Technologies

Apple Watch Series 8 vs. SE: Which One Is Right for You?

The Series 8’s extra health-tracking features, faster charging and always-on display separate it from the SE.

Deciding on a new Apple Watch can be challenging, especially if you’re choosing between the $399 Apple Watch Series 8 and the $249 Apple Watch SE.

Unless you’re an avid scuba diver or rock climber — or want to look like one — you’re probably not considering the $799 Apple Watch Ultra. The Series 8 and SE are both intended for everyday wearers that want to keep an eye on their health and fitness levels, but don’t need the Ultra’s larger screen, longer battery life and extra features tailored for the outdoors.

Both the Series 8 and SE run on Apple’s WatchOS 9 software, have the company’s newest chip and are among the first to detect car crashes. That’s in addition to the functionality Apple’s watches have offered for years, like the ability to track workouts, detect hard falls and mirror iPhone alerts.

Which one is right for you depends on what you want in a smartwatch. As someone who primarily uses my Apple Watch for logging exercise, viewing notifications and checking the time, there’s little that I missed when switching from the Series 8 to the SE after testing both.

The biggest reason to choose the Series 8 over the SE right now is its extra health-tracking smarts, such as its new wrist temperature measurements, blood oxygen saturation readings and the ability to take an electrocardiogram. The Apple Watch isn’t a medical device and shouldn’t be treated as such. But those who want more data on their cardiac and respiratory health to share with their doctors might find the Series 8 to be the better choice.

I think the Series 8’s main benefits will become more clear over the long term. Temperature sensing is still new, but I like the idea of being able to see how changes in my baseline temperature may correlate with how I’m feeling that day. The Series 8’s ultrawideband chip, which isn’t present in the SE, may also feel more valuable in a future where unlocking your car with your phone or watch is just as common as using Apple Pay at the checkout counter.

Apple Watch Series 8 with rainbow display on blue background

A larger screen with an always-on display

If you were to ask me what I’ve missed most about using the Apple Watch SE, it’s the always-on display found on the Series 8 and other flagship Apple Watches since 2019. Without an always-on display, the Apple Watch SE’s screen just turns into a black box on my wrist, which isn’t exactly the most attractive look.

When wearing the Series 8 (or the Series 5, 6 or 7), I can view my watch face anytime without having to raise my wrist or touch the watch. I don’t think the always-on display alone is worth paying an extra $150 if you don’t care about the other health extras that come with the Series 8. But I do wish the always-on display was standard across all Apple Watches at this point.

The Apple Watch Series 8 also has a larger display and comes in 41- and 45-millimeter case sizes, compared to the 40 or 44mm SE. Having a bigger display is nice, but the only thing I missed is the Series 8’s QWERTY keyboard for typing responses to text messages (the Series 7 has this too). On the SE, you can still scribble letters, dictate words or send canned responses, but I like the flexibility of being able to quickly type a couple of words. Those who prefer larger text sizes may also want to choose the Series 8 over the SE.

The Series 8 is also available in a pricier stainless steel finish, and the aluminum version comes in an additional Product Red color option not available on the SE.

Apple Watch Series 8 and iPhone with Health app showing temperature readings

More health tracking

Apple’s flagship watches like the Series 8 have evolved into comprehensive health-tracking devices, with the ability to take an ECG from your wrist and monitor blood oxygen levels. The Series 8 and Ultra are the first to get temperature sensors, enabling them to check your wrist temperature overnight and show whether you’ve deviated from your baseline. It takes five nights to set up temperature sensing, since the watch needs enough time to establish your baseline wrist temperature.

Apple says nighttime wrist temperature can be an indicator of overall body temperature, and changes could possibly be caused by illness, jet lag or exercise. Since the Apple Watch doesn’t have a readiness score like Oura or Fitbit, I could see this information being useful for helping me decide whether my body needs extra rest.

I’m hoping Apple weaves wrist temperature readings into new features and insights in the future. Right now, you can see a chart showing how your nighttime temperature readings deviate from your baseline. But it generally seems like it’s up to you to interpret these readings.

A chart from the Apple Health app showing wrist temperature data from the Apple Watch Series 8.

