Which Apple Watch Should You Buy?
CR rates the classic Watch, plus Ultra and SE models, on fitness metrics, battery life, health features, and more.
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Whether you’re looking to accurately track your morning runs or respond faster to texts, the Apple Watch is a solid choice. They make routine tasks—like changing a song while listening to music or paying for your morning coffee—easier. Think of them as a seamless extension of your iPhone or MacBook.
The question is which one to buy: the new top-of-the-line Ultra 4, the latest Series 12, the lower-cost third-generation SE, or an older model. (CR will test Ultra 4 and Series 12 once they are available in stores on September 18; we buy everything we rate through regular retail outlets.)
The Apple Watch Ultra line is aimed at adventurers—and people who want to look like one. It has a thick titanium body, a large bright display, and a number of premium health and safety features that might be useful, even if you’re not venturing off into the backcountry.
Apple Watch Ultra 4 ($799 and up)
The $799 Apple Watch Ultra is aimed at serious athletes and outdoorsy types. (The newest version, the Ultra 4, will be available in stores on September 18.) The beefy crown and large buttons on the sides allow menu-free access to your most used functions. Unlike other models, the Watch Ultra comes in only one display size, 49 mm.
The display on the new Ultra is brighter than that on the Series 12, Apple says, which helps with readability in low or bright light. It’s also the largest Apple Watch, which may be a negative for someone with a petite wrist or a desire for a more subtle everyday look.
Some of the premium features seem particularly useful for a regular adventurer, like Emergency SOS via satellite connection, the ability to set off an 86-decibel siren should you need help, and the watch’s ability to function as a full-fledged dive computer via an app from Oceanic+.
The Ultra 4 will also support Audio Intelligence, a new feature coming later this year that can alert users to certain ambient sounds, like sirens, and transcribe missed portions of conversations happening around them. (Series 12 will get Audio Intelligence, too.)
The Ultra 4 is heading to our labs soon, but the previous Ultra 3 performs very well, earning top scores for ease of use, scratch and water resistance, and build quality. The Ultra 3 model also earns the highest scores for the versatility of its features generally and the accuracy of its fitness features. In particular, its heart rate monitoring proves very accurate in our labs. The Ultra 3 also manages to run an impressive 78 hours on a single charge. That’s similar to the Apple Watch Series 11 and Apple Watch SE 3.
Overall, the major appeal of the $799 Ultra 4 (compared with a $399 Series 12 or $249 third-gen SE) is the way it looks and feels on your wrist, the brighter display, and a handful of additional health and fitness features. Whether you will actually benefit from the additional functionality and top-tier performance is your call.
Apple Watch Series 12 ($399 and up)
The classic Apple Watch Series 12, which starts at $399 for the basic Bluetooth-only version, is the pick for anyone who wants the latest health and fitness features without the added bells and whistles (or bulky design) of the Ultra. (The new Series 12 will be available in stores on September 18, and we’ll have detailed test results available soon afterwards in our smartwatch ratings.)
The Series 12 case is offered in 46-mm and 42-mm sizes. You can opt for an aluminum finish or more premium-priced titanium or ceramic options, each in a few different colors. The watch is significantly thinner and lighter than the Ultra, making it potentially more comfortable to wear all day, including to bed. CR’s testers rate the quality of the previous Series 11 watch’s build as excellent, so it should hold up well to daily wear and tear.
No matter the size or display type you choose, expect a top-tier smartwatch equipped with all the important functionality that matters to a typical smartwatch user, like sleep tracking, heart rate monitoring, and tap-to-pay.
The Series 12 comes equipped with the S11 chip. While we plan to test the Series 12 battery life in our labs, our testers have found that the Series 11 lasts an impressive 73 hours on a single charge.
As with the Ultra line, the health tracking is robust. Notably, the Series 12 can alert you to chronically high blood pressure, according to Apple. It also has body temperature sensors for more accurate cycle tracking and retrospective estimates of ovulation, a high-g-force sensor for car crash detection, and ECG functionality to detect unusual heart rhythms.
The Series 12 also supports Audio Intelligence, a new feature coming later this year that alerts users to certain ambient sounds, like sirens, and transcribes missed portions of conversations happening around them.
In CR’s independent testing, the Series 11’s fitness features proved particularly accurate, including its step tracking and heart rate monitoring.
For robust sleep health analysis, the Series 12 offers sleep apnea detection through the monitoring of nightly breathing disturbances, as well as the holistic Sleep Score.
Overall, you can expect the Series 12 to do everything a high-performing smartwatch does, although you’ll lose a few of the specialized features and probably a few hours of additional battery life available on the Ultra line.
Apple Watch SE ($249 and up)
The budget Apple Watch SE is now in its third generation. Starting at $249, the lowest tier in Apple’s smartwatch lineup, it still provides all the essentials (and many of the nice-to-have features) that most smartwatch users want. It also boasts a particularly impressive 78-hour battery life, according to our in-lab testing.
The SE supports fall detection, family setup, and Emergency SOS, which lets you call for help and alert preselected contacts, and international emergency calling, useful if you run into trouble overseas. It also has tap-to-pay functionality, on-device GPS, and automatic workout detection.
What are you giving up? A few health and safety features, like the hypertension monitoring and Audio Intelligence capabilities available on the Series 12 and Ultra 4. You’ll also lose a bit of display size and brightness, Apple says. In our lab tests, the third-gen SE ranks below the Ultra 3 and Series 11 watches, but just barely.
Apple Watch Series 11
You can find the Series 11 on sale at certain retailers, often refurbished, and it could be an appealing option if the price is right. It’s a more-than-reasonable alternative to the new Series 12 or even the lower-priced SE.
This model is light and thin, with a bright, high-quality display. It has a wide variety of health, fitness, and safety features, including an ECG function designed to detect unusual heart rhythms and sleep apnea detection. Of course, it also offers the basics most of us are looking for in a smartwatch, like sleep tracking, heart rate monitoring, and workout logging.
Other Factors to Consider
Do you need cellular? All Apple Watch Series and SE models can be purchased with Bluetooth connectivity alone. Adding cellular capacity raises the sticker price by about $100, plus the roughly $10-per-month fee for a wireless plan. The Ultra models can only be purchased with cellular capacity, but you don’t have to activate it.
Most people probably don’t need a watch with cellular. If you’re a runner and you want to leave your phone at home but want to be reachable for calls and texts, the cellular option is a sensible upgrade. It might also be useful to anyone who depends on the fall-protection features, which would otherwise require keeping a smartphone within range.
But many users are rarely out of Bluetooth range of their smartphones, which makes a cellular watch redundant.
Is bigger better? Regardless of which model you consider, anyone with smaller wrists will probably gravitate toward the smaller sizes. While men tend to buy the bigger size (which costs a little more), many find the smaller watch to be just right.
Fancy finishes: The starting prices listed in this article are for the basic aluminum finish. On the Series 12, you can level up with a more premium gold or natural titanium finish, though you’re likely to see little functional difference.
Beyond the Apple Watch: Yes, Apple’s smartwatches are great, especially if you own an iPhone or other Apple devices, but we also recommend models made by companies like Google, Fitbit, and Samsung. As always, Consumer Reports members can consult our smartwatch and fitness tracker ratings for full test results on nearly 70 models.
