Apple just announced a trio of new smartwatches, including an updated Apple Watch SE with more features and a lower price than the previous model. The new Apple Watch SE starts at $249 and has virtually everything the new Apple Watch Series 8 does, minus some of its more advanced health tracking features. This leaves a big question regarding Apple's smartwatch lineup: What about the Series 3?
The Apple Watch Series 3 has been the company's most affordable model for years, coming in at $79 less than the previous Apple Watch SE thanks to its smaller screen, less powerful specs, and the fact that it's five years old. After maintaining a spot in Apple's watch lineup since 2017, it looks like the Series 3 is finally being retired, as it's no longer available in the Apple Store.
At $249 for the GPS model (or $299 for GPE and cellular), the 2022 Apple Watch SE isn't quite as cheap as the outgoing $199 Series 3, but it's still less than the $279 starting price for the previous SE model, and that makes it one of the more affordable big-name smartwatches out there. It also adds ECG and blood oxygen monitoring to the mix, putting it on closer footing with the Apple Watch Series 7 than the original SE model.
These upgrades make the Series 3 feel even more outdated, especially since it lacks a cellular connectivity option. With the new high-end Apple Watch Ultra ringing in at $799, it looks like Apple is settling into a $249/$399/$799 price range for its smartwatches. That leaves little room for a $199 model that's literally half a decade behind its peers.
The Series 3 being discontinued has been hinted at for several months, since Apple confirmed that it wouldn't receive the watchOS 9 update. Considering how compelling the new Apple Watch SE appears to be for the price, sunsetting the Series 3 doesn't feel like a major loss.