The Apple Watch Series 11 and SE 3 have arrived with these new features

Apple rolled out both the Watch Series 11 and the new Apple Watch SE 3 at its “Awe Dropping” event today. While neither gets a huge design overhaul, there are still plenty of useful new features under the hood.

• Read more: watchOS 26 finally brings Apple Intelligence to the Apple Watch… for better or worse

The Series 11 keeps the familiar design from the Series 10, with the larger display. The display is now 2x tougher than the display on the Series 10, thanks to a new coating on the display. It’s also the thinnest Apple Watch you can get. Inside, there’s a new modem for slightly faster connectivity and better battery efficiency – making 5G now available on the smartwatch. Series 11 now gets up to 24 hours of battery life, so you can wear it for even longer.

This year’s big new health tracking feature is blood pressure monitoring. Like the Whoop MG, this isn’t full-on cuff-style readings, but a more general alert for trends over a 30 day period. Apple notes it won’t alert you 100% of the time, and is awaiting FDA approval. Another Whoop-like feature is a new Sleep Score than analyses how well you sleep. You can see a full breakdown that explains it, so you know what to improve. SpO2, heart rate monitoring, sleep tracking, and all the other sensors are still here. And in case you missed it, Blood Oxygen readings are available once again in the US.

The Apple Watch SE 3 finally ditches the Series 4 design and steps into the modern age with larger screens and smaller bezels. The display is 4x more crack-resistant than the previous model. Plus, Always-On Display is supported for the first time. There were rumours about a plastic casing for the SE 3, but Apple seems to have binned that idea. Battery life is still rated for 18 hours, but Apple Watch SE 3 now supports fast-charging.

There’s still no ECG or blood oxygen, but it gets the S10 chip and more storage, plus wrist-temperature sensing. Sleep apnea tracking, Workout Buddy, and the new Sleep Score come to the SE 3. Thanks to the S10 chip, you can also now use gestures. And you can now play audio from the on-board speakers if you don’t have your AirPods nearby.

Both the Apple Watch Series 11 and SE 3 are available to pre-order from Apple today. The Apple Watch SE 3 starts at $249/£219, while the Series 11 starts at $399/£399. They’ll be available from Friday 12 September. For the Series 11, you can pick from both aluminium and titanium finishes, including a new Space Gray aluminium version.

• Apple’s iPhone 17 event: here’s what you need to know and how to watch

Connor Jewiss

About

Connor is a writer for Stuff, working across the magazine and the Stuff.tv website. He has been writing for around nine years now across the web and in print too. Connor has attended the biggest tech expos, including CES, MWC, and IFA – with contributions as a judge on panels at them. He's also been interviewed as a technology expert on TV and radio by national news outlets including France24. Connor has experience with most major platforms, though does hold a place in his heart for macOS, iOS/iPadOS, electric vehicles, and smartphone tech. Just like everyone else around here, he's a fan of gadgets of all sorts. Aside from writing, Connor is involved in the startup and venture capital scene, which puts him at the front of new and exciting tech - he is always on the lookout for innovative products.

Areas of expertise

Mobile, macOS, EVs, smart home