Apple Watch Series 10 Vs. SE 2nd Generation: What's The Difference Between These Smartwatches?

Picking up a smartwatch can be a valuable investment if you're looking for a reliable accessory during workouts and commutes, but don't want to constantly keep checking your phone. Apple ranks high as one of the major smartwatch brands out there, and its commitment to incremental upgrades with every generation helped to earn it that spot. At the time of writing, the Apple Watch Series 10 that we reviewed is the latest you can get, and is sandwiched right in between the Ultra 2 and SE 2 smartwatches.

While the highest-end Ultra offering pushes every aspect of the watch including build quality, feature set, and battery life, the Apple Watch SE can be a great point of entry to someone who has never owned an Apple-branded smartwatch before but still wants to benefit from the rich ecosystem advantages that the company's devices bring. The Apple Watch SE 2nd Generation was launched in 2022 and currently retails at $249 for the GPS-only version. In contrast, the latest Apple Watch Series 10 that was released in 2024 starts at $399 and brings some very impressive upgrades to the display — some even surpassing the Ultra 2 on paper.

If you simply want a smartwatch to accompany your iPhone and need it to handle everyday operations like music playback, notifications, and basic workout tracking, then the Apple Watch SE 2nd Generation is a solid buy. However, the Series 10 is more than good enough to persuade some buyers to spend a little extra.

It's no surprise that going with the more expensive and newer Apple Watch will get you the latest that the company has to offer, hardware-wise. Even at the time of launch, the Apple Watch SE 2nd Generation sported larger bezels and had some corners cut to be made available at an affordable price point.

The Series 10 watch features an LTPO3 Wide-angle OLED display with a peak brightness that can soar up to 2,000 nits. I own one, and it sometimes feels unreal when the display is perfectly legible on the sunniest of days. By comparison, the Watch SE 2 boosts up to 1,000 nits, but drops support for always-on display — which can be a huge determiner for watch buyers.

The Series 10 gets a more powerful S10 SiP, but the Watch SE 2 isn't too far behind, given that it shares the same S8 SiP as the Apple Watch Series 8 it was launched alongside. The Series 10 watch does benefit from features like Precision Finding for iPhone, a wrist double-tap gesture, and a temperature sensor. You also lose a few bits like sleep apnea notifications and the depth app with the cheaper Apple Watch SE 2.

Both watches are rated to last up to 18 hours and feature a battery saver mode that can stretch functionality when required. The Series 10 watch does get faster charging, allowing it to hit 80% in just 30 minutes on the charging puck.

Both models of the Apple Watch offer tight integration with products like the iPhone and AirPods, and can assist you with day to day health monitoring. Even with the cheaper SE 2, you get some of Apple's new feature add-ons like fall and crash detection. Both watches are water-resistant up to 50m and can be used while swimming. The Series 10 adds a couple of sensors to its suite, including a newer third-generation optical, and a separate electric heart sensor.

The ability to take an ECG on your Apple Watch is a big omission if you decide to go with the cheaper SE 2 watch as well. On-device Siri might not sound like much given the personal assistant's reputation in recent years, but it does process commands incredibly quick on the Series 10 — which can be very useful if you want to control your watch hands-free. Being able to access your recent health data without an active connection to your iPhone is also nice to have with the Series 10 watch.

Ultimately, the choice can be narrowed down depending on whether you're fine with just the essentials or crave a fuller experience. The Apple Watch Series 10 boasts a couple of useful new features, faster charging, and a more expensive titanium variant for those looking to strike a balance between form and function. That said, for $150 less, the Apple Watch SE 2nd Generation cuts the right corners while still delivering on functionality.