The Apple Watch isn’t a medical device and can’t alert you when you’re sick, so it can be hard to know how to use this data. That’s part of the reason why I never check my blood oxygen levels; it’s just another statistic that I’m not sure what to make of. I’ve been wearing the Apple Watch Series 8 consistently for a couple of weeks, but I’m still not sure what to do with this temperature data.

My nighttime wrist temperature is pretty close to my baseline most of the time, but it’s usually a fraction of a degree higher or lower. Sometimes my deviations are as high as 0.37 degrees Fahrenheit above my baseline or 0.55 degrees below the norm. I can’t connect the dots between those deviations and what may have happened to cause them. It’s also difficult to wear the Apple Watch Series 8 consistently overnight since I have to charge it during some evenings.

Still, having another data point like wrist temperature opens up some interesting opportunities for the future. I’m hoping Apple finds new ways to crunch all of these statistics together to enable new insights and actionable advice. Until then, nighttime wrist temperature is yet another metric you can potentially share with your doctor if you’re not feeling well, but it’s difficult to tell how useful it actually is.

For now, the biggest application for the Series 8’s temperature sensing will likely be fertility tracking. Apple says the Series 8 and Ultra can provide retrospective ovulation estimates and improved period tracking, potentially making the Series 8 a better choice for those who are interested in using it for family planning purposes. That information can be helpful because it provides users with data from their own bodies, rather than just making estimates based on the length of their cycle.

«But this actually gives you real life data because the time of ovulation can vary from person to person from month to month,» said Dr. Angela Bianco, MD, director of maternal fetal medicine at the Mount Sinai Health System. «Some people ovulate earlier in their cycles, others ovulate later in their cycles.»

Again, the Apple Watch isn’t a medical device and shouldn’t be treated as such. It also shouldn’t be used for contraception.

«I stress that women who are trying not to get pregnant should not use this because there can be errors in the data,» said Dr. Alexis Melnick, an OBGYN at NewYork-Presbyterian and assistant professor at Weill Cornell Medicine. «And you can have a cycle that is variable that may not follow the regular pattern.»

Apple says data stored in the health app — including female health statistics like ovulation estimates — is encrypted when your iPhone is locked with a passcode, Face ID or Touch ID. The same goes for data backed up to iCloud.

You’ll also want to make sure two-factor authentication is enabled for your iCloud account, which should be turned on by default. This ensures that health data is end-to-end encrypted, meaning Apple cannot read or access your data. To make sure two-factor authentication is on, open the Settings menu on your iPhone, tap your name and choose the Password & Security option.

Apple Watch SE on wrist showing battery percentage

Other extras, like faster charging and ultrawideband

While the Series 8’s extra health sensors are the biggest reason to potentially choose it over the SE, there are a few other extras to consider. The Series 8 can charge more quickly than the SE, as it inherits the fast-charging capabilities of the Series 6 and 7. The Apple Watch Series 8 charged from 70% to 80% in 10 minutes, while the SE charged from 70% to 77% over the same time period. For each watch, I used the included charging cable and the same power adapter plugged into the same outlet. Both watches have Apple’s new low power mode, which dials back certain features like automatic workout detection to extend battery life.

The Series 8, like the Series 6 and 7, also have Apple’s U1 ultrawideband chip. Ultrawideband is a wireless protocol for proximity sensing that’s become common in new flagship phones and smartwatches. Ultrawideband is primarily used for finding misplaced items and gadgets using Apple’s Find My service, or for unlocking your car with more precision than Bluetooth.

If you have a car that’s compatible with ultrawideband, for example, you can unlock your vehicle automatically as you approach it with your Apple Watch. Ultrawideband is said to be more secure and precise than Bluetooth when functioning as a key, which you can read more about here. It’s a nice perk, but it’s likely not a necessity for everyone. At least not yet.

The bottom line

The Apple Watch Series 8 and SE have a lot in common when it comes to core features and functionality. They can both track workouts, show iPhone notifications, provide high and low heart rate notifications and detect irregular heart rhythms. They also both come with safety features like emergency SOS, fall detection and car crash detection, the latter of which is exclusive to Apple’s 2022 smartwatches. The new Compass app, which includes a new feature to help you retrace your steps, is also coming to both watches as well as the Series 7, Series 6 and first-generation SE.

If you like using Apple Pay or syncing your Apple Watch to the treadmill at your local gym through GymKit, you’ll do just fine with either the new SE or the Series 8. They both have the same processor, support low power mode and run on Apple’s new WatchOS 9 update.

