On a tight budget? The OG Apple Watch SE can still be a very smart buy at these huge discounts
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Following the long overdue retirement of the ancient Apple Watch Series 3, the entry point to Cupertino's market-leading smartwatch lineup has jumped to $249 last month. While not exactly prohibitive for the masses, the starting price of the hot new Apple Watch SE (2nd Gen) can easily be undercut by many of the best budget smartwatches sold by other major brands, especially during events such as the recently concluded Amazon Prime Early Access extravaganza.
But that's where the first-gen Apple Watch SE comes in... even after its own official discontinuation. Yes, the affordable 2020-released device is still available from a number of different US retailers, and if you hurry, you can get one of several different models at a great discount.
An entry-level GPS-only 40mm variant, for instance, is currently up for grabs at Walmart for $199 instead of its original list price of $279, while Best Buy is ready to treat folks with larger wrists to a massive $100 markdown on a non-cellular-enabled 44mm unit normally available for $309.
If you need to make and receive voice calls sans an iPhone nearby while keeping your spending to a minimum ahead of the holidays, you'll undoubtedly be glad to see Walmart charging just $229 and Best Buy a measly $239 for 4G LTE-capable Apple Watch SE versions in 40 and 44mm sizes respectively.
These are by far the greatest deals you can make at the time of this writing on an OG Apple Watch SE, and although slightly higher discounts have been offered once or twice before on at least some of these models, their limited availability suggests you might want to hurry and not rely on those record low prices returning... ever again. Obviously, that could happen on Black Friday and/or Cyber Monday next month... or the Apple Watch SE could go out of stock for good in the very near future.
With an admittedly outdated processor under the hood but still-awesome software support, plenty of handy sensors and health monitoring tools, and an undeniably high-quality display in tow, this thing remains an excellent low-cost alternative to the Apple Watch Series 8 for iPhone fans to strongly consider.
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