Staples has the Apple Watch SE 40mm (1sth gen) in Space Gray for $129 (regularly $249), the 44mm model for $159 (regularly $279), and Apple Watch Series 7 45mm Aluminum in Starlight for $279 (was $399) with Free Shipping for a limited time. The offer can be found on the 8th page of the Staples weekly circler and it’s an in-store deal only so you will have to go to a local Staples store that has it in stock to get this deal but there appears to be an easier way to get them by price matching to Best Buy, Target or Walmart.

Many readers have written in to let me know that they have had success price matching. They have even been able to get the Apple Watch SE 2nd generation which was only released a few weeks ago rather than the 1st gen that is the one on sale at Staples. Many have also reported getting the color of their choosing rather than the just the Space Gray for the SE and the Starlight on the Series 7 that is being advertised. I personally went ahead and tried this and and was not able to get Target or Walmart to price match but was able to get the SE second gen in Starlight at Best Buy, which works out to a $120 savings!

To price match, you can contact support via chat (you can also call too if you prefer that) at any of the the three retailers and ask if they can price match the Staples sale. In all cases, they asked for my account with the retailer first and then proceed to ask me about the item in question. I added the item that I wanted (Apple Watch SE 2nd Gen Starlight) to my cart and directed them to look at my cart and then provided them with the link to the Staples ad (https://www.staples.com/weeklyad) and told them to look at page 8 where the discount is shown for the Apple Watch SE. I tried twice at Walmart and Target and every time they denied my request stating they don’t price match limited time deals. Best Buy said the same on my first attempt but honored it on my second attempt. The Best Buy sale support asked me to purchase the product at full price and then provide them with the order number where they they can process a refund for the difference. The process was very smooth once you find someone that is willing to do it for you. It’s really a YMMV as many have had luck at different retailers. It really depends on the rep that you are matched with. I just keep hoping on another chat right after the last one that would not honor it until I came across someone that would. I spent around a total of 35min, not the best use of my time but I’m happy to got the deal in the end.

The first gen Apple SE added a 30% larger Retina display compared to the Series 3 in a slightly larger case, 64-bit dual-core S5 processor, 2nd generation optical heart sensor, always-on altimeter, 50% louder than Series 3 speakers, 4x larger onboard storage compared to Series 3, Fall detection, compass, noise monitoring and Bluetooth 5.0.

The second gen has the new S8 SiP with 64-bit dual-core processor found in the series 8, upgraded Bluetooth 5.3, and supports crash detection.

The series 7 adds an always-On Retina display that is nearly 20% more screen area than Apple Watch SE and over 50% more screen area than Series 3. It has a new S7 with 64-bit dual-core processor that is up to 20% faster than SE 1st gen, third-generation optical heart sensor, electrical heart sensor, and a blood oxygen sensor.