The difference really comes down to health tracking. By choosing the SE, you’ll miss out on the Apple Watch’s ECG app, blood oxygen sensor and new temperature sensor. Whether those features are necessary depends on what you hope to get out of your smartwatch. Do you primarily want to track workouts, or are you looking for deeper health metrics to share with your doctor?

You’ll also get a few perks that make the Series 8 a better iPhone companion, such as a larger always-on display, faster charging and ultrawideband support. Of those features, I personally find the always-on display to be most useful.

Overall, the Series 8 seems poised to become more useful over time, especially after I’ve had more time to test the temperature sensor. Ultrawideband is another feature I’m expecting to become more useful in the long term as using mobile devices as digital keys starts to become more common. But for now, ultrawideband alone shouldn’t be a deciding factor; it’s more about the sum of how all of these parts come together.

The Series 8 is the right option for those who want more health-tracking features and are willing to pay a premium for it. The Apple Watch SE is the best choice for those who are upgrading from an older watch or are buying an Apple Watch for the first time and just want an Apple Watch that feels new and has all of the core features. But if you have a recent Apple Watch like the Series 5, you can probably hold off on upgrading entirely unless you really want Apple’s new health upgrades.

Apple Watch Series 8 vs. SE

	Apple Watch Series 8	Apple Watch SE
Starting price	$399	$249
Size	41mm or 45mm	40mm or 44mm
Finishes	Aluminum or stainless steel	Aluminum
Colors	Aluminum: Midnight, starlight, silver, Product Red; Stainless steel: Graphite, silver, gold	Midnight,starlight, silver
Software	WatchOS 9	WatchOS 9
Screen	904 sq mm display area (41mm); 1,143 sq mm display area (45mm)	759 sq mm display area (40mm); 977 sq mm display area (44mm)
Health sensors	Blood oxygen, electrical heart (ECG),third-gen optical heart, temperature	Second-gen optical heart
Health features	High and low heart rate notifications, irregular heart rate notifications, blood oxygen, nighttime wrist temperature deviations, cardio fitness level, cycle tracking, retrospective ovulation estimates, sleep tracking	High and low heart rate notifications, irregular heart rate notifications, cardio fitness level, cycle tracking, sleep tracking
Chip	Apple S8 SiP	Apple S8 SiP
Durability	IP6X dust resistant;water resistant up to 50m	Water resistant up to 50m
Safety	Emergency SOS, international emergency calling, crash detection, fall detection	Emergency SOS, international emergency calling, crash detection, fall detection
Battery	Up to 18 hours with fast charging, support for low power mode	Up to 18 hours, support for low power mode
Storage	32GB	32GB
Other features	GPS, optional cellular, Compass Backtrack, always on altimeter, Family Setup, speaker, microphone, activity and exercise tracking, Apple Pay, GymKit, ultrawideband support	GPS, optional cellular, Compass Backtrack, always on altimeter, Family Setup, speaker, microphone, activity and exercise tracking, Apple Pay, GymKit

Technologies

Zelle App Is Gone. Use These Alternatives to Send Money Digitally

You still have lots of free ways to send money to friends and family electronically.

If Zelle has been your go-to app for sending money digitally, it’s time to find a new method. The digital payment app shut down on April 1.

That doesn’t mean you can’t use Zelle altogether, however. Zelle has only discontinued its standalone app. You can still send money using Zelle if your bank belongs to the Zelle network. You’ll just need to do it through your bank’s app or website. You also have other services to choose from. Here’s what you need to know about this change and your options moving forward.

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Why the Zelle app is shutting down

When Zelle launched in 2017, only about 60 US financial institutions offered the service by the end of that year. Today, that number exceeds 2,200. As a result, less than 2% of Zelle transactions occur through the standalone app. Zelle has been phasing out the ability to make transactions on its mobile app since October 2024.

«Today, the vast majority of people using Zelle to send money use it through their financial institution’s mobile app or online banking experience, and we believe this is the best place for Zelle transactions to occur,» Zelle said in an October 2024 press release.

In December, Zelle was in the spotlight when the Consumer Financial Protected Bureau sued the company and three of the largest US banks for failing to protect consumers from widespread fraud on the peer-to-peer payment network. The lawsuit has since been dropped.

