Benjamin Levicek It's been some Friday since the last Keynote, at which, among other things, the new iPads and Apple Watch were introduced. This time, Apple resorted to releasing two versions of Apple watches, namely the flagship Apple Watch Series 6 and the cheaper sibling Apple Watch SE. We managed to find the cheaper ones for the editorial office, and in the following lines of the review you will learn what this product is like and which users will find it worthwhile.
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Packing
I will not bother you unnecessarily with the contents of the package. The white oblong box contains two smaller boxes, in the first you will find a strap, in the second the watch itself, several manuals and a charging cable. Adapter, as already Apple on the last Keynote announced is absent, which will surely delight environmentalists, but not users with a small number of electronic devices. The first owners of apple smart watches will be satisfied with the precision with which Apple has handled the packaging of the watch, but it is no surprise for owners of several watches. Another unsurprising fact is that the product is offered in 40 and 44 mm variants, and as for the specifications themselves, the watch could be described as a hybrid between the Apple Watch Series 4 and 5.
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The display has not changed in any way
It is a fairly well-known fact that Apple can do displays in its products, and it is no different with the new watches. You'll find a Retina OLED panel that offers 324 x 394 pixels in the case of the 40mm version we tested, and 368 x 448 pixels if you opt for the 44mm size. Unfortunately, due to my visual impairment, I cannot objectively evaluate the fidelity of color rendering, readability in direct sunlight or the overall use of the display of the new Apple Watch SE, but if you have tried the Apple Watch Series 4, it is absolutely identical. I showed the product to my friends and they definitely did not have conflicting feelings about the quality of the display, on the contrary, they were surprised that even on such a small screen, notes, messages or even web pages can be viewed relatively well.
Even as a visually impaired user, I would find one fault with the display. Unfortunately, Apple didn't add Always On to the watch, which although I and many other Apple Watch owners would have turned it off to save battery power, however, I really don't see a problem with adding one extra feature, which for some may be a deciding factor in whether Apple Watch SE to buy or not. The design remained exactly the same as in the case of the Apple Watch Series 4 and 5, which I certainly can't blame Apple for, since even the iPhone SEs are essentially recycled from their older predecessors. In the Czech Republic, watches are traditionally sold in aluminum design, the only thing that may surprise you is the fact that abroad, apart from steel ones with LTE connectivity, you cannot find titanium, ceramic or Hermès editions. However, this is understandable given the group that Apple is targeting with its watch.
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The processor, sensors and functions are comparable to TOP models
The new watch is powered by the Apple S5 processor used in the last generation of the Apple Watch, whose performance is absolutely sufficient for practically all activities that you will perform on it. The internal memory is a respectable 32 GB, for which Apple would deserve praise if it did not limit users in the size of recorded songs. I still can't understand this move by the Californian giant, especially when watchOS apps take up incomparably less space than iOS ones, and I really have no idea what you'd have to do to fill up 32GB without downloading music to the watch.
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Pavel Jelic Available sensors include a barometric altimeter, gyroscope, accelerometer, heart rate sensor and compass. As my previous watch was the Apple Watch Series 4, the only novelty for me was the compass, which of course I immediately tried. It is true that it is quite useful for orientation in space if you use navigation on the watch, but personally I am a little sad that after a year when the Californian giant implemented it in the then new Apple Watch Series 5, the developers were unable to use it in other applications . You'll also find improved fall detection, again taken from the 5th generation watch, which works surprisingly reliably. I didn't try any harder drops, but the watch was almost always able to record them, which was definitely not the case with the Apple Watch Series 4.
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In other words, if you're getting an Apple Watch SE for someone older, there's a high probability that they'll be able to call 4 after they've passed out and let you know that something happened to that person. There is also a relatively high-quality microphone and speaker, so if you don't mind looking a bit like James Bond, calls can be made more or less comfortably. What you won't find here, on the other hand, is the sensor for measuring the ECG, which is already in the Apple Watch Series 6, and the one for measuring oxygen in the blood - only the latest Series XNUMX has this. Honestly, how many times have you used the ECG in your practical life, apart from the first week , when did you try it for fun? Personally, I never have, and I suppose it would be no different with blood oxygen measurements. I certainly don't want to say that sensors are useless, but it is difficult for a healthy person to use them.
