How big an apple watch is, determines how it wears on your wrist. But if you don’t know the apple watch actual sizes, you may pick a smartwatch you will regret later. The watch dial, face and case dimension is crucial to having the right apple watch on your wrist. You may be having big wrist, or you may have skinny wrists and since apple has shifted its smartwatch design to standard watch sizes – 40mm and 44mm, some people get confused which apple watch model should go for their wrist size.
Apple watch sizes series 5, 40mm
- hight: 40mm,
- width: 34mm,
- Wrist circumference: 130-200mm
Apple watch sizes series 5, 44mm
- hight: 44mm,
- width: 38mm,
- Wrist circumference: over 200mm
Apple watch sizes series 4, 40mm
- hight: 40mm,
- width: 34mm,
- Wrist circumference: 130-200mm
Apple watch sizes series 4, 44mm
- hight: 44mm,
- width: 38mm,
- Wrist circumference: 140-210mm
Apple watch sizes series 3, 38mm
- hight: 38mm,
- width: 33mm,
- Wrist circumference: 130-200mm
Apple watch sizes series 3, 42mm
- hight: 42mm,
- width: 36mm,
- Wrist circumference: 140-210mm
Related To Apple Watches:
- Best Cute Women’s Watches For Small Wrists – Affordable and Luxury Petite Womens Watches
- How To Make Storage On Apple Watch – Ways To Free Up For More Memory Space
- How to extend apple watch battery life
- How To Strengthen Wrists
- How To Reset Apple Watch To Factory Settings and Fix Watch Issues
which size apple watch should i get?
You can see that the first three generations of these smartwatches from Apple watch brands are in 40mm or 44mm medium-sized to normal men’s standard case dimensions. The exception is the apple watch Series 3 that is designed with case sizes of 38mm and 42mm.
So if you want an apple watch but you aren’t certain of which Apple Watch can size your wrist, then, here is where to start. If you are tight on budget, you definitely would start eliminating the high-end smartwatches from the list above. Again, if you have a thin wrist, you would start eliminating the 44mm models and vice versa.
Whatever are the apple watch sizes for the case, the first step is to learn an accurate way how to determine your wrist circumference, and then also know the watch band sizes for each apple watch model. It shows here that the main and the key differences between the smartwatch models is their case sizes.
If you intend to pick your apple watch with a particular feature, then look here how to choose a smartwatch that will leave you with no regrets. But an apple model can either have a GPS, cellular connectivity or both, in addition to other built-in features or app functions.
Related:Got Skinny Forearms And Wrists?

Read More: what is the average woman’s wrist size for bracelet sizing?
How to measure wrist size for an Apple Watch
let us first look at ways how to measure wrist for apple watch before you know what size apple watch to get, here is a quick way how to measure your wrist size. For more accurate ways, check our wrist and watch band size guide.
To know how big your wrist is, you pick up a flexible plastic tape from a local store or from a seamstress and wrap it around your wrist, but over the wrist bone(the largest portion of your wrist).
Bring the ends of the tape closer and read the difference between the numbers on the tape. The value can be in inches, millimeters or centimeters, it depends on which scale on the tape, you used to size up your wrist.
If your wrist circumference falls less than 6.5 inches, you have small wrists. If you get reading from 6.75 inches to 8.0 inches, that is pretty mid-size to large wrists.
With the accurate wrist dimension, you can easily pick the best apple watch, with a near-perfect or the right apple band size. With a thin wrist under 6.5 inches, you can choose the older apple smartwatch models Series 3 or lower which has 38mm and 42mm protective casing.
The total length of the apple watch band length should be at least an inch over the value of your wrist size, Just so that it doesn’t go too tight or too loose and become uncomfortable on your wrist.
Note that the apple watch’s heart rate sensor won’t give a reliable value if the band goes too long and too loose on your wrist. So how loose should your watch be, is an important point to consider when determining watch band length and wrist sizes.
Read More:Why Do People Wear Watches Upside Down?
How big is 38mm, 42mm , 40mm or 44mm apple watch? – Apple Watch sizes
How an apple watch wears on your wrist does not only rely on case diameter, how wide and long the straps are, also plays a role in the smartwatch fit.
When you see an apple watch size of 38mm, 42mm, 40mm or 44mm, The newer Apple Watch Series 4 – Series 6 models come in 40mm and the 44mm – understand that it describes the watch case or the bezel size. This always has some approximates appellations like watch dial size or the watch face dimension.
This case diameter is measured vertically, and this is a strategy on how to tell what size your apple watch has, which is very different from that of other smartwatch brands.
