Apple Watch SE 2: What We Want to See From Next Budget Watch

The big selling point of the original Apple Watch SE was that it looked exactly like the Watch Series 6. Users could get the latest hardware with some limited software features like an always-on display.

With the Apple Watch Series 7, Apple moved to a larger display, which gave birth to new features like a full-fledged keyboard on your wrist. If the Watch SE 2 wants to retain its key selling point, we’d expect Apple to design the smartwatch based on the blueprint of its latest wearable.

Including a bigger display would allow Apple not to only blend it with its more premium (assuming that they don’t change the screen size on the Watch Series 8) device, but also offer a new range of features.

A bigger display would allow the Apple Watch SE 2 to come with new watch faces like the Series 7. You could also get a full-fledged keyboard on the smart wearable, which is missing on both the Watch Series 6 and Watch SE.

In a world where competitors like Huawei and Amazfit offer nap tracking, Apple is stuck with sleep tracking, which isn’t accurate at all. This weakness isn’t limited to the Watch SE 2, but I’d like Apple to improve its sleep-monitoring algorithms.

First of all, you need to set a routine to track your sleep, which makes the Apple Watch dependent on the iPhone. By contrast, the Huawei and Amazfit wearables can monitor your sleep and collect accurate data on the app. You also get data on your REM, hours of deep and light sleep, and more.

All I get from my Watch SE is the number of hours slept – which aren’t accurate either. If I sleep later than usual and wake up past my routine set on the iPhone, it confuses the hell out of the Apple Watch, which pushes out inaccurate data.

I’d like Apple Watch to monitor my sleep in a better way – much like the Huawei and Amazfit counterparts, which are miles ahead in this regard.

This falls under the category of “Hey Apple, could you please bring your premium feature to your cheaper wearable?” The Apple Watch SE packs the same processor as the Watch Series 6. There are no hardware limitations (as far as I know) for it to not support the always-on display.

With the Watch SE 2, I’d request Apple bring the premium feature to its more affordable version of the watch. Hopefully, the Apple Watch Series 8 would have more premium features, so Apple doesn’t feel the need to limit the always-on display on the expensive offering.

My Apple Watch SE can last up to 1.5 days at the maximum. We’d love to see a full 2-day battery life on the Watch SE 2 with regular use.

Better battery life would assure me I could go on weekend trips without worrying about the Watch charger, which is proprietary and doesn’t work with anything else.

Apple also introduced a faster charging standard with the Watch Series 7. We hope the company could bring it to the Watch Series 2, so it could charge faster.

Personally, I could do with a better battery life without any improvements on the charging front, since I mostly charge my Watch SE overnight. However, fast charging would be a nice-to-have feature.

At around $279, the Apple Watch SE hits the sweet spot of affordability with functionality. We hope Apple could bring the requested improvements with no price increase – like it has been doing with the iPhones.