Hold on, or when will you get better, Apple?
Apple Watch is my extremely favorite product and daily companion, so I consider myself more of a demanding user. My day with the watch started around 7am, with about 00 minutes using navigation, 25 minutes browsing the web, 20 minutes exercising, handling a few calls, answering quite a few messages, and interspersed traveling on public transport with streaming music to my headphones via Spotify. Of course, I must not forget the regular time checks and notifications, which were not few. At around 15:21 the watch requested a charger with a capacity of 00%, but you have to admit that I didn't give it much time to breathe. So, if you are a similarly demanding user, the one-day endurance will be quite on the edge, in the case of occasional sports and checking notifications, you can manage 10 day without any problems. For users who use the watch more as a notifier, it will not be a problem to put the product on the charger after two days.
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If I didn't want to measure the quality of my sleep with my watch, I probably wouldn't mind the one-day endurance, but honestly, I don't know when moderate to demanding users should charge the watch if they want to measure their sleep. Apple states on its website that the Apple Watch lasts for 18 hours of operation, in other words, it means that you either have to fully charge it before going to bed or charge it for a while at night and a while in the morning. In particular, however, the Apple Watch SE takes about 2 hours to charge, and not everyone is able to reserve this time before going to bed. The second option forces you to get up a little earlier than you have to, which is not comfortable for me, and I think other users will agree with me.
However, what is far more problematic is the use during longer hikes or cycling trips. Do you want to go out with your friends all day and use the Exercise app to record your activity? Unfortunately, you are out of luck. Although someone could argue that Apple is targeting a completely different group of users, and that the poorer endurance is compensated by the large number of functions that the Apple Watch will offer to the end customer, I personally do not understand why Apple does not release an edition specifically for athletes, if even now are his watches selling like crazy? Another ailment, for which neither Apple nor the Czech operators are to blame, is the lack of LTE connectivity for apple watches in our region. When you want to use the watch mainly to measure activity, you don't need a large number of applications and you don't own, for example, smart home products, you will probably be more excited about sports-tuned products. After all, you still have to have your iPhone with you all the time, and if a wallet, music player, sports tracker and smart home controller on your wrist isn't such a big simplification for you and you're more concerned about the endurance on one charge, the arguments for buying it compared to watches from other manufacturers' portfolios they will be hard to find.
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Flying around the world with Apple Evaluation and conclusion
Apple Watch SE is a really great product for Apple smartwatch lovers, but also for users who are just entering this world. A high-quality display, smooth operation of the system, most useful functions for measuring activity as well as guaranteed support for updates are arguments that can attract many people. Although the absence of the Always-On display freezes, it is still an affordable piece for almost 8 CZK. In addition, many do not use the Always-On display, and this is doubly true of the ECG and the sensor for measuring oxygen in the blood. If you're in the Apple Watch target group, I personally think that in terms of price/performance, the Apple Watch SE is the right choice, but if you're not looking for phone calls, texting, smart home control, or great integration into the ecosystem while not being too scared high endurance, Apple Watch SE, but not even other watches from the Californian giant's workshop will please you.
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The upgrade is then worthwhile if you have an Apple Watch Series 3 and older. If you own a Series 4, it depends on whether you have a worn-out battery or whether the battery life is similar to when you bought it. Of course, you can get an Apple Watch Series 5 in a second sale or bazaar, but in the case of bazaar ones, it is possible that the battery is already a little worn out and the already low endurance will be significantly worse. Overall, the Apple Watch SE made a very good impression on me and I can only recommend it to fans of Apple smartwatches.
Thanks for the clear comment