Screen size
Watch 38mm (1st gen)1.5"
Watch Series 12 AluminumWinner: 2.0"+23%
Quick verdict
Watch Series 12 Aluminum leads the measured specs 9-1.
Measured wins
Watch 38mm (1st gen)
1
spec wins
Ties
4
equal specs
Watch Series 12 Aluminum
9
spec wins
Overall winner
Screen size
Technology
Watch 38mm (1st gen)
No cellular connectivity
Watch Series 12 Aluminum
GSM / HSPA / LTE / 5G
2G bands
Watch 38mm (1st gen)
N/A
Watch Series 12 Aluminum
GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
GPRS
Watch 38mm (1st gen)
No
Watch Series 12 Aluminum
-
EDGE
Watch 38mm (1st gen)
No
Resolution
Refresh rate
Peak brightness
Pixel density
CPU speed
RAM
Storage
Main camera
Front camera
Battery
Wired charging
Weight
equal specsThickness
IP rating
Wi‑Fi
Bluetooth
USB
5G support
NFC
equal specs3.5mm jack
equal specsSD card
equal specsStereo speakers
Watch Series 12 Aluminum
-
3G bands
Watch 38mm (1st gen)
-
Watch Series 12 Aluminum
HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 2100
4G bands
Watch 38mm (1st gen)
-
Watch Series 12 Aluminum
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 38, 39, 40, 41, 66, 71
5G bands
Watch 38mm (1st gen)
-
Watch Series 12 Aluminum
1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 12, 14, 20, 25, 26, 28, 38, 40, 41, 66, 71 SA/NSA
Speed
Watch 38mm (1st gen)
-
Watch Series 12 Aluminum
HSPA, LTE, 5G
Announced
Watch 38mm (1st gen)
2014, September. Released 2015, May
Watch Series 12 Aluminum
2026, September 09
Status
Watch 38mm (1st gen)
Discontinued
Watch Series 12 Aluminum
Available. Released 2026, September 18
Dimensions
Watch 38mm (1st gen)
38.6 x 33.3 x 10.5 mm (1.52 x 1.31 x 0.41 in)
Watch Series 12 Aluminum
46 x 40 x 9.7 mm (1.81 x 1.57 x 0.38 in)
Weight
Watch 38mm (1st gen)
40 g body (2.72 oz)
Watch Series 12 Aluminum
31.5/32.2/38.6/39.5 g (1.13 oz)
Build
Watch 38mm (1st gen)
Glass front (Sapphire crystal), ceramic/sapphire crystal back, stainless steel frame
Watch Series 12 Aluminum
Glass front (Ceramic Shield 2), zirconia back, aluminum case
SIM
Watch 38mm (1st gen)
No
Watch Series 12 Aluminum
eSIM
Other
Watch 38mm (1st gen)
IPX7 water resistant up to 1 meter and 30 minutes
Watch Series 12 Aluminum
IP6X certified 50m water resistant ECG certified (region dependent SW application; HW available on all models) Depth gauge to 6m
Type
Watch 38mm (1st gen)
Retina OLED, 450 nits (peak)
Watch Series 12 Aluminum
Retina LTPO3 OLED, 2000 nits (peak)
Size
Watch 38mm (1st gen)
1.5 inches
Watch Series 12 Aluminum
1.96 inches
Resolution
Watch 38mm (1st gen)
340 x 272 pixels (~290 ppi density)
Watch Series 12 Aluminum
496 x 416 pixels (~326 ppi density)
Protection
Watch 38mm (1st gen)
Sapphire crystal glass
Watch Series 12 Aluminum
Ceramic Shield 2
Other
Watch 38mm (1st gen)
3D Touch display
Watch Series 12 Aluminum
Wide-angle OLED
OS
Watch 38mm (1st gen)
watchOS 1.0, upgradable to watchOS 4.3.2
Watch Series 12 Aluminum
watchOS 27
Chipset
Watch 38mm (1st gen)
Apple S1 (28 nm)
Watch Series 12 Aluminum
Apple S11
CPU
Watch 38mm (1st gen)
520 MHz Cortex-A7
Watch Series 12 Aluminum
Dual-core
GPU
Watch 38mm (1st gen)
PowerVR SGX543
Watch Series 12 Aluminum
PowerVR
Card slot
Watch 38mm (1st gen)
No
Watch Series 12 Aluminum
No
Internal
Watch 38mm (1st gen)
8GB 512MB RAM
Watch Series 12 Aluminum
64GB
Other
Watch 38mm (1st gen)
No
Watch Series 12 Aluminum
No
Loudspeaker
Watch 38mm (1st gen)
Yes
Watch Series 12 Aluminum
Yes
3.5mm jack
Watch 38mm (1st gen)
No
Watch Series 12 Aluminum
No
WLAN
Watch 38mm (1st gen)
Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n
Watch Series 12 Aluminum
Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, dual-band
Bluetooth
Watch 38mm (1st gen)
4.0, LE
Watch Series 12 Aluminum
5.3, A2DP, LE
Positioning
Watch 38mm (1st gen)
No
Watch Series 12 Aluminum
GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, QZSS, BDS
NFC
Watch 38mm (1st gen)
Yes
Watch Series 12 Aluminum
Yes
Radio
Watch 38mm (1st gen)
No
Watch Series 12 Aluminum
No
USB
Watch 38mm (1st gen)
No
Watch Series 12 Aluminum
No
Sensors
Watch 38mm (1st gen)
Accelerometer, gyro, heart rate
Watch Series 12 Aluminum
Accelerometer, gyro, always-on heart rate, barometer, always-on altimeter, compass, SpO2, VO2max, temperature (body), temperature (water)
Other
Watch 38mm (1st gen)
Natural language commands and dictation
Watch Series 12 Aluminum
Health Sensing System: third‑generation electrical heart sensor, always‑on optical heart sensor, blood oxygen sensor, temperature sensor Temperature sensing (0.01˚ accuracy) Ultra Wideband (UWB) support (gen2 chip) Media playback
Type
Watch 38mm (1st gen)
Li-Ion 205 mAh (0.78 Wh), non-removable
Watch Series 12 Aluminum
Li-Ion
Charging
Watch 38mm (1st gen)
Wireless
Watch Series 12 Aluminum
Wireless, 0-80% in 30 min
Colors
Watch 38mm (1st gen)
Stainless Steel/Red, White, Brown/Black/Blue/Red/Marigold/Jay Buckle, Blue/Stone Leather Loop, Silver/Space Black Milanese Loop, Link Bracelet, Space Black Stainless Steel/Black, Black Link Bracelet, Pearl Woven Nylon
Watch Series 12 Aluminum
Dark Bronze, Light Gold, Black, Space Gray
Models
Watch 38mm (1st gen)
A1553
Watch Series 12 Aluminum
A3582, A3587
Price
Watch 38mm (1st gen)
About 650 EUR
Watch Series 12 Aluminum
€ 439.00