Design and Build

The Apple Watch SE (2nd Generation) is featured in 40mm as well as 44mm sizes and is made of an aluminum chassis with round edges and a thickness of 10.7mm. The 40mm watch weighs 26.4g (GPS) or 27.8g (GPS + Cellular), and the 44mm watch weighs 32.9g (GPS) or 33.0g (GPS + Cellular), respectively. It comes in three colors called Midnight, Starlight, and Silver. The watch can be worn on wrists ranging from 130–200mm (40mm) to 140–220mm (44mm) with a Digital Crown, side button, and band release available. The Ion-X glass front and composite back features add to its waterproof characteristic of up to 50m, and it is not dustproof. The buyers are highly excited about the watch's budget-friendly, lightweight design, although there is feedback on the lack of top-quality material like titanium.

• Aluminum chassis, 10.7mm depth
• Digital Crown, side button, band release
• Ion-X glass front, composite back
• 50m water resistance
• No dust resistance rating

Apple Watch SE 2 Display

The SE 2 comes with a Retina OLED display having specs with 324 x 394 pixels (40mm, 759 sq mm) or 368 x 448 pixels (44mm, 977 sq mm), both at ~326 PPI. It features up to 1000 nits brightness but does not have always-on capability or variable refresh rate. The display itself is equivalent to that of the SE 1 but is 30% smaller compared to the Series 10 and thus not as readable. The clarity of the reading appealed to customers who found they got this for a good price, but leave a comment about the missing most like to have always-on feature comparing it with Series 8.

• Retina OLED, no always-on
• 40mm: 324 x 394, 44mm: 368 x 448, ~326 PPI
• Up to 1000 nits
• Ion-X glass protection
• 30% smaller than Series 10

Performance and Software

Propelled by the S8 SiP containing a 64-bit dual-core processor, the SE 2 offers 32GB storage and is up and running with watchOS 9 (to be upgraded to watchOS 11). The S8 processor delivers the same performance as Series 8 devices and besides functions like fitness tracking and receiving notifications, it also has Crash Detection enabled, yet it cannot perform Neural Engine tasks such as Double Tap. It is around 20% faster than the S5 on SE 1. The performance of the processor is lauded by users albeit its limitations in the area of advanced features in comparison with Series 8 are not missed.

• S8 SiP, 64-bit dual-core
• 32GB storage
• watchOS 9 (up to watchOS 11)
• Crash Detection, Family Setup
• No Neural Engine or Double Tap

The S8 ensures reliable performance, with watchOS 11 adding sleep apnea detection, but it lacks advanced AI features.

Sensors and Health

The SE 2 has an optical heart sensor of the second generation, high-g accelerometer, gyroscope, compass, and always-on altimeter. It is compatible with heart rate monitoring, irregular rhythm notifications, Crash Detection, and Fall Detection, and sleep tracking, however, it is missing ECG, blood oxygen, and temperature sensors. Despite the health features being very simple, they still suit budget users. The device is pleasant to use for the users' fitness session, yet they mention that it does not have as many health features as Series 8.

• Heart rate, irregular rhythm notifications
• Crash Detection, Fall Detection
• High-g accelerometer, gyroscope, compass
• Always-on altimeter
• No ECG, blood oxygen, or temperature sensors

Battery and Charging

The SE 2 gets ~18 hours of battery life (300 time checks, 90 notifications, 15min app use, 60min workout) with a 245mAh (40mm) or 296mAh (44mm) battery. Charging up to 100% takes ~2 hours via a Magnetic Charger USB-C Cable. In actual usage, users report 14–16 hours of battery life which is nearly the same as that of Series 8 but does not have fast charging. Users who are heavy users mention that they still need to charge on a daily basis, especially when they use it frequently.

• 245mAh (40mm), 296mAh (44mm)
• ~18h (normal)
• Charging: 100% in ~2h
• Magnetic Charger USB-C
• No fast charging

Connectivity

The SE 2 is compatible with Wi-Fi 4 (802.11n, 2.4GHz), Bluetooth 5.3, L1 GPS (GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS), LTE (cellular models, $299+), and Apple Pay.

• Wi-Fi 4 (802.11n, 2.4GHz), Bluetooth 5.3
• L1 GPS, LTE (cellular models)
• Apple Pay, GymKit
• No Ultra Wideband or 5GHz Wi-Fi
• No voice isolation

Pricing and Availability

The launch price of the SE 2 (40mm, GPS, aluminum) was $249. The sales of the SE 2 started on September 16, 2022, via Apple, carriers, and retailers. Cellular models increase to $50. It is still in stock, and its price is lowered to around $200 in retail stores. Most customers see it as an affordable choice for basic fitness and notifications but talk about the limited health sensors in relation to Series 8.