Other ways to send money digitally

You can still use Zelle through your bank’s app or website if it belongs to the Zelle network. You can also switch to another digital payment app, such as:

Apple Wallet
Cash App
PayPal
Venmo

Take some basic precautions when using Zelle or any other digital payment service. These apps are a frequent target for scammers, and Chase Bank has started blocking some Zelle payments it believes could be fraudulent. Only send money to people you know and trust, and watch for red flags like an urgent message claiming to be from your bank or an online ad for concert tickets that seem impossibly cheap.

Technologies

Marvel Rivals Season 2 Starts Next Week, Devs Drop Big News

Emma Frost and Ultron are joining the Rivals roster in season 2, and developers are upping the pace to one new hero per month starting with season 3.

After surviving the endless night in New York City with the Fantastic Four, Marvel Rivals players are getting invited to the shores of Krakoa for the start of season 2 on April 11. The game dropped the first trailer for the new season, giving us our first official look at the new heroes, and a developer vision video dropped major news about the future of hero releases.

The trailer features the former foe and sometimes-leader of the X-Men, Emma Frost, inviting people from across Rivals’ various timelines to the mutant nation of Krakoa, where everyone gets dressed up for a fancy gala — even Wolverine puts on a white tux. The event, however, is unceremoniously interrupted when Ultron shows up preaching extermination.

We also got a look at some of the cosmetics in season 2, though it’s unclear which are from the shop and which might be in the battle pass. In addition to the dressed-up Wolverine, we also got looks at Magik and Psylocke in the traditional X-Men blue and yellow. Nonmutant guests are also getting in on the fun, with fancy attire for heroes like Cap, Widow and Luna Snow.

New Heroes and balance changes in Marvel Rivals Season 2

Emma Frost joins the roster as a Vanguard. We don’t have detailed information about her abilities yet but expect that information to drop ahead of next week’s season launch. Ultron is coming in the season 2.5 update, which should be in late May.

Some team-ups are changing in season 2, including three new team-up abilities that were previewed in the newest developer vision video.

Emma Frost allows Magneto and Psylocke to create illusions of themselves.
Doctor Strange teams up with Scarlet Witch allowing her to use small portals to seemingly increase her damage output via a rapid-shooting alternate fire.
Cap finally teams up with Bucky, allowing the Winter Soldier to leap to allies.

A few existing team-ups are getting adjustments, with Psylocke, Winter Soldier and Doctor Strange being removed from older team-ups in favor of new ones, and Namor moving from working with Luna’s anchor to Hulk’s to empower his ultimate with gamma energy. Two team-ups are being removed entirely: Magneto can no longer team up with Scarlet Witch, and Thor is no longer anchoring Cap and Storm.

The developers vaguely teased other balance changes, including buffs to Peni, Mister Fantastic and Moon Knight, with Strange trading offensive pressure for more survivability and Rocket getting more utility while Loki and Adam Warlock receive nerfs to their Regeneration Domain and Soul Bond abilities.

Future seasons will be shorter, which means more new heroes

One of the most surprising moments in the developer video was the announcement that, beginning with season 3, seasons will be two months long instead of roughly three. There has been a lot of discussion online about whether Rivals’ pace of new heroes (about eight per year based on three-month seasons) was sustainable. Well, apparently the Rivals devs took that personally and are cranking up that pace to a new hero every month, meaning 12 new heroes per year.

This feels borderline ludicrous compared with other hero shooters that average about three new heroes per year, or even MOBAs like League of Legends, which has averaged about four new champions per year over the past five years. Rivals benefits from having an overflowing stable of Marvel characters to pull from rather than inventing their own hero concepts, and compared with Overwatch, the developers seem less worried about mechanical overlap in their heroes, as seen with many support ultimates. Still, a new hero every month feels unheard of for a hero shooter.

New Krakoa map and competitive changes

A new Krakoa-themed domination map is being added in season 2, and Yggsgard: Royal Palace (domination) and Tokyo 2099: Shin-Shibuya (convergence) will rotate out of the map pool for ranked modes, though they’ll still be available in quick play and custom games.

