Watch the Apple Watch Series 4 Smoke Older Apple Watches in Speed Comparison

[MacRumors]

The Apple Watch Series 4, launched last week, features a new dual-core S4 chip that's significantly faster than the S3 chip in the Series 3, and, of course, the chips used in older Apple Watch models.

We did a side-by-side comparison of the Apple Watch Series 4 to the original Apple Watch, the Series 1 models, the Series 2 models, and the Apple Watch Series 3 to see how far the Apple Watch has come since it was first introduced in 2015.

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According to Apple, the fourth-generation dual-core 64-bit Silicon-in-Package or SIP chip in the Apple Watch is twice as fast as the previous-generation S3 chip. Its improved efficiency and speed allow for better battery conservation and new health-related features like ECG readings.

In our testing, we compared Apple Watch tasks like booting up, opening apps, and activating Siri to demonstrate the speed differences between each generation.

Unsurprisingly, the Series 4 was the fastest, but for a lot of tasks, there weren't huge speed differences between the Series 4 and the Series 3.

When comparing the Series 4 to the Series 2 and older, though, you can see the impressive improvements Apple has made to the processor over the course of the last three years. While it took the Apple Watch Series 4 40 seconds to boot up, it took the Series 2 almost four minutes, the Series 1 three minutes, and the Series 0 five minutes.

When opening up apps, we didn't see a huge difference between the Series 3 and Series 4 for most tests, but the Series 4 was always just a little bit faster. On Series 2 and older, apps took a good deal longer to open, and in some cases, like with the original Apple Watch, apps took so long we gave up.

So, what can we learn from this? You may not see major speed changes when upgrading to Series 4 from Series 3, though everything will feel snappier.

You will, however, notice an incredible difference upgrading from an original Apple Watch, Series 1 model, or Series 2 model, which makes upgrading from one of these older devices worthwhile.

In our opinion, if you're considering upgrading from a Series 2 or earlier to the Series 4, do it. The speed changes are so drastic that using the Apple Watch Series 4 is an entirely different experience than using an older Apple Watch.

Have you upgraded to a Series 4 from an older Apple Watch model? Let us know what you think about the new device in the comments below.

Article Link: Watch the Apple Watch Series 4 Smoke Older Apple Watches in Speed Comparison

 

[Wombat-man]

Surely it's not good for a watch to be "fast"...?

 

[redneckitengineer]

Call quality, the main factor in my choice to upgrade. The new speaker loudness and clarity is so far above the series 3 it sold me on that one feature. I do appreciate the other stuff too.

 

[anticipate]

I dunno. The massive speed difference between opening 3rd party apps on S4 vs S3 is worth it alone. The native stuff opens instantly; 3rd party stuff no more than a second. It's a sizable improvement. And the S3 wasn't "slow" like the S2 or S0 was.

 

[The Game 161]

It’s noticeable even from my series 3

 

[Baymowe335]

The Watch 4 is the first watch that really makes a statement for looks and utility of a smartwatch.

The processing has finally gotten good enough to make this compelling enough to replace your iPhone some of the time.

 

[BrennanWDavis]

I'll have to wait until Oct 5 to see it for myself, as I ordered the Nike+ S4. It'll be a great upgrade from my Nike+ S2 though. Can't wait!

 

[m4mario]

Next Apple watch feature: Smoke detection when it smokes other smart watches.

 

[cycomiko]

$200 NZD price increase. Wooop woop. Such great value.

Not.

 

[drumcat]

$200 NZD price increase. Wooop woop. Such great value.

Not.

I'm getting mine on an Aussie trip. No GST!

 

[Wig321]

Improved efficiency and better battery conservation = lets reduce the battery size
[doublepost=1538169620][/doublepost]"is an entirely different experience than using an older Apple Watch." It really isn't though

 

[thadoggfather]

This phone I mean watch blazes!

3GS speed and 4 elegance of an upgrade

 

[Nozuka]

Updating to 5.0.1 felt like twice as fast.

And my AW4 boots in 32seconds, and the AW3 in 1min 20sec.

 

[bodonnell202]

I find it funny when people act surprised that the Series 1 and Series 2 perform similarly (with the Series 1 beating the Series 2 in certain cases). They are the same chip minus the GPS on the Series 1 (and I suspect that mostly explains why the Series 1 bests the Series 2 on the bootup test as it has less things to load).

