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In this video Kate has all three new Apple Watch devices and breaks down the differences between Apple Watch Series 11 vs. Apple Watch Ultra 3 vs. Apple Watch SE 3. You've got new features like the longer battery life and hypertension alerts to consider, but also improvements to the SE watch with an Always On Display and on-device Siri. With all watches offering similar fitness tracking, software with watchOS 26 and performance from the S10 chip, how do you determine which is the best Apple Watch for you in 2025?
Not only does this video explain the Apple Watch 2025 lineup in terms of design, pricing, sensors, display, and other features, but it also gives a top-level review of how to choose the right watch. Between Apple Watch 11 vs. SE 3 vs. Ultra 3, let us know which one you're planning to pick up.
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0:00
Hey guys, normally you know I'd just do a dedicated review of the Apple Watch Series 11
0:05
Apple Watch Ultra 3, and Apple Watch SE 3 all individually. And to be clear, I did write those
0:11
they're linked in the description. But in this video, I'm going to be giving you a summary of
0:16
all three watches side by side in kind of a review format. Because while I think it's great
0:22
that there are options, options can also be confusing. In my opinion, it's not necessarily
0:27
clear what the benefits of each watch are or the reasons to buy or skip each based on all the
0:32
different features for all the different prices. If after watching this video you do want to see
0:37
anything more in depth or you have any questions, you guys know I'm active in the comment section
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But for now, let me know. Are you here as a first-time Apple Watch buyer or are you upgrading
0:46
to a new one? Starting with price, because ultimately that is a huge factor. The good news
0:53
there are no price hikes compared to last time. So if you're upgrading, you're probably going to
0:58
end up paying the same price as you did for the watch you currently own. And just a reminder
1:03
a good reminder, if your old watch is in good condition, you should definitely look at trade
1:08
and offers. Apple's program is probably the easiest to navigate, but Best Buy would be my
1:13
second recommendation for trade-ins. Now let's throw a chart up on the screen for clarity on
1:18
pricing. The Apple Watch Series 11 starts at $499. The Apple Watch SE3 starts at $249. Apple Watch
1:26
Ultra 3 is a flat $799. There are premiums for sizes and cellular connection on the Series 11
1:34
and SE3, but not for the Ultra because it supports cellular by default and only comes in one size
1:41
And yes, speaking of cellular, it is upgraded to 5G for this family of watches, but I'll come back
1:47
to that later. Since we've got all three of them here, let's take a closer look at design
1:52
starting with Series 11. It comes in jet black polished aluminum, rose gold like I have here
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silver, and a new space gray that I tried in my hands-on video. Honestly, I really liked that
2:03
color in person. There are also three titanium options you can pay more for if you like the
2:09
traditional metallic look. I personally have never felt compelled to do that, but hey, it's your
2:14
watch your style. The Series 11 has the same subtle redesign that we got with the Series 10
2:19
That means a slightly bigger display if you're coming from a watch older than that, with sizes
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shifting from 41 millimeters and 45 millimeters to 42 and 46 millimeters. But do not worry
2:31
all of your older bands are still compatible. The Series 11 also has the same wide angle OLED
2:36
screen from the Series 10, but this one is two times more scratch resistance. So if you've ever
2:41
had an Apple Watch, you know day to day it's just going to get marked up, scratched up eventually
2:46
So for me, this is a pretty nice quality of life upgrade. If you're a little rougher on your gear
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that's where the Ultra 3 comes in. It's made from a more durable titanium, either in natural titanium
2:58
like this or black titanium. And it comes in one size. I already mentioned that 49 millimeters
3:04
But the flat display is actually slightly bigger than before, thanks to 24% thinner bezels with
3:09
the upgrade to the LTP03 and wide-angle OLED display. The chassis itself hasn't really changed
3:15
except it's now made from 100% recycled titanium using a new 3D-printed process that reduces waste
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That might not matter so much to you, but I think it's pretty cool. Not new, but still a big
3:27
difference for comparison purposes. Here on the side, the action button. It's basically a quick
3:32
launcher for any app or shortcut. For me, it's usually a flashlight. It's up to you what you
3:38
want to use though Also worth noting that this watch has double the water depth reading compared to the other watches It has full dive computer functionality and also the brightest display of the lineup up
3:49
to 3,000 nits compared to 2,000 nits on the Series 11 and just 1,000 nits on the SE3. Speaking of the
3:56
SE3, it still has a bit of the older Apple Watch design dating back to Series 4. It comes in 40 and
4:03
44 millimeters in either Starlight or Midnight Aluminum, just two colors. This watch is more
4:08
durable now than before. The cover glass is four times more resistant to cracks than the SE2 was
4:14
at least that's according to Apple. But the biggest design change here is the always-on
4:19
display. You guys, this is huge. When I tested the SE2, the lack of always-on display really
