Should you buy the small 38mm or large 42mm Apple Watch? Here's how to choose!
Updated April 2017: Includes the latest information on sizes, features, and compatibilities.
Apple has provided two sizing options for the Apple Watch: 38mm and 42mm. Whether you're getting aluminum, steel, or ceramic, Series 1 or Series 2, Nike+ or Hermès, they all come in those two sizes. Some might consider their personal choice obvious, whether that's based on wrist size, gender, or some other factor. If you're not finding it quite so obvious, however, here are some things to consider when picking the perfect Apple Watch size for you!
- Height vs. width
- Display size
- Depth perception
- Hers and his
- Band bias
- Price points
- Battery life
- Who should get the 38mm Apple Watch?
- Who should get the 42mm Apple Watch?
Height vs. width
Unlike traditional watches, which measure case size horizontally, Apple is measuring the Apple Watch vertically. The smaller of the two has a height of 38mm (specifically, 38.6mm); the larger, 42mm. When it comes to width, the smaller Apple Watch is 33.3mm wide; the larger, 35.9mm.
These differences might not sound like very much — 3-4mm here or there — but 4mm out of 40mm is one tenth of the watch dimensions.
The rounded rectangular shape of the Apple Watch makes it hard to compare directly with round watches, but in the traditional watch world, neither of the Apple Watches would be considered overly wide or high. Big watches are typically closer to 48mm.
So, even if you think you want to go small, you can still consider both sizes — neither is enormous.
Display size
The different case sizes also come with different display sizes. Both are Retina-quality, which means the pixels are invisible to the naked eye at normal viewing distance. The bigger Apple Watch simply has more of those pixels.
- The 38mm Apple Watch has a display size of 340x272 pixels.
- The 42mm Apple Watch has a display size of 390x312 pixels.
The interface will fill whatever size display you have, and for many people, it won't make any difference. If you really want more pixels, which translates into bigger text and images, it's something to consider.
Depth perception
Unlike the Watch's two height options and two display densities, there's no difference when it comes to the thickness (or thinness) of the two sizes.
That's because, unlike traditional mechanical or digital watches, the Apple Watch case has to hold a Retina display, the system-in-a-package (chipset), battery, and sensors. If you're trying to figure out which Apple Watch will best fit under the tight cuffs of your shirt, they're both about the same.
Hers and his
Because there are two sizes, and because some of Apple's bands are unique to one size or another, some have tried to simplify the size discussion down to "hers" and "his."
People come in all shapes and sizes, though, and so do tastes. Some women will want the bigger Apple Watch, and some men, the smaller. Some people with small wrists will want the bigger watch, and vice versa.
All this to say — get the size you want.
Band bias
Since Apple only offers some bands in some sizes, if you have your heart set on a certain band, you may have to be willing to go with the size that matches it. You can get 3rd-party knock-offs for everything in every size and then some, so this only really matters if you want the real thing.
38mm-specific bands:
- Modern Buckle
- Hermès Double Buckle Cuff
- Hermés Double Tour
42mm-specific bands
- Leather Loop
- Hermès Single Tour Deployment Buckle
Price points
The 38mm Apple Watch is slightly less expensive than the 42mm Apple Watch. So, if you want to save some money, you can do it if you go for the smaller size.
38mm:
- Apple Watch Series 1: Starts at $269
- Apple Watch Series 2: Starts at $369
42mm:
- Apple Watch Series 1: Starts at $299
- Apple Watch Series 2: Starts at $399
Battery life
The 42mm Apple Watch has a slightly bigger battery than the 38mm watch, and the Series 2 has a slightly bigger battery than the Series 1.
So, if battery life is important to you — for example, you want to get in multiple workouts a day or you want to go a couple days without charging — you'll not only want to go with Series 2, but with the 42mm.
Who should get the 38mm Apple Watch?
If you have a small wrist and want the Apple Watch to look comfortable on it, if you have a large wrist and want the Apple Watch to look small, or if you just like smaller watches in general, you should get the 38mm Apple Watch.
Who should get the 42mm Apple Watch?
If you have a small wrist and want the Apple Watch to look big, if you have a large wrist and you want the Apple Watch to look as big as possible, if you have vision requirements that benefit from bigger graphics, you want a longer-lasting battery, or if you like bigger watches in general, you should get the 42mm Apple Watch.
Reader comments
Should you buy the 38mm or 42mm Apple Watch?
I have smaller wrist, and I would prefer the 38mm, but the eyes are not they used to be, so 42mm is better.
I have a smaller wrist and was set on the 38mm until I went to the store and tried them on. I immediately knew I wanted the 42mm then as it looked best to me. I'd recommend to go try one out as the size might surprise you. I think the 42mm is small compared to other competitors in the smart watch arena.
