Apple Watch SE 3 (GPS + cellular) falls to lowest ever price

The Apple Watch SE 3 is a great value smartwatch. We like it so much, in fact, that we handed it a Highly Commended Award in our Product of the Year Awards 2026, under the Value Wearable category. Why? Because it delivers most of the same features as the more expensive full Apple Watch Series 11, but at a far lower price.

So when the price of the GPS and cellular model fell to £260 from £289 in the Amazon Spring Deal Days sale last week, I was very excited – and slightly disappointed when it rose to £269 at the back end of Thursday into Friday. Well, it’s now back down to £260, although oddly not tagged up as a Spring Sale deal.

If you’ve ever fancied trying an Apple Watch with cellular connectivity, but have always been put off by the price premium, now’s your chance to dip your toe in the water, with a price that’s over £100 less than the Series 11 with the same connectivity.

Why opt for the cellular Apple Watch SE 3?

But why choose the cellular version in the first place? Well, apart from the fact that it’s only £40 more expensive than the regular model normally is right now, it adds a boatload of extra capabilities and features.

For starters, it means you can go out on a run or a bike ride without your phone and still stay in touch. You can send and receive messages, and make and take phone calls completely independently of your iPhone.

It also lets you stream music and podcasts directly to your watch without the need to transfer media over to the watch in advance. You can use the navigation features of Apple Maps on your watch without having to have your phone nearby, and call Siri into action at any point, too, for a completely hands-free experience.

Essentially, the cellular version of the Apple Watch turns it into an iPhone strapped to your wrist, and for £26 this is quite frankly a ludicrously good deal.

What’s the difference between the Watch SE 3 and Watch Series 11?

On top of that, the Apple Watch SE 3 doesn’t give much away to the Series 11 when it comes to features. It’s a tiny bit chunkier and the screen is ever-so-slightly smaller and dimmer, but that doesn’t make much of a difference when it comes to comfort and readability.

It also lacks the Series 11’s ECG, water temperature, depth gauge, blood oxygen (SpO2) and “precision find” features, and there are no hypertension notifications, either.

However, the vast majority of other features are present, certainly those that rely on a cellular connection to work their best. And we found the Apple Watch SE 3 was a pretty accurate workout companion when we tested it as well.

Are there any reasons you shouldn’t buy an Apple Watch SE 3 (GPS + cellular)?

It almost goes without saying that there’s no point buying an Apple Watch if you’re an Android phone owner, but there are other reasons you might want to think about purchasing a different wearable. If you’re not a fan of charging your watch every day, I’d advise choosing a Garmin or Coros or a Huawei smartwatch instead.

However, if that doesn’t bother you, then I’d jump on this deal right away. It’s the cheapest the GPS and cellular variant of the SE 3 has been since launch, and I can’t imagine the price will drop this low again for a while.

Written By

Jonathan Bray

Head of reviews at Expert Reviews, Jon has been testing and writing about products since before most of you were born (well, only if you were born after 1996). In that time he’s tested and reviewed hundreds of laptops, PCs, smartphones, vacuum cleaners, coffee machines, doorbells, cameras and more. He’s worked on websites since the early days of tech, writing game reviews for AOL and hardware reviews for PC Pro, Computer Buyer and other print publications. He’s also had work published in Trusted Reviews, Computing Which? and The Observer. And yet, even after so many years in the industry, there’s still nothing more he loves than getting to grips with a new product and putting it through its paces.

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