Apple Watch Series 6 or SE?

By Unregistered User (not verified), 3 October, 2020

Forum
Apple Hardware and Compatible Accessories

I'm planning on buying my first iPhone and Apple Watch as soon as the iPhone 12 drops. So far, the Series 6 hasn't given me any reason to buy it over the SE. For those who formerly owned a series 4 or 5 and upgraded to the Series 6, were there any noticeable improvements in the performance of Voiceover? Were there any substantial gains in battery life? Does the faster charging make any difference in the way you use your Apple Watch?

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Comments

By Michael Hansen on Saturday, October 3, 2020 - 01:40

Member of the AppleVis Editorial Team

I have a Series 6 and previously owned a Series 4. VoiceOver is definitely more responsive on the Series 6--I would say about 20-30% more responsive, though this is of course subjective. Dictation is definitely more responsive on the Series 6 than on the Series 4. If you have the means, I would recommend the Series 6, though if the Series 4's performance is any indicator, the SE would be a very good investment if that's what's in the budget.

Better Voiceover performance is the kind of feature that would make me pony up the extra cash for sure. Any word on the battery life?

By Adi on Saturday, October 3, 2020 - 05:44

HI,
I was in a similar dilemma. I went for Apple watch SE. In fact just ordered it few minutes back.Felt it is more than sufficient for my needs.Any idea if using tempered screen protecter for apple watch is a good idea and if we as blind can affix the same on our own.Also I believe applevis has some information as to how to get started using apple watch with voice over. However, is there any specific article or podcast we need to refer to get started.

By Holger Fiallo on Saturday, October 3, 2020 - 12:25

The only difference between 6 and 5 is the oxygen and speed. Have 5, no issues. The battery last long. I you have see if you can get series 5 from amazon before they are history. iPhone, the 12 pro looks nice but we will know more when they talk about it. I think the best iPhone compare to all that Apple did is 11 pro max. I have it and battery last 2 days before I havto charge it.

By Travis Roth on Saturday, October 3, 2020 - 13:18

I upgraded from Series 3 to 6. Battery life is about the same. In fact possibly slightly less because of the always on screen. It is possible to turn this off; I have not tested how this effects battery performance yet though.
While not the general question here, the advice I would offer is while the Series 3 is still for sale, I'd not buy it. Series SE, Series 5 at a discount if you can still find it, or Series 6 are all nice options. Interestingly, if you want/need to go the cellular route, the Series SE has the cheapest cellular upgrade pricing. I don't use a cellular version.

By Unregistered User (not verified) on Saturday, October 3, 2020 - 20:52

Haha, don't tempt me. The rumored iphone battery capacities are already giving me anxiety. I'll have to keep that about the s5 in mind. I already can only find 3rd-party refurvished on amazon by now, which doesn't inspire confidence. It's got the same chip as the SE, so performance should be the same.

By Unregistered User (not verified) on Saturday, October 3, 2020 - 21:00

That's a shame. I guess it's really really hard to keep cramming more tech into such a small package. The only question I've got is, do you think the speed boost is worth an extra hundred bucks for Voiceover users?

Hi again,
I never used Series 5 so can't say for sure. Quite a bit of speed difference between Series 3 and 6 though.
My somewhat educated guess is Series SE chip will be fine for WatchOS 7 and 8. But will seem a little slower in 8, and when get to WatchOS 9 it'll maybe start to be annoying. I opt for the fastest chip because I find I want to help VoiceOver as much as possible. On the other hand, if you save $100 you could in theory upgrade a year sooner than if you get Series 6. Perhaps I really should have went that way, but didn't. I do plan to use Series 6 for at least three years, assuming it stays in one piece.

It does not have the ECG or sleep tracking.

By Rafal on Tuesday, February 2, 2021 - 22:12

Hi, I had an apple watch series 3 and I found itreally nice. After 3 years,the battery was quite good so I charged my watch every second day. I have some money for the watch but I'd like to know if it is worth waiting some time and purchase series 6. I'm afraid some new functions will be available only for series 6. When answering my question, note I hardly use ECG and use monitoring only forblood pressure from time to time. Thanks for your sincere feetback.

Get the SE. Unless you really want questionably-accurate SPO2 readings, ECG, slightly faster charging, or AoD, just go with the SE. The only feature worth it on the s6 is 5GHz WiFi, and personally I don't think that's worth a $100 premium. If you can get an s4 or s5 at a discounted price, that would also be a good solution, and it'd get you ECG.

By Lydia Alverson on Wednesday, February 3, 2021 - 08:45

Hi there. My sister decided to surprise me with an Apple Watch SE for Christmas, and it's been good to me so far. By the way, this is my very first Apple Watch ever.

By Rafal on Wednesday, February 3, 2021 - 20:25

Thanks for your replies, I'm more inclined to buy se version though I have a reservation that one day Apple may introduce functions not available for se version as it is in case of recent iphones. I might have some money so I want to spend them properly and enjoy my next watch for 3 or 4 years.s