Bought a SE gen 1 (2020) for like $150 early this year after I did some research and found it’s barely any different from the gen 2. Note that with newer versions of watchOS this old watch has more features than it did at the time of its release, which causes many sources/reviews to underestimate it. For example it can track 4 stages of sleep just fine, not just 2 (awake/asleep). The relevant hardware is actually the same as in the gen 2.

Battery lasts almost 2 days. I’m happy with it.

I have the SE 2020, lasts almost 2 days usually. I charge it while I’m in the shower and it’s more than enough (I take quite long to shower though).