How about none.
Your loss. I've worn mine daily for twentry months, extremely useful and won't want to be without it.
+1
@Alex- good. I have a small wrist as well, and the 38mm is perfect for me.
Sent from the iMore App
I also opted for the 38 simply because the smaller one looks more like a regular watch, whereas the 42 looks more like a smart watch.
My Poison Maps app includes a fully working demo of its watch app that runs within the iPhone app, so you don’t need to have a watch in order to try out a watch app. It displays at actual size and you can choose between 38mm or 42mm. It’s not quite as good or as functional as the real Poison Maps watch app, but it gives a good idea of what it feels like to use a watch app at both sizes, and how the watch would look on your wrist.
I actually wrote it before the watches first came out so that I could see how usable the app would be, and to help myself to choose between the sizes, so hopefully it can also help other people to decide.
Apologies for the plug!
I can't believe it--a comparison of the two watches that says nothing about which is the easiest to see and read. I no longer have 20/20, so that would be my major consideration. Also, which of the two watches is selling best--or are they neck and neck? Some folks may prefer the lest popular watch; others may be thinking about resale value.
The article clearly states: "if you have vision requirements that benefit from bigger graphics,"
After having worn the larger Apple Watch for about a month now, I can say wrist size is less of a consideration then finger size. If you have larger thicker fingers, your definitely going to want to go with the largest size. Otherwise just tapping in the passcode is going to be a challenge. Smaller thinner fingers definitely have an advantage here!
I really had my heart set on the soft pink with a 42size. I have small wrist but love a big face watch! I now see there will be no way to do that. Should I just by the 42 and wait to see if they add a band for it in that style and color? If so does it matter which style I get? I don't want the sport and I can't afford the 10,000 and up. I'm so confused .....
Thanks for this! I've measured my wrist since the announcement, and as a male with a stupidly thin wrist (160mm), after looking at this I think I'll go with the 38mm, as opposed to shelling out £40 more for the 48mm and having outweigh my wrist size.
Here's a print-to-size paper cutout PDF of the two different Apple Watch sizes I made that people reading this might find interesting http://ryanpmack.com/files/AppleWatchSizeComparison.pdf
Thanks - my is on the way to the mall returning her Fit Bit holiday gift. Going to get the iWatch she 'didn't want' This will help her decide on the size!
If the steel Watch is marginally affordable, I may just save my pennies for gen 2. As for size, I just really won't know until I see it on my wrist.
That's the thing. We wont able to do this if we plan to pre order, if we miss the first day of sale it might be weeks or months before they are available... and I'm not ready to camp outside for this.
I have my heart already set on a 42mm AppleWatch. I need sapphire crystal cuz I'm a big guy who can be klutzy!
I still dont understand why the watch is only made for people who will wear it on their left wrist. Anybody who wears on their right wrist isnt gonna be able to navigate with the knob thingy comfortably.
I'm led to believe the interface is reversible for southpaws. Perhaps we'll find out this coming week.
If you wear it on the right wrist, you can flip the whole thing vertically and put the crown on the left side. In other words it is friendly to left-handed folks.
I'd assume you would just rotate it on the strap for the other wrist, being digital the face would presumably rotate? Just a guess as I have never actually held one in my hand to see but given and iPad and an iPhone can why not the Watch?
All of the promotional material has it basically on the left wrist with the dial on the right side of the screen.
What you're talking about is 100% configurable - I, personally, wear it on my left wrist, but flipped the band and the interface (in Settings) so that I have the dial on the *left* side of the screen.
Face sizes are usually measured horizontally, case sizes are usually measured 'lug to lug' i.e. strap fixing to strap fixing; because of how the Apple straps attach, the vertical measurement is appropriate.
42mm!!!
Sent from the iMore App
Rene, I've been leaning towards the 42mm since day one, but haven't heard any rumors on price / size. Have you heard anything that leads you to believe the 42mm will add a cost bump?
To me it comes down to price, if the apple watch sport 42mm has a bigger price then the 38mm (which I'm pretty sure it will be) then I will get to the 38mm space grey aluminum with the black sport band.
Sent from the iMore App
A few months ago, on an iMore forum, I asked which size watch Tim Cook wore in public. There are numerous Google close up images of him wearing the watch with the white band. It looks like a 38mm but then again he is a tall person. Rene, do you, or anybody else, have a better estimation?
Is the display size the same on the 38mm and 42mm?
Nope:
38mm: 272 x 340
42mm: 312 x 390
There was supposed to be a display size section in there, adding it!
