Apple Watch SE (1st generation) vs Apple Watch Series 4

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Watch SE (1st generation) compared with Watch Series 4

	AppleWatch SE (1st generation)	AppleWatch Series 4
Overview
Released
Released	September 2020	September 2018
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 with Force Touch; 40mm 324 x 394 pixels and 759 sq mm; 44mm 368 x 448 pixels and 977 sq mm; display wakes by wrist raise (PhoneArena)
Screen protection
Screen protection	Ion-X glass	–
Health and fitness
ECG
ECG	No	Yes
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	No
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	Electrical and optical heart sensors; barometric altimeter; accelerometer up to 32 g-forces, improved gyroscope and ambient light sensor
Health features
Health features	High and low heart rate notifications; Noise app; sleep tracking and automatic handwashing detection in watchOS 7	ECG capability, high and low heart-rate alerts and irregular-rhythm notifications; ECG app was not available at hardware launch and reached the UK in March 2019
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	GPS, GLONASS, Galileo and QZSS; swimming, yoga and hiking workouts, automatic workout reminders, cadence, pace alerts and rolling mile pace in watchOS 5; GymKit
Safety features
Safety features	Fall Detection and Emergency SOS; international emergency calling on cellular versions in supported regions	Hard-fall detection can call emergency services after immobility and notify emergency contacts; Emergency SOS
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	S4
Storage
Storage	32 GB (better)	16 GB
Battery life detail
Battery life detail	Built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery	Built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery
Charging
Charging	Magnetic charging cable; retail packaging updated to USB-C in September 2021; USB power adapter sold separately	Magnetic charging cable and USB power adapter
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	W3 wireless chip; Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n at 2.4GHz; Bluetooth 5.0; cellular versions add LTE and UMTS with a compatible plan; GPS requires iPhone 5s, cellular iPhone 6, both with iOS 12 at launch
Design
Weight (lightest version)
Weight (lightest version)	30.49 g	30.1 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	Aluminium or stainless steel case; ceramic and sapphire crystal back; water resistance under ISO 22810:2010 for shallow-water swimming
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	40mm 40 x 34 x 10.7 mm, 30.1 g aluminium or 39.8 g steel; 44mm 44 x 38 x 10.7 mm, 36.7 g aluminium or 47.9 g steel; weights exclude bands
Bands
Bands	Compatible with Apple Watch bands including Solo Loop and Braided Solo Loop; Nike editions have exclusive bands and faces	Compatible with earlier Apple Watch bands of the corresponding size; Nike+ includes Nike bands and watch faces; Hermès includes leather bands and exclusive faces. Nike+ became available 5 October 2018
Colours
Colours	Silver, Space Grey or Gold aluminium; Nike Silver or Space Grey	Silver, Space Grey and Gold aluminium; Silver, Space Black (DLC) and Gold (PVD) stainless steel; Nike+ Silver or Space Grey; Hermès polished stainless steel
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	Watch and band, magnetic charging cable and USB power adapter