Apple Watch (1st generation) vs Apple Watch Series 2

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Watch (1st generation) compared with Watch Series 2

	AppleWatch (1st generation)	AppleWatch Series 2
Overview
Released
Released	April 2015	September 2016
Display
Case sizes
Case sizes	38 mm or 42 mm	38 mm or 42 mm
Panel
Panel	OLED	OLED
Peak brightness
Peak brightness	–	1,000 nits
Always-on display
Always-on display	No	No
Display detail
Display detail	Retina display with Force Touch; OLED panel, 272 x 340 pixels on 38mm or 312 x 390 pixels on 42mm (iFixit)	Second-generation Retina OLED with Force Touch; 272 x 340 pixels (38mm) or 312 x 390 pixels (42mm); display sleeps between wrist raises (Wareable)
Screen protection
Screen protection	Ion-X glass on Sport; sapphire crystal on stainless steel, Hermès and Edition	Ion-X glass on aluminium; sapphire crystal on stainless steel and ceramic
Health and fitness
ECG
ECG	No	No
Blood oxygen
Blood oxygen	No	No
Skin temperature
Skin temperature	No	No
Sleep apnoea alerts
Sleep apnoea alerts	No	No
High blood pressure alerts
High blood pressure alerts	No	No
Body composition
Body composition	No	No
Fall detection
Fall detection	No	No
Crash detection
Crash detection	No	No
GPS
GPS	None	Single-band
Water resistance
Water resistance	–	50 m
Sensors
Sensors	Optical heart-rate sensor, accelerometer, gyroscope and ambient light sensor; Digital Crown, Taptic Engine, speaker and microphone	Optical heart-rate sensor, accelerometer, gyroscope and ambient light sensor
Health features
Health features	Heart-rate monitoring and Activity rings	Heart-rate tracking, Activity rings and Breathe app; activity sharing and wheelchair workouts in watchOS 3
Fitness features
Fitness features	Workout tracking; route and distance measurements use the paired iPhone's GPS (TechRadar)	GPS and GLONASS for distance, pace and route recording without an iPhone; pool and open-water swimming workouts count laps, average lap pace and stroke type
Battery and connections
Battery life (maker's claim)
Battery life (maker's claim)	Up to 18 hours	Up to 18 hours
Mobile data option
Mobile data option	No	No
Works with
Works with	iPhone	iPhone
Chip
Chip	S1	S2
Storage
Storage	8 GB	–
Battery life detail
Battery life detail	Rechargeable battery; maker's up-to-18-hour rating varies with use and configuration	Built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery
Charging
Charging	Magnetic charging cable	Magnetic charging cable and USB power adapter; Edition includes a Magnetic Charging Dock
Connectivity
Connectivity	Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n at 2.4GHz; Bluetooth 4.0; Apple Pay; requires iPhone 5 or later	Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n at 2.4GHz; Bluetooth 4.0; requires iPhone 5 or later with iOS 10 at launch
Storage
Storage	8 GB onboard storage and S1 system-in-package identified by iFixit	–
Design
Weight (lightest version)
Weight (lightest version)	25 g (better)	28.2 g
Software
Software	watchOS	watchOS
Case materials
Case materials	Anodised aluminium with composite back (Sport), stainless steel with ceramic back (including Hermès), or 18-carat yellow/rose gold with ceramic back (Edition); IPX7 splash and water resistance under IEC 60529, not for submersion	Aluminium, stainless steel or white ceramic case; 50 m rating under ISO 22810:2010 for shallow-water swimming, not scuba diving or high-velocity water
Size
Size	38mm case is 38.6 x 33.3 x 10.5 mm; 42mm is 42.0 x 35.9 x 10.5 mm. Case weights are 25/30 g (Sport), 40/50 g (stainless steel), 55/69 g (yellow-gold Edition) or 54/67 g (rose-gold Edition), for 38/42mm respectively	Aluminium 38mm 38.6 x 33.3 x 11.4 mm, 28.2 g and 42mm 42.5 x 36.4 x 11.4 mm, 34.2 g; steel uses the same dimensions at 41.9 g and 52.4 g; ceramic 38mm 39.2 x 34.0 x 11.8 mm, 39.6 g and 42mm 42.6 x 36.5 x 11.4 mm, 45.6 g; weights exclude bands
Bands
Bands	Sport Band, leather straps, Link Bracelet and Milanese Loop; Hermès Single Tour, Double Tour and Cuff joined the range in 2015	Sport or Woven Nylon for aluminium; Sport, steel or leather for stainless steel; Nike Sport Band for Nike+; Hermès leather plus an additional Sport Band; Sport Band for Edition. Hermès launched 23 September 2016, Nike+ was scheduled for late October
Colours
Colours	Sport in Silver, Space Grey, Gold or Rose Gold; stainless steel in polished steel or Space Black; Edition in yellow or rose gold	Gold, Rose Gold, Silver or Space Grey aluminium; Silver or Space Black stainless steel; White ceramic
In the box
In the box	Watch, band, 2 m magnetic charging cable, 5W USB power adapter and quick start guide; Edition also includes a magnetic charging case and Lightning to USB cable	Watch and band, magnetic charging cable and USB power adapter; Edition adds Magnetic Charging Dock; Hermès adds Sport Band