Time to Choose: Apple Watch Series 11 vs. Ultra 3 and SE 3

It is the brand new yr, and you have in all probability received a bunch of resolutions and objectives swirling round your head competing for consideration. What you want is a central, fixed companion that may assist you make sense of all of it and hold you on job. No, I am not speaking about AI — it is time to get an Apple Watch. However which one? 

The flagship Apple Watch Series 11, rugged Apple Watch Ultra 3 and economical Apple Watch SE 3 fashions are quite a bit nearer in options and specs than they’ve ever been. Let’s examine them to see which deserves a spot in a present field — or in your wrist.

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Watch this: Apple Watch Extremely 3 Evaluation: Is it Worthy of the Title and the $800 Worth Tag?

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Pricing the Apple Watch Collection 11, Extremely 3 and SE 3

The 2025 Apple Watch line spans a large value vary, beginning as little as $249 for the Apple Watch SE 3 and going as excessive as $1,299 for a titanium Apple Watch Collection 11 with an Hermès band. Like most vogue equipment, you possibly can select from totally different case sizes, supplies, mobile connectivity choices and bands to seek out the fitting match — and value — in your watch.

The Apple Watch Collection 11 provides the widest value vary, with two case sizes, two physique supplies, non-obligatory mobile connectivity and premium Hermès fashions. The Apple Watch SE 3 is barely obtainable in aluminum and has the sooner, barely smaller case sizes. The Apple Watch Extremely 3 comes solely in titanium, with a single 49mm dimension and mobile included by default. 

Learn extra: Discover the perfect offers on the Series 11 and Ultra 3.

This is how they break down:

Collection 11 vs. Extremely 3, SE 3 bodily designs

The core rounded-rectangle design of the Apple Watch has seen incremental modifications since its first iterations. The Collection 11 shares the slimmer 9.7mm peak profile of the Collection 10, with 42mm and 46mm diagonal sizes. Weight is gentle throughout the board, from 29.7 to 43.1 grams relying on dimension and case materials. Aluminum fashions are available area grey, jet black, rose gold or silver, whereas titanium variations are provided in pure, slate or gold finishes.

The Apple Watch SE 3 is barely thicker (10.7mm) and barely smaller, with 40mm and 44mm sizes. Its design most carefully harkens again to earlier Apple Watch fashions. It weighs 26.4 grams or 33 grams, relying on the case dimension. And because the no-frills possibility, the SE 3 is available in both midnight (black) or starlight (silver).

The Extremely 3 is essentially the most vital departure from the unique design, with 14.4mm thickness, 49mm diagonal dimension and a extra stable weight of 61.6 grams. Its titanium physique is available in both pure or black — except you go for the Hermès version, which is barely provided in pure. 

CNET lead author Vanessa Hand Orellana described the Ultra 3 in her review as being “like the posh Land Rover you see in safari brochures: It is adventure-ready on the surface, with all the trendy conveniences on the within.” The physique can be 3D-printed utilizing 100% recycled titanium, however you’d by no means comprehend it; there are not one of the telltale layering indications discovered on most 3D-printed gadgets.

Every watch has Apple’s Digital Crown and a facet button. The Extremely 3 additionally features a programmable Motion button, which may, for instance, begin a exercise with a single press.

Seems apart, all three Apple Watch fashions are constructed for sturdiness. The SE 3 is water-resistant to 50 meters, so that you needn’t child it — whether or not you are showering, swimming or simply dwelling by means of a wet Pacific Northwest day.

The Collection 11 can be rated for water resistance to 50 meters, whereas the Extremely 3 doubles that with a 100-meter score. They’re each additionally licensed as IP6X mud resistant, which is best than the SE.

Collection 11 vs. Extremely 3, SE 3 shows

The Collection 11 and Extremely 3 each use an LPTO 3 OLED show, which has some great benefits of staying at all times on, supplying you with a large viewing angle, so you do not want to have a look at it head-on to see the time. It could possibly additionally get very shiny: 2,000 nits of peak brightness for the Collection 11 and three,000 nits (the identical because the iPhone 17 Professional) for the Extremely 3. 

The energy-efficient display can refresh its show at only one nit of brightness as soon as each second when in its passive state, so you possibly can at all times see the second hand or indicator (relying on the watch face).

The show is protected by sapphire crystal on the titanium Collection 11 and the Extremely 3. In keeping with Apple, the aluminum Collection 11 makes use of Ion-X glass, which is twice as scratch-resistant because the Collection 10.

In previous generations, the SE was caught with the lowest-quality display, however not this time. The SE 3 will get an always-on LTPO OLED show that reaches as much as 2,000 nits of brightness and dims to simply 2 nits when inactive. Nevertheless it does not refresh as typically because the Collection 11 and Extremely 3, so the seconds indicator solely seems when the display is energetic. It is nonetheless a giant “high quality of life” bump from prior SE watches, which do not have an always-on show mode.

Collection 11 vs. Extremely 3, SE 3 battery life

One shock with the brand new Apple Watch lineup is improved battery life within the Collection 11 and Extremely 3, plus a fast-charge possibility on the SE 3 that makes it simple to prime up for an evening’s sleep after a full day.

