Apple Watch SE vs Series 5 [All Aspects Compared]

If you are looking for iOS compatible watches, the chances are that you want to get an Apple Watch. But there are many different models and with the recent launch of Apple Watch 6 and SE, choosing the right one is getting even difficult.

While you can get the Apple Watch Series 6, but if you’re low on budget and don’t want to purchase an expensive watch, then you might want to choose between the Series 3, 5 and the SE. I’ve already posted a comparison between Watch SE and 3, so in this post, I’ll be comparing the Apple Watch SE with the last year’s Series 5.

New Apple Watch SE (GPS + Cellular, 40mm) - Silver Aluminum Case with Deep Navy Sport Loop

Apple Watch Series 5 (GPS, 44mm) - Space Gray Aluminum Case with Black Sport Band

Price not available

$421.05

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Buy on Amazon

Buy on Amazon

New Apple Watch SE (GPS + Cellular, 40mm) - Silver Aluminum Case with Deep Navy Sport Loop

Price not available

-

Buy on Amazon

Apple Watch Series 5 (GPS, 44mm) - Space Gray Aluminum Case with Black Sport Band

$421.05

Buy on Amazon

You might also be looking at the Apple Watch Series 5 with more similarities to the Watch Series 6 than what the SE has. It has a very similar design and features like an ECG sensor, support for Dexcom G6 to monitor glucose in the body, and premium casing options present in the Watch Series 6 but not in the SE. So, as it will be on sale all the time, you may prefer this one instead.

You’re probably all confused already, right? Trying to figure out which one of these two smartwatches should be worth spending your hard-earned money on? Well, you can keep stressing your brain, or you can let me do the hard work for you. I can help you make your decision wisely, and you’ll end up with a smartwatch that will fit perfectly in your day.

So, would you be interested in finding out which of these smartwatches will be the best fit for you or a family member? Well, you’re definitely in the right place.

In this in-depth comparison post, I’ll be taking a precise look at every aspect of the Apple Watch SE vs Watch Series 5 that count as necessary and important. I will also mention all the differences between both, based on raw hardware, available health, and activity-tracking features, all the available sensors, the areas these excel in, and the limitations, of course.

To give you a quick idea, the power users need all they can get, and the Apple Watch Series 5 has more. So, someone who falls in that power user category will have a better experience on it.

Some users may want to save a little bit more money and make some subtle compromises that don’t leave out too much of the features but allow them to have a very similar experience. For those people, the Apple Watch SE makes more sense. Anyway, I do have that super-detailed comparison coming next in this article, so keep reading.

Apple Watch SE vs Apple Watch Series 5: Specs Based Comparison Chart

Now hold on tight as this isn’t gonna be easy. The Apple Watch SE & the Apple Watch Series 5 have so much in common that it’s enough to make anyone confused. You’d need to consider multiple factors, and if you made a mistake, you might end up with the wrong Apple Watch.

Of course, to clear that up, I have compared the two smartwatches pretty extensively. However, before we get into the discussion part, if you want to see all the specs, all the raw data side by side, I have prepared a table with all the information you need. Check it out below:

Design & Build

The design of the Apple Watch SE and the Apple Watch Series 5 is actually very similar. This is because Apple introduced the exact same design with the Series 4 and hasn’t changed since. The rectangular case with rounded corners looks premium, and the bezels on the top glass are also pretty thin.

Now, the Apple Watch Series 5 will have the more premium Stainless Steel and Titanium options available, while the Watch SE doesn’t have premium options available. The regular variant has an Aluminum construction with ion-X glass on the top. If you are going with one of the premium options on the Watch Series 5, you’ll also get a Sapphire top layer instead of the Glass. Both of the smartwatches come in 44-inch and 40-inch case sizes.

If you are getting the GPS+ Cellular model, you’ll also see a red ring on the dial at the side, indicating that the watch has cellular connectivity. This is actually present in the Apple Watch SE & the Apple Watch Series 5 alongside Series 6 and Series 4. If you have a regular GPS model, you won’t have that ring.

Coming to available customization options, I’ve already mentioned the more premium Stainless Steel and Titanium variants for the Series 5. However, you can also customize both of these watches with a variety of watch bands. Apple has a great collection of silicone, fiber, nylon, metal, and leather watch bands that can add a nice versatility to your smartwatch game and help you stand out.

Okay, let’s talk protection now. As mentioned, the premium variants of the Series 5 do come with a Sapphire top that is more resistant to scratches and drops compared to the ion-X Glass that comes with the base Aluminum variant. Also, both smartwatches are rated at 5 ATM for water resistance, which means they can survive 50 meters underwater.  So, these watches are best for swimming and surfing sessions but, they won’t survive if you go skin diving.

