Apple Watch SE is a stripped down Series 5 that’s priced from RM1,199

The Apple Watch SE is finally revealed but it isn’t the cheapest Apple Watch you can buy at the moment. Unlike the iPhone SE, you’re also not getting the most powerful chip available for the Apple Watch. Essentially, the Watch SE is a mid-range option that runs on last year’s dual-core Apple S5 chip and it lacks a couple of features.

In terms of design, it looks like the current Apple Watch models with 40mm and 44mm options available. It uses an OLED-based Retina Display similar to the Series 4 but it lacks the Always-on function that was introduced on the Series 5.

In terms of fitness tracking, it comes with the second generation optical heart rate sensor which doesn’t offer ECG and blood oxygen level tracking. Even today, the ECG feature is still not enabled in Malaysia. On the plus side, the Apple Watch SE does come with an always-on altimeter that was introduced with on the Apple Watch Series 6.

The other fundamental fitness and health features are still retained including high and low heart rate notification, emergency SOS, noise monitoring and fall detection. The SE still gets GPS, compass and a second generation speaker and mic setup.

With WatchOS 7, you also get access to the latest features including sleep monitoring, menstrual cycle tracking and hand washing detection and reminders. As usual, you also get up to 18 hours of battery life on a single charge and it has 50-metre water resistance which allows you to use it for swim tracking.

Apple hasn’t revealed the Watch SE’s available for Malaysia and below are the official starting prices:

Aluminium + Sport Loop / Solo Loop
40mm GPS – RM1,199
40mm GPS + Cellular – RM1,449
44mm GPS – RM1,349
44mm GPS + Cellular – RM1,599

If you want something cheaper, the Apple Watch Series 3 is still available at the same reduced starting price of RM849 for the 38mm version and RM999 for the 42mm variant. Meanwhile, the latest Apple Watch Series 6 with blood oxygen sensor is priced from RM1,749 for the 40mm version and RM1,899 for the 44m size.

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