4:24
distracted me from the experience, especially coming from a series model, which has had always-on
4:30
back to Series 5. The only difference with the always-on functionality here compared to the Series
4:35
11 and Ultra 3, those have LTP-03 displays. Those can refresh every second without battery life
4:41
draining. That's not the case for the SE3. Another small little upgrade, the SE3 also lets you play
4:46
music straight from the built-in speaker now. Again, not life-changing, but still a cool addition
4:51
So yeah, maybe to trained eyes, this looks a little outdated, but overall, I think it still
4:57
gives Apple Watch. I am going to talk about battery life next, since I know that for a lot of you
5:04
watching this video, this is a deciding factor. This is also where the Garmin comparisons usually
5:10
start to pop up in the comments, but just to be clear, I'm only comparing these three Apple Watches
5:16
So here's the good news. The Apple Watch Series 11 finally jumped from 18 hours to 24 hours of
5:23
battery life. I honestly never thought this would happen, but those extra six hours really do make a
5:28
difference when you factor in GPS use, overnight wear, and sleep tracking. The Apple Watch Ultra 3
5:34
goes even further. It now lasts up to 42 hours, and if you turn on low power mode, you can stretch
5:40
it to around 72 hours. Low power mode also extends the Series 11 to about 38 hours and the SE3 to
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about 32 hours. But the SE3's standard battery life estimate is still just 18 hours. The upside
5:53
the SE3 now charges faster. In fact, all of these watches can get about eight hours of use from just
5:58
a 15-minute charge. Personally, I just top my watch off while I'm in the shower. It's usually that
6:03
quick. Let's dig a little deeper under the hood. All three of these watches features Apple's S10
6:09
chip. That means performance-wise, responsiveness, processing speeds, you're getting the same experience across the board. The big win here is actually for Apple Watch SE 3. It now supports
6:21
on-device Siri processing, just like the Series 11 and Ultra 3. It also gets wrist-based gestures
6:28
like double tap and the new flick gesture. Flick might be a little self-explanatory. It basically
6:33
just lets you quickly dismiss notifications or decline a call by flicking your wrist up. These
6:38
are part of WatchOS 26, which comes preloaded on all three models, but is also a free update
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available to Series 6 and newer. Some features are hardware specific though, so just keep that in mind
6:51
Now what else does watchOS 26 bring? Oh, duh, liquid glass design language. This is Apple's new look
6:57
across all of its devices that, fun fact, is inspired by VisionOS for Vision Pro. You'll see
7:04
a lot of transparency effects and it's really noticeable here on the new Flow watch face
7:09
Speaking of watch faces, some are exclusive to Ultra 3, Wayfinder, this new one Waypoint, and my personal favorite Modular
7:17
These are complication heavy faces that really shine on the bigger screen With WatchOS 26 all of these watches also get Workout Buddy This is basically the first real Apple intelligence feature for Apple Watch Now do not get it twisted
7:33
The processing still happens on your iPhone as long as it's Apple intelligence compatible
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meaning iPhone 15 Pro or newer. Workout Buddy is like an on-watch coach
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You can enable it during workouts and it gives you real-time guidance, like if you're about to break a record, hit a milestone, or close your activity rings
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It's always positive reinforcement, so don't expect criticism or tough love. Just little, little boosts of encouragement while you're exercising
8:01
Of course, beyond Workout Buddy, you can still track pretty much any type of workout you can think of
8:07
The Workout app lets you customize your views, monitor heart rate zones
8:10
That's one of my favorite recent additions. And take advantage of automatic workout detection
8:15
And of course, you cannot forget all the activity badges you can earn, you guys
8:19
These features are standard across all three watches. So if your main reason for buying an Apple Watch is activity tracking, you'll get a very
8:28
similar experience no matter which one you pick. The only real exception to that is for water sports or scuba diving
8:35
For that, you definitely will need the Ultra 3. The other two just don't have the correct durability or depth ratings
8:42
Now, if I keep talking about health features, this is where things will get a little more divisive
8:47
The Apple Watch SE3 simply does not have the sensors that the Series 11 and Ultra 3 offer
8:54
The Series 11 and Ultra 3 have the latest-gen heart rate sensor
8:58
That's what's powering the new hypertension alerts. You might have heard this if you've been following with Apple Watch news
9:05
I need to make a very important distinction. These are not blood pressure monitors
9:11
Instead, Apple developed an algorithm that can detect possible high blood pressure based on AHA guidelines
9:17
It requires 30 days of wear to establish your baseline, so I'm not going to get a notification from just testing out for a few days
9:25
But if your watch does detect possible hypertension, it'll prompt you to see a doctor or use a real blood pressure cuff to confirm the readings
9:34
You can then log those readings in Apple Health, create a chart, and export that PDF to your doctor
9:39
And because people were probably already writing comments, yes, this is the same sensor that is in the Series 9, Series 10, and Ultra 2, so those watches will also get hypertension alerts via software update
