Expert review: the Apple Watch SE (2022)

I recognize the white, elongated box on my desk right away. The other Apple Watch models have the same packaging as the Apple Watch SE (2022). The package includes 2 straps. My wrist has a circumference of more than 16cm, so I slide the short strap onto the watch case. The back of the watch case is special. It has the same color as the rest of the watch case and is CO2-efficient. Thanks to this, Apple reduces the CO2 imprint of this watch.

The Apple Watch SE (2022) is especially useful if you're an athlete that works out on a daily basis and like to track your activities. The Apple Watch SE (2022) has all the sports functions you find on the Series 8. I'm not an active athlete, but I do like to walk through the city at night at a fast pace. After 15 minutes of walking, the Apple Watch automatically starts the walking activity. When I get home, I can find the route, the average speed, and the total distance in the Activity app. A nice walk, but maybe I can go a little faster.

I grab my smartphone about a 100 times per day. Can the Apple Watch SE (2022) reduce this? I tested it. I can turn off the alarm of my iPhone via my watch. From my watch, I respond to a text from my friend with a happy emoji. I pay for gasoline with my Apple Watch via Apple Pay. At night, I ask Siri to switch on my smart lights. I could've easily ignored more than half of all the push notifications that I received on my watch. At the end of the day, I only grabbed my smartphone 48 times.

You can choose from 3 colors if you buy the Apple Watch SE (2022), Starlight, Midnight, or Silver. The watch strap of my old Apple Watch Series 5 still fits on this new model. All straps for the Apple Watch 42, 45, and 49mm fit on this 44mm Apple Watch SE (2022) too. The included charging cable is a USB-C cable. That's new compared to my old Series 5 model. I didn't have a USB-C adapter at home, so I had to purchase it separately. Luckily, the old Apple Watch cable works with the Apple Watch SE (2022) too.

With the first smartwatches, you'd move your wrist or tap the screen to see the time. I didn't like this at all. I want to be able to see the time from any angle without having to do something. Nowadays, almost all smartwatches have an Always On screen on which the time is always visible. The fact that the Apple Watch SE (2022) doesn't have this is a great disadvantage to me. A screen that's on uses power, of course. I'd have understood if the battery life of the Watch SE (2022) was longer than that of the older models with an Always On screen. Unfortunately, this isn't the case. This watch lasts for about 18 hours on a single charge too.