Black Friday has commenced, and all three tiers of Apple Watches – the Apple Watch SE, the Apple Watch Series 10, and the Apple Watch Ultra – are on sale at deep discounts at Amazon, Target, and Walmart. This is the best opportunity for you to see why the Apple Watch is such a handy companion to your iPhone. After all, the Apple Watch is indisputably the best smartwatch for iOS users. It's sleek and stylish, it's chock full of useful features that complement your iPhone, and it's not even close to being the most expensive smartwatch on the block. In fact, one of them might even be the least expensive. Check out the list of deals below and a rundown of each model.
Apple Watch SE (2nd Gen)
The best budget Apple Watch
For anyone on a budget, this is the Apple Watch to get. The second generation Apple Watch SE starts at just $149 only at Amazon and Walmart. This is the best price we've ever seen for a brand-new Apple Watch with a warranty. Despite the affordable price tag, you actually don't lose out on much functionality if you opt for an Apple Watch SE. It's powered by the same S8 processor found in the Apple Watch Series 8 and the first-generation Apple Watch Ultra. It also features a bright and sharp OLED Retina display, IPX7 water resistance, fall detection, sleep tracking, Apple Pay, nearly all the fitness tracking functionality including heart rate monitoring, and more. The $149 model does have a smaller 40mm face, but it might actually be a better fit for more petite wrists.
Apple Watch Series 10
The best Apple Watch for most people
The Apple Watch Series 10 is the newest generation mainstream model and is currently $70 off at several retailers including Amazon, Target, and Walmart. The price starts at $329 for the base model with a 42mm case and GPS + Wi-Fi functionality. Improvements over the Apple Watch Series 9 include a bigger OLED Retina display, a new S10 processor that isn't faster but it's thinner, which allows the watch itself to have a slimmer profile, and new some new (although admittedly trivial) features like a water depth gauge. If you do already own an Apple Watch 9, there's little reason here to upgrade.
Compared to the Apple Watch SE, the Apple Watch Series 10 has a bigger display and Always-On functionality, 30% more powerful processor, double the storage, more advanced fitness tracking and body monitoring sensors, double-tap gesture support, and faster charging. The Series 10 is pricier than the SE, but I think the upgrades are worth it for most people.
Apple Watch Ultra 2
The best Apple Watch for the rugged outdoors
Here's a great Amazon exclusive Black Friday deal on Apple's flagship watch. The second generation Apple Watch Ultra Smart Watch is down to $619.99 after you clip an $80 coupon on the product page. That's the best price we've seen for Apple's highest end and most rugged watch in its lineup. It's definitely the best watch in the lineup for anyone who enjoys the outdoors, thanks to its durability, features, and apps.
The Apple Watch Ultra features a titanium case that's more rugged and corrosion resistant than the softer aluminum or stainless steel casing found in the less expensive Apple Watches. Pure titanium (not titanium "coated") metal is considerably more expensive and is probably one of the main reasons why the Apple Watch Ultra is so much pricier. The size of the case is also larger at 49mm (compared to 41mm-45mm for the Series 8) so it feels more substantial.
Other upgrades over the standard Series 10 include a brighter display protected by a more scratch resistant sapphire crystal face, a more precise dual-frequency GPS, beam-forming triple microphone array, dual speakers, up to 36 hours of battery life, up to 100m (300ft) of water resistance, a customizable physical action button next to the crown, and a built-in Oceanic+ app that literally puts a dive computer on your wrist.
Can You Use an Apple Watch with Android Phones?
Although it's technically possible to use an Apple Watch with an Android phone, we wouldn't recommend it. Apple made it so that a lot of the functionality of the Apple Watch requires a smartphone with an iOS operating system. There are some workarounds to implement some of the features, but for the average person, the hassle isn't worth it. If you're absolutely intent on getting an Apple Watch, then getting an iPhone first would be the best option. For those of you quite happy with your Android smarpthone, there are plenty of Android smartwatches that would be a better fit than the Apple Watch.
Looking for More Apple Deals?
These are just a few of Apple's Black Friday deals, so check out the rest if you're in the Apple ecosystem. If particular, if you're looking for an iPad, there are plenty of amazing Black Friday iPad deals going on right now. And if you've decided to upgrade to a new pair of buds, the Apple AirPods Pro has also dropped to the lowest price ever.
Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.
