Best Apple Watch Deals This Week: Series 10, SE, and Ultra 2 Compared

The Weekly Audit

The BuyGetRewards Editorial Staff checked Apple Watch prices across Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart, Costco, Target, and Apple.com at 7:00 AM EST on Monday. We then checked again at 7:00 PM because prices had changed at two retailers during the intervening twelve hours. We found this neither surprising nor acceptable.

What follows is an accounting of what each model costs right now, which model represents the best value, and how much you can save by not purchasing directly from Apple, who continues to price their products as though discounts are a moral failing.

Apple Watch Series 11 (42mm GPS)

MSRP: $399

| Retailer | Price | Savings | Notes |
|----------|-------|---------|-------|
| Apple.com | $399 | $0 | Unchanged since September. Stoic. |
| Amazon | $299 | $100 (25%) | Fluctuates weekly between $299-$349 |
| Best Buy | $329 | $70 (17.5%) | Occasionally bundles $25 gift card |
| Walmart | $309 | $90 (22.6%) | Available for pickup |
| Target | $339 | $60 (15%) | 5% additional with RedCard |
| Costco | $329 | $70 (17.5%) | Includes extra band; membership required |

The 46mm GPS model follows a similar discount pattern, starting at $429 MSRP and currently available for $329-$429 depending on the retailer and, apparently, the phase of the moon.

Apple Watch SE (2nd Gen, 40mm GPS)

MSRP: $249

| Retailer | Price | Savings | Notes |
|----------|-------|---------|-------|
| Apple.com | $249 | $0 | See above re: moral failing |
| Amazon | $199 | $50 (20.1%) | Frequently at this price |
| Best Buy | $219 | $30 (12%) | |
| Walmart | $199 | $50 (20.1%) | Price-matched to Amazon |
| Target | $229 | $20 (8%) | |

The SE at $199 is, in the Editorial Staff's measured opinion, the most compelling value in the entire Apple Watch lineup. It does 90% of what the Series 11 does for 50% of the price. We will elaborate on this ratio in a forthcoming buying guide because we cannot help ourselves.

Apple Watch Ultra 2

MSRP: $799

| Retailer | Price | Savings | Notes |
|----------|-------|---------|-------|
| Apple.com | $799 | $0 | |
| Amazon | $719 | $80 (10%) | Lowest verified in 30 days |
| Best Buy | $749 | $50 (6.3%) | |
| Walmart | $739 | $60 (7.5%) | Limited stock |

The Ultra 2 discounts are smaller in percentage terms because Apple knows its audience. People who buy the Ultra are not comparison shopping at Walmart. They are climbing mountains, diving into oceans, and reading reviews on gear forums at 1 AM. The $80 Amazon discount is notable precisely because Ultra discounts are rare.

The Best Value Right Now

The Editorial Staff deliberated for forty-five minutes. We considered price-to-feature ratios, discount percentages, historical price trends, and the philosophical question of what "value" means when applied to a device you will wear on your body every day for three to five years.

Our conclusion: The Apple Watch SE at $199 on Amazon or Walmart offers the highest value per dollar. It includes the S8 chip, crash detection, heart rate monitoring, fall detection, and the complete watchOS experience. It lacks the always-on display and blood oxygen sensor. We asked whether anyone on staff regularly checks their blood oxygen. Nobody does. One person admitted they did not know what a normal blood oxygen reading was. We moved on.

For those who want the best overall watch: The Series 11 at $299 on Amazon is $100 off and represents a meaningful upgrade over the SE -- larger display, always-on screen, thinner case, water temperature sensor, and the S11 chip. Whether these features justify an additional $100 is a question only you and your budget can answer. We have opinions. We are keeping them in a spreadsheet.

The Stacking Opportunity

These prices are the starting point. Route your purchase through a cashback portal (Rakuten currently offers 2-3% on Amazon, TopCashback intermittently offers 4% on Best Buy). Pay with a card earning 3-5% on the category. The effective price of a $299 Series 11 drops to approximately $270-$280 after stacking.

We computed this range rather than a single figure because the exact savings depend on your specific card and portal combination. The Editorial Staff does not presume to know which credit cards you carry. We only presume that you should be carrying better ones.

All prices listed above are available on our deals page and were verified this morning. Several will change by Friday. This is not a prediction; it is a pattern we have observed 14 consecutive weeks.

-- The BuyGetRewards Editorial Staff