The Apple Watch SE now comes with a USB-C cable

Apple Watch SE Strip Watch Face (Image credit: Luke Filipowicz / iMore)

What you need to know

The Apple Watch SE now ships with a USB-C charging cable.
It is the same charging cable that will ship with the Apple Watch Series 7.
The SE will not take advantage of faster charging speeds, however.

If you buy the Apple Watch SE now, you might be surprised by the charging cable that comes inside of it.

As reported by MacRumors, the Apple Watch SE now comes with a USB-C charging cable instead of the USB-A cable that has been shipping with the Apple Watch since it originally launched.

Specifically, Apple is including the 1m Magnetic Charger to USB-C Cable with the Apple Watch SE now instead of the previous 1-meter USB-A charging cable.

The Apple Watch SE's product page confirms the upgrade and lists the device as shipping with a "1m Magnetic Charger to USB-C Cable" rather than the standard Magnetic Cable that used USB-A. Apple previously had a non-fast charging version of the USB-C Apple Watch cable, but it has been discontinued and is no longer available.

Apple Watch Magnetic Fast Charger To Usb C Cable 1 Meter (Image credit: Apple)

When Apple announced the Apple Watch Series 7 at its "California Streaming" event on Tuesday, it revealed that it had upgraded the charging architecture within the watch to allow for 33% faster charging speeds. The company said that users can go from 0% to 80% battery life in about 45 minutes now. In addition, 8 minutes of charge will net users 8 hours of sleep tracking time.

In order to support the new charging speeds, Apple will be including a USB-C charging cable with the Series 7 instead of the traditional USB-A cable that has shipped with the Apple Watch since its original release.

It looks like Apple has decided to bring the cable to the Apple Watch SE as well, even though it can't take advantage of the faster charging speeds. Customers will need to remember to also purchase a USB-C wall charger along with their new watch unless they have one already as Apple no longer includes the charging brick in the box.

It is currently unknown when the Apple Watch Series 7 will go on sale. Apple says that it is coming "later this fall."

Joe Wituschek is a Contributor at iMore. With over ten years in the technology industry, one of them being at Apple, Joe now covers the company for the website. In addition to covering breaking news, Joe also writes editorials and reviews for a range of products. He fell in love with Apple products when he got an iPod nano for Christmas almost twenty years ago. Despite being considered a "heavy" user, he has always preferred the consumer-focused products like the MacBook Air, iPad mini, and iPhone 13 mini. He will fight to the death to keep a mini iPhone in the lineup. In his free time, Joe enjoys video games, movies, photography, running, and basically everything outdoors.