9:52
In other words, you don't have to go trade in your Series 9 because you've been waiting for this hypertension feature for a while
9:57
The Series 11 and Ultra 3 also support ECG readings, which can detect AFib
10:02
I know this is like old news in the Apple Watch world, but I personally know multiple people who have actually discovered AFib thanks to their Apple Watch
10:12
It's also worth noting that most AFib diagnoses happen over the age of 60
10:17
So if you're buying for yourself or maybe for a parent, that is definitely a selling point for choosing Series 11 over SE3
10:25
The SE3 also misses out on the Blood Oxygen app. That feature is back and fully functional after being disabled due to a copyright lawsuit
10:35
You might not need SpO2 readings every day, but it is actually a useful sickness indicator
10:41
It can flag when your oxygen dips, which is often an early sign that you're getting sick
10:46
What the SE3 does get is a skin temperature sensor. Yes, that is new for the SE line
10:52
This isn't a thermometer to tell you if you're sick. Instead, it helps with better sleep and cycle tracking insights
10:58
It powers retrospective ovulation estimates, which can be helpful for pregnancy planning
11:03
or just understanding your body a bit better One step further if you log a pregnancy in the Health app the watch can track gestational age and adjust your activity goals accordingly And if you not comfortable with Apple Health tracking this data you can totally opt out and delete your history at any time I
11:20
feel like I needed to make that very clear. Apple continues to evolve its sleep tracking features
11:25
We got sleep stages not too long ago, and now all three watches include a sleep score out of 100
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every morning. The score breaks down into three main factors, how long you slept, how consistent
11:37
your bedtime is, and how often your sleep was interrupted. I like this feature because it can
11:42
give me specific areas to work on. For example, if my sleep score is low, I could see if it's my
11:47
bedtime inconsistency dragging it down and make changes accordingly. Either way, I will still be
11:53
checking my Vitals app every morning. Vitals app gives you an overview of your body's activity and
11:57
sleep data from the day before. It's front and center on your Apple Watch stack when you wake up
12:02
Now, another huge pillar of owning an Apple Watch, connectivity and safety. The big news across all
12:09
three watches, the cellular models now support 5G and not just LTE. That's thanks to a new antenna
12:16
which is also one of the reasons that battery life, which we already talked about, has improved
12:21
The antenna supports more bands, detects when you're in weak coverage, and merges connections
12:25
to find the most efficient one. That means faster, more reliable communication. You know
12:31
you can text, call, whatever you're doing from your wrist. This optional 5G cellular connection
12:37
is available from most major carriers. But what if you are really going off the grid
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That's where the Apple Watch Ultra 3 maybe stands out the most compared to the other two watches
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It has satellite connectivity in addition to 5G. You can use it to send your location and a text
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message to any contact that you've communicated with in the last 30 days. As long as you can align
12:59
with the satellite overhead and the watch walks you through that, you're pretty much good for
13:04
getting in touch. It's definitely designed with adventurous outdoorsy users in mind, but it could
13:11
also be life-saving. Safety features do not stop there. All three watches have emergency SOS, crash
13:17
detection, and fall detection. These are the features that you hope you never need, but you're
13:23
glad to have. The Ultra 3 also adds one more, an 86 decibel siren. This can be used to attract
13:32
attention outdoors if you're stranded perhaps, but honestly it's just as useful in the city
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As a woman, I will say this, having that option when walking alone at night gives me some peace
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of mind. Sometimes it's the reason I recommend the Ultra to friends, their budget permitting
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Thank you for making it to the end of this video. I really, really wanted to be as comprehensive as I
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can. I'm very passionate about the Apple Watch, clearly, and I hoped I helped clarify which one
14:01
is best for you. To recap, the Series 11, the sweet spot, all the health sensors, best design
14:07
options, and the same price as before. SE3, the best value, great for first-time users or younger
14:14
users. Always on display, gestures, 5G, packed with value. Ultra 3, the powerhouse, big screen
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big battery, all the features. Not just for athletes, but for dedicated users, myself included
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Let me know where your head's at in the comments. I'd love to hear your thoughts. And if you found
14:32
this video helpful, please consider subscribing and turning on notifications. We've got tons more
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Apple device videos, buying guides, and buyer skip reviews coming up. That's it for me, guys. I will
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catch you next time
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