One thing from the Apple Event on Tuesday left me scratching my head: Why is the Apple Watch Series 3 back? Typically when Apple releases a new watch, it discontinues the previous model in favor of the one before that. In this case it should be the Apple Watch Series 6 and Apple Watch Series 4.
But the Apple Watch SE throws a wrench into the equation. As I pondered on today’s episode of Daily Observations, the Apple Watch SE seems like a Series 5 in the body of a Series 3, except the SE is 30% bigger. Where does the Series 3 fit in?
Fitbit Sense
With the current line up, the Series 3 is Apple’s most basic fitness tracker, and at US$199 it’s priced perfectly to undercut the new Fitbit Sense which is US$329.95. The Apple Watch SE is also cheaper at US$279 for the GPS version. But the Series 3 is the more affordable if you also want to stay in the Apple ecosystem.
You’ll have Siri, the Fitness app, Apple Pay, calling people from your wrist, and most importantly you can join the new Fitness+ workout program coming this fall. You’ll get six months of the program free if you buy a Series 3 or later from Best Buy. FitThe Fitbit Sense has heart rate monitoring, a skin temperature sensor, a way to track your breathing, and also tracking oxygen saturation. But it’s not an Apple Watch.
Update: As my readers point out, I was wrong that the Series 3 ever left.
Series 3 never left the product line. It’s been continuously sold since its debut 3 years ago.
Yes, Apple needs to compete with FitBit but I’m lost on the idea that the Series 3 ever left.
When they announced Series 4 they kept the Series 3 but when they announced the Series 5 they did mention they were still keeping the Series 3. It was the Series 4 that left after remaining stock was gone.
(You can confirm this by checking archive.org’s wayback machine Sept 2019)