Which Apple Watch Should You Buy? Apple Watch Series 11, Ultra 3 and SE 3 Compared

Over the last few years, picking out a new Apple Watch was pretty straightforward. The Apple Watch Series models would get most of the newest features, the Ultra model had a chunkier, rugged design with a big screen and long battery life and the SE model was the lower-cost option, with access to most of the features of Apple’s WatchOS.

In 2025, Apple has made that choice tougher: the Series 11 is remarkably close to the Series 10, the Ultra 3 is a big leap over the Ultra 2 and the SE 3 may be the best option of all at a lower price than the others. Let’s get into the details.

Pricing the Apple Watch Series 11, Ultra 3 and SE 3

The 2025 Apple Watch line spans a wide price range, starting as low as $249 for the Apple Watch SE 3 and going as high as $1,299 for a titanium Apple Watch Series 11 with an Hermès band. Like most fashion accessories, you can choose from different case sizes, materials, cellular connectivity options and bands to find the right fit — and price — for your watch.

The Apple Watch Series 11 offers the widest price range, with two case sizes, two body materials, optional cellular connectivity and premium Hermès models. The Apple Watch SE 3 is only available in aluminum and has the earlier, slightly smaller case sizes. The Apple Watch Ultra 3 comes only in titanium, with a single 49mm size and cellular included by default. Here’ s how they break down:

Series 11 vs. Ultra 3, SE 3 physical designs

The core rounded-rectangle design of the Apple Watch has seen incremental changes since its first iterations. The Series 11 shares the slimmer 9.7mm height profile of the Series 10, with 42mm and 46mm diagonal sizes. Weight is light across the board, from 29.7 to 43.1 grams depending on size and case material. Aluminum models come in space gray, jet black, rose gold or silver, while titanium versions are offered in natural, slate or gold finishes.

The Apple Watch SE 3 is slightly thicker (10.7mm) and slightly smaller, with 40mm and 44mm sizes. Its design most closely harkens back to earlier Apple Watch models. It weighs 26.4 grams or 33 grams, depending on the case size. And as the no-frills option, the SE 3 comes in either midnight (black) or starlight (silver).

The Ultra 3 is the most significant departure from the original design, with 14.4mm thickness, 49mm diagonal size and a more solid weight of 61.6 grams. Its titanium body comes in either natural or black — unless you opt for the Hermès edition, which is only offered in natural. CNET lead writer Vanessa Hand Orellana described the Ultra 3 in her review as being “like the luxury Land Rover you see in safari brochures: It’s adventure-ready on the outside, with all the modern conveniences on the inside.” The body is also 3D-printed using 100% recycled titanium, but you’d never know it; there are none of the telltale layering indications found on most 3D-printed items.

Each watch has Apple’s Digital Crown and a side button. The Ultra 3 also includes a programmable Action button, which can, for example, start a workout with a single press.

Looks aside, all three Apple Watch models are built for durability. The SE 3 is water resistant to 50 meters, so you don’t need to baby it — whether you’re showering, swimming or just living through a rainy Pacific Northwest day.

The Series 11 is also rated for water resistance to 50 meters, while the Ultra 3 doubles that with a 100-meter rating. They’re both also certified as IP6X dust resistant, which is better than the SE.

Series 11 vs. Ultra 3, SE 3 displays

The Series 11 and Ultra 3 both use an LPTO 3 OLED display, which has the advantages of staying always on, giving you a wide viewing angle so you don’t need to look at it head-on to see the time. It can also get very bright: 2,000 nits of peak brightness for the Series 11 and 3,000 nits (the same as the iPhone 17 Pro) for the Ultra 3. The energy-efficient screen can refresh its display at just one nit of brightness once every second when in its passive state, so you can always see the second hand or indicator (depending on the watch face).

The display is protected by sapphire crystal on the titanium Series 11 and the Ultra 3. The aluminum Series 11 uses Ion-X glass, twice as scratch-resistant as the Series 10, according to Apple.

In past generations, the SE was stuck with the lowest-quality screen, but not this time. The SE 3 gets an always-on LTPO OLED display that reaches up to 2,000 nits of brightness and dims to just 2 nits when inactive. But it doesn’t refresh as often as the Series 11 and Ultra 3, so the seconds indicator only appears when the screen is active. It’s still a big “quality of life” bump from prior SE watches, which don’t have an always-on display mode.

Series 11 vs. Ultra 3, SE 3 battery life

One surprise with the new Apple Watch lineup is improved battery life in the Series 11 and Ultra 3, plus a fast-charge option on the SE 3 that makes it easy to top up for a night’s sleep after a full day.

