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The Apple Watch SE 3 Is Missing Only 3 Health Features, but You Can Save at Least $150

If you’re debating between the Apple Watch SE 3 and Series 11, these are the health feature differences you should know about.

Now that you can get your hands on the new Apple Watches that were revealed earlier this month, you’re likely comparing the differences between all models to see which is worth your hard-earned cash. A more affordable option is the Apple Watch SE 3, which still starts at $249, the same price as the last version released three years ago. However, the third generation now has the S10 chip and WatchOS 26, giving it even more features that make it comparable to the other new watches. 

If the Apple Watch’s health features are a big draw for you, then you’ll be happy to know that the SE 3 has many of the same wellness capabilities as the Series 11. There are only three differences, but those can save you at least $150. Let’s discuss that and the other features that might make the SE 3 your top Apple Watch pick.

The Apple Watch SE 3 health features

In addition to core features like heart rate notifications, fall detection, cycle tracking and crash detection, the SE 3 now includes sleep apnea notifications, sleep score and wrist temperature sensing, which allows for ovulation estimates and more detailed insights in the Vitals app.

Sleep score helps you better understand your sleep quality and how to improve it. In the SE 3’s Sleep app, you can find an overall score after each night of sleep, which provides additional insight into sleep duration and stages. The scoring approach was created with current guidance published by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, National Sleep Foundation and World Sleep Society, while the scoring algorithm was tested with over 5 million nights of sleep data from the Apple Heart and Movement Study. 

Thanks to the SE 3’s faster charging, it’s even more efficient to wear the watch overnight to track your sleep. 

With watchOS 26, the Apple Watch SE 3 now features Workout Buddy. Powered by Apple Intelligence, this feature uses workout data to provide personalized, spoken motivation for certain workouts. The Workout app’s new layout further enhances the SE 3’s fitness experience. 

The Apple Watch SE 3 vs. Series 11 health features

In terms of health features, the Series 11 has hypertension notifications, an ECG app and a Blood Oxygen app. However, all other core health features — such as sleep tracking and score, heart rate notifications and wrist temperature tracking — are the same. 

The big difference is that the Apple Watch Series 11 starts at $399 with GPS and $499 with GPS and cellular, while the SE 3 starts at $249 with GPS and $299 with GPS and cellular. In other words, you can get many of the same health features on the SE 3, but for at least $150 less. 

Apple Watch SE 3 battery life

The S10 chip allows the SE 3 to charge up to two times faster than the previous model in just 15 minutes, adding up to 8 hours of normal use. This gives the SE 3 an all-day, 18-hour battery life. In just 45 minutes, it can charge to about 80%. 

What the S10 chip brings to the Apple Watch SE 3

Thanks to the S10 chip, you can now read the time and see your watch face without raising or tapping the watch display. The SE 3 also supports double-tap and wrist flip gestures, making it easy to control with just one hand. With double-tap, you can open Smart Stack, send a message, answer calls and more. 

With on-device Siri, you can access and log health data. For instance, you can start a workout or get health-related questions answered using data from the Health app. This on-device processing is private and secure. 

When your AirPods aren’t available, you can now play your media directly through the SE 3’s speaker. The S10 chip also enables voice isolation to dim background noise when on a phone or FaceTime call. 

WatchOS 26 features on the Apple Watch SE 3

With watchOS 26, you get the new liquid glass design, which creates a vibrant visual experience with Smart Stack, Control Center, the Photos watch face and as you navigate in-app controls. You also get an updated watch face gallery with two new faces, Flow and Exactograph. Plus, over 20 watch faces now allow users to see a ticking seconds hand when their wrist is raised. 

With Apple Intelligence, there is now live translation in Messages. When the Apple Watch is connected with an Apple Intelligence-supported iPhone, incoming text messages can be automatically translated into the user’s preferred language. If that language is English, the watch will suggest relevant actions based on the message’s context, such as a check-in once a friend arrives home or using Apple Cash for a gift. 

When connected to a nearby iPhone, the SE 3 also has Hold Assist and Call Screening. The former alerts a user who is on hold when a live agent is available, while the latter helps people manage incoming phone calls by collecting a name and reason for the call before it rings to help them decide whether they want to pick up.

Apple Watch SE 3 design

Available in starlight and midnight (no longer silver or aluminum), the Apple Watch SE 3 is made with 100% recycled aluminum. It still comes in the 40mm and 44mm sizes. The cover glass is four times more resistant to cracks than the SE 2 and is made of Ion-X glass, the toughest glass available in a smartwatch.

As of Sept. 19, the Apple Watch SE 3 is now available for purchase. 

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Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Wednesday, Oct. 29

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Oct. 29.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? It’s a bit trickier than normal, so read on for the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Skill taught at lifeguard training, for short
Answer: CPR

4A clue: Bop it!
Answer: HEAD

6A clue: Not given anything to eat
Answer: UNFED

8A clue: Twist it! Pull it!
Answer: TAFFY

9A clue: Best of the best
Answer: ELITE

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Means of getting trash to a basement dumpster
Answer: CHUTE

2D clue: Word that can precede «code» or «colony»
Answer: PENAL

3D clue: «Baby Beluga» musician
Answer: RAFFI

5D clue: Neatly skillful
Answer: DEFT

7D clue: Change the color of, as hair
Answer: DYE

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Technologies

Samsung’s Wild-Looking Tri-Fold Phone Debuts at APEC Summit in South Korea

The Galaxy phonemaker showed off a twin-hinged foldable at a Korean consumer tech show.

Samsung unveiled its first triple-display foldable phone for consumers at a tech exhibition hall during the APEC CEO Summit in South Korea. The Korean publication Dailian reported that the new phone will launch in November or December. 