The threshold for competitive picks and bans, which currently only happen in diamond-ranked lobbies, will be lowered to gold 3. Players in Eternity or One Above All ranks will only be able to duo queue, instead of queuing with larger groups — a measure that’s likely intended to keep high-level teams from stomping lobbies.

Speaking of ranks, season 2 will drop everyone by 9 divisions, which is equal to 3 ranks. That means players in Eternity will drop to diamond, and any players at platinum 3 or below will start their climb from bronze 3 again. (AGAIN… AGAIN.)

Rivals developers also announced that individual player performance will be weighted higher when determining competitive progress after a match, meaning if your stats outperform your team’s, you’ll earn more for winning and drop less for losing. This change can help elevate smurfs and other high-skill players in lower-ranked lobbies by getting them into their appropriate ranks faster. However, it can also lead to players stat-farming, instead of playing in a way that is most effective for winning games. Overall, given that Rivals doesn’t use any sort of competitive placement matches, this should be a net positive for the game.

Other announcements

Rivals is adding new skin recolors to certain hero skins and (finally) giving players the option to gift costumes to their friends so they can surprise someone for their birthday, which you definitely did not forget about.

Missions are changing a bit, with the addition of weekly missions and a redistribution of where battle-pass-progressing chrono tokens are earned. The devs framed this as creating a «smoother expectation» of how to earn chrono tokens, but the surface-level description sounds like they’re just making it harder to earn battle pass progress over the season by tucking away more progress under missions with shorter time limits.

The developer vision update also gave us our first look at the competitive distribution, showing how many Rivals players are in each tier as of season 1.5.

The Hellfire Gala trailer says season 2 will start on April 11. While it doesn’t give a specific start time, expect the between-seasons maintenance to finish sometime in the middle of the night in the US.

For more on Marvel Rivals, check out which heroes and roles you should play and how to get free skins.

Technologies

Nintendo Switch 2 vs. Switch 1: Every Detail Compared

The Nintendo Switch 2’s official specs aren’t too different, but the new console has a lot of upgrades on the original Switch.

The Nintendo Switch 2 may look like its predecessor, but there’s been a lot of changes to its features and under the hood. The new console has «10x the graphics performance» compared to the original Switch, says Nvidia, which built the custom processor powering the Switch 2.

The Switch 2, with a release date on June 5, is priced at $450 alone or $500 in a bundle with Mario Kart World, the headliner of the console’s launch games. Here’s all the info on how to preorder the Switch 2.

Note that we’re mostly comparing the Switch 2 to the original Switch 1 released in March 2017, because looping in the Switch Lite and Switch OLED gets complicated.

Design

Broadly, the Switch 2 is a larger version of its predecessor, with everything looking slightly inflated: bigger footprint, bigger screen, bigger Joy-Cons.

Original Switch: The original Switch, with Joy-Cons slotted into the side rails, is a little over 9.4 inches wide, 4 inches tall, a little over half an inch thick and weighs about 10.5 ounces (297 grams). The Joy-Cons slide into place from the top of the device’s sides, while a thin wedge of plastic pops out of the back of the console to serve as a kickstand.

The Switch also came with a dock, which the console could slot into to for recharging and outputting to a TV or large display via HDMI port.

Switch 2: The new Switch 2 is bigger in every way, but it has the same overall shape and layout as the original. The new Joy-Cons will indeed be held in place on the console magnetically, and connect to the console via pins. The new console also sports a wide U-shaped kickstand that spans almost its entire rear width, which can be moved around to prop up the Switch 2 at a variety of angles. Nintendo says the console has more powerful speakers, which we’re looking forward to testing.

The Switch 2’s dock is largely similar in function though it has rounded edges and an internal fan to cool down the console during long game sessions. More importantly, it can output games in 4K to TVs, but only for select games.

Joy-Cons

The Joy-Cons were a marvel when they arrived on the first Switch, and while they’re functionally similar in its successor, there have been upgrades in the Switch 2’s controllers.

Original Switch: The Switch Joy-Cons are simple but powerful controllers that slid on and off the console via plastic rails, connecting and recharging via pins on the side. Detach and they become their own micro-controllers, with little shoulder buttons to boot.

Switch 2: The new console’s Joy-Cons are larger to fit the Switch 2, and lock into the side of the console via powerful magnets — there are small inward-facing buttons to the side of ZR and ZL to detach the controllers from the console. The larger-size Joy-Cons have longer L and R outside shoulder buttons, as well as much wider SL and SR internal shoulder buttons, which are accessible when detached from the console.