Apple claims up to 24 hours of use on a battery charge for the Series 11, up from the Series 10’s 18 hours. It also claims up to 38 hours in Low Power mode, a notch above the 36 hours of the Series 10. That fast-charging option can bring the battery level up to 80% in 30 minutes, but putting the watch on its charger for just 15 minutes can boost it for up to eight hours. Hand Orellana writes in her Series 11 review, “The six-hour battery bump on the Series 11 may not sound like much on paper, but it’s given me some welcome breathing room to figure out a better charging strategy.”

The SE 3 still delivers up to 18 hours of use, or 32 hours in Low Power mode. It also supports fast charging — up to 80% in 45 minutes, or about eight hours of use from a quick 15-minute top-up.

If you want the most time between charges, the Ultra 3 remains the Apple Watch to get. It can last for up to 42 hours, per Apple, or up to 72 hours in Low Power mode. Fast charging its larger battery takes it to 80% in about 45 minutes, and 15 minutes on the cable will give you roughly 12 hours of power.

Some of these gains come from Apple factoring in a night’s sleep, but credit also goes to the more power-efficient LTPO 3 screen in the Series 11 and Ultra 3.

It’s one thing to reference Apple’s claims, but what about battery life in practice? In Hand Orellana’s review of each model, she recorded even better battery life than Apple’s estimates. Keep in mind your daily usage will affect results, but here’s what she found:

Series 11 vs. Ultra 3, SE 3 health features

The Apple Watch SE line has always sacrificed some hardware and features to remain the least expensive option, and the SE 3 continues that tradition — but not to the same extent. It lacks an electrical heart sensor found in the Series 11 and Ultra 3, so it can’t take heart readings using the ECG app to look for signs of atrial fibrillation (Afib).

According to Apple, the SE 3 uses a second-generation optical heart sensor that tracks heart rate during exercise, sleep and potential emergencies — though, like all Apple Watches, it can’t detect heart attacks or measure blood oxygen. The Series 11 and Ultra 3 upgrade to third-generation optical heart sensors.

The SE 3 is also missing a water temperature sensor and depth gauge, making the Series 11 and Ultra 3 better options if you spend a lot of time in water and want to track swim workouts or shallow dives more reliably.

This year’s standout health feature is the ability to analyze data and check for signs of possible hypertension, or high blood pressure. “It’s not the full on-the-spot blood pressure monitoring Apple fans have long hoped for,” wrote Hand Orellana, “but it’s a major step forward — one that Apple says could help 1 million people get diagnosed with hypertension in the first year alone.” 

Like the sleep apnea tracking introduced last year, hypertension notifications are not a screening tool; think of it as a warning system that prompts you to get checked out by your doctor. The Series 11 and Ultra 3 include this ability (sorry, SE 3), and require 30 days of data collection before triggering notifications. The Series 9, Series 10 and Ultra 2 also get hypertension notifications in WatchOS 26.

Series 11 vs. Ultra 3, SE 3 connectivity

Each of the Apple Watch models support cellular communications, allowing you to stay connected even when your iPhone is at home. You can order the aluminum Series 11 models and the SE 3 with the cellular option; the titanium Series 11 and the Ultra 3 include it by default.

What’s unique about these watches is their support for both 5G and LTE networks, offering faster speeds and broader compatibility. Plus, they use 5G Reduced Capacity technology, which is more power efficient than the 5G networking in your iPhone.

They also support Wi-Fi 4 (802.11n, at 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequencies), Bluetooth 5.3 and L1 GPS location chips. The Ultra 3 includes dual GPS radios (L1 and L5) for more precise location tracking, especially in challenging environments like dense downtown corridors.

Plus, the Ultra 3 offers satellite connectivity directly from the watch. With a direct view of the sky, it can communicate with overhead satellites for sending and receiving texts, sharing your location and accessing emergency services.

Series 11 vs. Ultra 3, SE 3 processors

One of the biggest surprises in the lineup? The Apple Watch Series 11, Ultra 3 and SE 3 all include the same S10 chip. It’s worth noting that the S10, introduced in last year’s Series 10, isn’t a new processor generation for 2025. But each watch now includes 64 gigabytes of storage, a four-core Neural Engine and 64-bit dual-core processor.

The only significant difference is that the Apple Watch SE 3 is the only model not to get Apple’s second-generation Ultra Wideband chip, which is used for precise location tracking. You can still use Find My from an iPhone (equipped with UWB) to tell if the SE 3 is with you or if you left it at home. But with the Series 11 and Ultra 3, Find My will point you in the right direction as you get closer to your mislaid watch.

WatchOS 26 on the Series 11, Ultra 3 and SE 3

Each model is preloaded with WatchOS 26, which has the new Liquid Glass interface (though in most cases, it’s quite subtle). And all models add features like the new Wrist Flick gesture, nightly sleep scores, Workout Buddy, the Notes app and live translation in Messages. The Series 11 and Ultra 3, with their upgraded sensors, also gain hypertension notifications.