Apple Watch 1 vs Apple Watch 2: Difference and Comparison

Smartwatches have taken up the game of conventional watches and introduced an era of revolution where watches are no more just time-reading units but wearable technology. Smartwatches can analyze, detect and transfer information concerning the user.

Key Takeaways

  1. Apple Watch 2 boasts improved water resistance, withstanding depths of up to 50 meters, whereas Apple Watch 1 has only splash resistance.
  2. The Apple Watch 2 features a built-in GPS, allowing for better navigation and more accurate fitness tracking, while the Apple Watch 1 requires a paired iPhone for GPS functionality.
  3. Apple Watch 2 has a brighter display and a faster dual-core processor, providing a more responsive and visually appealing user experience than Apple Watch 1.

Apple Watch 1 vs Apple Watch 2

The difference between Apple Watch 1 and Apple Watch 2 is that the display of the Apple Watch 2 has second-generation, which makes it brighter than Apple Watch 1 and comfortably seen outdoors. Apple Watch 1 is water and splash-resistant. And the battery life offered by both the Apple Watches 1 and 2 is the same, that is, around 18 hours.

Apple Watch 1 vs Apple Watch 2

The Apple Watch 1 has an aluminium body with a sport band, and its chip is a dual-core processor. It has a heart rate sensor, thus great for tracking various health concerns.

It also has an ambient light sensor and a maximum capacity of 8GB to support it. It supports Wi-Fi and Bluetooth (4.2) and a magnetic charging cable.

Whereas the Apple Watch 2 is inclusive of excellent fitness and health tracking functions.

The accessibility of third-party apps, texts, or calls becomes easier with the dual-core processor. All the daily activities like walking, standing, moving, or exercising can be effectively tracked.

Comparison Table

Parameters of comparisonApple Watch 1Apple Watch 2
Capacitor type 250 mAh, Li-on273 mAh, Li-on, non-removable
Charging modeUSBWireless
Weight25 grams28 grams
Pixel sharpness306 ppi329 ppi
Screen resolution390 × 312 pixels270 × 340 pixels

What is Apple Watch 1?

Apple Watch 1 is an exceptional smartwatch that seamlessly completes daily tasks like responding to texts or calls, or other notifications, checking the calendar, and checking the heart rate.

It is also inclusive of other useful features like an accelerometer, gyro meter, and functional music app that syncs albums and playlists efficiently.

The Apple Watch 1 is considerably water-resistant, but swimming or continuous water activities are not recommended. Thus, the ideal name would be that it is splash resistant.

The smartwatch comes with a built-in microphone and speaker to ensure proper calling and replying facilities. The watch offers a wide variety of languages to choose from.

The Apple Watch 1 works with iPhone 5S and others after that, which have been updated to the latest version of iOS 11. Apple Watch 1 comes with an effective sleep-tracking system.

When the sleep mode is turned on, it obstructs distractions and guards the sleep of the user. The sleep tracking feature is quite handy to take a break from the endless scroll during bedtime and have a quality sleep at night.

The box has the contents like a smartwatch, magnetic charging cable, warranty card, and user manual. Its connectivity with Bluetooth of version v4.0 (BLE) and Wi-Fi of 802.11.

The clock face is analog, and the flat body is rectangular in shape. It comes in a variety of color options like black, blue, grey, white, rose gold, and space grey.

apple watch 1

What is Apple Watch 2?

The Apple Watch 2 is a trendy combination of style and functionality.

The battery of the Apple Watch 2 is powerful and lasts about 1 day. The OLED screen is brighter and provides a wonderful viewing experience to the users. It is quite comfortable and lightweight as it is only around 28 grams.

This smartwatch has various health tracking systems like calorie intake burned, distance covered, sleep quality, heart rate, steps covered, and the number of hours slept.

The battery lasts about 1 day as it is 273 mAh. The operating system of the watch is OS v3. It is effectively dust and water-resistant.

It has no USB connectivity but provides all other smartwatch features like receiving calls, voice control, music control, location, and response to notifications.

The clock of the Apple Watch 2 is digital and looks classy. It instantly provides notifications on alarms, weather, emails, calls, or other reminders.

It has no provision for memory card support and has a dual-core processor. The body is rectangular and has a flat dial design.

The box contents of the Apple Watch 2 have a smartwatch, warranty card, and the regular user manual. It has a 3.35 cm of display and is available in several colors like silver, rose gold, space grey, space black, Fauve, feu, and taupe colors.

The color scheme is different and exciting to choose from.

apple watch 2

Main Differences Between Apple Watch 1 and Apple watch 2

  1. The Apple Watch 2 is powerfully water-resistant. Hence it can be worn during swimming too, but Apple Watch 1 is merely splash resistant.
  2. The Apple Watch 2 has a built-in GPS, while the Apple Watch 1 has no provision for GPS or location.
  3. Apple Watch 2 has a brighter display because of the better OLED screen and can be comfortably viewed outdoors while it becomes a difficult task to view the Apple Watch 2 outdoors.
  4. Though both the watches have a dual-core processor, but the Apple Watch 2 works faster and better on heavy data and provides a seamless experience.
  5. While the Apple Watch 2 has a wireless charging mode, the Apple Watch 1 still uses the conventional USB method for charging.
Difference Between Apple Watch 1 and Apple Watch 2
References
  1. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02640414.2018.1560644
  2. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02640414.2017.1412235

Last Updated : 26 July, 2023

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19 thoughts on “Apple Watch 1 vs Apple Watch 2: Difference and Comparison”

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