For example – here are some apple watch sizing guide
The 44 millimeter cased apple watch models have
- case diameter : 44mm
- case width: 38mm
- case thickness : 10.7mm
- case weight : 36g
- Screen : 368×448 pixels, 326 dpi
- Display area :977 sq mm
The 40 millimeter dial apple watch models have
- case diameter : 40mm
- case width: 34mm
- case thickness : 10.7mm
- case weight : 30g
- Screen dimension : 324×394 pixels, 326 dpi.
- Display area : 759 sq mm
The 38 millimeter face apple watch models have
- case diameter : 38mm
- case width: 33mm
- case thickness : 10.5mm
- case weight : 30g
- Screen size : 272×340 pixels, 326 dpi
- Display area : 563 sq mm
These apple watch sizes would immediately tell which apple watch face is smallest and which apple watch case is the largest. From there, you can easily see which watch dial size is best suited for wrists.
In addition, if you have the right material and the best apple watch band, then the comfortability depends on the tightness you allow. You can use this watch size chart to know more.
Apple watch series 7 sizes comes in two sizes 41mm and 45mm.
45mm apple watch 7 models
- Titanium, 44mm, GPS + Cellular
- Stainless steel, 44mm, GPS + Cellular
- Aluminum, 44m, GPS + Cellular
41mm aple watch 7 models
- Titanium, 40mm, GPS + Cellular
- Stainless steel, 40mm, GPS + Cellular
- Aluminum, 40mm, GPS + Cellular
How big is an apple watch case diameter in inches?
To convert from mm to inches, divide the millimeters by 25.5.
- 44mm – 1.73 inches
- 42mm – 1.65 inches
- 40mm – 1.57 inches
- 38mm – 1.50 inches
img: Guide to choosing fitting Apple watch sizes
Apple Watch Dimension For Display Area – Screen
You may think of readability of text, visibility of icons when shopping for apple watches. The small case apple watches have a smaller display than the big brothers series 4, 5 and 6. It can be nicer if you want to downsize to a smaller smartwatch but, you should consider the display area for legibility.
The Apple Watch SE, Apple Watch Series 4, Apple Watch Series 5, and Apple Watch Series 6 have two different display screen dimensions. Their Retina screen is of good quality, but a bigger apple smartwatch has more pixels
That is why we have the 40mm cased Apple Watch with a display area of 394×324 pixels while the larger 44mm Apple Watch has a display size of 448×368 pixels.
Many people don’t know that this makes any difference at all. The more the pixels, the bigger are the text, images and icons on the screen. If you want an easy to glance display, you should consider larger screen sizes.
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Apple watch sizes – Height, Depth Or Thickness
Apple watch is somehow uniform in making their watches. Apple watches have more than one height options and two display densities, but what never changes significantly is their case thickness. The thinness remains approximately the same for Apple Watch with 40mm and 44mm casings.
This is not the case with the usual traditional wrist watches. With the retina display, battery and sensors all housed inside one thin case, all the Apple Watches can best fit under the tight cuffs of your shirt.

Related : What Is The Best Smartwatch For Small Wrists?
How to Get Your Actual Apple Watch Sizes from your iPhone
Another way to determine how big is an apple watch model is by using a smartphone – iPhone of-course. The Apple Store app comes with a practical and easy to use the handy function to show the actual size of your apple smartwatch.
The display feature is found in each Apple Watch designed. All you need is to use the feature to know the exact physical size of the wearable device.
The best way to actually do this is to visit an Apple Store, before making a purchasing decision. Go to the store, pick the watch models you want to choose from, and try the following steps. Since you are going to need an iPhone, let us see how to do it right away.
- use your iPhone
- Got to Apple Store app and install it on your phone
- Launch the Appl store from your phone
- Press on the watch graphic icon on the top
- At the right corner press view pricing
- Tap on Compare Case Sizes
From there, you can switch between 38 millimeter and 42 millimeters to see the real watch size displayed on your smartphone screen
then it’s just a matter of finding the right place in the Apple Store application.
Related Post: How To Change Apple Watch To military Time or 24-hour Mode
How to measure wrist size for apple watch bands
Have you been looking for ways how to correctly measure your wrist for Apple Watch solo loop bands? We got you covered. We will show you an accurate method which is very different from the traditional old-school measuring style – using a a ruler or flexible tape measure.
With ingenuity, Apple provided a printable wist measuring tool that would easily and accurately measure your wrist dimension before you buy the bands.
The way this apple wrist sizing tool is designed, eliminates wrist measuring errors and helps Apple watch customers to avoid hassles.