As an aside it looks like I'm going to have to go back to wanting to upgrade to a Series 4 just for the bigger screen and thinner profile as it doesn't look the speed difference compared to my Series 3 will be that noticeable in everyday use (except maybe with 3rd party apps, but I rarely use any). Oh well...

 

[jclo]

I find it funny when people act surprised that the Series 1 and Series 2 perform similarly (with the Series 1 beating the Series 2 in certain cases). They are the same chip minus the GPS on the Series 1 (and I suspect that mostly explains why the Series 1 bests the Series 2 on the bootup test as it has less things to load).

As an aside it looks like I'm going to have to go back to wanting to upgrade to a Series 4 just for the bigger screen and thinner profile as it doesn't look the speed difference compared to my Series 3 will be that noticeable in everyday use (except maybe with 3rd party apps, but I rarely use any). Oh well...

Coming from Series 3, I feel like the Series 4 is just overall speedier and a much more pleasing experience even though the differences look minimal in the video. A second here or there really adds up.

 

[djlythium]

Yea, just upgraded from a Series 1, and, damn...

 

[Born Again]

So it’s “snappier”?

 

[UltimaKilo]

I may be alone here, but I have the Series 2 which I absolutely love. However, the watch was becoming incredibly slow and I was waiting for the Series 4 with anticipation. That is, until Watch OS 5 which has seen a significant increase in performance on my Series 2 now I feel like I should wait until next year to upgrade.

Did anyone else experience a big performance boost with the Series 2 from Watch OS 5? I had thought the Series 2 was going to become even slower with the release of a new OS!

Also, the Series 3, whom my wife has, also seems much speedier on Watch OS 5.

 

[xDKP]

Having upgraded from a S2 watch the speed and responsiveness was one of the main factors for upgrading.

The S4 is super smooth and reacts instantly - makes me want to use way more features than I did on the S2

 

[yugemonz]

Take better care of your stuff? My Apple Watch Series 0 opened up the camera app in less than 5 seconds. Amongst other things, it isn't as slow as you make it out to be. I WILL AGREE THAT POWERING IT ON TOOK 5 MIN THO

 

[JSB1540]

S1 to S4 is incredible!

 

[RedGala]

Dude TURN OFF THE VIDEO FILTER when the Macrumors animation plays. The colors are completely off because the visual effect you have throughout the video doesn’t go off when the animation plays.

 

[barjam]

Improved efficiency and better battery conservation = lets reduce the battery size
[doublepost=1538169620][/doublepost]"is an entirely different experience than using an older Apple Watch." It really isn't though

It really is. Even compared to my 3 it is. Compared to models earlier than a 3 it is significantly improved. Screen size + blazing speed makes what you can do with it and when different.

 

[bodonnell202]

I may be alone here, but I have the Series 2 which I absolutely love. However, the watch was becoming incredibly slow and I was waiting for the Series 4 with anticipation. That is, until Watch OS 5 which has seen a significant increase in performance on my Series 2 now I feel like I should wait until next year to upgrade.

Did anyone else experience a big performance boost with the Series 2 from Watch OS 5? I had thought the Series 2 was going to become even slower with the release of a new OS!

Also, the Series 3, whom my wife has, also seems much speedier on Watch OS 5.

Yes, a little over a week in and WatchOS 5 has felt a bit more responsive on my S3, I think mostly because the super annoying starting a workout lag issue appears to be gone (hopefully forever, fingers crossed).

I think WatchOS 4 is kind of the iOS 11 of the WatchOSes.

 

[redman042]

I've had the S4 for a few days, coming from the S2. The speed difference is HUGE. To give you an idea of how big of a difference, there were a bunch of third party apps that I previously unloaded from my S2 after giving up on them because they were too slow and too frustrating to bother with. Even built-in apps were pretty laggy at times. The S4 is so much faster that I reloaded a lot of those third party apps. They are usable now, and dare I say, snappy. There is just so much more I'm able to do, and enjoy doing, on the S4 compared to the S2. It's like going from an iPhone 4 to an iPhone 7. The new CPU has basically erased significant lag from the device.

The S4 is an outstanding upgrade.