The tri-fold phone, which doesn’t have an official name yet, was revealed as a prototype on display. Whereas the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Galaxy Z Flip 7 fold in half along one hinge, Samsung’s next device folds in two places to be as compact as a typical smartphone with a 6.5-inch outer screen, then unfolds for a tablet-size 10-inch screen, according to The Chosun Daily. Compare that with dual-screen foldables that have inner screens measuring approximately 8 inches. The Z Fold 7 has a single crease on its main screen; the new tri-fold could have two creases.

Samsung has been at the forefront of foldable phones since releasing the first Galaxy Fold in 2019 and the Galaxy Z Flip in 2020. At the time, it faced fierce competition from Motorola and Huawei — the latter of which gained a significant lead in 2024 with its own tri-fold Huawei Mate XT, which was followed by a second version. Samsung’s launch of its own competitor keeps the company in the game.

These two consumer tri-folds have their differences. The Huawei Mate XT’s two hinges fold in opposite directions like an accordion, giving it a Z shape, while Samsung’s device has two screens that fold inward in what Dailian (through Google Translate) asserts is «G-shaped.» Given that Samsung has branded its foldable line as the Z-series, it’s ironic that the company didn’t adopt that shape and format for its tri-fold.

Samsung didn’t release any more details about its tri-fold, though Dailian expects it to be even pricier than the Galaxy Z Fold 7, which starts at $2,000in the US. From photos of the device — apparently a prototype — behind glass, you can see a front-facing camera on the inner display (when unfolded) and outer screen (when folded up). But since Samsung also didn’t show the device folding, there are a lot of questions about its durability and capability before its supposed launch in a month or two.

It’s not a total surprise to see Samsung’s tri-fold ready to go. For years, the company has displayed various flexible display designs, including three-screen formats, during CES. In the last few months, there’s been a steady flow of rumors and outright executive confirmations that Samsung was gearing up to unveil its tri-fold. Now we’ll have to see whether the company that’s fought so hard to be at the forefront of smartphone design can release another format that dominates the folding phone niche — all before one of its biggest rivals, Apple, even releases its first foldable.

Samsung didn’t respond to a request for comment.

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Technologies

Be Wary of AI Videos as Hurricane Melissa Hits Jamaica. How to Spot a Fake

AI-generated storm videos are spreading rapidly online. Here’s where to find reliable information.

As Category 5 Hurricane Melissa bears down on Jamaica with winds topping 180 mph, social media is being hit by a surge of AI-generated and misleading videos, showing catastrophic flooding, collapsing buildings and rescue scenes that never happened.

Across X, TikTok, Instagram, WhatsApp and other social media platforms, fake clips spread quickly, racking up millions of views in hours. Many of these videos are spliced footage from past storms or clips created entirely with text-to-video AI tools. 

In times of crisis, like a dangerous and imminent natural disaster, these fake videos can create confusion, panic and distraction at a time when accuracy can be life-saving.

Natural disasters have always bred rumors and recycled footage, but the rise of AI-generated video has supercharged the problem. Tools like OpenAI’s Sora and other AI-video platforms can render realistic-looking images of storms, floods and damage scenes in seconds, reaching millions online in just a few hours. 

Read also: The Deepfakes Are Winning. How Can You Tell if a Video Is Real or Sora AI?

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

Why storms are a magnet for fake news

Storms are visual, emotional and fast-moving, which is the perfect recipe for viral misinformation. In years past, videos were often taken out of context or labeled as a different storm. Now, they can be digitally fabricated from scratch. 

Some depict apocalyptic flooding that hasn’t occurred, while others claim to show «real-time» conditions hours before landfall. Several videos that have circled this week include images of sharks swimming in the storm surge and unsettling depictions of human suffering. 

False videos like these can exaggerate the danger of the storm, create panic, undermine trust and distract emergency responders, as misinformation pulls attention from verified reports. 

The following three videos are all fake. They are labeled (albeit briefly) with the Sora watermark, which indicates they were made in OpenAI’s video generator.

How to separate truth from fiction online

When social feeds fill with dramatic hurricane clips, it’s important to separate truth from fiction. 

«You have to be very discerning,» Senator Dana Morris Dixon, Jamaica’s information minister, said. «You have to know what is good information from bad information. If you want to know where the storm is going, if you want to know what to do, you need to look for official sources.» 

Dixon highlighted that the Jamaica Information Service, Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management’s information sites and the Office of the Prime Minister page are resources for legitimate, timely updates. 

Here are some ways to be discerning. 

Check the source. If the video comes from an unfamiliar account, lacks a timestamp or carries no recognizable media branding, assume it is fake until verified. Also, look for the Sora watermark indicating it was made in OpenAI’s app, or read the comments to see if someone else has flagged the video as fake. 

Ask yourself if it’s new and local. Does the geography match Jamaica? Is the footage recent? Many «Melissa» clips could actually be from past Caribbean or Gulf storms.

Cross-check before believing. Confirm through trusted outlets, like the Meteorological Service of Jamaica and the US National Hurricane Center, or established media like the BBC, Reuters or the Associated Press.

Pause before sharing. A viral video can cause harm if it spreads misinformation. Wait until a credible source verifies it before reposting.

Go local. If you’re in the affected area, rely on local emergency agencies, radio stations and city or county-level officials for evacuation and safety updates. 

Monitor official alerts. For real-time instructions, stick with government channels and local emergency feeds. Your safety depends on accurate information, not viral content. 

As AI-generated media becomes easier to produce, hurricanes like Melissa offer a preview of a new reality: one in which you can’t trust much of the information you see online. 

Staying safe means being skeptical and diligent when looking for accurate and even lifesaving news. 

Read also: What Is AI Slop? Everything to Know About the Terrible Content Taking Over the Internet

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