As you know, your Apple Watch SE is not new. The second generation came out in September 2022 alongside the Series 8 and the first iteration of the Ultra. You've given the iPhone, all models of the iPad, AirPods, MacBooks and both the flagship and premium smartwatches updates since then -- but not the budget smartwatch. Last month, my editors asked me to see how the Watch SE stacks up in 2025 and I was happy to oblige. I love getting my hands on novel tech, analyzing, evaluating and experiencing a device (then giving it back when I'm done so I don't have to accumulate more stuff).

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Apple Watch, the top-selling rectangular wearable that can be seen on the wrists of millions of iPhone owners. As befits a landmark anniversary, this year's flagship Apple Watch 10 has gotten an updated design that is much thinner and lighter than the previous Watch Series 9, along with a new, jet black finish. Every year, Apple adds new health features to the watch. This year, that feature is sleep apnea detection. The most highly anticipated health feature was tracking for hypertension, or high blood pressure, and that has not shown up on the Apple Watch yet--probably because earlier this year, Apple was ordered to stop selling watches with blood oxygen sensing because of a patent dispute with Masimo Corp.

Our favorite smartwatch overall is the Apple Watch Series 9, in large part because it tracks exercise and delivers key health information in an understandable way. It has built-in GPS to track runs and rides, and it's fairly quick to suggest monitoring a workout when it automatically detects activity. In fact, for Series 9, Apple added on-board processing of Siri requests for faster responses to requests. The new Double Tap feature is pretty useful too, allowing them to answer calls, start workouts and engage the phone's camera shutter with a simple hand gesture. Dads who already have an iPhone might appreciate this 2024 take on the classic timepiece gift.

A smartwatch is designed to make your life easier and get you off your phone. Every time you have to dig your phone out of your pocket to read a notification, a digital fairy dies. However, a smartwatch is also less useful if you have to drop whatever you're doing to squint and poke your finger at a tiny screen. In October, Apple debuted Double Tap in WatchOS 10.1. If you own a Series 9 or a Watch Ultra 2, you can now quickly tap the index and thumb of your watch hand to perform the primary action on your watch.

Apple has just three smartwatches in its current lineup: the affordable Apple Watch SE, the advanced Apple Watch Ultra 2 and the flagship Apple Watch Series 9. All three offer fitness tracking, safety features, Siri support and iPhone integration, and all come in carbon-neutral configurations. But there are plenty of differences too, not the least of which is pricing: the Apple Watch SE starts at $250, whereas the Ultra 2 will run you a whopping $799. Internal sensors, displays and battery life vary from model to model, as well. In short, deciding the best Apple Watch for you might be trickier than you think.

Apple's smartwatches get their first speed increase in years along with brighter screens and new hands-free gestures – keeping the market leader still miles ahead of the pack. The Apple Watch Series 9 comes in various sizes and materials and starts at £399 (€449/$399/A$649) – a £20 price cut in the UK. It launches alongside the Ultra 2 costing £799 (€899/$799/A$1,399), which is £50 cheaper than last year's model. Both watches look the same as their predecessors on the outside. The Series 9 has a more svelte pillow-shaped profile available in 41mm or 45mm size options, while the 49mm Ultra 2 embraces the chunky look with a solid titanium shell and oversized buttons. New for this year are significantly brighter screens.

Being stressed is not usually a good thing. But when you're reviewing a high-profile smartwatch that touts stress-tracking as one of its most noteworthy new features, experiencing stress can be helpful. During the time I tested the Pixel Watch 2, I was going through a lot emotionally. I was maid of honor at our senior commerce editor's wedding, had a family funeral to think about and was getting updates on the results of my best friend's cancer diagnosis. Add to that the frenzy of Google's hardware launch event and a super tight deadline for this review, and my mental landscape became the perfect testing scenario for the Pixel Watch 2's body-response sensor. That's not the only new feature Google is bringing to its sophomore smartwatch.

Have you seen the meme about people who dangle too many things on their fingers for no reason whatsoever? I'm not proud to admit it, but I'm one of those. No matter how big of a bag I'm carrying, I always find my hands full, making it difficult to interact with my phone or smartwatch on the go. Which is why voice controlled assistants and hands-free gestures are so appealing. With the Apple Watch Series 9, the company is introducing two new methods of interaction: Double Tap and Raise to Speak (to Siri).

For almost a decade, Apple has released an Apple Watch every fall. Each release is greeted like the turning of the leaves: welcome, but not necessarily mind-blowing. In 2022, the rugged Apple Watch Ultra (8/10, WIRED Recommends) was one of the biggest launches we'd seen in years. The Series 8 (8/10, WIRED Recommends), which also debuted last year, introduced skin temperature sensing--nice, but we've seen similar features on wearables like the Oura ring for years. For its tenth anniversary--in either 2024 or 2025--Apple is rumored to be giving its watch a complete revamp, and maybe even a new name (the catchy Apple Watch X).

It's September, which means the air is thick with the promise of fall, school is back in session, and Apple just revealed a new Apple Watch. This year, at its annual fall event, the company is showing off the Apple Watch Series 9. The Series 9 features a new processor, the S9 chip, and a quad-core neural engine, which promises 18-hour battery life and overall performance boosts. On the software side, watchOS 10 is poised to be the biggest UI overhaul in Apple Watch history, with a renewed focus on widgets, and a slew of app and input updates. The Series 9 is available to order today and it's due to hit the market on September 22.