to the end of its updates.

Look at it only if someone hands you one cheap and you want the basics. As a gift or a hand-me-down it is fine. As a purchase in a store, the newer SE is the smarter use of the same money.

What you get

You get the shape most people picture when they think of an Apple Watch: notifications, Apple Pay, workout tracking and heart rate, all in a case that fits under a cuff. The newer watch keeps all of that and adds better sensors, a brighter screen and faster parts. The Apple Watch SE 2 is not broken. It is just behind, and behind is a bad place to start a purchase.

Price and timing

We have no confirmed price check for this exact model, so the page holds no price verdict for it. That matters, because a deep enough discount is the one thing that could make an older watch worth it. If our published price verdict for this model ever reads buy, this answer changes with it. Until then, the newer model is the better place to put your money.

If you already own an Apple Watch SE 2 and it still does what you need, keep wearing it. If you are buying, buy the newer watch instead.