The recently announced Apple Watch Series 8 is an impressive piece of equipment. It manages to pack in a truck load of new features and capabilities, all in a package that retains the same form factor as the previous generation, thus staying true to the lineage.
Also announced in the Apple Fall event was the Apple Watch SE 2022. This watch is cheaper than the Series 8 which begs the question, where did Apple cut corners to deliver this product at this lower price?
We have delved into many of the features that you get with the Apple Watch Series 8 including the new Temperature sensor that aids in women’s health and fertility tracking, crash and fall detection with emergency calling and much more in our coverage of the Apple Watch Series 8.
Related:
- Which Apple Watch Series Should I Buy in 2022 – Comparing All Models
- Apple Watch Series 7: Big Display, New Features, Price
- Apple Watch Series 8 launched with Crash detection, advanced cycle tracking, and much more
Apple Watch Series 8 vs Apple Watch SE 2022
Below is a side-by-side specs comparison of the specifications for the two watches.
| Apple Watch Series 8 | Apple Watch SE 2022 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Body | Dimensions | 45 x 38 x 10.7 mm (1.77 x 1.50 x 0.42 in) | 44 x 38 x 10.4 mm (1.73 x 1.50 x 0.41 in) |
| Weight | 32 g (41mm), 38.8 g (45mm) (1.13 oz) | 36.4 g (1.27 oz) | |
| Build | Glass front, ceramic/sapphire crystal back, aluminum frame | Glass front, ceramic/sapphire crystal back, aluminum frame | |
| SIM | eSIM | eSIM | |
| IP6X certified | |||
| 50m water resistant | 50m water resistant | ||
| ECG certified (region dependent SW application; HW available on all models) | Retina LTPO OLED, 1000 nits (peak) | ||
| Display | Type | Retina LTPO OLED, 1000 nits (peak) | |
| Size | 1.9 inches | 1.78 inches | |
| Resolution | 484 x 396 pixels (~326 ppi density) | 448 x 368 pixels (~326 ppi density) | |
| Protection | Ion-X strengthened glass | - | |
| Always-on display | Always-on display | ||
| Platform | OS | watchOS 9.0 | watchOS 9.0 |
| Chipset | Apple S8 | Apple S8 | |
| CPU | Dual-core | Dual-core | |
| GPU | PowerVR | PowerVR | |
| Memory | Card slot | No | No |
| Internal | 32GB 1GB RAM | 32GB 1GB RAM | |
| eMMC 5.1 | eMMC 5.1 | ||
| Sound | Loudspeaker | Yes | Yes |
| Comms | WLAN | Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, dual-band | Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n |
| Bluetooth | 5.0, A2DP, LE | 5.0, A2DP, LE | |
| GPS | Yes, with A-GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, QZSS, BDS | Yes, with A-GPS, GLONASS | |
| NFC | Yes | No | |
| Features | Sensors | Accelerometer, gyro, heart rate, barometer, always-on altimeter, compass, SpO2, VO2max, temperature | Accelerometer, gyro, heart rate (2nd gen), barometer, always-on altimeter, compass |
| Temperature sensing (0.01˚ accuracy) | Natural language commands and dictation (talking mode) | ||
| Natural language commands and dictation (talking mode) | |||
| Ultra Wideband (UWB) support | |||
| Battery | Type | Li-Ion 309 mAh (1.19 Wh), non-removable | Li-Ion, non-removable |
| Charging | Wireless fast charging | Wireless charging | |
| Misc | Colors | Midnight, Starlight, Silver, Red | Silver, Gold, Space Gray |
| Price | $399 and $499 | $249 and $299 |
The Apple Watch SE 2022 is an Apple Watch at its core with many of the features we have come to know and love about these products. The watch is water resistant for upto 50 meters. It supports continous heart rate monitoring and notification with multiple sports workouts.
The watch also supports crash detection as it carries the same accelerometer that we saw with the Series 8 and can also place emergency calls to the authorities or to your loved ones in case of an accident. The same also applies when the watch detects you’ve taken a hard fall.
Apple Watch SE 2022 also supports sleep tracking, supports Apple Pay and much more. For all that this watch supports, what doesn’t it have? What makes it cheaper than the Apple Watch Series 8?
Well, like its predecessor, the new Apple Watch SE will not get all of Apple’s health sensors. There’s no support for EKG, blood oxygen, or temperature readings on this one. This means that the Watch SE lacks the fancy advanced cycle tracking that we see with the Watch Series 8.
Other than that, this watch still gets all the internal upgrades over its older sibling, bringing it up-to speed with the Series 8.
Pricing and Availability
The Apple Watch Series 8 will go for $399 and $499 for the GPS and Cellular variants respectively. The Apple Watch SE will go for $249 for the GPS version and $299 for the GPS + Cellular variant.
That is a massive price saving for only lacking EKG, blood oxygen, and temperature readings on the Apple Watch SE. If you don’t really care for these, then the Apple Watch SE 2022 is a more compelling offer.
