Apple Watch Series 11 and SE 3 Review: Adjusting My Relationship

Over a decade ago, I bought the first Apple Watch. It was the “large” 42 millimeter option, in space gray, with a silicone band. I was not usually a watch wearer, but the Apple Watch felt like something that would change the game. It felt genuinely cool and, for the first few months, I would get glances from people who saw a bright screen on my wrist and ask “is that the Apple Watch?”

Since then, I have had a Series 3, Series 4, Series 7, Ultra, and Series 10. I tested an SE 2 for a few weeks but, for the most part, I have used almost every Apple Watch. And I bought the Series 11 and SE 3 to check them out as well.

When compared to the Series 10, the Series 11 does not look any different, act any different, or feel any different. It has the same processor (the S10), storage capacity (64 GB), health features, and starting price point ($399) as last year’s model. The biggest difference is the six extra hours of expected battery life, though that could be a little more or less depending on your usage.

The SE 3 gets a ton of upgrades over the SE 2, including an always-on display and fast charging. With a starting price of $249 (and already on sale), the SE 3 is the best value in terms of new watches. Like the Series 11 (and Ultra 3), the SE 3 has the S10 chip, a cellular 5G version, and 64 GB of storage to store music, podcasts, and audio books.

I took both the Series 11 and SE 3 and put them through everyday tests. I used them for sleep tracking, workouts (including multiple swims in a lap pool), navigation on walks and drives, and of course as a notification center for when I do not want to take my phone out. Both devices completed all of these tasks to great effect, though the Series 11 lasted a little longer between charges and is certainly a more trim-looking case. But the SE 3 was not dramatically slower or worse.

If I had a Series 8, 9, or 10, there is no compelling reason to upgrade. Just replace the battery if it needs it ($99) and wait until there is a bigger refresh. The Ultra 3 gets a battery life bump up to 46 hours (again, it varies based on use) and that is it, so hold onto your Ultra 1 or 2 unless there is a battery issue.

The SE 3 is a lot more interesting, as it gets several key day-to-day features that would be impactful to the average user-like fast charging and the always-on display. I would upgrade if I had the SE or SE 2, especially with the device already running at a discount for the holidays.

This all has brought me to the overarching theme of this review, which is that I don’t particularly feel the need to use my Apple Watch anymore. At least not all day, every day.

I have made efforts to be more analog in life, evidenced by my previous article about going back to the iPod. I am still using the iPod, and it is refreshing to not be subjected to ads and algorithms. Why not take this same line of thought to my timepiece as well? The Apple Watch, at its core, is a distraction tool. It hums, buzzes, and lights up in ways that a phone does. It doesn’t have to be that way, but that is its purpose when you boil it down.

So for the first time in my life I decided to look up actual (entry level) watches. Timex, Casio, Seiko, Citizen, Bulova, and Orient all have tremendous watches that I have ignored over the last decade in favor of Apple’s smart version. While they don’t track calories, they do tell time. And quite beautifully.

There is something special about a traditional watch, and many factors to consider. Casings, dials with different patterns and colors, the type of band, and complications are all important things to think about. In my research of traditional watches, these characteristics all mean so much more because you can’t change them after the fact. There is so much more personality and meaning in a traditional watch.

The Apple Watch doesn’t have that level of importance. Pick aluminum or titanium for your casing, look at the really expensive bands that I cannot imagine anyone actually buying, and that is it. Changing watch faces and complications is as easy as a few taps, unless a software update takes them away. The screen can be anything you want, from a chronograph face to Snoopy and Woodstock shenanigans, but it also means you don’t have to care as much because it’s…just a screen.

I felt strongly enough about this that I went and bought a traditional watch — a trusty Timex Easy Reader with a navy blue dial and brown leather band. The second hand ticks loudly and the crown pushes in to gently illuminate the dial, lovingly called Indiglo. It is a perfectly fine watch, though I do look forward to moving up the food chain to something like the Seiko 5 or the Citizen Tsuyosa that is even nicer on the wrist. Oh, and at the time of this writing those two are cheaper than the cost of the new Apple Watch Series 11.

Now don’t get me wrong, I still have an Apple Watch. I plan to make it coexist with my traditional watch, one timepiece for workouts and sleeping and the other for everything else. Even the jeweler I spoke with had praise for the Apple Watch, saying it saved his mother’s life by detecting an irregular heartbeat that was an impending heart attack. The Apple Watch is still an excellent fitness wearable and has immense utility (even if it is probably not tracking your burned calories correctly). But it isn’t a real watch.

Perhaps in 2014, with Jony Ive’s smooth introduction, the Apple Watch was marketed as a timepiece that happens to also track your steps and evening jogs. But since then, it has become a fitness tracker that also happens to double as traditional looking watch. The initial marketing push for the Series 1 showed elegant gold bands and casings, how to connect with loved ones, and working professionals using the watch to open their shops or get a coffee on the go. Now, it’s runners, hikers, and swimmers using the watch to track workouts, or survivors of car accidents or life-threatening health scares.

This isn’t meant to be a knock on the Apple Watch, which is the best selling watch in the world. Boiled down, this is a fitness tracker through and through — and there isn’t anything inherently wrong with that. There are basic, mid-range, and premium options for the Apple Watch that all do mostly the same things with some small differences. Case materials, screen sizes, and health sensors are the biggest ones.

Back in 2014, the first Apple Watch seemed like a natural progression of technology to replace another typically analog thing — checking the time — with a screen. I, like many people, bought into this as the future. The little pane of glass in your pocket, in your den, in your backpack, and on your wrist that could be anything you could possibly imagine.

But I don’t think I want that future anymore, and there are plenty of people who are starting to feel the same way. There’s nothing wrong with the Apple Watch, and it very well could be your preferred wrist option. But it is not mine, at least not anymore.