Why on earth would you think traditional watches are measured horizontally specifically? They're measured based on their diameter, as the majority of faces are round, so horizontal or vertical makes no difference at all.
Also, "thickness" not "depth". And do we know the actual thickness yet? The above reads like a pre-canned excuse.
Because I spoke to several watch experts and did independent research and the most common answer I got was horizontal 9 to 3 measure. (A few instances of 8 to 2, but nowhere nearly as many.)
Depth perception was a pun :)
Longines has several collections that are non-circular faces. Evidenza and DolceVita are in the $1000-$3000 range depending on the model. Although the majority are round, they sometimes list non-round the width and height in the description when sold, but the default is considered the width.
There are plenty of watches that are non-circular, and sizing guides are made based on the width. Example from Macys website:
http://d3pnveezgteiph.cloudfront.net/watchfinder/v201206070112p/ipad/pdf...
Re: the watch sizes ...
I really think you are downplaying the size issue far too much here. I particularly find the part at the end where you state "If you have a small wrist and want the Apple Watch to look SMALL on it ..." to be kind of rude.
I'm an average sized person but I have thin wrists. Many of my friends are the same. I made a plaster mock-up of the two sizes so as to see which looked best on my wrist and I can tell you that the 38mm one looks absolutely HUGE on my wrist. The idea that I might want the small one so as to "make it look *small*" is just silly. The small one looks HUGE. The larger one would be ridiculously MORE huge. I want the 38mm one so it looks closer to "normal" on my wrist, not small.
Every picture I've seen of slim young people (male or female) wearing these things, the 42mm one looks really, really, chunky on the wrist. I'm not saying this is unexpected on a 1.0 product and I'm getting one anyway, but pushing the erroneous idea that these are "normal sized" watches or won't look like a "brick on the wrist" is disingenuous to me. IMO everyone who isn't a big fat person or a burly lumberjack should definitely consider getting the 38mm one.
The whole article seems skewed to me in regards pointing people towards the 42mm watch, even though I think it's probably the wrong choice for the majority of the population.
It's not meant to be rude, and I spoke to a lot of people with a lot of different wrists to get a sense of what their considerations were.
Likewise, some people told me they wanted something much bigger, closer to 46mm (in traditional measures).
Also: I didn't point people towards the 42mm. The goal was to break down stereotypes and help people pick the best size for them regardless of which one that was.
I'm not sure you're reading what I intended to write?
My wife always wore men's watches (and bought men's shoes), she was truly 'big-boned'. Her wrists were as wide as mine.
But over the last couple of days, I've been thinking to get the smaller one. I figure the larger one is for show-offs who want to display it to the world. It's still smaller than most 'other' smart watches. A pink band wouldn't bother me, but I would prefer a darker band, just as my wife would have. I would just like to be able to try them both on to see for myself...
I don't know about that. I have fairly small to average wrists for a man with 180mm. But unlike some other regular watches the 42mm did not look big on my wrist. So I think this is more of an average man's watch size while the 38mm is more of an average woman's watch size. There is no show-off version yet. Maybe in the future they will add a 46 or 48mm which will be truly big. So far I think the show-off will need to fork out over ten grand to get the golden Apple watch.
Don't feed the troll, Rene. This individual has been subtly trolling hard on this site for the last several weeks/months. Bums me out.
Well written article, as is typical :)
I may have read things in, but the way you wrote it wasn't clear, if as you say, you weren't really "steering" folks towards the larger one, because it did seem to me like you were with that crack about "looking small on the wrist."
Anyway, nothing personal and I hope I didn't upset you in return. My main point was simply that the idea that ANY of these smart watches are "normal sized" at this stage is a bit much to take. They just aren't.
These are great chunky, super-thick watches for sure. That's why I'm buying the smallest one possible.
Some people want watches that look small on the wrist, some want watches that look big. Everyone has different tastes. I think 38mm and 42mm hit a good range.
Is it true that the 349 dollars version of the watch won't have a sapphire crystal?? Only for higher models?? That would be a bummer if that's the case.
The Sport model does not have a Sapphire crystal screen, due to cost and weight.
Thanks. That's too Bad, sapphire is a must for me, being on the wrist this thing is going to take a hit..
Looks like you'll have to shell out the rumored $5,000-10,000 then for the privilege.
No, the stainless steel has sapphire crystal as well.
How much will that model cost??
No one knows but rumors are from $500 to $1000 possibly depending on band.
Thanks. It will be The sport model for me then... not going to spend more than 400 on this watch
yes that is true only the apple watch and the apple watch edition have it, it scratches easier and is more fragile. The glass on the apple watch sport is an ion glass. it is harder to scratch and is lighter.