Apple Watch Series 2 vs Apple Watch Series 3

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Watch Series 2 compared with Watch Series 3

	AppleWatch Series 2	AppleWatch Series 3
Overview
Released
Released	September 2016	September 2017
Display
Case sizes
Case sizes	38 mm or 42 mm	38 mm or 42 mm
Panel
Panel	OLED	OLED
Peak brightness
Peak brightness	1,000 nits	1,000 nits
Always-on display
Always-on display	No	No
Display detail
Display detail	Second-generation Retina OLED with Force Touch; 272 x 340 pixels (38mm) or 312 x 390 pixels (42mm); display sleeps between wrist raises (Wareable)	Retina OLED with Force Touch; 38mm 272 x 340 pixels and 563 sq mm; 42mm 312 x 390 pixels and 740 sq mm; wake by wrist raise or tap (Wareable)
Screen protection
Screen protection	Ion-X glass on aluminium; sapphire crystal on stainless steel and ceramic	Ion-X glass on aluminium; sapphire crystal on stainless steel and ceramic (PhoneArena)
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	No	No
Crash detection
Crash detection	No	No
GPS
GPS	Single-band	Single-band
Water resistance
Water resistance	50 m	50 m
Sensors
Sensors	Optical heart-rate sensor, accelerometer, gyroscope and ambient light sensor	Optical heart sensor, barometric altimeter, accelerometer up to 16 g-forces, gyroscope and ambient light sensor
Health features
Health features	Heart-rate tracking, Activity rings and Breathe app; activity sharing and wheelchair workouts in watchOS 3	Heart-rate monitoring including resting and recovery measurements; alerts for elevated heart rate while inactive in watchOS 4
Fitness features
Fitness features	GPS and GLONASS for distance, pace and route recording without an iPhone; pool and open-water swimming workouts count laps, average lap pace and stroke type	GPS, GLONASS, Galileo and QZSS; elevation gain and flights climbed; pool and open-water swimming, HIIT workouts and GymKit
Safety features
Safety features	–	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	No	Yes
Works with
Works with	iPhone	iPhone
Chip
Chip	S2	S3
Storage
Storage	–	8 GB
Battery life detail
Battery life detail	Built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery	Built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery; cellular performance depends on coverage and usage
Charging
Charging	Magnetic charging cable and USB power adapter; Edition includes a Magnetic Charging Dock	USB-A magnetic charging cable; Apple lists a USB power adapter for the cellular model only
Connectivity
Connectivity	Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n at 2.4GHz; Bluetooth 4.0; requires iPhone 5 or later with iOS 10 at launch	W2 wireless chip; Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n at 2.4GHz; Bluetooth 4.2; cellular versions add LTE, UMTS and eSIM with a compatible carrier plan. At launch GPS required iPhone 5s and cellular iPhone 6, both with iOS 11; updated Apple support requires iPhone 6s
Storage
Storage	–	8 GB on GPS models; 16 GB on GPS + Cellular models
Design
Weight (lightest version)
Weight (lightest version)	28.2 g	26.7 g (better)
Software
Software	watchOS	watchOS
Case materials
Case materials	Aluminium, stainless steel or white ceramic case; 50 m rating under ISO 22810:2010 for shallow-water swimming, not scuba diving or high-velocity water	Aluminium GPS models have a composite back; cellular models have ceramic and sapphire crystal back; steel and ceramic cases sold with cellular only; water resistance under ISO 22810:2010 for shallow-water swimming
Size
Size	Aluminium 38mm 38.6 x 33.3 x 11.4 mm, 28.2 g and 42mm 42.5 x 36.4 x 11.4 mm, 34.2 g; steel uses the same dimensions at 41.9 g and 52.4 g; ceramic 38mm 39.2 x 34.0 x 11.8 mm, 39.6 g and 42mm 42.6 x 36.5 x 11.4 mm, 45.6 g; weights exclude bands	Aluminium 38mm 38.6 x 33.3 x 11.4 mm, GPS 26.7 g or cellular 28.7 g; 42mm 42.5 x 36.4 x 11.4 mm, GPS 32.3 g or cellular 34.9 g. Steel uses the same dimensions at 42.4 g and 52.8 g. White ceramic 38mm 39.2 x 34.0 x 11.8 mm, 40.1 g; 42mm 42.6 x 36.5 x 11.4 mm, 46.4 g. Weights exclude bands
Bands
Bands	Sport or Woven Nylon for aluminium; Sport, steel or leather for stainless steel; Nike Sport Band for Nike+; Hermès leather plus an additional Sport Band; Sport Band for Edition. Hermès launched 23 September 2016, Nike+ was scheduled for late October	Sport Band or Sport Loop on aluminium; Sport Band or Milanese Loop on steel; Nike Sport Band or Nike Sport Loop on Nike+; leather and additional Sport Band on Hermès; Sport Band on Edition. Nike+ reached limited availability 5 October 2017
Colours
Colours	Gold, Rose Gold, Silver or Space Grey aluminium; Silver or Space Black stainless steel; White ceramic	Silver, Space Grey and Gold aluminium; Silver or Space Black stainless steel; White or Grey ceramic
In the box
In the box	Watch and band, magnetic charging cable and USB power adapter; Edition adds Magnetic Charging Dock; Hermès adds Sport Band	Watch and band, USB-A magnetic charging cable; cellular models include USB power adapter and Hermès includes an additional Sport Band