Apple Watch SE 3 vs Apple Watch Series 7
Better figure, where one is clearly better
| AppleWatch SE 3 | AppleWatch Series 7 | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Released | September 2025 | October 2021 |
| Display | ||
| Case sizes | 40 mm or 44 mm | 41 mm or 45 mm |
| Panel | LTPO OLED | LTPO OLED |
| Peak brightness | 1,000 nits | 1,000 nits |
| Always-on display | Yes | Yes |
| Display detail | 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 | 41mm 352 x 430 pixels, 904 sq mm; 45mm 396 x 484 pixels, 1143 sq mm; 1.7 mm borders; QWERTY keyboard with QuickPath; wrist-down brightness indoors up to 70% higher than Series 6 |
| Screen protection | Ion-X front glass, 4x more crack resistant than SE 2 | Redesigned front crystal over 50% thicker than Series 6, according to Apple's launch announcement |
| Health and fitness | ||
| ECG | No | Yes |
| Blood oxygen | No | Yes |
| Skin temperature | Yes | No |
| Sleep apnoea alerts | Yes | No |
| High blood pressure alerts | No | No |
| Body composition | No | No |
| Fall detection | Yes | Yes |
| Crash detection | Yes | No |
| GPS | Single-band | Single-band |
| Water resistance | 50 m | 50 m |
| Sensors | Second-generation optical heart sensor; temperature sensor; compass; always-on altimeter; high-g accelerometer; high dynamic range gyroscope; ambient light sensor | Electrical and third-generation optical heart sensors, blood oxygen sensor, compass, always-on altimeter, accelerometer up to 32 g-forces, gyroscope and ambient light sensor |
| Health features | 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 | ECG and Blood Oxygen apps; watchOS 8 adds sleeping respiratory rate and Mindfulness; oxygen measurements are for general wellness rather than medical use |
| Fitness features | 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 | GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS and BeiDou; GymKit; Tai Chi and Pilates workouts; cycling start reminders and auto-pause |
| Safety features | Emergency SOS; international emergency calling; Fall Detection; Crash Detection; Check In; Backtrack; noise monitoring | Fall detection and Emergency SOS; international emergency calling on cellular versions in supported regions |
| Battery and connections | ||
| Battery life (maker's claim) | Up to 18 hours | Up to 18 hours |
| In low-power mode | Up to 32 hours | – |
| Mobile data option | Yes | Yes |
| Works with | iPhone | iPhone |
| Chip | S10 | S7 |
| Storage | 64 GB (better) | 32 GB |
| Battery life detail | Up to 18 hours of normal use; up to 32 hours in Low Power Mode; up to 7 hours of outdoor workout | Built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery |
| Charging | 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 | 1 m Magnetic Fast Charger to USB-C Cable; up to 33% faster charging than Series 6; USB-C power adapter required |
| Connectivity | 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 | W3 wireless chip and U1 Ultra Wideband; Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n at 2.4GHz and 5GHz; Bluetooth 5.0; cellular versions add LTE and UMTS; iPhone 6s or later with iOS 15 at launch |
| Design | ||
| Weight (lightest version) | 26.3 g (better) | 32 g |
| Software | watchOS | watchOS |
| Case materials | 100% recycled aluminium case with nylon composite and sapphire crystal back; water resistant to 50 m (ISO 22810:2010) | Aluminium, stainless steel or titanium; ceramic and sapphire crystal back; IP6X dust resistance; WR50 water resistance for shallow-water swimming |
| Size | 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) | 41mm 41 x 35 x 10.7 mm, aluminium 32 g, steel 42.3 g or titanium 37 g; 45mm 45 x 38 x 10.7 mm, aluminium 38.8 g, steel 51.5 g or titanium 45.1 g; case weights exclude bands |
| Bands | Fits 130–200 mm wrists (40mm) or 140–245 mm wrists (44mm) | Apple Watch Studio case and band combinations; Solo Loop and Braided Solo Loop; Nike and Hermès editions with exclusive bands and faces; compatible with earlier Apple Watch bands |
| Colours | Midnight or Starlight aluminium | Midnight, Starlight, Green, Blue or (PRODUCT)RED aluminium; Silver, Graphite (PVD) or Gold (PVD) steel; natural or Space Black (DLC) titanium; Nike Midnight or Starlight; Hermès Silver or Space Black (DLC) steel |
| In the box | Apple Watch SE 3, strap, Apple Watch Magnetic Fast Charger to USB-C Cable (1 m) | Watch, band or loop and 1 m Magnetic Fast Charger to USB-C Cable |
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