Apple claims as much as 24 hours of use on a battery cost for the Collection 11, up from the Collection 10’s 18 hours. It additionally claims as much as 38 hours in Low Energy mode, a notch above the 36 hours of the Collection 10. That fast-charging possibility can carry the battery stage as much as 80% in half-hour, however placing the watch on its charger for simply quarter-hour can enhance it for as much as eight hours. 

Hand Orellana writes in her Series 11 review, “The six-hour battery bump on the Collection 11 might not sound like a lot on paper, however it’s given me some welcome respiratory room to determine a greater charging technique.”

The SE 3 nonetheless delivers as much as 18 hours of use, or 32 hours in Low Energy mode. It additionally helps quick charging — as much as 80% in 45 minutes, or about eight hours of use from a fast 15-minute top-up.

In order for you essentially the most time between fees, the Extremely 3 stays the Apple Watch to get. It could possibly final for as much as 42 hours, per Apple, or as much as 72 hours in Low Energy mode. Quick charging its bigger battery takes it to 80% in about 45 minutes, and quarter-hour on the cable offers you roughly 12 hours of energy.

A few of these positive factors come from Apple factoring in an evening’s sleep, however credit score additionally goes to the extra power-efficient LTPO 3 display within the Collection 11 and Extremely 3.

It is one factor to reference Apple’s claims, however what about battery life in follow? In Hand Orellana’s assessment of every mannequin, she recorded even higher battery life than Apple’s estimates. Remember your every day utilization will have an effect on outcomes, however this is what she discovered:

Collection 11 vs. Extremely 3, SE 3 well being options

The Apple Watch SE line has at all times sacrificed some {hardware} and options to stay the least costly possibility, and the SE 3 continues that custom — however to not the identical extent. It lacks {an electrical} coronary heart sensor discovered within the Collection 11 and Extremely 3, so it could actually’t take coronary heart readings utilizing the ECG app to search for indicators of atrial fibrillation (Afib).

In keeping with Apple, the SE 3 makes use of a second-generation optical coronary heart sensor that tracks coronary heart price throughout train, sleep and potential emergencies — although, like all Apple Watches, it could actually’t detect coronary heart assaults or measure blood oxygen. The Collection 11 and Extremely 3 improve to third-generation optical coronary heart sensors.

The SE 3 can be lacking a water temperature sensor and depth gauge, making the Collection 11 and Extremely 3 higher choices for those who spend a number of time in water and wish to monitor swim exercises or shallow dives extra reliably.

This yr’s standout well being characteristic is the flexibility to investigate information and verify for indicators of doable hypertension, or hypertension. “It is not the total on-the-spot blood stress monitoring Apple followers have lengthy hoped for,” wrote Hand Orellana, “however it’s a significant step ahead — one which Apple says may assist 1 million individuals get identified with hypertension within the first yr alone.” 

Just like the sleep-apnea monitoring launched final yr, hypertension notifications usually are not a screening device; consider it as a warning system that prompts you to get checked out by your physician. The Collection 11 and Extremely 3 embrace this potential (sorry, SE 3), and require 30 days of knowledge assortment earlier than triggering notifications. The Collection 9, Collection 10 and Extremely 2 additionally get hypertension notifications in WatchOS 26.

Collection 11 vs. Extremely 3, SE 3 connectivity

Every of the Apple Watch fashions helps mobile communications, permitting you to remain linked even when your iPhone is at dwelling. You possibly can order the aluminum Collection 11 fashions and the SE 3 with the mobile possibility; the titanium Collection 11 and the Extremely 3 embrace it by default.

What’s distinctive about these watches is their assist for each 5G and LTE networks, providing quicker speeds and broader compatibility. Plus, they use 5G Diminished Capability know-how, which is extra energy environment friendly than the 5G networking in your iPhone.

Additionally they assist Wi-Fi 4 (802.11n, at 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequencies), Bluetooth 5.3 and L1 GPS location chips. The Extremely 3 consists of twin GPS radios (L1 and L5) for extra exact location monitoring, particularly in difficult environments like dense downtown corridors.

Plus, the Extremely 3 provides satellite tv for pc connectivity straight from the watch. With a direct view of the sky, it could actually talk with overhead satellites for sending and receiving texts, sharing your location and accessing emergency providers.

Collection 11 vs. Extremely 3, SE 3 processors

One of many greatest surprises within the lineup? The Apple Watch Collection 11, Extremely 3 and SE 3 all embrace the identical S10 chip. It is price noting that the S10, launched in final yr’s Collection 10, is not a brand new processor technology for 2025. However every watch now consists of 64 gigabytes of storage, a four-core Neural Engine and a 64-bit dual-core processor.

The one vital distinction is that the Apple Watch SE 3 is the one mannequin to not get Apple’s second-generation Extremely Wideband chip, which is used for exact location monitoring. You possibly can nonetheless use Discover My from an iPhone (geared up with UWB) to inform if the SE 3 is with you or for those who left it at dwelling. However with the Collection 11 and Extremely 3, Discover My will level you in the fitting path as you get nearer to your mislaid watch.

WatchOS 26 on the Collection 11, Extremely 3 and SE 3

Every mannequin is preloaded with WatchOS 26, which has the brand new Liquid Glass interface (although usually, it is fairly refined). And all fashions add options like the brand new Wrist Flick gesture, nightly sleep scores, Workout Buddy, the Notes app and reside translation in Messages. The Collection 11 and Extremely 3, with their upgraded sensors, additionally achieve hypertension notifications.