
Apple
The best-value Apple Watch ever made

Garmin
Premium AMOLED multisport watch worth the money
Apple Watch SE 3
Apple Watch SE 3
Apple Watch SE 3
The familiar Apple Watch squircle in aluminum, offered in 40mm and 44mm. Digital Crown plus a side button. Compatible with the entire Apple Watch band catalogue. The screen bezels are noticeably thick next to the Series 11, but the build is light and comfortable for all-day and overnight wear.
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Garmin Epix Pro (Gen 2)
Garmin Epix Pro (Gen 2)
Garmin Epix Pro (Gen 2)
Titanium-bezel adventure-watch design in 42mm, 47mm, and 51mm. Five-button + touchscreen control. Built-in LED flashlight. Sapphire crystal on Sapphire editions. Large and substantial.
Apple Watch SE 3
The big SE 3 story: an always-on display, a first for the SE line. The LTPO OLED panel peaks at 1,000 nits — bright enough for everyday use, but half the Series 11's 2,000 nits and a third of the Ultra 3's 3,000.
Garmin Epix Pro (Gen 2)
Bright, vivid AMOLED — the Epix Pro's defining feature versus the MIP-screened Fenix 7 Pro. Always-on display. Sapphire crystal on Sapphire editions.
Apple Watch SE 3
Heart rate is the SE 3's standout — testers rate it among the best wrist sensors available. Apple adds nightly wrist-temperature tracking and sleep apnea notifications. But ECG, blood oxygen (SpO2), and the Series 11's new hypertension alerts are all absent, and sleep-stage data underreports deep sleep.
Garmin Epix Pro (Gen 2)
Elevate Gen 5 optical HR with skin temperature, SpO2, HRV Status, Body Battery, sleep tracking, Morning Report. Garmin's latest sensor generation; ECG added via update.
Apple Watch SE 3
The full watchOS workout app, activity rings, automatic workout detection, and built-in GPS. Apple rates about 7 hours of GPS workout tracking. It is not a dedicated running watch — no dual-frequency GPS — but for everyday fitness it covers the essentials well.
Garmin Epix Pro (Gen 2)
Garmin's deepest training-science suite — Endurance Score, Hill Score, Training Readiness, Acute/Chronic Load, daily suggested workouts, full multisport + triathlon modes. The serious-athlete benchmark.
Apple Watch SE 3
Apple still rates the SE 3 at 18 hours of all-day battery, and that conservative number holds — but independent endurance tests stretched it to 37-41 hours of continuous wear depending on size. The genuine upgrade is fast charging: roughly 0-80% in 45 minutes, with a 15-minute top-up buying about 8 hours. A low-power mode reaches ~32 hours.
Garmin Epix Pro (Gen 2)
Multi-day to multi-week smartwatch battery depending on size; ~31 hours multi-band GPS on the 51mm. Strong for an AMOLED watch — but a MIP Fenix lasts longer.
Apple Watch SE 3
watchOS 26 on Apple's S10 chip — identical core performance to the Series 11 and Ultra 3, including double-tap and wrist-flick gestures. 64GB of storage. Apple Pay, the App Store and the full ecosystem are all here. The one hard limit: it works only with an iPhone.
Garmin Epix Pro (Gen 2)
Garmin OS + Garmin Connect + Connect IQ store. Garmin Pay. Works with iOS + Android. Frequent firmware updates. No Wear OS app catalog.
Apple Watch SE 3
Crack-resistant Ion-X glass, now rated about 4x tougher than the SE 2, over an aluminum case. Water resistance is 50m (5 ATM) — fine for pool and open-water swimming.
Garmin Epix Pro (Gen 2)
10 ATM water resistance + MIL-STD-810 thermal/shock/water testing. Titanium bezel + Sapphire crystal (Sapphire editions). Built for serious outdoor and expedition abuse.
Apple Watch SE 3
Built-in GPS, Apple Pay via NFC, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. An optional cellular model adds standalone connectivity for about $50 more. The SE 3 lacks the Series 11's second-generation ultra-wideband chip, so it can only ping a lost iPhone rather than guide you to it.
Garmin Epix Pro (Gen 2)
Multi-band (dual-frequency) GPS, full-color TopoActive maps, NFC for Garmin Pay, Bluetooth, ANT+, Wi-Fi. No LTE.
Apple Watch SE 3
At a held-steady $249, the SE 3 is the cheapest way into a current Apple Watch and the obvious pick for most iPhone owners. The $399 Series 11 adds ECG, blood oxygen, hypertension alerts, a brighter screen and 24-hour battery; the $799 Ultra 3 adds far more. For the majority, the SE 3's gaps will not be felt.
Garmin Epix Pro (Gen 2)
$899-$1099+ launch. The AMOLED flagship multisport tier. Competes with the MIP Fenix 7 Pro, the Apple Watch Ultra, and the Coros Apex Pro. Ages well and discounts over time.