6 Reasons You Should Avoid Buying an Apple Watch SE in 2023

Are you considering purchasing an Apple Watch SE in 2023? As a seasoned technology analyst and journalist, I would urge you to reconsider.

While the Apple Watch SE seems attractively priced as an entry point into Apple‘s popular smartwatch ecosystem, the device comes with several downsides that make it a poor value buy compared to competitive alternatives in its price range.

In this guide, I break down the 6 most compelling reasons why you should avoid buying an Apple Watch SE in 2023 – and which better smartwatch options you should purchase instead this year.

Overview: Why The Apple Watch SE Falls Short in 2023

Before diving into the specifics, here is a high-level overview of the main flaws and limitations of the now 3-year-old Apple Watch SE heading into 2023:

• Mediocre health tracking capabilities lacking key sensors
• Below average accuracy on metrics like exercise & sleep
• No Always-On display so screen doesn‘t stay visible
• Older chipset resulting in choppier performance
• Short ~12 hour battery life requiring daily charges
• Steep value depreciation over time with poor resale value

When combined, these compromise areas make the Watch SE feel far more dated than its 2022 packaging suggests. Plus, competing smartwatches available at similar price points offer noticeably better performance, versatility, and long-term value worth your investment instead.

Now, let‘s analyze these 6 deficiencies with the Apple Watch SE more closely…

1. Limited Health & Wellness Tracking Abilities

While one of the primary reasons buyers seek out a premium smartwatch is to monitor various health & wellness metrics 24/7, the Apple Watch SE lacks several advanced tracking capabilities featured on both higher-end Apple Watch models and competitive brands.

Key sensors and apps missing on the Apple Watch SE include:

• No Blood Oxygen App: Cannot take on-demand SpO2 readings or monitor levels during sleep which is useful for identifying breathing issues.

• No ECG App: Cannot monitor heart rhythm to detect Atrial Fibrillation (Afib) which can reduce stroke risk.

• No Body Temperature Sensor: Cannot detect elevated skin temp signalling fever or leverage temperature data to improve sleep analysis and provide cycle insights like ovulation tracking.

Simulated Apple Watch SE display showing missing health apps in red

The Apple Watch SE only provides basic wellness tracking abilities like step counting, standing hours and periodic heart rate measurements lacking context.

Without the ability to leverage key health indicators from metrics like blood oxygen, heart rhythm and skin temp, you miss out on significant health monitoring and actionable insights.

2. Lagging Accuracy in Vital Tracking Areas

Not only does the Apple Watch SE lack advanced health tracking hardware capabilities, but it lags behind in accuracy on the metrics available compared with both pricier Apple Watch models and competitive brands like Fitbit or Garmin.

Per an expansive smartwatch accuracy analysis conducted by Reviewed, the Apple Watch SE showed a 20% average deviation on key tracked statistics including:

• Active calories burned
• Distance recorded for runs & walks
• Peak heart rate capture

By comparison, the advanced Apple Watch Series 8 only showed a 5% average deviation in the study. While rival Fitbit Sense 2 and Garmin watches scored between 7% and 15% deviation rates.

So if precise exercise stats like exact distance covered or calories expended are vital – or accurate rhythm monitoring during intense training matters – the Watch SE notably underperforms rival devices often costing the same or less. Paying more does buy you greater accuracy across wearables.

3. Lagging Real-World Responsiveness

A hallmark of excellent modern gadgetry should be sharp, lag-free responsiveness to your taps and gestures. Unfortunately, Apple undermined performance optimization on the Watch SE, making the budget model feel sluggish to use daily compared to the competition.

Most frustrating in practice, the Watch SE lacks Apple‘s signature Always-On Display functionality standard across expensive Apple Watches and rivals.

This forces an awkward wrist gesture just to view your watch face or check the time – something you‘ll do dozens of times per day. It grows highly annoying fast.

