Apple Watch SE (1st generation) vs Apple Watch SE (2nd generation)

Every spec side by side, from each maker's published figures.

Only show differences

Better figure, where one is clearly better

Share comparison

Watch SE (1st generation) compared with Watch SE (2nd generation)

	AppleWatch SE (1st generation)	AppleWatch SE (2nd generation)
Overview
Released
Released	September 2020	September 2022
Display
Case sizes
Case sizes	40 mm or 44 mm	40 mm or 44 mm
Panel
Panel	LTPO OLED	LTPO OLED
Peak brightness
Peak brightness	1,000 nits	1,000 nits
Always-on display
Always-on display	No	No
Display detail
Display detail	Retina LTPO OLED; 40mm 324 x 394 pixels and 759 sq mm; 44mm 368 x 448 pixels and 977 sq mm	Retina LTPO OLED display; 324 x 394 pixels (40 mm) or 368 x 448 pixels (44 mm) at 326 ppi; 759 or 977 sq mm display area
Screen protection
Screen protection	Ion-X glass	Ion-X front glass
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	Yes	Yes
Crash detection
Crash detection	No	Yes
GPS
GPS	Single-band	Single-band
Water resistance
Water resistance	50 m	50 m
Sensors
Sensors	Second-generation optical heart sensor; compass, always-on altimeter, accelerometer up to 32 g-forces, gyroscope and ambient light sensor	Second-generation optical heart sensor; compass; always-on altimeter; high-g accelerometer; high dynamic range gyroscope; ambient light sensor
Health features
Health features	High and low heart rate notifications; Noise app; sleep tracking and automatic handwashing detection in watchOS 7	Heart Rate app; high and low heart rate notifications; irregular rhythm notifications; Sleep app with sleep stages; Medications; Mindfulness; Noise
Fitness features
Fitness features	GPS, GLONASS, Galileo and QZSS; GymKit; Activity rings; elevation and compass information; dance, functional strength and core workouts in watchOS 7	Custom interval workouts; Training Load; Heart Rate Zones; Race Route; Pacer; stride length, ground contact time and vertical oscillation; automatic track detection; multisport workouts; Backtrack and offline maps; pool and open-water swimming with SWOLF; cycling Functional Threshold Power and Power Zones with Bluetooth accessories; GymKit
Safety features
Safety features	Fall Detection and Emergency SOS; international emergency calling on cellular versions in supported regions	Emergency SOS; international emergency calling; Crash Detection; Fall Detection; noise monitoring; Backtrack
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	Yes	Yes
Works with
Works with	iPhone	iPhone
Chip
Chip	S5	S8
Storage
Storage	32 GB	32 GB
Battery life detail
Battery life detail	Built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery	Up to 18 hours of normal use
Charging
Charging	Magnetic charging cable; retail packaging updated to USB-C in September 2021; USB power adapter sold separately	Up to 80% in about 1.5 hours with the Apple Watch Magnetic Charger to USB-C Cable
Connectivity
Connectivity	W3 wireless chip; Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n at 2.4GHz; Bluetooth 5.0; cellular versions add LTE and UMTS; requires iPhone 6s or later with iOS 14 at launch; Family Setup allows a family member without an iPhone to use a cellular watch managed from an organiser's iPhone	Wi-Fi 4 (802.11n); Bluetooth 5.3; Apple Pay; L1 GPS, GNSS, Galileo and QZSS; 4G LTE and UMTS on GPS + Cellular models; works with iPhone Xs or later on iOS 18 or later
Storage
Storage	–	32GB
Design
Weight (lightest version)
Weight (lightest version)	30.49 g	26.4 g (better)
Software
Software	watchOS	watchOS
Case materials
Case materials	Recycled aluminium case; ceramic and sapphire crystal back; 50 m water resistance under ISO 22810:2010 for shallow-water swimming	100% recycled aluminium case with a nylon composite back; water resistant to 50 m (swimproof)
Size
Size	40mm 40 x 34 x 10.7 mm, GPS 30.49 g or cellular 30.68 g; 44mm 44 x 38 x 10.7 mm, GPS 36.20 g or cellular 36.36 g; case weights exclude bands	40 mm is 40 x 34 x 10.7 mm, 26.4 g (GPS) or 27.8 g (GPS + Cellular); 44 mm is 44 x 38 x 10.7 mm, 32.9 g (GPS) or 33 g (GPS + Cellular)
Bands
Bands	Compatible with Apple Watch bands including Solo Loop and Braided Solo Loop; Nike editions have exclusive bands and faces	Fits 130–200 mm wrists (40 mm) or 140–245 mm wrists (44 mm)
Colours
Colours	Silver, Space Grey or Gold aluminium; Nike Silver or Space Grey	Midnight, Starlight or Silver aluminium
In the box
In the box	Watch, band or loop and 1 m magnetic charging cable; no USB power adapter; later packaging supplies a USB-C cable	Apple Watch SE, strap, Apple Watch Magnetic Charger to USB-C Cable (1 m)