Series 6 vs. SE: Heart Rate Sensor differences

[delasonrisa]

Hi all,

I was wondering if anyone here has both watches or does know if there is a difference between the heart rate sensor of the AW 6 compared to the SE one. There is an obvious optical difference simply by looking at the bottom of both watches (Series 6 has two LEDs for measuring, SE has one LED like previous models), but Apple on its website states that both use the same 2nd generation sensor. Also found interesting tidbits in the comment section of dcrainmaker.com.

Curious to hear your thoughts on this.

 

[deeddawg]

Have you read through DC Rainmaker's Apple Watch SE First Impressions post where he discusses the SE's HR sensor?

Apple Watch Series SE: A Fitness First Impressions Untangled

At first glance, the Apple Watch SE seems like a straightforward Apple Release with SE branding: Take a roughly year-old model, cheapen out some materials, and call it the SE. But in reality, it’s far more complex than that, and

www.dcrainmaker.com

 

[delasonrisa]

Have you read through DC Rainmaker's Apple Watch SE First Impressions post where he discusses the SE's HR sensor?

Apple Watch Series SE: A Fitness First Impressions Untangled

At first glance, the Apple Watch SE seems like a straightforward Apple Release with SE branding: Take a roughly year-old model, cheapen out some materials, and call it the SE. But in reality, it’s far more complex than that, and

www.dcrainmaker.com

I did not, but I will now. Thanks!

 

[jdb8167]

Have you read through DC Rainmaker's Apple Watch SE First Impressions post where he discusses the SE's HR sensor?

Apple Watch Series SE: A Fitness First Impressions Untangled

At first glance, the Apple Watch SE seems like a straightforward Apple Release with SE branding: Take a roughly year-old model, cheapen out some materials, and call it the SE. But in reality, it’s far more complex than that, and

www.dcrainmaker.com

Wow, not good. Worse heart rate monitor than previous generation by his testing.

 

[deeddawg]

Wow, not good. Worse heart rate monitor than previous generation by his testing.

I didn't come away with that interpretation. Yes, there was the spike - but this was also a First Impression and we have no way of knowing whether that was an anomaly or something likely to keep occurring.

Personally, I wouldn't make an SE vs other option choice based on DCR's First Impression post, and certainly not based on that HRM spike.

My guess would be the SE simply reuses the HRM from the Series5, which I gather had some early troubles but settled in within a couple months. (I never noticed any issues with it).

Certainly the GPS portion doesn't seem to have gained from whatever improvements were made to the Series6. Again, it's unclear if it will remain this way with future software changes, etc.

One needs to step back and really assess how much HRM accuracy they truly need -- and whether an inaccurate blip will REALLY matter in their training. I've had a chest HRM start reading ridiculously high numbers in the middle of a run, then settle back in. It was pretty obviously a bad reading and didn't affect my effort/perceived-effort/pace. HR zone training is generally also not going to be affected by +/- 1-2 BPM differences. The zones generally aren't hard cutoffs in practice - and if you're truly aiming for that exact point just below your anaerobic threshold I'm not sure an optical HRM would be the best choice anyway.

In *my* opinion - HR is a great training tool, and extreme accuracy simply doesn't matter for most people. A blip here or there isn't going to matter.

 

[bodonnell202]

but Apple on its website states that both use the same 2nd generation sensor.

Based on what I see on the Apple Website it lists the Series 4, Series 5 and Series 6 as having a "second-generation optical heart sensor" whereas the SE and Series 3 is listed as having an "optical heart sensor" so I would assume that meant they used the older heart rate sensor in the SE.

That said, if I was in the market for an Apple Watch now (I'll be sticking with my Series 5 for another year) it wouldn't matter either way to me as the HR monitor in my Series 3 always worked great me.

 

[delasonrisa]

Based on what I see on the Apple Website it lists the Series 4, Series 5 and Series 6 as having a "second-generation optical heart sensor" whereas the SE and Series 3 is listed as having an "optical heart sensor" so I would assume that meant they used the older heart rate sensor in the SE.

That said, if I was in the market for an Apple Watch now (I'll be sticking with my Series 5 for another year) it wouldn't matter either way to me as the HR monitor in my Series 3 always worked great me.

As you can see in this screenshot (although in german) you can see that they should have the same sensor which obviously is not the case. At least in terms of number of LEDs and their arrangement. I guess it remains to be seen if the sensors of the SE and Series 6 offer the same results.

 

[Monkswhiskers]

Apples oHR tech is industry leading. I never had a problem with my 3's sensor, and the 4 improved still further. I can only see incremental improvements from here on in as wrist oHR has its limitations. Good enough though to build a reliable picture regarding day to day health.

 

[deeddawg]

As you can see in this screenshot (although in german) you can see that they should have the same sensor which obviously is not the case. At least in terms of number of LEDs and their arrangement. I guess it remains to be seen if the sensors of the SE and Series 6 offer the same results.

View attachment 963775

Unfortunately, I'm not sure we can assume the Apple website is providing correct information.

Owners of the claimed PVD-coated Graphite Milanese Loop have found them to be hard enough to scuff their DLC-coated Graphite Stainless Steel watches, calling into question the veracity of what's published. 😈