The Watch SE also utilizes an older Apple S5 chipset that is two full generations behind the current Apple Watch Series 8‘s blazing S8 silicon (which itself trails leading Qualcomm chips).

In daily usage, this aging processor translates into noticeably:

• Slower app launch times
• Laggy navigation between screens
• Choppy animations
• Generally inferior response to touch inputs

While not deal-breaking individually, these micro-lags compound daily into more fricton and less enjoyment using your smartwatch versus buttery alternatives like the Galaxy Watch 6 running Google‘s Wear OS.

Responsiveness matters greatly on frequently glanced at wearables. Yet the SE fails here by Apple purposefully withholding advances available even years ago on its premium models costing scarcely more today.

4. Depressing ~12 Hour Battery Life

Smartwatches accompany you everywhere daily – yet need regular charging. So maximizing off-wrist battery life is pivotal to provide flexibility and convenience.

Apple claims "All day" 18 hours of battery runtime for the Watch SE. However multiple professional reviews assessing longevity in mixed notification/ workout/ GPS usage find real-world runtimes average just 10 to 12 hours per full charge.

• Cnet: 11 hour avg. battery life
• Tom‘s Guide: 12 hour avg. battery life

Factor in battery-draining features like LTE versus Bluetooth tethering only to an iPhone, longer workout tracking, or sleep monitoring overnight – and you‘ll be charging daily or carrying portable battery packs.

By comparison, leading smartwatches now achieve between 1.5 and 5x longer runtimes on like-sized models:

• Samsung Galaxy Watch 6: 50+ hours (40mm)
• Garmin Venu Sq 2: 11 straight days
• Amazfit GTR 4: 15 days (claimed)

Needing to recharge every or every other night is inconvenient compared to getting up to 2 weeks of use before topping up rival brands. Poor stamina remains the Apple Watch SE‘s Achilles heel.

5. High Value Depreciation Over Time

The reasonable $249+ pricing attached to Apple Watch SE may seem like a smarter buy compared with over-$400 premium models. However, historically poor resale value retention makes the SE a questionable investment long-term.

Per leading buyback sites like SellCell and BankMyCell, most Apple Watch models hemorrhage 60% to 70%+ of original retail value after only 12 to 24 months of ownership.

The charts below illustrates how poorly the Watch SE and other Apple Watches retain resale value versus leading competitors like Garmin over time:

Data Source: SellCell.com

The $250 splurged on a watch quickly craters to only $50 to $100 actual resale value within two years. By comparison, a Garmin may retain up to 50% more trade-in value over the same period thanks to greater durability and always relevant fitness tracking.

6. More Capable Alternatives Offer Far Better Value

Given its aging hardware, mediocre accuracy, lagging real-world responsiveness, and poor long term value – there are clearly more compelling smartwatch options than the Apple Watch SE available in 2023.

Top alternatives like the Editor‘s Pick Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 (starting under $250) deliver superior performance, health tracking, battery life, and cross-platform support over the SE:

Apple Watch SE vs Galaxy Watch 6

Similarly, renewed deals on former flagships like the Garmin Venu 2 Plus offer longer ~9 day battery life, richer health insights like body temperature, and better value holding resale pricing for just ~$220.

Before locking yourself into Apple‘s compromise-laden budget watch offering, I‘d strongly recommend considering more capable cross-platform alternatives that better meet modern smartwatch expectations without enforced vendor lock-in.

Bottom Line: Don‘t Waste Money on the Apple Watch SE

While the SE seems attractively priced as entry point into Apple‘s leading smartwatch ecosystem – numerous compromises in core performance, missing features, and poor resale value make it a questionable purchase in 2023 compared with standout alternatives like the Galaxy Watch 6 and Garmin Venu series.

As a savvy shopper, I urge you to ignore the SE‘s Apple branding halo and instead put funds toward markedly better blended hardware, software and ownership value available today. Your wrist will thank you in the long run!

Of course, I‘m happy to offer additional guidance or alternative recommendations if you have any other questions. Just let me know in the comments below!