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38mm vs 42mm On Wrist Comparison

lupend88

lupend88

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jul 13, 2010
493
322
I printed the actual screen sizes out and taped them to my watch to see a real life comparison. The band reminds me of the link bracelet, which is the band I intend on getting. Any opinions as to which one fits me better? 38mm is the first photo and 42mm is the second. Thanks!



 
I'm going to have to say the 38 looks better. Something about the way the smaller one works with the curvature of the wrist, and the proportion of visible band to watch face.

I've been leaning towards the 42 for a while (I have large wrists even for a guy), but if the battery life is the same on the 38 I'd consider getting one. I love the modern buckle leather band and I'm not so enthusiastic about the leather loop, so that's another plus for the 38.

Thank goodness I have two or so months to go until the watch comes out... Plenty of time to drive myself nuts thinking about which one to get.
 
Both are far too big for me. What is with the modern trend toward such large watches? Men's watches when I was growing up in the 50's were mostly 30-32mm. Personally anything bigger that 32mm hurts my wrist.
 
The band on which you're modeling the mockup isn't proportional to the 42mm and so it looks a little awkward, but the actual watch won't look too big on your wrist. In fact, I'd get that as the 38mm looks a tad small.
 
danny_w said:
Both are far too big for me. What is with the modern trend toward such large watches? Men's watches when I was growing up in the 50's were mostly 30-32mm. Personally anything bigger that 32mm hurts my wrist.
Click to expand...

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say it is because you need to be able to read the screen text without the assistance of a microscope.
 
From this comparison, the 38mm looks like it would be better to me. It isn't terribly smaller than the 42mm, but it definitely looks better on your wrist than the 42mm.
 
So, you're putting your Rolex Submariner (just a guess) away for the :apple: Watch? :) Nice.
I wanted to get a Breitling Navitimer for a long time as my first "lifelong-wear" watch but decided against it because I will now always prefer the functionality of the :apple: Watch. I already know this. And I'm saving lots of money as I'm not going with Gold.
 
I think the 38mm with the link bracelet is a perfect choice for you. It's going to look sharp on your wrist. I think the 42mm with band added might look a little clunky on you.
 
JayLenochiniMac said:
The band on which you're modeling the mockup isn't proportional to the 42mm and so it looks a little awkward, but the actual watch won't look too big on your wrist. In fact, I'd get that as the 38mm looks a tad small.
Click to expand...

I totally agree. The band isn't quite wide enough to support the larger model in your picture, which ruins the lines. The real one won't have that problem.

I'd go for the 42mm. It will look fine, and be more usable than the 38mm because of the larger screen.

Sean

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danny_w said:
Both are far too big for me. What is with the modern trend toward such large watches? Men's watches when I was growing up in the 50's were mostly 30-32mm. Personally anything bigger that 32mm hurts my wrist.
Click to expand...

You must hate Brietlings!

Were high-end Men's watches back in the 50s really that small? I thought only the cheap Timex watches and the like were ever that tiny, but I could be wrong.

In any case, I don't think you are going to like any smartwatch, because at 32mm, the screen would be too small to be useful.

Sean
 
38mm definitely. That's what I'm getting, too, though I'm leaning toward the rose rold with a mix-and-match for the blue modern buckle to replace the rose gray leather. If that's too expensive, I'll just opt for the stainless steel with blue modern buckle.
 
looking at those pics Lupend, to be honest the 38mm does look better something about its size looks even more sleek.


I wasnt too sure what size would be best but from your pics it looks like if I were to buy this watch i'd go 38mm.

Also knowing that the 42mm will cost more its probably even financially better to go for the 38mm unless the 42mm brings better battery life which i dont think it does.

I wanted the Gold edition but from the estimated costs, I may just settle for the Stainless steel as I dont currently use any watch so this is just a vanity purchase to me as an added tool for my phone.

To be fair the Moto 360 was the first smart watch to make me think wow i might want one of these... but having no compatibility to iPhones is a huge deal breaker for me, I cant stand the android OS. Seeing the Apple Watch i can say its definitely a beautiful watch and possibly the only one that can compete with the look of the Moto 360.
 
dacreativeguy said:
Actual size photos
http://www.piliapp.com/actual-size/apple-watch-38mm/
http://www.piliapp.com/actual-size/apple-watch-42mm/

Dimensions
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Watch
Click to expand...

Thanks for those links, it's interesting to see it's real size based upon your monitor screen.

Something did strike me a lot, and I know this has been chatted about and Apple fans dismissing it. However, the Size of the watch, looking "face on" looks totally fine. I'm still shocked at just how fat/thick it is.

I know some like really far watches, but no way would I want any watch that chunky think. I hope as with other apple product, they slim it down a lot over the forthcoming years.

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dacreativeguy said:
How do you know this? Source?
Click to expand...

We don't
People are just guessing.

The larger model could be more expensive or it could be exactly the same price.
Either way makes no different to Apple, it all depends how they wish to be seen marketing this new type of product.

You don't generally charge more for size variations of things people wear though.
 
I did the same exercise. Printed the 42mm and 38mm faces and taped them onto my Movado, who's band is slightly too narrow for the 42mm...

42mm:
42mm.JPG


38mm:
38mm.JPG


Based on my body type, the 42mm seems to be a good fit. I was always worried it would be too large because my Movado is the same height as the 38mm, but far narrower. But, because of the UI and the fact that I'll be reading content on the screen, I think the 42mm will be perfect.
 
^^^^^^ I don't know man, I think I prefer the 38mm. Maybe I just like smaller watch sizes, but I personally like the 38mm in your photo and the 38mm in my OP.
 
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