I’ve been reporting on Apple Watch deals for years – this is the model most people should buy on Black Friday

by Junna Base November 9, 2024

When it comes to the best Black Friday deals, the Apple Watch may be one of the best value deals of the entire month. If you own an iPhone and want to significantly expand the experience, getting an Apple Watch is the next logical step. In its tenth year on the market, the Apple Watch offers its users enormous added value over the iPhone. Get at-a-glance notifications, media playback controls, turn-by-turn navigation, Apple Wallet card payments, and more.

In recent years, Apple has shifted the Apple Watch’s focus toward health, which may be the wearable’s biggest draw in 2024. Now your Apple Watch has heart rate monitoring, fall detection, emergency SOS, ECG, and even tools to track dangerous diseases like atrial fibrillation.

If you’re looking for your very first Apple Watch, let me tell you that there’s really only one model you should consider. But first, a few caveats. If you already use an Apple Watch, or are an early adopter of the latest and greatest models, or know that you love the most expensive technology on the market, this recommendation is not for you. That’s because I’m going to recommend the Apple Watch SE as the strongest entry-level Black Friday pick on the market.

I’ve been involved with Apple and technology for eight years. Before that, I worked for the company and was even in the store on the first day of the Apple Watch launch. In my opinion, the Apple Watch SE is not only the best Black Friday Apple Watch deal, but also the best fitness tracking deal. You get a lot of the Apple Watch experience for a fraction of the price, especially if you can snag one on Black Friday. This year that is more true than ever. Here’s why the Apple Watch SE won’t let you down.

Apple Watch SE: The ultimate preview

(Image credit: Future)

The Apple Watch SE offers many of the things that make the Apple Watch experience great, without some of the more expensive premium features. Starting with Health, you get heart rate and irregular rhythm alerts, atrial fibrillation tracking, low cardio fitness alerts, and fall detection. You only miss two important features: the ECG app and blood oxygen. However, if you’ve been paying attention, you may know that blood oxygen is no longer included in any of the top Apple Watch models in the US due to a patent dispute. So that’s one less reason not to choose the SE.

The Apple Watch SE is slightly smaller than the other flagship models, the Series 10 and the Ultra 2, but the 40mm (or 44mm) case size may be more suitable for children or people with slim wrists. It features a vibrant OLED Retina display with 1,000 nits of brightness, as well as sleep tracking, watchOS 11’s new Vitals app, and cycle tracking.

It is also waterproof and swimproof up to 50 m water depth and has important safety features such as emergency SOS, emergency call and fall and accident detection. The S8 chip lags slightly behind the S9 and S10, but most users won’t notice any difference at all, except perhaps when it comes to future-proofing.

In fact, the Series 10 and Ultra 2 offer very few great features compared to the SE. In fact, a lot of the price difference is due to the higher quality materials and design. Normally the Apple Watch SE costs $249 or $399, but at the MSRP the choice between an Apple Watch SE and a Series 10 is a close call. I bet it’s a piece of cake on Black Friday.

Apple Watch SE: The discount king

Almost every year we see an incredible new, lowest price ever for the Apple Watch SE. Currently the lowest price is $169.99, but we’re betting a new low is in store for this year’s Black Friday sale.

If you find an Apple Watch SE for $159 or the hallowed $150 mark, you’ve secured yourself the bargain of the century.

But what about the Apple Watch SE 3? The latest reports suggest it will be released in 2025, but whether that’s at the beginning or end of the year, there’s good news for potential buyers. If the Apple Watch SE 3 is closer than we think, chances are good for more generous discounts in the next few weeks due to the new model’s impending launch.

However, when the SE 3 launches alongside the iPhone 17 later in the year, you’ll get a year of good use out of your new SE before it’s replaced by the next model. However, it’s not that important. If you’re in the market for your first Apple Watch and are considering the SE, you’re probably not a serial early adopter who cares about the latest technology.

What about Series 10 and Ultra 2?

Apple Watch Ultra 2 shows step count and distance

(Image credit: Future)

None of this is meant to disparage the Apple Watch Series 10 and Apple Watch Ultra 2, both of which are brilliant in their own right. If you want a little more power from the processor, some future-proofing and a more vibrant display, the Apple Watch Series 10 represents a classy alternative to the SE, which is already getting decent discounts at its first Black Friday event.

The Ultra 2 is also brilliant, but it has very limited appeal for people who don’t want to push their watch to the absolute limit. Unless you spend your weekends mountain biking, hiking, climbing, deep-sea diving, trail running, or something else, you’ll struggle to get the Ultra 2’s full potential, which would be fine, except it costs about $700, more than Four times that of an Apple Watch SE.

So if you’re looking to make the jump to the Apple Watch for the first time in 2024, Black Friday is the time to do it, and the Apple Watch SE could be the perfect iPhone companion you’ve been waiting for. Already purchased? At this price they also make great gifts for children or older relatives. The Apple Watch SE is currently $189, which is already a 24% discount, and we expect even more savings in the coming weeks.

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