Best Apple Watch (2025): Buyer’s Guide to the Series 10 and SE
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If you have an iPhone, the Apple Watch is the best wearable to go with it. But what’s the best Apple Watch to buy? Just a little while ago, this question was more complicated. In 2024, a court ruling dictated that Apple could no longer sell the latest watches—the Series 9, the Watch Ultra 2, and the Series 10—with a blood oxygen sensor. The medical technology company Masimo alleged that Apple had infringed on its patent. However, in August 2025, Apple redesigned the sensor via a software update, and you now have this feature again. Blood oxygen sensing is back, baby!
The current model is the Apple Watch Series 10, but are last year’s Series 9 and Ultra Watch 2 still worth it? Yes, if you’re looking for specific features and not others. I love the Apple Watch. 10 years on, it’s still the beautiful, Jony Ive–designed wearable that everyone who has an iPhone has to have. It is the watch I’d wear if I weren’t constantly testing other fitness trackers. (Now my children test them as well.) But how can you tell them apart when all of these watches look pretty similar and share a rotating stable of features? We break down which one is best for you and whether older models are worth the price.
Wondering what the operating system for these watches will look like? Check out our breakdown of WatchOS 26 and our other relevant buying guides, including the Best Smartwatches, Best Fitness Trackers, and Best iPhones.
Updated August 2025: We added new information on blood oxygen sensing, WatchOS 26, and the upcoming Series 11.
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Best for the Money
Note: Apple will likely launch an Apple Watch SE (3rd Gen) in September, so I recommend holding off on buying this model.
If you have any doubt as to whether you should get an Apple Watch at all, the SE is Apple’s entry-level option. OK, so it isn’t the most exciting Apple Watch. The SE series doesn’t get updated that frequently, and it did not get updated last year. Moreover, it doesn’t have the latest standout health features, like the ability to check your skin temperature. Its 1,000-nit display is noticeably smaller now that bigger, brighter screens have come to every other watch. Most regrettably, it does not have the next-gen ultra-wideband chip to precision-locate your many other Apple devices.
However, it is the most affordable of what Apple touts as its carbon-neutral products when bought with a Sport Loop, braided Solo Loop, or the updated Milanese Loop. (Though this claim is now facing a lawsuit.) It’s compatible with WatchOS 26, so you’ll be able to see frosted Liquid Glass numerals, and you’ll get your peppy, personalized Workout Buddy. It has the S8 chip, which is what the Series 8 has, and features like Crash Detection to call your emergency contact and emergency responders if you’ve been in a car accident and are unresponsive for 10 seconds. It has the Compass app, fall detection, and support for international roaming, and it works with Family Setup. It comes in a teeny 40-mm case size, and the nylon back makes it even lighter. If you have an Apple Watch, everyone in your family wants an Apple Watch. The SE will serve you, your nana, and your 9-year-old perfectly well.
Specs and Features Case sizes: 40 mm or 44 mm Blood oxygen sensing: No Second-gen ultra-wideband chip: No Skin temperature sensing: No Crash Detection: Yes Fall Detection: Yes -
The Best Apple Watch
Note: Apple will likely launch the Apple Watch Series 11 in September, so I recommend holding off on buying the Series 10.
The Watch Series 10 (8/10, WIRED Recommends), along with the Series 9 and the Watch Ultra 2, finally got blood oxygen sensing back in August 2025 via a software update, after a prolonged suspension of sales due to a patent-infringement case. The feature has been redesigned to get around the patent. To see your blood oxygen, you update the paired iPhone to iOS 18.6.1 and the Apple Watch to watchOS 11.6.1. You’ll see the sensor data in the Respiratory section of the Health app, rather than on the watch itself.
That’s a little annoying, but with the new health updates in WatchOS 11 and WatchOS 26, you will probably be checking the Health app more frequently anyway. This is now the best Apple Watch, without caveats. The standout health feature, Breathing Disturbances, uses the Series 10’s accelerometer to notify you if you have sleep apnea, which otherwise requires a disruptive sleep test to diagnose. It’s the perfect health feature to monitor with a wearable that you wear constantly.
There are also a bunch of hardware and software upgrades. It’s thinner and lighter, so it’s more comfortable to wear while sleeping, and it has fast charging, so it can track more of your activities during the day. I found that I was able to top it up pretty easily with 20 to 30 minutes on a fast charger while I was in the shower every morning. It also has a bunch of new features focused on water sports, including water temperature, which is pretty vital where I live, since a lot of people become incapacitated when they jump into water that’s too cold. This is now the best Apple Watch, without caveats.
Specs and Features Case sizes: 42 mm or 46 mm Blood oxygen sensing: Yes Second-gen ultra-wideband chip: Yes Skin temperature sensing: Yes Crash Detection: Yes Fall Detection: Yes