If you got no ruler or tailor’s tape, i am pretty sure you can get a printer handy, to determine your wrist size for Solo Loop bands. Let us check how to measure wrists size for Apple Watch band without tape measure but using Apple’s Printable Tool.
Shop for apple watch Braided Solo bands on Amazon
- go to Apple Watch page where to order your bands
- Choose Solo Loop or Braided Solo Loop – the one you need.
- Check below “Band Size,” Click on the button “Start your band measurement”
- Click to download the apple watch wrist measurement printable tool
- This Send a command for your printer. You need to set the print options at 100%. DON’T scale to fit
- Confirm to print the apple watch band sizing printable tool
- On the printed page, you see a credit card image – the sizing area.
- To know if you printed it in the correct size, place a credit payment card in the sizing area
- Use scissors to carefully cut out the printed paper to get the apple watch wrist sizing tool and the case shape
- Place the cut-out case shape on the back of your wrist where you would want to allow a watch case or watch face to seat.
- Wrap the cut-out paper tool around your wrist. Let it feel snug, a bit tighter and flexible. Make sure the paper does
- not slide around to introduce some errors in dimensions.
- The number where the arrows indicate is your wrist dimension or your exact apple watch band size.
- Caution: If the arrows point to a line between numbers, choose the smaller size number nearest to the line
Read more: how to get Snapchat on your apple watch
How to measure wrists using a sport band size conversion
It was a stunning discovery that John Gruber made. In the Daring Fireball’s site he discovered that the holes on Apple’s Sport Bands perfectly correspond to the size of the apple watch solo Loop band.
This practically tell you that if you have an apple watch Sport Band, a simple band size conversion can provide your Solo Loop dimension.
You just need to align the holes of a 40mm Apple Watch Sport Band with Apple’s printed tool.
Consider that you have an apple watch model with 38mm or 40mm watch case, if you are using a smaller sport band on the innermost hole, by conversion, that is size 1 on a solo loop band.
In the other hand, if you have a larger model apple watch with 42mm or 44mm cases, and you use a larger sport band on the outermost hole, that converts to solo loop size 12.
So how big is the 38mm apple watch on your wrist?
To know how big a 38 mm apple watch can wear on your wrist,
- follow the procedure to get the actual watch size as shown above
- While you are on Compare case sizes
- tap to toggle to 38mm
- then Hold the smartphone on the wrist to wear the watch.
This gives you the best idea of which apple watch model to pick and wear on that arm. The same method goes if you want to know how big is 42 mm watch on your wrist.
Related :Best Automatic Watches Under 500
The difference between apple watch 38 and 42mm
To compare apple watch 38mm vs 40-42mm, lets see how they differ. Although both the apple watch 38mm and apple watch 42mm share the same features and functions, there are some differences to note.
- the 42mm apple smartwatch is a big size that clearly offers a larger screen display than 38mm cousin.
- the 42mm costs $50 more for the base Apple Watch for Sport as compared to its 38mm model
- 42mm is a slightly larger model, which may have a slightly larger and longer battery life than the slim 38mm watch.
Whatever Apple Watch fits your wrist, you will see that the bigger or larger apple watches are also more costly. It seams the apple smartwatch dimensions are pricing and budget dependent, a big surprise to me.
img: Getting Apple watch sizes by iphone
What is the difference between 40mm and 44mm apple watch
You have seen how to measure your wrist for Apple Watch with a flexible tape, now, would you choose 40mm or 44 mm smartwatch? Which Apple Watch size is better for a woman and which is better for a man?
1. Apple Watch series 6
The Apple Watch Series 6 comes in two different sizes – 40mm and 44mm. These measurements defines the size of the watch face or dial. Apple watch series 6 40mm model, has a width of 34mm, and depth of 10.7mm. The case weight is about 30 grams. On the other hand, the apple watch series 6 44m model provides a width of 38mm, with thickness of 10.7mm in depth, and a 36g forcase weight.
While choosing the which apple watch wear, not that the Apple Watch size is an important part of making a purchase decision. One advantage is, if you figure out the right apple watch face, you can always change apple watch bands to one that fit your personality and style at any one time.
Again, you don’t need only to think of how big is a apple watch, but should also how much internal storage memory it has. For that reason, you should master How To Make Storage On Apple Watch when you can’t update watchOS software, or when you can download or store musics due to “storage full message”.
Another thing to check, in addition to how to measure wrist for apple watch, is the battery life. Apple confirms maximum 18 hours for their longest smartwatch battery life. But here is way How to extend apple watch battery life to Save And Make Your apple watch battery last longer.
2. Apple Watch series 5
This video is a quick way to show what is the difference between 40mm and 44mm apple watch series 5.
