
Apple
The best-value Apple Watch ever made

Garmin
Best wellness-focused Garmin smartwatch
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 Venu 3
Garmin Venu 3
Garmin Venu 3
Slim round metal-bezel case in two sizes — 45mm Venu 3 and 41mm Venu 3S. Two physical buttons + touchscreen. Lightweight, comfortable for all-day and overnight wear. Range of colorways.
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 Venu 3
1.4-inch AMOLED on the Venu 3, 1.2-inch on the Venu 3S. Bright, vibrant, sharp. Always-on display supported. Gorilla Glass 3 protection.
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 Venu 3
Elevate Gen 4 optical HR, SpO2, ECG, HRV Status, skin temperature, Body Battery, Sleep Coach, nap detection. The Venu 3's wellness suite is the deepest in any Garmin — a genuine Oura/Whoop alternative.
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 Venu 3
80+ sport profiles + Garmin's training analytics + Morning Report + meditation/breathwork. Capable for everyday fitness; serious athletes still want the Forerunner/Fenix depth and maps.
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 Venu 3
Up to 14 days smartwatch mode on the Venu 3 (~10 days on the smaller 3S). Garmin's signature multi-week battery — Trusted Reviews calls it 'set-and-forget.'
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 Venu 3
Garmin OS + Garmin Connect + Connect IQ store. Built-in speaker + microphone for voice calls and a voice assistant. Garmin Pay. Works with iOS + Android.
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 Venu 3
5 ATM (50m) water resistance. Gorilla Glass 3 + metal bezel. Fiber-reinforced polymer case. Durable for everyday wear and swim tracking — not adventure-rated like the Fenix.
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 Venu 3
Single-frequency GPS, NFC for Garmin Pay, Bluetooth, ANT+, Wi-Fi. No LTE, no on-watch maps. Phone required for connectivity and the voice features.
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 Venu 3
$449.99 launch, now widely discounted (Trusted Reviews documented £299). Competes with the Apple Watch, Galaxy Watch, Pixel Watch, and Oura/Whoop for wellness tracking.