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Cheapest Apple Watch in YEARS unveiled with fitness apps, sleep tracker and more
APPLE on Tuesday unveiled its cheapest smartwatch in years during a virtual event streamed from its headquarters in California.
The £269 / $279 Apple Watch SE shares many of the features packed into the firm's previous timepieces – but at a more affordable price.
⚠️ Read our Apple Event live blog for the very latest news & updates
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By comparison, the cheapest Apple Watch at launch to date was Apple's very first, the Series 1, which hit shelves at the same price back in 2016.
The SE is a followup to the three-year-old Series 3, and shares many of the same tools and apps.
That means sleep and fitness tracking, a waterproof chassis and fall detection – a feature that calls the emergency services if you take a tumble.
The SE has up to two times better performance than the Series 3, Apple said, thanks to its upgraded S5 chip.
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Like previous Apple Watches, battery life is roughly 18 hours, or a single day of use between charges.
It starts from $279 in the US and £269 in the UK for non-cellular versions. If you want the cellular version, that bumps up to £319 / $329.
The Watch SE is available from Friday from Apple's website and physical stores. Pre-orders open today.
While it represents great value, the gadget is missing some of the Apple Watch's key recent features, such as detailed health tracking.
It can't take an ECG reading, first introduced in the Series 4, and can't track your blood oxygen levels, a feature loaded into the Series 6, which Apple also announced on Tuesday.
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The watch will come with Apple's latest watch software, watchOS7, which adds brand new features – including sleep-tracking.
According to Apple, the system "provides valuable tools to help users get the desired amount of sleep, get to bed on time, and create a pre-bedtime routine to meet their sleep goals."
The watch can automatically detect when you're napping by tracking tiny movements that signal breathing during sleep.
It builds a chart with this data to let users know the quality and timing of their shut-eye.
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The new OS also has a feature that warn users if they've not washed their hands properly.
Using its motion sensors and microphone, the watch detects how long you've been washing your hands and alerts you if it's under 20 seconds.
"Washing hands properly for at least 20 seconds can help prevent the spread of illness" Apple said.
Apple Watch can also remind wearers to wash their hands when they get home from a trip out.
The Apple Watch SE was unveiled September 15 during an online-only event streamed from Apple Park in Cupertino, California.
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Every year, Apple hosts a major autumnal event to showcase new tech – including an iPhone.
This year's global health crisis threw a spanner in the works, however.
Some gadgets were revealed in the Apple September event with less fanfare than usual – while a bigger iPhone reveal is expected in the coming weeks.
The iPhone 12 is rumoured to be Apple's first 5G phone and comes with new camera technology that helps it process futuristic augmented reality apps.
As well as the Apple Watch SE, Apple also showed off the Apple Watch 6 and a new iPad on Tuesday.
Tim Cook – Unrelenting Apple CEO who 'leaves staff in tears'
He's a ruthless businessman who rose from humble beginnings to become CEO of the world's most valuable company.
And now Apple boss Tim Cook, 59, is worth a reported $1billion less than a decade after he took over from cutthroat founder Steve Jobs.
Cook grew up in the small town of Robertsdale, Alabama.
His father Donald was a shipyard worker, while mother Geraldine was a homemaker.
Cook graduated with a Bachelor of Science in industrial engineering from Auburn University in 1982.
As a student, he developed a system to improve the traffic lights near the college that was so successful it was adopted by the local police force.
This promising early start was followed by the astonishing success which saw Cook work at several tech giants before joining Apple in 1998.
The Alabaman is said to have received a personal invitation from Jobs to join the company.
Following Jobs' tragic death in 2011, Cook was handed the reigns and has taken the company from strength to strength.
Like Jobs, he's reported to rule with an iron fist, sometimes leaving staff "in tears" following meetings, according to .
Staff refer to Cook's Friday meeting with operations and finance staff as 'date night with Tim' as they often run long into the night.
Cook has overseen the launch of several major Apple products during his nine-year stint, including the Apple Watch and Apple TV+.
Apple first US firm to hit $2TRILLION value – beating rivals Amazon, Google and Microsoft
Most read in Phones & Gadgets
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