If your Apple watch screen dimension is small and not readable!
The easies way to see the watch face clearly is to make your icons bigger if the screen is too small to display icons or text. You can adjust text size and other visual settings on Apple Watch:
To Adjust Text Size
- Going to Settings app on your Apple Watch.
- Go to Display & Brightness
- Tap Text Size,
- Tturn the Digital Crown to adjust
You can make text bold, use grayscale, and also set other options to change the appearance of items on the apple watch screen
Related : What Is A Watch Lug?
To Turn on Zoom
With a small apple display screen, you can make icons and fonts bigger and easy to read on a smaller dial Apple Watch. Here are ways how to zoom out a small face Apple Watch to see more icons display.
- Open the Settings app on your Apple Watch.
- Go to Accessibility
- Tap on Zoom, to turn it on
There is another way to improve apple screen legibility using zoom. You can also use your iPhone to turn on Zoom for your Apple Watch
- open the Apple Watch app on your iPhone,
- tap My Watch,
- tap Accessibility,
- then tap Zoom.
Best Apple Watch Size for Skinny Wrists 40mm vs 44mm?
What is the best apple watch size for small wrist?
You recently got your New Apple watch series, probably that could be your first smartwatch, or you have had series of them before.
As high tech as the Apple watches look, the model may have been taking and making phoneless calls, hands-free texting and offers some amazing health and fitness workout tracking functionalities.
More importantly, if it fits your wrist so perfectly, you take a sigh of relief, because choosing the size was a daunting task.
It does happens, if you are among the people blessed with rather skinny wrists, and you had not ordered the right size apple watch, it may come looking too big on are skinny wrist.
The you begin to ask yourself what apple watch you should get for a small wrist? Buy there is a separate post we created about the best smartwatch for small wrist, hope you can check it out.
What Apple Watch Size Should I Get If I Have Skinny Wrists – 40mm or 44mm?
Apple watch series 4, Apple watch series 5 and Apple watch series 6 have two sizes 40mm and 44mm. While the 40mm apple watch models have about 1.57 inches watch case height, the 44mm models measure about 1.73 inches in case height.
Subtract the two heights(1.73″ – 1.57″ = 0.16″) and you will see the difference is even negligible.
That is on papers, practically, that little fraction of an inch translate into a very bigger difference when you wear the watches on a petite wrist.
Many customers have confirmed that the smaller apple watch looks more convenient to wear on small wrist.
However, the 40mm apple watch models are generally recommended if you have a wrist size between 140-200mm (5.5 -7.9 inches).
The 44mm sized apple watch face models are best recommended you have a wrist size in the range 152-220mm (6.0 – 8.7 inches).
You therefore need to take a wrist measurement for the band and also measure your wrist size. With an accurately measured wrist size, you check how far up or down on the wrist size range from Apple.
Why should someone with skinnier wrist buy a 44mm apple watch size?
Most people have the mindset that 44mm is gonna be bigger on small wrist. Yes, it can look too big on some extra tiny wrists, but some people with slender sized wrists (6-6.5 inches) feel 44mm watch face is just a bit bigger. But here is why some small wrist people choose 44mm apple watches:
If you love a larger display screen apple watch, then a 44mm model is better option. For example, 44mm apple watch series 5 has a larger display size thanks to the screen that extends to the very edge of the corners. This makes the display size a bit larger than the actual watch dimension.
Also, more display space could mean notifications, soundtracks, calls and reading text could be clearer. These may not look fairly good for small display screen.
Which size apple watch to wear on a skinny wrist is more of a matter of personal preference. The 44mm apple watch might feel quite large on your wrist at first if you have been used to wearing 40mm models.
Apple watch bands
There are huge varieties of bands and style variations when you buy an apple watch. I think you understand the importance of picking the right band because they actually affects how comfortable the piece wears on wrists.
There many places where to choose apple watch bands if the one you have needs to be taken off. Sometimes, bands that fit apple old models of apple watches also fit in the latest models. Besides, there are also third-party replacement Apple Watch bands – small straps for 38mm, 40mm and large bands for 42mm and 44mm watches.
some 40mm-specific bands are:
- Hermès Single Tour
- Modern Buckle
- Hermès Double Tour
some 44mm-specific bands include:
- Leather Loop
- Hermès Single Tour Deployment Buckle
- Hermès Single Tour
img: What are the best Apple watch sizes for your wrists?
Related : The best smartwatch for diabetics
What band should I use on small wrist?
Many thinner wrist Apple watch fans have found that the very large or wide bands could also make your wrist appear more skinnier. A slightly narrow band can provide a snugger fit than wider straps.
