Apple Watch Series 7 vs. Apple Watch SE: Which Is Best?

Now that you’ve decided to get an Apple watch, how do you select between the most recent Series 7 and the Apple watch SE? Let’s investigate…

Apple Watch Series 7	Apple Watch SE
BUY NOW	BUY NOW
PROS	PROS
✔️Brighter, larger screen ✔️Faster charging ✔️QWERTY keyboard lets you type on the watch. ✔️Multiple timers. Multiple timers. Timers: they contain multitudes.	✔️Large screen ✔️Family Setup could be a game-changer. ✔️Comprehensive features for the price. ✔️Optional LTE connectivity. ✔️WatchOS is a joy to use. ✔️All-day battery life.
CONS	CONS
❌Workouts are varied, but basic. ❌Battery life needs to be longer (only one day). ❌Only two new watch faces designed for the bigger display.	❌No always-on display ❌Lacks ECG and Pulse Ox. ❌Advanced health-tracking needs a Series 6 instead. ❌Stainless steel or titanium finish. ❌18-hour battery life. ❌U1 chip.

Apple Watch Series 7 vs. Apple Watch SE: Specs

Design

At first glance, it will be difficult to tell these two apart if you compare them side by side or immediately see them on a person’s wrist. Still, upon closer examination, you’ll see that the Series 7 has somewhat more rounded and curved edges than the Apple Watch SE. Since the debut of the first Apple watch, we’ve had the same square watch face design on both of them.

There’s a digital crown and a side button that you use to interact with the watch, and both of them come in the choice of two sizes depending on your wrist, so the Apple Watch SE has 40 and 44-millimetre sizes. In contrast, the Series 7 is a little bit bigger 41 and 45 millimetres are your options.

There are two exclusive watch faces on the Series 7 that you won’t find on the SE. Both are water resistant to 50 meters, meaning you can use them in the shower and jam out to your favourite tunes or take a call. The screen on the Series 7 is also crack resistant, and the watch itself is rated IP6X, which means it’s dust resistant, but the Apple Watch SE is not.

You also get different finishes. Whereas there is only aluminium, or it would be said, aluminium casings on the SE. On the Series 7, you get titanium and stainless steel options. Although, that bumps the price up a little bit too.

Display

Overall it’s the size of the screen itself that is going to make the biggest difference to which one you choose. What you need to know is that the Apple Watch SE has more visible bezels than the Apple Watch Series 7.

How much text will actually be viewable on that screen is the most important factor to be aware of. The Series 7 offers two additional font sizes that are larger than the SE, which you will likely like if you have difficulties seeing smaller screens. This is especially helpful if you frequently squint down at your wrist to read what it says or frequently use a magnifying glass.

The Series 7’s larger screen makes it possible for a full-size keyboard to fit on it as well. Therefore, in addition to the standard methods of replying to texts, you may also use emojis, write on the screen, send brief messages, or use the voice dictation option.

You can slide and tap on the Series 7 to use the keyboard to compose messages. Of course, there is some possibility for error when a qwerty keyboard is crammed onto a little screen, but overall, I was amazed at how precise the swiping and typing was as long as I went slowly enough.

Always on Display

The always-on display is the other significant distinction between these two watches outside the screen size. The SE lacks it, but the series 7 does. For instance, with this feature, you can glance down at your wrist, and the display will constantly show something, such as the time or workout statistics.

Is this a must-have feature? Honestly, if this is your first apple watch or your first smartwatch, I don’t think it’s necessary unless you somehow hate lifting your wrist to see the time or tapping on the screen to turn the watch face on. I don’t find it so much of a problem at all. And on the Series 7, I often turn off the always-on display because I want to save battery life, and we’ll talk about that when we get to that section.

Health Features

I’ll start with the features related to health and fitness. Both of these watches provide a remarkably similar fitness tracking experience. Using Apple’s ring-based system, you’ll be able to keep track of things like your steps, see how many calories you’ve burned overall, as well as your workout targets and active hours for the day.

Each can track almost any workout you’ve ever wanted to do from your regular walking, running and cycling. You’ll also have the options of boxing, curling and even fitness gaming which is a nice addition. Both watches run Watch OS 8, the latest apple watch OS. At the time of recording, it gives you additional exercise types such as;

• Tai-Chi
• Pilates
• Outdoor cycling features. Specifically, around e-bikes.

On the software side things are pretty much the same you’re getting;

• Sleep tracking
• High and low heart rate alerts.
• Watch OS 8’s mindfulness prompts.
• Emergency SOS as well as fall detection.

There are two extra sensors only the Series 7 has;

1. A blood oxygen sensor: lets you see oxygen saturation in the blood and you can also have it doing background reads during the day and night.
2. An ECG app or an Electrocardiogram app: helps to detect signs of atrial fibrillation.

Battery Life

Both the battery life is surprisingly similar. On both watches, the battery life is going to be affected if you do things like;

• Using the cellular version of these two watches.
• Doing a lot of extensive outdoor GPS workouts.
• Turned on the always-on display on the Series 7.

But let’s say if you turn it off on the Series 7. You are able to get pretty much the same time on both of these. On both of their respective charges the Series 7 charged from 0 to 100 in 1 hour 20 minutes while the SE did it in 2 hours 30 minutes.

Connectivity

Let’s talk about connectivity. As I’ve yet to mention, both have an LTE option. For an extra $100 for the Series 7 or $50 for the SE, you can purchase a version that enables you to make calls, send texts, and utilise apps on your wrist without having to be near your phone.

Extra Features

They both come with Apple pay & Apple’s voice assistant, so you can use your watch hands-free as well as a speaker and microphone and take calls on your wrist.

They both have 32 GB storage for things like music and apps. The key difference is that the Series 7 has the U1 or ultra-wideband ship, whereas the Apple Watch SE does not. What you need to know is it’s probably a future-proofing model because it potentially will be able to do things like nearby location tracking and doing things using future digital car keys and so on. The Series 7 also has a newer processor than the SE.

Overall, I didn’t notice much difference between the two when it came to using my smartwatch for tasks like downloading apps, sending messages, making phone calls, and everything else. The only thing that I thought was noteworthy was that the Series 7 started up substantially faster than the SE when I turned on both watches at precisely the same moment.

Price

Your final consideration is the price. The series 7 starts at $399, while the SE starts at $279. And, of course, both get discounted at certain times of the year. So, I have put the latest pricing and availability in the links below.

Conclusion

Now that the fierce competition, let’s determine which Apple watch is best for you. Now that you’ve seen how close these two watches are, I believe that the Apple watch SE is the greatest option in terms of overall value for most people. But are you like most people? I’m unsure if you require a larger screen or have trouble reading text. If you also desire the additional health sensors, however, this Series 7 may be worth upgrading or simply spending a little extra money to obtain.

If I were picking one, I would probably choose the SE because I don’t need the always on display. I like the look of the Series 7, but I think I’m just spending extra money for things I probably don’t need.