Display

The display technology is also the same as Apple has used their LTPO OLED technology in both of the smartwatches. This is also something that Apple introduced with the Watch Series 4 and has kept around since then. However, these displays do get slightly better with each generation. So, if Apple’s claim of using the same display as the Watch Series 6 in the Watch SE is true, it might mean a slight edge over the Series 5’s display.

However, the Apple Watch SE does miss out on an important feature that the Watch Series 5 does not. That is the Always-on Display functionality. Although the Watch SE uses the same display technology & SOC as the Series 5, it does not support an always-on display, and you need to lift up your wrist, which will turn on the display from sleep.

Now to customize the look and feel of the display, you need good watch faces. Thankfully Apple has a huge collection of default and custom watch face options in their newly announced WatchOS 7. You can create watch faces with stats or even other things to make it look pretty. This is indeed available in both of the smartwatches.

Activity & Fitness Tracking

If you dig a little bit in the Apple Watch user community, you’ll see that the fitness lovers really do love the Apple Watches. This is because Apple does health and fitness better than most others. In their latest flagships, Apple included a bunch of new features that are kinda really important in this day and age.

Although the Apple Watch Series 5 didn’t get the Blood Oxygen Monitor, it was the first Apple watch to come with an ECG Sensor and that has proven to be really accurate. So, if you want to get that functionality, you have to get the Apple Watch Series 5 or the newer Series 6.

The Apple Watch SE did not get the ECG feature, thanks to basically inheriting the casing of the older Series 4. However, it does have the other important features of the more premium Apple Watches like an Optical Heart Rate Monitor, Hand Wash Detection, Sleep Tracking, Steps Counter, Distance Tracking, and more. Most importantly, you get the Fall Detection and SOS features as well.

OS and Interface

The Apple Watch SE came out this year & the Watch Series 5 is the flagship device of 2019. So, of course, both of these devices run on Apple’s latest WatchOS 7. Apple actually made the latest version of WatchOS available on the Series 3, Series 4, and of course, the Series 6 as well. However, as the Apple Watch SE was released in 2020 it may actually get an extra version of WatchOS over the Series 5. Of course, you get access to the Apple App store and all its apps on both of the smartwatches.

So, what Apple has done with WatchOS 7 is, they improved the ecosystem and also introduced a bunch of new default and custom watch faces. So, keeping track of your health does get easier as you can have any collection of stats on your customized watch face, all the time.

If you want to do the same for a family member, you can also share these customized watch faces directly with them. You can also use Apple’s Animoji’s & Memoji’s as your watch faces as well. So, the versatility is bonkers for the latest WatchOS 7.

As we get a clearer picture, we see that the software experience will be really similar in both the smartwatches. So, no matter which one you choose, you’ll have a great experience. As I mentioned earlier, you may end up getting an extra WatchOS update on the SE but, it’s hard to confirm that right now.

Hardware & Performance

This is part that isn’t going to matter at all in this comparison ‘cause, the Apple Watch SE & Series 5 share the exact same internals. The dual-core Apple S5 chip is quite powerful and it will handle all your smartwatch needs with ease. The new S6 SOC should have slightly better performance and battery efficiency but, it’s not like you’re missing on too much on the S5.

The Apple Watch SE and the Apple Watch Series 3 come with 1GB of RAM and 32GB of Internal Storage. So, it’s clear that they won’t have any performance difference & and you can fit the exact number of apps and music tracks no matter which one you pick up.

Both of the smartwatches come with speaker & microphone built-in. The microphones should be somewhat similar and I don’t really know how much the speakers would differ. But, the Apple Watch SE has actually inherited the Series 4 casing which is very similar to what Apple does with their iPhone SE line-up. So, I won’t be surprised if it has inherited its speaker set too. Anyway, taking calls or giving voice commands to Siri, isn’t gonna be an issue.

Battery Life

Having identical hardware also translates to having an identical battery life. Although I don’t have a confirmation on the battery capacity of the Apple Watch SE, it should be identical or almost identical to the 296 mAh cell in the Apple Watch Series 5. That means you’ll get almost the exact same daily use, LTE Talktime, and workout time out of both of these smartwatches.

To put that in perspective, you’ll get around 18 hours daily on an average use case scenario. If you’re taking calls on LTE, you can get up to 1.5 hours and for outdoor workouts, you can get up to 6 hours on GPS and up to 5 hours with GPS + LTE.

