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A couple of years ago, I bought an Apple Watch SE for my father-in-law for Xmas.
He was skeptical: “What do I want this for?” he said, or something to that effect.
These days, you’d have to chop his hand off to get the watch off his wrist.
He loves it, and uses it all day, every day, to set reminders, get alerts, read texts, track his workouts and monitor his health, among many other things.
His is an older model, but like many of Apple’s entry-level products recently, Apple has really leveled up the SE.
It’s now got a lot of the features previously reserved for higher-end models, including an always-on screen (great for ticking analog faces), 24-hour battery (perfect for tracking sleep), a much faster chip, and more health and wellness features.
We like it a LOT — and gave it a rare five-out-out-of-five-stars review. It’s so good, it even rivals the far-pricier Apple Watch Series 11.
Also in today’s newsletter:
After Apple slammed the European Union’s antitrust law for stifling innovation, the EU hit back with some spicy words of its own.
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If you had any doubts about the quality of the new iPhone 17 Pro cameras, they’re now being used to broadcast — yes, broadcast! — an MLB game.
Check out this week’s Cult of Mac podcast, where we review the new Pro iPhones, AirPods Pro 3 and more — it’s good stuff!
I was skeptical about promoting this $40 smartwatch, but the description actually sounds compelling.
Got an old iPhone lying around? Here are some ideas for putting it to good use.
One of the first things Steve Jobs had to do after returning to Apple was to announce the company’s biggest loss ever. Ouch! But oddly, the horrible results contained some silver linings.
— Leander Kahney, EIC.
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Tweets of the day
Still can’t get over the zoom range of the iPhone 17 Pro
— #Sebastiaan de With (#@sdw)
3:43 PM • Sep 26, 2025
always fascinating to get insights into how normal ppl are reacting to the new phone design lol
— #tom 🎸 (#@uncreativetom)
12:54 AM • Sep 26, 2025
Complete the collection.. makerworld.com/en/models/1829…
— #Ras✦Maus (#@RasmusNielsen)
11:08 AM • Sep 26, 2025
Tim Cook rocking a Sashiko Gals x Nike Vomero Plus at the opening of Apple Ginza in Japan 🇯🇵
— #Modern Notoriety (#@ModernNotoriety)
1:48 PM • Sep 25, 2025
Wallpaper of the day
The great wave 🌊
— #Samuel (#@CFC_Samzzy1)
7:51 PM • Sep 22, 2025
One more thing ...
‘People who are really serious about software should make their own hardware.' You know, Alan [Kay] said this 30 years ago, and this is how we feel about it. And so we’re bringing breakthrough software to a mobile device for the first time.
Today’s poll
What Apple Watch do you wear?
Results from yesterday’s poll: Are you upgrading to AirPods Pro 3?
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