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Aluminum Case vs Stainless Steel

R

ron1990

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 15, 2014
81
7
Hey,
I guess other people have asked that question a million times.
I wonder between Space Black Stainless Steel and Nike Space Gray Aluminum.
I am in a country where the cellular services on apple watch are still not supported, and my main use is for sports (running / swimming / walking).
I'm the kind of person who like to upgrade every year so I'm wondering how much it's worth to spend a decent amount of money on Stainless Steel watch
Thanks
 
Especialy if you are thinking about the gray/black versions, I dont think that the SS black is so much nicer than the space gray alunimun.
If you want to choose from this two, you can pair the same bands with both.
So you only have to think about the scratch resistance of the display.
The SS body is more scratch resistant too, but the aluminum is good too.
As you want to upgrade every year, I would buy the SG Aluminum.
 
The SS is better quality as far as looks, material, and durability but if you can’t activate LTE and you plan to update every year it’s a no brainer, get the aluminum and save a bunch of money.
 
Thanks everyone for the quick responses.

Can anyone tell me the difference between the Space Gray Aluminum Case Black Sport Loop (gps only) to the Space Gray Aluminum Case with Black Nike Sport Loop (gps only)? what is better?

is the Black Sport Loop is the same band apple sold in version 3 ("black sport loop - hook and loop clousure - 42mm)?
 
ron1990 said:
Is that all the difference?
Click to expand...
The Nike has extra Nike watch faces.
I would not buy a normal one. The nike faces are nice to have and the resell is better too.
The black nike loop looks better in my opinion, and you can buy other straps too if you dont like the reflective in the dark.
 
Mapple86 said:
The Nike has extra Nike watch faces.
I would not buy a normal one. The nike faces are nice to have and the resell is better too.
The black nike loop looks better in my opinion, and you can buy other straps too if you dont like the reflective in the dark.
Click to expand...

thank you! I just orderd the
Apple Watch Nike+ Series 4 GPS, 44mm Space Gray Aluminum Case with Black Nike Sport Loop :)
 
If you’re someone else also concerned about resale value, the aluminum would be the most obvious choice. The stainless has the the Sapphire display, but it’s all terms of aesthetics for the price point difference.
 
ron1990 said:
Hey,
I guess other people have asked that question a million times.
I wonder between Space Black Stainless Steel and Nike Space Gray Aluminum.
I am in a country where the cellular services on apple watch are still not supported, and my main use is for sports (running / swimming / walking).
I'm the kind of person who like to upgrade every year so I'm wondering how much it's worth to spend a decent amount of money on Stainless Steel watch
Thanks
Click to expand...

This is easy. For you, go aluminum. You'll upgrade every year and you don't have cellular service. Base aluminum will be half a SS and resale, from what I can see on the used sites, not a whole lot less.

Although, ironically, with almost the same use case, I've been waiting for the SS to show up in force. II'll bang the watch. so I'm not sure the aluminum would hold up well. I'm also coming from a Fenix and the aluminum feels way too light to me in the store. I probably wouldn't care after a couple of weeks though.

Might consider a sports orientated brand also. The Apple watch is kind of an eco-system thing that's decent/good at some sports tracking but not nearly as good as you'll get in some of the other brands which focus on running, and if you go Garmin, you'll get Spotify with the right watch (on the way, but not all the way on the AW). But, the other brands won't call 911 if I wind up in a ditch or unlock my mac so there's those things too.
 
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What I dont like with the aluminium, is how the band connectors look like in it.
Most Band connectors (especially the genuine apple ones) are shiny SS.
Using sport bands/loops in aluminium is no problem, but learher bands and ss bands does not look so good.
 
Yes I did a little calculation for Germany resell market. Still dont know what to do.

Money lost after 1 year:
SS 400€ - per Year 400€
Alu 200€ - per Year 200€

Money lost after 2 years:
SS 550€ - per Year 275€
Alu 300€ - per Year 150€

Money lost after 3 years:
SS 600€ - per Year 200€
Alu 350€ - per Year 116€

So you could buy every year a aluminum or every 3 years a SS to spend the same Money.
 
I wish they could come up with matte finish stainless or aluminum model with sapphire screen
 
Mapple86 said:
What I dont like with the aluminium, is how the band connectors look like in it.
Most Band connectors (especially the genuine apple ones) are shiny SS.
Using sport bands/loops in aluminium is no problem, but learher bands and ss bands does not look so good.
Click to expand...

You do raise a good point in that most of Apple's band connectors for stainless are silver SS and it's not a good match for Aluminum. But you could always go leather loop or order a 3rd party band, there are plenty of good options that at least offer something that doesn't stick out quite as bad with Space Gray.
 
ron1990 said:
Hey,
I guess other people have asked that question a million times.
I wonder between Space Black Stainless Steel and Nike Space Gray Aluminum.
I am in a country where the cellular services on apple watch are still not supported, and my main use is for sports (running / swimming / walking).
I'm the kind of person who like to upgrade every year so I'm wondering how much it's worth to spend a decent amount of money on Stainless Steel watch
Thanks
Click to expand...

If you’re into sports, in my opinion it’s a no brainer. You want the less heavy one and the difference is significant. Actually, I don’t see why anyone would go for SS. If durability is a concern, just get Apple Care +. It’s still going to be cheaper in the long run.
 
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