As I’ve mentioned earlier, the Apple Watch SE & Series 5 use the exact same SOC and display technology. So, the only thing that will decide how much battery life you’ll get is how and for what, you’re using your watch. But, regardless of the model you pick, you’ll see very similar results.

Connectivity Options

There are plenty of connectivity options on the Apple Watch SE & the Apple Watch Series 5 and as you’d expect, these are also exactly the same. While, these watches don’t support the full version of Google Maps (which is popular for navigation), they do have GPS/GNSS and that’s the only one you’d get with the base variant.

If you want you can also pay slightly more and upgrade to the standalone cellular model that supports 4G LTE & UMTS. You can use an eSim on the cellular models so, if you want to keep your phone at home, you can do that and communicate from your watch instead.

Now, no matter if you’re getting the GPS model or the GPS + LTE model, you’ll get 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.0. So, connecting your AirPods or streaming songs on them at home, you shouldn’t have an issue.

Extra Features

Warranty

Apple provides International warranties for the Apple Watch SE & the Apple Watch Series 5. The warranty period is limited to 1-year and within this time, if you’re outside the country and your watch gives up on you, Apple will fix it without any extra charges.

Of course, for things like physical damage or water damage, the standard warranty gets void. So, in those cases, you’ll need to pay for the repairs or purchase AppleCare+ alongside the watch which covers accidental damages.

Apple Watch SE: The Pros and Cons

Apple Watch 5: The Pros and Cons

Value & Price

If I was comparing the Apple Watch SE and the Apple Watch Series 5, based on their value propositions, the Apple Watch SE would win with flying colors. It is way better value for money compared to the Series 5 if we put their list prices (MRP) side by side. But, the Apple Watch Series 5 is now a year old and will be available on discounts all the time. That changes the conversation quite a bit.

Let’s check the regular prices first. The base variant (GPS) of the Apple Watch SE starts at $279 for the 40mm variant and $309 for the 44mm variant. On the other hand, the Apple Watch Series 5 is listed at $399 for the 40mm variant and $429 for the 44mm variant. To upgrade to the GPS + Cellular you’ll need to pay $50 more on the Apple Watch SE and $100 more on the Apple Watch Series 5.

If you are customizing with premium bands that’ll increase the price as well. The Apple Watch SE can go up to $709 with the most premium band available and can be customized directly from the Apple Store. For the Apple Watch Series 5, you can’t customize directly but, you can still buy the bands separately. The price of the bands start at $49 and go up to $449.

Which One Should You Buy?

I’ve already given an idea about the particular user types suitable for the Apple Watch SE and the Apple Watch Series 5 throughout this article. So you probably have some idea about which one should be better suitable for you by now. However, for your convenience I’m listing them in detail below:

• Athletes will benefit more from the Apple Watch Series 5.
• People with serious heart conditions should pick up the Series 5 for it’s ECG features.
• Elderly people who aren’t under full-time attention will benefit from the Series 5.
• General fitness category users like regular runners and swimmers can save the extra money and get the Apple Watch SE.
• If you’re buying your first Apple Watch, go ahead and buy the Apple Watch SE.

As you can see, I’ve defined each category. Now pick the category that matches your description and then make a purchase decision.

Frequently Asked Questions

Verdict

All right, it’s time for my final verdict as we finish this comparison and part ways for now. By now, you probably know if you’re going to pick the Apple Watch SE or the Apple Watch Series 5. So, all that’s left to do is, putting all of the major pointers in place. So, I have done exactly that and listed them below:

• The hardware is identical, so you should not notice any major difference in the performance between the Apple Watch SE and Series 5.
• The user experience (on the software side) is also going to be very similar on both of the devices.
• Unless you can benefit from the extra features on the Apple Watch Series 5, you can get away with the Apple Watch SE, just fine.
• The Apple Watch Series 5 does have the ECG feature which can be life-saving on rare occasions.
• For regular consumers, the final decision comes down to their max budget.

Seeing how these watches go against each other, head to head, I’ll say, the Apple Watch Series 5 is actually better than the Apple Watch SE. Now, if you absolutely do not require the extra features on the Series 5 then go ahead, save the money and get the Apple Watch SE. But, if you do have the money then, it might be worth spending the extra cash on the Series 5.

Other smartwatch comparisons on BinDaily:

• Apple Watch 6 vs Fitbit Versa 2
• Apple Watch SE vs Series 3
• Garmin Fenix 6 vs Apple Watch Series 6
• Fossil Gen 4 vs Gen 5