Best Apple Watch for Every Use Case and Budget (April 2026)

The Apple Series 11 improves upon its predecessor with several new upgrades. For starters, there's a new Ion-X coated glass that is a little more scratch resistant than the series 10. And in terms of health features, you get a sleep score for detailed insights apart from a new Workout buddy for those workout motivations. With 5G connectivity (selected markets and carriers for now), you can use the watch even when you are not connected to your iPhone. Series 11 also lasts longer than the Series 10. Apple claims an 'all-day' battery life, but our real-life tests showed well above 1 day, generally lasting between 30-36 hours, which may vary depending upon the use case. In fact, it lasted for about a little less than 2 days for us.

The Ultra 3 boasts the biggest (1245 sq mm) display area on a Apple Watch till date. While that's quite big compared to Ultra 2 which is 1,185 sq mm, it seems slightly bigger than the Watch 11 (1220 sq mm). Watch Ultra 3 has a new LTPO3 display that offers peak brightness up to 3000 nits and can go as low as 1Hz to conserve battery life, like on the previous-gen Watch Ultra 2. This means you can set proper live ticking watch faces with a seconds hand on your Apple Watch. Also like the rest of the Series, it's powered by the S10 chip. It also borrows two features from the iPhone: satellite connectivity and Emergency SOS via satellite apart from 5G connectivity. Justifying the Ultra moniker, you get 100m water resistance, MIL-STD toughness and a really loud siren that can awaken your entire neighborhood. Last but not least, it can last 42 hous on a single charge and has the most accurate GPS on a Apple Watch.

The Apple Watch SE 3 uses the S10 chipset, the same as the Series 11 and Ultra 3. And for the first time, you get Always on display on the SE series. The display brightness is same as the previous gen Watch SE 2 at 1000 nits. While you don't get advanced ECG or blood oxygen sensor, there's a onboard temperature sensor for detailed stats. Oh, and there's 5G connectivity in the cellular model and a new cover screen that is 4 times more resistant to cracks. Even after getting AOD, the SE 3 claims to offer 18 hours of battery backup, but in our testing, it gave more than 35 hours of battery. The charging speed is also increased, as it only took 60 minutes to charge the watch to 99%.

If you are looking to get your kid an Apple Watch, the SE 2 is the best entry-level model you can buy right now. It serves as an affordable entry point into Apple's coveted ecosystem, offering all the essential features. This is important since kids can be finicky, and they can often misplace or throw away stuff. Being a parent, you wouldn't want your kid to throw away an Ultra 2 or Series 10 in a ditch somewhere. With cellular connectivity, you can talk to your kids even if they don't have their phones nearby own don't carry one yet. Moreover, there's a family setup so your kid can use an Apple Watch even if they have an Android phone and you can set their contacts, usage limits, and track their location.