It’s been a while since we got a new Apple Watch SE: after the first version of Apple’s budget smartwatch came out in 2020 and the second in 2022 with few changes, the company has kept quiet about further releases. But new reports suggest we’re finally going to see the 3rd-gen SE later in 2025, and that it will come in two new sizes.
On Tuesday, Ross Young, a remarkably reliable leaker and analyst who covers the screen supply chain, tweeted that two Apple Watch SE displays have entered production. (The tweet is for subscribers only.) The displays, he estimates, measure roughly 1.6 and 1.8 inches respectively.
It’s not easy to make a direct comparison between those numbers and the ones that apply to the current SE models, because Apple gives the specs for its smartwatch in a different format–as the height of the casing, rather than the diagonal measurement of the screen we’d expect for all other products. For screen dimensions, we have to make do with the various third-party measurements you’ll find across the web, which vary from site to site. But regardless of the sources you use, it looks like the new SE models are probably moving from a Series 6 body to a Series 7. Which probably means a simultaneous switch from 40mm and 44mm casings to 41 and 45mm.
Aside from pointing to a slight increase in size, there have been long-time rumors of a new plastic chassis design, though more recent reports shed some doubt on that prediction and left the future of the line in limbo. The report doesn’t mention any other features, though it seems likely that the SE will finally get an always-on display, as well as a newer processor, and possibly a temperature or ECG sensor.
Following the discontinuation of the iPhone SE line earlier this year, and its replacement with the costlier iPhone 16e, it seemed possible that Apple might pull back from the budget market and retire the SE line altogether. However, this latest rumor can be taken as something close to confirmation that Apple will keep the low-end Apple Watch alive going, though it’s possible Apple will change the name to the Apple Watch 11e.
But it seems like we can look ahead to a new Apple Watch SE in September, alongside the Series 11 (and possibly the Ultra 3, although if that sticks with a biennial release schedule, the Ultra and SE lines could in future get updates in alternate falls) and the iPhone 17. For all the latest news and rumors, check out our guide to the new Apple Watches for 2025.
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