Apple Watch SE (1st generation) vs Apple Watch Series 12

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Watch SE (1st generation) compared with Watch Series 12

	AppleWatch SE (1st generation)	AppleWatch Series 12
Overview
Released
Released	September 2020	September 2026
Display
Case sizes
Case sizes	40 mm or 44 mm	42 mm or 46 mm
Panel
Panel	LTPO OLED	LTPO OLED
Peak brightness
Peak brightness	1,000 nits	2,000 nits (better)
Always-on display
Always-on display	No	Yes
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	Always-On Retina display with wide-angle OLEDs and LTPO3; 1Hz refresh; 374 x 446 pixels (42mm) or 416 x 496 pixels (46mm) at 326 ppi; 970 or 1,196 sq mm display area; 1 nit minimum brightness
Screen protection
Screen protection	Ion-X glass	Ceramic Shield 2 (aluminium cases); sapphire front crystal (titanium and ceramic cases)
Health and fitness
ECG
ECG	No	Yes
Blood oxygen
Blood oxygen	No	Yes
Skin temperature
Skin temperature	No	Yes
Sleep apnoea alerts
Sleep apnoea alerts	No	Yes
High blood pressure alerts
High blood pressure alerts	No	Yes
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	Health Sensing System with third-generation electrical heart sensor, always-on optical heart sensor, blood oxygen sensor and temperature sensor; compass; always-on altimeter; high-g accelerometer; high dynamic range gyroscope; ambient light sensor; depth gauge to 6 m; water temperature sensor
Health features
Health features	High and low heart rate notifications; Noise app; sleep tracking and automatic handwashing detection in watchOS 7	Readiness app; Vitals app (heart rate, respiratory rate, wrist temperature, blood oxygen, sleep duration and HRV); Recovery HRV; high-frequency background heart rate tracking; ECG app; Blood Oxygen app; irregular rhythm notifications; high and low heart rate notifications; hypertension notifications; sleep apnoea notifications; sleep stages and sleep score; Cycle Tracking with fertile window and retrospective ovulation estimates, perimenopause and menopause support; 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 workouts; Training Load; customisable heart rate zones; VO2 max; Race Route; Pacer; cadence, stride length, ground contact time, vertical oscillation and running power; automatic track detection; multisport workouts; offline maps with custom route creation; Backtrack; pool and open-water swimming with SWOLF; cycling 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; Fall Detection; Crash Detection; Check In; Backtrack; Last Emergency Call Availability Waypoint; torch; noise monitoring
Battery and connections
Battery life (maker's claim)
Battery life (maker's claim)	Up to 18 hours	Up to 24 hours
In low-power mode
In low-power mode	–	Up to 38 hours
Mobile data option
Mobile data option	Yes	Yes
Works with
Works with	iPhone	iPhone
Chip
Chip	S5	S11
Storage
Storage	32 GB	64 GB (better)
Battery life detail
Battery life detail	Built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery	Up to 24 hours of normal use; up to 38 hours in Low Power Mode; up to 10 hours of outdoor workout
Charging
Charging	Magnetic charging cable; retail packaging updated to USB-C in September 2021; USB power adapter sold separately	Fast charging to 80% in about 30 minutes; 15 minutes for up to 12 hours of normal use; 5 minutes for up to 10 hours of sleep tracking
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) at 2.4GHz and 5GHz; Bluetooth 5.3; second-generation Ultra Wideband chip; NFC for Apple Pay; Precision L1 GPS (GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS and BeiDou); GPS + Cellular models (A3582, A3587) with 5G RedCap and LTE
Design
Weight (lightest version)
Weight (lightest version)	30.49 g (better)	31.5 g
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 or 3D-printed 100% recycled titanium case with zirconia back, or ceramic case; water resistant to 50 m (ISO 22810:2010); IP6X dust resistant
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	42mm is 42 x 37 x 9.7 mm (ceramic 43 x 37 x 9.85 mm); 46mm is 46 x 40 x 9.7 mm (ceramic 47 x 41 x 9.85 mm); lightest is the 42mm aluminium GPS + Cellular at 31.5 g, heaviest the 46mm Night Blue ceramic at 52.9 g
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 (42mm) or 140–245 mm wrists (46mm)
Colours
Colours	Silver, Space Grey or Gold aluminium; Nike Silver or Space Grey	Aluminium in Dark Bronze, Light Gold, Black and Space Grey; titanium in Radiant Gold and Natural; ceramic in Pearl White and Night Blue
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 Series 12, strap, Apple Watch Magnetic Fast Charger to USB-C Cable (1 m)