Apple just debuted a new, cheaper Apple Watch for the first time ever: the Apple Watch SE, priced starting at $279

• Apple unveiled a new lower-cost Apple Watch for the first time ever: the Apple Watch SE.
• The new watch, which starts at $279, will have the same chip as the Apple Watch Series 5 and will have features like sleep-tracking, fall-detection, and family setup, which allows for those without an iPhone to setup and use an Apple Watch.
• But it does lack some of the premium features of the new Apple Watch Series 6, like the latest chip and the new blood oxygen sensor.
• The Apple Watch SE comes in three colors and will be available this Friday.

Apple just made a big change to its smartwatch lineup: for the first time ever, it's offering a new, lower-cost Apple Watch.

The iPhone maker unveiled the 2020 Apple Watch models at its annual hardware event on Tuesday. Like years past, it took the wraps off its latest high-end smartwatch, the Apple Watch Series 6. But unlike previous years, Apple also debuted a cheaper smartwatch called the Apple Watch SE.

The Apple Watch SE boasts the same large display as the Series 6, as well as the same accelerometer, gyroscope, compass, and altimeter as the high-end model. It's also swimproof and will come with sleep-tracking, fall-detection, and a new feature called family setup, which allows for those without an iPhone to setup and use an Apple Watch — billed as ideal for parents to provide their children with an Apple Watch as a wrist-worn communications device.

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The Apple Watch SE will come in three colors and will be compitable with Apple's two new bands: the Solo Loop and the braided Solo Loop, which are one continuous piece of stretchy material.

The watch does lack some of the more premium specs available on Series 6, like the latest chip and the new health sensor Apple built that can measure blood oxygen levels.

The Apple Watch SE will start at $279 and will be available beginning this Friday. The Apple Watch Series 3, which Apple debuted in 2017, will still be available at a discounted price of $199.