The best Apple Watch you can buy in 2024 [Buyer's Guide]
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Smartwatches are getting more and more popular, and the Apple Watch is the most popular among them.
Apple's timepiece allows you to enjoy a seamless sync with your iPhone and to benefit from a plethora of health and fitness related features. Apple has also brought a number of potentially life-saving technologies to the Apple Watch, such as fall detection, emergency SOS, and various health monitoring tools.
Here at PhoneArena, we are basing our opinions on daily use and extensive testing of all available Apple Watch models, and we never recommend a device we haven't tested ourselves.
Best Apple Watch in 2024, summarized list:
- Apple Watch Ultra 2 - best battery life, rugged and athlete-oriented smartwatch
- Apple Watch 10 – the premium Apple Watch for most people
- Apple Watch SE 2 – an affordable and capable Apple Watch
- What is the best Apple Watch right now?
- What to consider when choosing an Apple Watch
To get the best Apple Watch for you, you need take into consideration your specific needs. To help you determine what you need, ask yourself these questions:
- Do you want to only monitor your workouts with a smartwatch?
- Do you need a big battery life and a rugged design for hiking and other sporty activities?
- Do you have a set budget?
- Or do you just want the most recent high-quality Apple Watch that has all the features in 2024?
Now, with your answers in mind, read on to find out which is the best Apple Watch for you in 2024!
Apple Watch Ultra 2
Best battery life, rugged and epic smartwatch, ideal for outdoorsy experiences and diving
The Apple Watch Ultra 2 is the best smartwatch that Apple has made so far. Despite it being geared towards active people that dive or hike, it could also be useful for regular Apple Watch users. The Apple Watch Ultra 2 pretty much is almost the same as its predecessor, it comes with the same rugged design, the customizable Action button and, what's most important, a better battery life than the other Apple Watches.
The Apple Watch Ultra 2 features a titanium case and sapphire glass, making it feel sturdy. Although you won't forget it's there, we found the Apple Watch Ultra comfortable to wear every day and even during sleep for sleep tracking.
On top of that, it has a super-bright and large screen that can fit so much content. Watch faces look stunning on the Apple Watch Ultra 2's OLED display, and the viewing angles are great. By the way, this one is by far the biggest Apple Watch among Apple Watch models, featuring a 49mm case, so do keep that in mind if you have a smaller wrist. And of course, it comes with an Always-On display just like other new Apple Watch models. Keep in mind though, it's most advertised new feature, Double Tap, will be available at a later time.
Apple Watch Series 10
The standard Apple Watch model is thinner and lighter
Apple's newest Apple Watch model, the Apple Watch Series 10, brings a fresh design with a noticeably thinner and lighter body. While the rest of the functionality is similar as previous models, this one changes makes quite the difference. So much so, that we sometimes forgot we had this latest Apple Watch on our wrist!
What hasn't changed is battery life, as this is still a watch you need to charge every day. Good news is that charging is at least faster now, and that will be great news for those who wear their watch to sleep and often need to top it up quickly before bedtime or in the morning.
Display viewing angles are also improved, which is helpful when you just want to quickly glance at your watch.
Of course, it still has all the well-known features of the previous models, such as Double Tap, as well as Crash Detection and temperature monitoring (for women's health).
Blood oxygen monitoring, a variety of workouts, and ECG are also on board.
The Series 10 is available in aluminum or titanium case variants.
Apple Watch SE
An affordable Apple Watch, which has most of the features of the main version
What are you missing out on? The Watch SE doesn't support the Always-on display and it charges much slower than the regular model.
But it has all the workout and health tracking features of the main version, including sleep monitoring, as well as safety features such as fall detection and emergency SOS.
The main thing about the Watch SE 2 is its price. Prices start at just $250, much lower than the $400 starting price of the Series 10.
The Apple Watch with the most features right now is the Apple Watch Ultra 2. However, keep in mind that it has a more rugged design, it's thicker and is generally oriented towards people with more of an athletic focus.
But it has all the workout and health tracking features of the main version, including sleep monitoring, as well as safety features such as fall detection and emergency SOS.
The main thing about the Watch SE 2 is its price. Prices start at just $250, much lower than the $400 starting price of the Series 10.
The Apple Watch SE is available only with an aluminum case.
Read more:Apple Watch SE review
What to consider when choosing an Apple Watch
- Size and style: There is a small and a large Apple Watch, and you also have the thicker Ultra model.
Here is a quick breakdown of Apple Watch sizes:
- Apple Watch Ultra – one size, 49mm
- Apple Watch Series 10 – two sizes, 42mm and 46mm
- Apple Watch Series 9, 8, 7, SE, and 6, 5, 4 – two sizes, 41mm and 45mm
- Apple Watch Series 3 and older – two sizes, 38mm and 42mm
Take into account your wrist size and whether you'll be comfortable wearing a big watch or a small one.
Styles include a casual look, sports look, Nike edition and a premium Hermès style.
- Cellular or GPS-only: Some Apple Watch models have cellular connectivity, allowing you to make calls and send texts without your iPhone nearby. Others are GPS-only and rely on your iPhone for connectivity. The Apple Watch Ultra model includes cellular connectivity for all its versions.
- Fitness and health features: Consider what fitness and health features are important to you, whether it is as heart rate monitoring, sleep tracking, oxygen saturation monitoring, and water resistance for a swim in a pool.
- Price: Apple Watches can range in price from around $250 to over $1,000 depending on the model, features, and style.
- Case material and band: Apple Watches come with an Aluminum case for the base model. The new Apple Watch Series 10 is available in a premium Titanium version, while earlier models were offered in Stainless Steel. There are differences between the materials: the strongest and more expensive one being the titanium.
Also, the watch band materials include Leather, Stainless Steel, and Silicone.
Take into account what material for the band you'll be comfortable with, as you will (supposedly) be wearing this watch all-day long (or even at night).
- Battery life: Consider how long the battery lasts on a single charge, and whether that fits your needs. Also check the charging speeds, as a quick-top up before bed can make the difference between having info on your sleep in the morning or a black watch screen.
What is the best Apple Watch right now?
Otherwise, for the regular user, the best Apple Watch right now is the Apple Watch Series 10. It is the most recent premium model that Apple released in the fall of 2024. It has a variety of workouts, Crash Detection, advanced sleep monitoring and many other features.
If you're on a budget though, the best budget Apple Watch is the Apple Watch SE 2, which has the new Crash Detection feature, fall detection, and a variety of workouts, just like the more expensive options.
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