The Apple Watch SE (2nd Gen) drops to its lowest price of $189 ahead of Black Friday

Apple’s newest Series 9 watch just saw its second price drop following its release in September, and now you can grab Apple’s most current base model, the SE (2nd Gen), for its lowest price in this early Black Friday deal, too. Right now, the watch SE (2nd Gen) is on sale for $189 — a savings of $60 off the wearable’s regular price of $249 at several retailers such as Amazon, Target, and Best Buy. On Amazon, even the larger watch SE (2nd Gen) 44mm is discounted to $219 from its original price of $279. 

The SE (2nd Gen) was already set to drop to $179 at Walmart starting Nov. 22, so if you’re looking to save an extra $10, waiting out is still an option. You can add it to your cart now, and check out when the price drops next Wednesday.

Also: The best early Black Friday deals 

But if you’re not looking to risk these savings or a sell out, you can pick up Apple’s latest base watch for 24% off now. 

Also: Apple Watch SE (2023) vs. Apple Watch SE (2020)

If you’re not looking for advanced features offered in the newer Series 8, 9, or Ultra and Ultra 2 models, the watch SE is a great buy with all the essentials, and you’d be surprised how well this model does stack up to Apple’s other contenders.

The SE is available in a 40 or 44mm display size and offers users up to 18 hours of battery life and 32GB of internal storage. 

The Apple Watch SE (2nd gen) does offer some of the same health and safety features from the Series 8 and the Ultra, though it doesn’t track blood oxygen, do ECG heart checks, or check your temperature.

This model is additionally not dust resistant and the glass face is not made out of crystal like the Series 8, so it’s not as crack resistant. And while the face looks just like the Series 8, the screen is actually about 20% smaller, so it has slightly thicker black bezels around the edge. It also doesn’t have an always-on display.

ZDNET Editor in Chief Jason Hiner noted that the SE (2nd Gen) makes a great smartwatch to give to someone who doesn’t have an iPhone, such as a child or an elderly family member, using Apple’s Family Setup. 

“If you are new to Apple Watch, giving it a try for the first time, and not sure you need all the latest health sensors, then the Apple Watch SE is a great place to get started,” Hiner says. 

If you’re looking to snag deals on other watch models, both the Series 8 Series 9 are seeing serious savings ahead of the holiday rush. The S8 is $100 off right now and the S9 is meeting its lowest price of $329.  

Check out more early Black Friday Apple Watch deals, and early Black Friday Apple deals.