Battery life and detection

Most Apple Watches have similar battery life, and the Apple Watch Series 8 and the SE each have about 18 hours of juice. Both watches support low-power mode, but the Series 8 has faster charging. Both have access to 32GBs of memory.

The Series 8 has crash detection and temperature sensors, accelerometers, GPS, and a heart rate monitor. The SE, on the other hand, only comes equipped with a second-gen optical heart.

Winner: Apple Watch Series 8

Health features

I use my Apple Watch almost exclusively for fitness tracking. I need to close my circles, I need to track my runs, and I simply must reach 10,000 steps a day. The Apple Watch SE has everything I need to do just that: notifications if your heart rate is high, low, or irregular, cardio fitness levels, cycle tracking, and sleep tracking. For me, that’s plenty. But if you’re really into tracking, the Apple Watch 8 offers more, like blood oxygen, nighttime wrist temperature deviations, and retrospective ovulation estimates.

For me, the Apple Watch SE wins this round, but for those who are more health data-obsessed, the Series 8 might come out on top because it simply has more to offer.

Winner: Apple Watch Series 8

Screens

Both watches are available in two sizes. The Apple Watch Series 8 has a 904 sq mm display area or a 1,143 sq mm display area, while the SE has either a 759 sq mm or a 977 sq mm display area. Put more simply, Series 8 watches can be way, way bigger if that’s what you’re looking for.

Personally, I have great eyesight (20/20) and prefer the way a smaller watch looks on my wrist, so I prefer the cheaper SE. However, others with bad eyesight and other fashion preferences might have differing opinions.

Winner: Apple Watch SE