When a leading tech company’s under-a-year-old signature smartwatch goes on sale and finds itself at the same price as that company’s entry-level model, that’s worth a long look. Don’t worry, we checked, and it’s legit — Amazon is selling the Apple Watch 11 (42mm GPS) for just $299, the same price as the Apple Watch SE 3.
OK, we fudged that a teeny bit – the SE 3 that sells for $299 is the 44mm cellular model. But the Series 11 has never been priced lower than $299, which is no surprise considering it only debuted last September. And, no disrespect to the exceptionally capable SE 3, but when the Series 11 hits the same price while bringing a lot more to the table, it’s not a difficult decision to make.
Lopsided Score
Need further differentiation between the two Apple Watches currently sharing a price point? The Series 11 has ECG capability, blood oxygen readings, sleep apnea detection, and — in the headlining addition for this nerve-wracked generation — hypertension notifications that can spot signs of chronic high blood pressure and flag possible hypertension over time. None of that is in the SE. For anyone who’s been treating their watch primarily as a notification device and step counter, the health-monitoring gap between the two products has never been more visible than it is at this price.
As a fitness tracker/coach/companion, the Series 11’s combination of Pacer, Heart Rate Zones, training-load tracking, and Workout Buddy powered by Apple Intelligence from a nearby iPhone gives the Series 11 a coaching layer that sits above what most dedicated fitness trackers offer. The three months of Apple Fitness+ that comes with purchase adds structured workouts to the package for anyone who wants to start using the data the watch collects, along with the many other features of Apple’s highly regarded fitness app.
Smart and Tough
The Series 11 took the traditional toughness of its predecessor models and cranked it up even more. The 11’s display is twice as scratch resistant as the one on the Series 10, it’s rated to 50 meters of water resistance, and the IP6X dust rating means it’s genuinely daily-wear durable for both work and workouts. The thin, lightweight build makes it comfortable enough to sleep in, so you can avail yourself of the new Sleep Score feature that takes all of the data the Series 11 collects while you sleep and boils them down into a single number for easy translation.
Speaking of numbers that are easy to translate, maybe this is the best way to look at this Amazon sale on the Apple Watch Series 11: While this deal is on the table, Apple’s offering one of their newest and most advanced smartwatches at the price point they felt was most appropriate for their most affordable one. That’s a deal where you don’t ask questions — you just hit the Buy Now button.