And yes, you can use the Switch 2 Joy-Cons as mice by placing their inner edges flat on a surface. During the Nintendo Direct, we saw it being used to control active action games like the wheelchair basketball-simulating DragXDrive and strategy games like Civilization VII.

Display size

Original Switch: The original Switch has a 6.2-inch LCD screen with 1,280×720-pixel resolution, which was reasonably impressive at launch in 2017 but has been outclassed by newer handhelds with sharper displays. The Switch OLED upgraded this with a larger 7-inch display showing deeper blacks and colors, but no upgrade in resolution. The Switch Lite has a 5.5-inch LCD screen.

Switch 2: Unsurprisingly, the Switch 2’s larger size means a larger display. The new console has a 7.9-inch 1080p LCD screen that can get up to 120Hz refresh rate in handheld mode, or up to 4K when docked and outputting to a TV.

Why no OLED display? Possibly to save on costs… or possibly to give Nintendo room to release a Switch 2 OLED version down the line.

CPU/GPU

Original Switch: The original Switch runs on an Nvidia custom Tegra X1 processor split into four ARM Cortex A57 CPU cores, and according to Hackaday, there are four extra A53 cores that aren’t used.

Switch 2: Once again, Nintendo hasn’t released any official info on the Switch 2’s specs, even after the Nintendo Direct reveal stream — and they most the company reveals is that it has a «custom processor made by Nvidia» on the Switch 2’s official specs page. Nvidia confirmed it also has a custom GPU, claiming that the new console has «10x the graphics performance» of the Switch 1, and the custom processor’s AI-powered features include Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS), face tracking and background removal for video chat and real-time ray tracing.

We do still have more supposed details from previous leaks. Months ago on X (formerly Twitter), leaker Zuby_Tech posted that the Switch 2’s CPU will be an eight-core Arm Cortex A78C. They also suggested that the GPU will be an Nvidia T239 Ampere, aligning with years of similar rumors reported on by Eurogamer and others about the custom chip, which derives from Nvidia’s Tegra line of chips for smartphones and mobile devices.

RAM and storage

Original Switch. The Switch has 4GB of LPDDR4 RAM and 32GB of onboard storage, expandable up to 2TB via microSD cards in the slot beneath the kickstand.

Switch 2: Even after the reveal stream, Nintendo didn’t release official specs for RAM. Leaker Zuby_Tech posted on X back in September suggesting the Switch 2 will have 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 256GB of onboard storage. That leak also suggested the new console will have two internal fans, up from the single one in the original Switch.

Nintendo did confirm that the new console will have 256GB of onboard storage, which can be expanded with special microSD Express cards — sorry, your old Switch-compatible microSD cards won’t work on the Switch 2.

Battery life

Original Switch: The original Switch packs a 4,310-mAh battery, which gives between 4.5 and 9 hours of battery life depending on screen brightness and other factors.

Switch 2: Though Nintendo didn’t release details on the Switch 2’s capacity in the reveal stream, the company does list specs on its website, showing it packs a 5,220mAh battery. While that’s notably larger than the one in its predecessor, Nintendo estimates this will only get players between an estimated 2 and 6.5 hours, depending on games played.

Ports

Original Switch: The first Switch sports a single USB-C port out the bottom, a 3.5mm headphone jack on the top and Wi-Fi 5 plus Bluetooth 4.1 connectivity. On the top is a slot at the top for Switch game cartridges as well as the microSD slot beneath the kickstand on the rear of the console.

Switch 2: The Switch 2 retains the original’s USB-C port on the bottom and 3.5mm jack on the top while adding another USB-C port topside, and now we know what it’s for: to connect with accessories like the Nintendo Switch Camera, a webcam-like camera on a stand to let you do Nintendo’s version of FaceTiming while you play games with your friends.

Nintendo hasn’t clarified the console’s connectivity options, and rumors are scarce on the subject.

As for cartridges, Switch 2 will play some original Switch games in physical versions. The cartridge slot is to the right of the headphone jack in the above image, which is where the slot is on the original Switch. You can tell game cartridges from the two console generations apart by color: ones for the new Switch 2 are red, while older Switch 1 games are black.