I get that. That’s why my S0 and S2 were SS. The price bump and getting kicked in the teeth when selling the old ones just pushed me over. Maybe I’ll regret it later but by then, I’ll get the S5 or whatever.
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Aluminium vs Stainless Steel
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I get that. That’s why my S0 and S2 were SS. The price bump and getting kicked in the teeth when selling the old ones just pushed me over. Maybe I’ll regret it later but by then, I’ll get the S5 or whatever.
This is a great idea and wish they had an upgrade program like they do for the phones but my guess is they dont for the exact reason you mentioned.
I cant justify the SS for how much it drops though I wouldnt mind picking one up later in the cycle and holding on to it for a couple years or until the next big hardware change.
I would love an upgrade program like the iPhone, just do not believe the Apple Watch is at a mature enough state yet for Apple to do it. However, I certainly see it in the next 3 - 5 years easily.
Besides the addition of cellular capabilities, no. Yes, both have sapphire and ceramic back.
I'd say that certainly something higher priced, is going to drop more in $ terms than a lower priced item, but the % change should be similar.
As for holding value, I just sold my S2 sport. It was spotless and battery worked for more than a day easy. I bought it new for 379$ and sold it about 18 months later a week ago for 210$, so it cost me overall less than 10$ a month.
Overall, dropping by about 50% in that time frame didn't seem too bad. I think a stainless, sold prior to announcement (like I did) would probably have lost a bit LESS in % terms.
How does the stainless steel hold up in chlorinated water? I’m curious if using it while swimming will make it’s shine go away?
It Won’t affect it. What I would suggest doing is making sure you thoroughly wipe on the watch off when you’re through swimming out of the pool. I have only owned the stainless model over the years and never had any type of reaction with the 316 L stainless.
Great! I’ve always rinsed off my aluminum, was just curious how the metals would react.
You should always rinse off any watch, as well as yourself, after exposure to chlorinated or salt water.
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You got a good price for it! I have a mint SS 42mm AW2 on swappa for a bit under $300 and haven't had any bites on it. I just looked today and there are several SS 42mm's in mint condition for $200 or just over that!! At that price I think I'd rather just hold onto it for another cycle, or give it to someone who would appreciate it. I can't complain too much, I got it off swappa for $450 about 6 months after it was released.
I'll be buying my AW4 in a few months for much less since they depreciate so badly, with a mind to keep it at least 2 years if not 3-4. Let someone else take the new car hit and the taxes, and most likely sell it with accessories.
Mad Mac Maniac
macrumors 601
I think I disagree with how you are looking at it if you see a 50% difference. 40mm Alu with cellular is $499, SS is $699 so about 30%. We only see that 50% difference if you spec the Alu version without cellular which is not a valid comparison when comparing resale in my opinion. The one with more functionality will resale higher.
Mad Mac Maniac
macrumors 601
Well, for the record I was imagining the 44mm and including tax...
So for my location, the 44mm aluminum w/ tax totals $572.64 and the 44 SS w/ tax totals $810.79 (numbers based on my actual orders). Obviously YMMV based on location, but that yields a difference of $238.15 which is 41.6%. Sure that's not exactly 50% but its not exacting a huge stretch. Plus you can add in the time value of money (the economic reality that $1 is worth more today than $1 tomorrow) and that bumps a few percentages closer to 50%. Then add that to the fact that it's much easier to conceptualize getting 3 AW vs 2 AW than whatever amount of AW to make it slightly more accurate. It's in the ballpark.
AW2 SG Alum here and after 2 years I have one absolutely minute scratch on the face. But it’s so tiny you have to look hard to see it. I’d not have any concern getting another one.
My first Apple Watch was aluminum that I got off ebay the Christmas after they came out. I just didn't like how cheap it looked next to the stainless steel versions. I continued to wear it, though, and after some time, the next version came out. The retailers were doing everything they could to get the old inventory out, and I happened to find a 38MM SS on Best Buy's website with a link bracelet for $250. Keep in mind that back then the link bracelet alone was selling for more than that. I thought I was being scammed for a minute there, but I hit the button and bought it; my thoughts were that I could sell the link band and pay for the watch, but I don't think I ever seriously considered doing so. I like the link bracelet too. (BTW, BB grayed out that link pretty quick after that; I don't know if everyone jumped on the offer or they/Apple/someone realized what they were doing there.)
Anyway, I've worn the watch just about every day, including right now. There's not a scratch on the face, and it still looks really good. I've ready for an upgrade, though. I know I'm not going to get anywhere near as good of a deal as last time, so I think I'm just going to preorder SS and cringe as I hit the pay button.
Anyway, I've worn the watch just about every day, including right now. There's not a scratch on the face, and it still looks really good. I've ready for an upgrade, though. I know I'm not going to get anywhere near as good of a deal as last time, so I think I'm just going to preorder SS and cringe as I hit the pay button.
fashion can't measurable with money.
stainless steel look stunning like fine watch and aluminum look like you go to gym.
stainless steel look stunning like fine watch and aluminum look like you go to gym.
The pricing on SS is wacky and made worse by the forced cellular upcharge, but the pricing of the Watch has been wacky since day 1. Still seems like they’re trying to balance what it should cost relative to the R&D to advance its functionality as well as the fashion angle which allows for arbitrary pricing based on aesthetic and not reason.
Curious how prone to scratching the aluminum watches are. My Series 2 SS gets banged up all the time and the screen looks perfect.
I really hate how expensive the Series 4 SS watches are. Leaning towards the Series 4 aluminum in space gray now.
I really hate how expensive the Series 4 SS watches are. Leaning towards the Series 4 aluminum in space gray now.
I’ve had a gold aluminum Series 1 for two years and am upgrading to gold stainless primarily for the crystal sapphire scratch resistance (and a preference for the gold stainless over the rosier gold aluminum). After a few dings and bangs, the aluminum can show wear and the display does acquire scratches. I’d say that you could be disappointed down the line when this happens, but if you can live with the wear the savings is definitely significant enough to go this route - especially if an aluminum color/band combo catches your eye.
Currently have an aluminium AW2, couple of little scratches on the screen, but it is still reasonable. I just found the aluminium looked a bit tacky particularly with a metal band when wearing with a suit (which I wear most days of the week). However I went with aluminium for my first AW as I figured was less money if I ended up never using it.
As I wear it most days my next AW is a SS silver AW4, picking up on Friday.
As I wear it most days my next AW is a SS silver AW4, picking up on Friday.
I wouldn't say the aluminum watches are 'prone' to scratching, the problem is is that if they do scratch, it's permanent, where as if the stainless models scratch, the scratches can be removed with a polishing cloth. The other issue you can encounter with the aluminum Apple Watch, is chipping. But I wouldn't let that stray you way from purchasing thr aluminum Apple Watch, it's still very durable, it just doesn't have some of advantages the stainless Apple Watch has.
I had the milanese on an SS S2. The trick for the first few days is to learn how to put it on without flipping either ends of the band up onto the case. That’s where the little scratches come from. I found if I simply ‘assembled’ the two ends together first before sliding it onto my wrist then pulling up the slack kept the free ends off the case. Easy once you’ve done it a few times. If I did it any other way I wound up with free ends flipping up onto the case.
S
Does polishing work for the Space Black Stainless Steel as well? Or only for the original silver version?
No, you cannot use a polishing cloth on the DLC for the space black stainless. The polishing material could remove the diamond like carbon coating if doing so, as it is a minor abrasive.
