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40mm or 44mm?

Archerious

Archerious

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Dec 12, 2010
373
37
Texas
Hey all my series 3 is barely functional, the touch screen requires several tries to work and AppleCare+ expired since the watch is over 3 years old.

Last time I went 38mm, thinking of going 40mm or 44mm. My vision isn’t as great as it once was so I’m mixed.

Would my wrist look awful with the 44mm?

Pictures of me wearing the 38mm below.

285431D1-4E16-4A22-ADE5-1DD07A4D9B72.jpeg


1F408860-5B7B-42EF-8613-4280A75EEF04.jpeg


42D2AC12-29FD-4A71-B6A0-CEA59B392DC1.jpeg
 
The choices are simple enough. You can only get 38mm if you get another Series 3. Upgrade to an SE or Series 6, you choose between 40mm and 44mm.

The 40mm will give you a substantially larger display than you have, while being only slightly larger in outside dimensions. In fact, the 40mm has a larger display than the 42mm. Here are the numbers: 38mm Series 3 - 563 sq. mm display, 42mm Series 3 - 740 sq. mm. The newer models weigh-in at 759 sq. mm for the 40mm and 997 sq. mm for the 44mm.

You seem to be worried that both the 40mm and 44mm would seem too large on your wrist. When I went from 42mm (Series 0) to 44mm (Series 4) I barely noticed the difference (other than the display). Going from 38mm to 44mm is definitely a bigger jump. If you won't feel comfortable wearing something that large then you may get less pleasure out of wearing the watch.

There's also the matter of fit. To get reliable heart rate and other fitness measurements the band needs to be snug - from your photos it looks like even the 38mm band needs to be worn one notch tighter. The 38-40mm Sport Band (like the one you wear) fits wrists of 130mm-200mm. The 42-44mm Sport Band fits 140mm-210mm wrists. If you happen to have a 130-135mm wrist, the 44mm with Sport Band will be too loose. (Other band styles have different fit ranges.) However, now that I count the holes on the band... the 42-44mm bands should fit OK, too.

I suspect you'll be happiest with the 40mm - much bigger display, only slightly larger size on the wrist.
 
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calstanford said:
40. No doubt. Otherone looks comically huge.
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I disagree with this statement 100%. To the OP, I think you should wear what YOU like and what feels comfortable to you. If some stranger in line at the grocery store has nothing better to do than look at my Apple Watch and judge me for what size I'm wearing, they can suck it. :) And anyway, most couldn't tell what size watch you're wearing on sight unless it was right next to the other size to compare it to.
 
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SisterBlue22 said:
I disagree with this statement 100%. To the OP, I think you should wear what YOU like and what feels comfortable to you. If some stranger in line at the grocery store has nothing better to do than look at my Apple Watch and judge me for what size I'm wearing, they can suck it. :) And anyway, most couldn't tell what size watch you're wearing on sight unless it was right next to the other size to compare it to.
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Exactly this. My mom has tiny wrists and poor eyesight for things close up. I bought her the 44mm and she loves it.
 
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40mm has a much larger screen than the old 38mm, with only a very small increase in size. Its screen is very close to the size of the old 42mm model.

So it will be much easier to read, without being too large. The 44mm looks comically large on most people in my opinion.
 
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Thank you all for your suggestions, ended up going for 40mm as I was concerned 44mm S.S might be a bit heavier than I'd prefer.
 
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For everyone recommending the 44mm because of text size, can't you achieve the same by changing the text size in preferences?
 
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peachpup said:
Booo... )) Just kidding. Do you like the 40? Glad you got it?
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Alright my 40mm Hermès Apple Watch S.S arrived. It's amazing, the leather is soft and quality. The watch is light, beautiful watch faces as well. Lastly the main stand out is how fast the watch is, I can actually open apps on it and use it for more things than just telling time. In summary, the Series 3 I had before was too laggy and unresponsive to do anything more than just tell time. Meanwhile this Series 6 is fantastic.

tempImageMMuUYl.jpg
 
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Archerious said:
Alright my 40mm Hermès Apple Watch S.S arrived. It's amazing, the leather is soft and quality. The watch is light, beautiful watch faces as well. Lastly the main stand out is how fast the watch is, I can actually open apps on it and use it for more things than just telling time. In summary, the Series 3 I had before was too laggy and unresponsive to do anything more than just tell time. Meanwhile this Series 6 is fantastic.

View attachment 1771787
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You definitely went with the right size judging by that pic. It looks in proportion and it’s nice to see wrist and strap too and bottom rather than just a big face dominating the wrist. Looks great
 
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Judging from the picture the smaller one seems rather big on your wrist already. But there’s no wrong or right- just get the one you feel more comfortable with.
 
The-Real-Deal82 said:
You definitely went with the right size judging by that pic. It looks in proportion and it’s nice to see wrist and strap too and bottom rather than just a big face dominating the wrist. Looks great
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Thank you, I agree 100%. I love the watch and its comfortable. I think 44mm would've been too large for my wrist and somewhat uncomfortable.
 
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40 looks perfect. 44 makes it look like a fancy gadget and may not work everywhere

Tell me more about the watch. I have the 3 and might upgrade this year. Does it feel less chunkier?
 
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