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Aluminium durability?
- Thread starter Marco123
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The 7000 series aluminum used on the sport model Apple Watch is very durable. It's the same aluminum used on the iPhone with iPhone 6s and 7. It has excellent corrosion resistance and fairly resilient against scratches.
My series 2 space gray has been pretty durable. Had it about a year. The body is still almost new with one tiny ding you have to long hard to see. The Ion-X Glass is scratched a bit. Mostly light surface scratches that you need bright light like sunlight to see. I managed a few small deeper scratches on the lower edge but they’re minimal and you don’t really see them. Guess I shouldn’t have worn it working on the Jeep haha. I’ve been doing the same back and forth...Sport or SS if I upgrade to the Series 3. I really want the sapphire screen, but find it hard to justify paying the extra for something you replace every couple years. Plus while I don’t mind the weight of the SS ( I own a couple SS auto watches that are weighty) I have grown to prefer the lightness if the sport. Especially for work outs. Decisions.
I had a space gray S0 watch since release day and I would bang it up against walls and other stuff just from normal use. Never had any scratches or dings.
My wife is in a wheelchair and she has an aluminum version ... has had it almost 2 years now, it has a cracked screen but this is just from recently ... she bangs that thing around like crazy and the body of it is in mint condition. I just picked her up a series 3 aluminum based on her last 2 years use ... otherwise I would have opted for the SS ... which I have for looks alone ... even my old SS had a ding in the sapphire screen after 2 years ...
My space gray Nike AW2 ended up with a couple minor case dings in the year I've owned it, plus one scratch on the upper rounded edge of the glass. Never got around to the $70 replacement under AC+ as it didn't really bother me.
Contrast to the ~$250 after tax difference, AC+ and a replacement or two and you're still ahead with aluminum.
SBSS still is a nice watch. I probably would have gone there except I really like the Nike faces and band. No Nike SS option. Woulda had my money if it existed.
Contrast to the ~$250 after tax difference, AC+ and a replacement or two and you're still ahead with aluminum.
SBSS still is a nice watch. I probably would have gone there except I really like the Nike faces and band. No Nike SS option. Woulda had my money if it existed.
Had space gray S1 for year, not a scratch/dent on aluminium body and no scratches on front glass and rear composite. Expect the same from my new S3 (non-LTE).
Well I received my SG series 3 a few hours ago and the one thing that I never realised was how much lighter it is than the SS.
Wow, I can’t see myself ever going back to SS. You can hardly feel it on your wrist. Really glad I picked aluminium over steel and I wished I did it from the start.
Also is it my imagination but the screen looks more vivid and bright that the SS watch.
Wow, I can’t see myself ever going back to SS. You can hardly feel it on your wrist. Really glad I picked aluminium over steel and I wished I did it from the start.
Also is it my imagination but the screen looks more vivid and bright that the SS watch.
Just get Applecare+, it's not that expensive. Is much cheaper than paying a premium for the steel version in the hopes for more durability.
If someone is going with sport model I would recommend apple care. I think the body should do fine but I worry about the screen. Its pretty easy to bang it against something and crack it. I think it just depends on what you typically do. If you're inside most of the time and in an office setting you are probably ok. If you work outside or active w/your hands a lot maybe throw in apple care.
The glass screen is much easier to scratch than sapphire so whether or not this will be an issue for you will depend on your tolerance for minor scratches and how likely you are to scratch the watch. I work in a laboratory and I knock my watch against stuff all the time. The screens on my S0/S1 aluminium Apple Watch have quite a number of scratches. I have had a S2 SS for a year now and the screen is flawless. There are some tools/abrasives in my lab that can scratch sapphire, so I am especially careful around those.
As for the body, the space grey (my S0) easily reveals the silver aluminum underneath if you manage to scratch it (as I have mine). Obviously, this isn’t an issue for the silver variant. As for the gold variant, it looks very similar to the silver anyway so it isn’t obvious even if this happens. The main issue for the regular SS is that it is highly polished, so any tiny scratch becomes obvious (though they can be buffed out). In terms of durability, the SBSS is obviously the best...
As for the body, the space grey (my S0) easily reveals the silver aluminum underneath if you manage to scratch it (as I have mine). Obviously, this isn’t an issue for the silver variant. As for the gold variant, it looks very similar to the silver anyway so it isn’t obvious even if this happens. The main issue for the regular SS is that it is highly polished, so any tiny scratch becomes obvious (though they can be buffed out). In terms of durability, the SBSS is obviously the best...
I do property maintenance along with Fire & Rescue and my S2 Sport never got a mark in the body. I did end up with scratches in the glass but you couldn’t tell it when your using it. Plain to see when it’s off or your cleaning it. I considered going back with a SS s3 but I just can’t/won’t pay that much for something I will replace when the s4 comes out.
Ion glass (aluminum) allows more light thru. I find the haptics are more pronounced (on aluminum) due to the lighter weight.
Has this actually happened to you?
After a year with my AW2 Nike, as someone who does a lot of handyman stuff at home and bangs into doorways... I have a couple scrapes on the case and one barely visible slight scuff on the top edge of the display. The watch remains very serviceable, you have to look carefully to see the screen scuff.
The stainless display has a reflectivity due to the Saphirre display, which does not appear to make the display as bright as the sport model.
This article explains how that all works:
http://www.displaymate.com/Apple_Watch_ShootOut_1.htm
This too! The haptic feel so much better that I thought there might have been something wrong with my S1 and S2 SSSB. It must be to do with the case materials.
Personally for me, the aluminium and AC+ is the way forward from now on and wouldn’t it be great if they started to use the sapphire screen on the lte versions from now on?
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