Apple Watch Size FAQs
How do i change band on apple watch:
We have seen how to measure wrist for apple watches, but how do i remove the apple watch band?
You first make sure that the band you want to change corresponds to your Apple Watch case size. An apple watch band Series 1, 2, and 3 with Apple Watch Series 4 as well as Apple Watch SE can fit if it is compatible.
Also, apple watch straps for 38mm and 40mm cases are compatible with each other, while bands for 42mm and 44mm cases also fit compatibly too with each other.
Use these steps to replace and change your apple watch band for a perfectly fitting one.
Why does a person wear an apple watch upside down?
When it comes to wearing apple watches, technically, we are not talking of wearing watch inside wrist. We mean, simply rotating the apple watch to let the button align with your thumb. See why do people wear watches upside down.
Having an apple watch means you will probably be making a lot of tapping, swiping, and pressing the button. The way apple watch is designed, and considering the default apple watch orientation and the position of the apple watch button, you’ll need to constantly move your finger front and back between the display and the watch dial, which is kind of uncomfortable.
which hand should i wear my apple watch?
Which wrist should you wear an apple watch on? Right or left. It depends on the watch design and which arm is dominant.
The apple watch has the crown that is accessible conveniently if you have right arm as dominant. So the watch goes on the left wrist if your left arm is less dominant. The default orientation of apple watches in this position makes it easier to tapping, swiping, and pressing the button with right hand fingers.
However, if you are kind of people whose right arm is less dominant, you will wear your watches on the right wrist. A left handed person can constantly move the left hand finger front and back between the display and the watch dial comfortably.
What’s the biggest apple watch size?
The 44mm Apple Watch is the largest Apple Watch we have in the market currently, which was a replacement for the 42mm versions on the Apple Watch Series 1 through Apple Watch Series 3. The Apple watches with 42mm diameter actual size are the latest models with more official bands available.
Which apple Watch for extra small wrist?
How a 40mm watch on man’s wrist wears depends on his wrist size and the watch size. A 40mm Apple Watch has a medium screen size that’s just slightly bigger than that of the 38mm Apple Watch Series 3. However, the 38mm watch size is suitable for people with thin wrists.
Some apple users have confirmed having a 40mm watch on tin wrist, which wears very flexibly. Although the 40mm apple watch model has a display that is so much larger than 38mm, they both can fit slender wrist and medium-size wrist.
Also Check out these best smartwatches for small wrist people
Is a 44mm watch too big?
All depends on the size of your wrist. If your wrist size falls in the range 5inches to 6.5 inches in circumference, 38mm and 40mm apple watches may fit, except you have got extra small wrists.
A wrist dimension over 7-inches, is considered mid-sized to large and the more suitable apple watch face for it is 44mm apple smartwatches. Obviously, a 44mm smartwatch from apple will look comically over-sized on thin wrists.
How big is the 44mm Apple Watch
The 44mm Apple Watches series 5 has about 1.78 inches screen dimension with a resolution of 448 x 368 pixels. If you take a 40mm Apple watch series 5 with a display of 1.6-inch and a resolution of 394 x 324 pixels, you notice that the 44mm model’s has a large display that is about 30% larger than 40mm model.
Is Apple Watch 5 44mm too big for a woman?
Every woman should know that there are two sizes for the Apple Watch Series 5 – the 40mm and the 44mm case diameters. Since ladies have small to mid-sized wrist, the 44mm apple watch looks over-sized and may be hanging oh her wrist.
Likewise, is a 40mm watch too big for a woman? 40mm is suitable for skinny to medium wrists under 6.5 inches and 36mm – 40mm watches wear with a perfect fit for a woman’s wrist.
The question if a woman can wear the 44mm Apple Watch is obviously – it would look absurdly bulky and massive on her arm. Except she has got pretty large normal size mens wrists.
Read more: best smartwatch for teens
Wrap Up
From these data, it means 44mm for great on a 155mm (6.2 inches) wrist but 40mm actually fits well. Again, 44mm for a 165mm wrist is a perfect fit.
It become comically larger when a 44mm seats on a wrist size smaller than 6 inches. Woman with small wrists, would have the 44mm be too large on their arms.
For more questions regarding the Apple Watch and how to determine the right band size on your wrist, use our comment form below.
I found fun in watches especially when I started having difficult time select wearables for my skinny 5.5 inch wrists.
Because of the amazing toolds embedded inside trackers and smartwatches, I fell in love with fitness.
Today I love to go out for gym workouts with my friends. Now am part of a sizable fitness community and I feel lucky.