Apple Watch SE (2nd generation) vs Apple Watch SE 3

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Watch SE (2nd generation) compared with Watch SE 3

	AppleWatch SE (2nd generation)	AppleWatch SE 3
Overview
Released
Released	September 2022	September 2025
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	Yes
Display detail
Display detail	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	Always-On Retina display with OLED and LTPO; 324 x 394 pixels (40mm) or 368 x 448 pixels (44mm) at 326 ppi; 759 or 977 sq mm display area; 2 nits minimum brightness
Screen protection
Screen protection	Ion-X front glass	Ion-X front glass, 4x more crack resistant than SE 2
Health and fitness
ECG
ECG	No	No
Blood oxygen
Blood oxygen	No	No
Skin temperature
Skin temperature	No	Yes
Sleep apnoea alerts
Sleep apnoea alerts	No	Yes
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	Yes	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; high-g accelerometer; high dynamic range gyroscope; ambient light sensor	Second-generation optical heart sensor; temperature sensor; compass; always-on altimeter; high-g accelerometer; high dynamic range gyroscope; ambient light sensor
Health features
Health features	Heart Rate app; high and low heart rate notifications; irregular rhythm notifications; Sleep app with sleep stages; Medications; Mindfulness; Noise	Heart Rate app; high and low heart rate notifications; irregular rhythm notifications; sleep apnoea notifications; sleep stages and sleep score; Vitals app (heart rate, respiratory rate, wrist temperature and sleep duration); Cycle Tracking with fertile window and retrospective ovulation estimates, perimenopause and menopause support; Medications; Mindfulness; Noise
Fitness features
Fitness features	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	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	Emergency SOS; international emergency calling; Crash Detection; Fall Detection; noise monitoring; Backtrack	Emergency SOS; international emergency calling; Fall Detection; Crash Detection; Check In; Backtrack; noise monitoring
Battery and connections
Battery life (maker's claim)
Battery life (maker's claim)	Up to 18 hours	Up to 18 hours
In low-power mode
In low-power mode	–	Up to 32 hours
Mobile data option
Mobile data option	Yes	Yes
Works with
Works with	iPhone	iPhone
Chip
Chip	S8	S10
Storage
Storage	32 GB	64 GB (better)
Battery life detail
Battery life detail	Up to 18 hours of normal use	Up to 18 hours of normal use; up to 32 hours in Low Power Mode; up to 7 hours of outdoor workout
Charging
Charging	Up to 80% in about 1.5 hours with the Apple Watch Magnetic Charger to USB-C Cable	Fast charging to 80% in about 45 minutes; 15 minutes for up to 8 hours of normal use; 8 minutes for up to 8 hours of sleep tracking
Connectivity
Connectivity	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	Wi-Fi 4 (802.11n) at 2.4GHz; Bluetooth 5.3; NFC for Apple Pay; L1 GPS (GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS and BeiDou); GPS + Cellular models (A3326, A3328) with 5G RedCap and LTE
Storage
Storage	32GB	–
Design
Weight (lightest version)
Weight (lightest version)	26.4 g	26.3 g (better)
Software
Software	watchOS	watchOS
Case materials
Case materials	100% recycled aluminium case with a nylon composite back; water resistant to 50 m (swimproof)	100% recycled aluminium case with nylon composite and sapphire crystal back; water resistant to 50 m (ISO 22810:2010)
Size
Size	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)	40mm is 40 x 34 x 10.7 mm, 26.3 g (GPS) or 26.4 g (GPS + Cellular); 44mm is 44 x 38 x 10.7 mm, 32.9 g (GPS) or 33.0 g (GPS + Cellular)
Bands
Bands	Fits 130–200 mm wrists (40 mm) or 140–245 mm wrists (44 mm)	Fits 130–200 mm wrists (40mm) or 140–245 mm wrists (44mm)
Colours
Colours	Midnight, Starlight or Silver aluminium	Midnight or Starlight aluminium
In the box
In the box	Apple Watch SE, strap, Apple Watch Magnetic Charger to USB-C Cable (1 m)	Apple Watch SE 3, strap, Apple Watch Magnetic Fast Charger to USB-C Cable (1 m)