The Apple Watch SE is set to start shipping Friday, September 18, but the first hands-on reviews of Apple's lower-cost wearable are now appearing...

The Apple Watch has a lot to offer. Sure it lacks the blood oxygen measurement and ECG abilities of the Apple Watch 6, but those probably only matter to you if you have a condition that requires monitoring.

Apple Watch SE does exactly what it was designed to do – provide the stellar Apple Watch experience at a more accessible price. While you miss out on a few premium features, there’s little to be disappointed about in this reasonably priced wonder.

The Apple Watch SE is almost a resounding success, but is let down by one cut corner too many. It has all the major features that make an Apple Watch good. Excellent notifications, pin-sharp haptics, snappy performance and good battery life.

The packaging around the new Apple Watch SE is typically slick, and now pretty thin. That’s because there is no plug for the wall included – you just get the puck-like charger on a USB-A cable. As you can see, the watch itself and the strap come in separate boxes which are then wrapped into one.

I’ve had a few people come to me during the holiday shopping season asking about smartwatches. My first question is always “what kind of phone is the person using?” If it’s an iPhone, the Apple Watch SE is my number one recommendation. It’s the best Apple Watch for most people.

The Apple Watch SE is billed as entry-level, but it doesn’t actually sacrifice all that much compared with many top-of-the-line smartwatches, Apple or otherwise. The Series 3 features the same large display as the Apple Watch Series 6 and many of the same WatchOS7 features, including water...

Good value; Fall detection; Optional cellular

No always-on display

Snappy performance on watchOS 7 thanks to the S5 processor; you get all the basic features of a premium smartwatch for a budget price

I miss the always-on display