Apple Watch SE vs Series 6: Detailed comparison

Updated on May 21, 2022

You could say that the world of smartwatches is as vast as it is exciting, and Apple has been a forerunner of this revolution ever since the very beginning. In fact, their first smartwatch dates back to April 2014 — marking the start of a new era for smartwatch lovers across the globe.

2020
2020
SE
Series 6
SE

That is why we’ve put together this comparison — in the hope to help you make the most informed decision. Whether you are considering an upgrade of your existing watch or looking to get your first one, we will try to clear up any uncertainties about the differences between SE and Series 6.

Recency

SE and Series 6 were both announced by on an the same Apple Special Event event tagged ’By innovation only’ on September 15, 2020.

As of 2022, SE currently remains in production, whereas Series 6 has seised its production on September 14, 2021.Both models currently continue to be supported by the latest software updates.

In production
Discontinued
September 14, 2021

Body sizes and materials

SE and Series 6 come in same 40mm or 44mm case case sizes. Apple Watch SE features a new, improved digital crown with haptic feedback which means that you will feel that satisfying ’click’ when scrolling through menu items.

Both watch models offer the same standard aluminium, which, although is the lightest option, tends to get scratches fairly easily. Unique to SE remains shiny stainless steel that is also on a heavier side and lightweight but very durable matte titanium option.

40mm or 44mm case
40mm or 44mm case
Aluminum
Aluminum
Stainless steel
Titanium
Digital Crown with haptic feedback
Digital Crown with haptic feedback

Display

Series 6 adds an Always-on Display function which means that Newer Series 6 watch model comes with an improved Third-generation Always-On Retina LTPO OLED display technology, compared to last model. It’s important to note that the newer Series 6 comes with an additional option of sapphire crystal display on stainless steel and titanium cases crystal coating.

Sapphire crystal display on stainless steel and titanium cases
Ion-X glass display
Ion-X glass display on aluminum cases
30% larger screen than Series 3
30% larger screen than Series 3
Third-generation Retina LTPO OLED display
Third-generation Always-On Retina LTPO OLED display
1000 nits
1000 nits
Always-on display
326 dpi
326 dpi
1.549″ on 40 mm model, 1.757″ on 44 mm model
1.549″ on 40 mm model, 1.757″ on 44 mm model
Ambient light sensor
Ambient light sensor

Resistance

Water resistant to 50 meters (ISO 22810:2010)
Water resistant to 50 meters (ISO 22810:2010)
Ceramic and sapphire crystal back
Ceramic and sapphire crystal back

Sensors

2nd generation optical pulse sensor
3rd generation optical pulse sensor
ECG Sensor
Blood oxygen sensor
Up to 32 g-forces accelerometer
Up to 32 g-forces accelerometer
Improved gyroscope
Improved gyroscope
Altimeter
Always-on altimeter
Compass
Compass
Second-generation speaker and mic
Second-generation speaker and mic
International emergency calling
International emergency calling
30% louder speaker than Series 3
30% louder speaker than Series 3

Safety and Emergency

Emergency SOS
Emergency SOS
High and low heart rate notifications
High and low heart rate notifications
Irregular heart rhythm notification
Fall detection
Fall detection
Noise monitoring
Noise monitoring

Connectivity

Bluetooth 5
Bluetooth 5
Optional cellular
LTE and UMTS option
NFC
NFC
ApplePay
ApplePay
Apple U1 Ultra-Wideband chip
Apple W3 Wireless chip
Apple W3 Wireless chip
802.11 b/g/n 2.4GHz
802.11 b/g/n 2.4GHz & 5 GHz
GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, and QZSS
GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, and QZSS

Battery and charging

It’s been a while since Apple changed something in terms of battery life, and both watches offer up to 18h advertised run time.

Built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery
Built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery
Up to 18 hours run time
Up to 18 hours run time
Aluminium magnetic charger
Aluminium magnetic charger
USB-C charger connector
USB-C charger connector

System-on-Chip

Series 6 is powered by an S6-branded chip. Apple S6 System-on Chip has a custom 64-bit dual-core processor that runs up to 20 percent faster than the S5. The dual cores in the S6 are based on the A13's energy-efficient "little" Thunder cores at 1.8 GHz. Like the S4 and S5, it also contains the W3 wireless chip. The S6 adds the new U1 ultra wideband chip, an always-on altimeter, and 5 GHz WiFi.

SE uses the Apple S6 SoC.

Apple S5
Apple S6
CPU
64-bit dual-core
64-bit dual-core
Semiconductor technology
TSMC 7 nm
TSMC 7 nm
DRAM capacity
1 GB
1 GB
Storage capacity
32GB capacity
32GB capacity

NeatCompare overall relative score

Baseline
100%
Minor improvement
130%

Price comparison

Information sources: apple.com, wikipedia.org. Product photos are copyright Apple, Inc.

Disclaimer: we always try to source product specification information from official sources, such as apple.com website, but sometimes it is impossible to verify all data that we find from public sources. Also, some products come in various versions and it's difficult to backtrack which version or region has which finctions available. So Please note that we are not responsible for any errors, on this page. All information is provided 'as is' with no guarantees whatsoever.

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