The Apple Watch Series 3, released in 2017, may not have the latest tech found in the new Apple Watch Series 7, but at a $30 discount dropping its price to $169, it's one of the best Black Friday deals around.
For a limited time, Walmart has the 38mm Apple Watch Series 3 (opens in new tab), with either a black or white sport band, on sale for $169. That's $30 off the MSRP. If you prefer a slightly larger watch, the 42mm version is on sale, too, for $199.
This is the best deal we've seen on the Apple Watch 3, outside of a refurbished deal via Amazon earlier this year. In that deal, refurbished (scratch & dent) units were selling for $110. While $110 is hard to beat, we prefer our wearables to be dent free.
Turning to an older model like the Series 3 could be a smart way to get started with Apple's wearables, since the latest Apple watches are not cheap. Starting at $400, and going all the way up to $750, the Apple Watch 7 may not fit in the budgets of some people. Not only that, at retailers like Best Buy, some colors are already backordered. So, if you're looking for a more affordable way to jump into the Apple Watch ecosystem, starting at the Apple Watch 3 is not a bad option.
Of course, you're probably wondering if it's worth shelling out the extra $230 to own the latest Apple Watch 7. Luckily, we have a handy Apple Watch 7 vs Series 3 comparison that breaks it all down.
While we don't give it a hard recommendation considering the watch is now four years old, for basic fitness tracking, it's not a bad option; the Apple Watch 3 also runs the latest watchOS 8 software. The big advantage the Apple Watch 7 holds over the Series 3 is that it has both ECG and Spo2 readings with a screen that's 50% larger.
