Any reason not to buy AWS 5?

[bearmaster1]

I have an Apple Watch Series 3 that I bought a couple of months after it was released in 2017. With the Series 5 on sale at amazon and Costco, I think now is a good time to upgrade. I can also probably sell the S3 for $150 or something on eBay.

Is there anything wrong with the S5, such as battery life? I'll be going from the 38mm to 40mm. The always on display will also be nice as the wake screen on wrist raise doesn't always work for me.

 

[lclev]

I just purchased an S5 from Amazon (on sale). I have owned an S0, S2, S3s, & S4.

Battery life seems the same as my S4 - which lasted all day plus. Both my S4 and S5 are the 44mm model.

I didn’t think the “always on” feature would be that big a deal but I really love it. I swim laps everyday. The “always on” feature allows me to see my progress without having to stop and tap the watch to “wake it up”.

You will see a speed increase stepping up from an S3 to the S5.

Lisa

 

[MisterSavage]

My battery life with my S5 was terrible at first but now after software upgrades it seems no different than my S4 battery life was. I love the AoD and you'll notice a big difference in screen size coming from an S3.

 

[bearmaster1]

Thanks - this is good info. I run a lot and frequently need to fidget with the S3 display to see how I am doing. Also since I have the small screen, I need to look a couple of times to figure out my cadence etc. Not really complaining but it could be easier.

I just purchased an S5 from Amazon (on sale). I have owned an S0, S2, S3s, & S4.

Battery life seems the same as my S4 - which lasted all day plus. Both my S4 and S5 are the 44mm model.

I didn’t think the “always on” feature would be that big a deal but I really love it. I swim laps everyday. The “always on” feature allows me to see my progress without having to stop and tap the watch to “wake it up”.

You will see a speed increase stepping up from an S3 to the S5.

Lisa

 

[henry72]

If you have a S3, I would wait for about 6 months for the S6 as S4 to S5 wasn't a major upgrade. Get it now if you can't wait, I love my S5 and it will be an awesome upgrade to your S3. Bigger screen, always on and maybe slightly better battery life.

Ask yourself if sleep tracking is important to you or not? The S6 could get this feature.

 

[Apple_Robert]

Thanks - this is good info. I run a lot and frequently need to fidget with the S3 display to see how I am doing. Also since I have the small screen, I need to look a couple of times to figure out my cadence etc. Not really complaining but it could be easier.

Running with the watch can be a problem at times, as the face is not as responsive when wet from rain and or sweat.

 

[lclev]

Running with the watch can be a problem at times, as the face is not as responsive when wet from rain and or sweat.

Actually one of the gripes I had with the S3 and S4 was the unresponsiveness of the screen when my hands were wet. The S5 does not have this issue. When I am done with laps in the pool I can tap the screen and end the workout with one tap. The S3 and S4 took several taps sometimes to get it to respond.

Lisa

 

[Abazigal]

I have an Apple Watch Series 3 that I bought a couple of months after it was released in 2017. With the Series 5 on sale at amazon and Costco, I think now is a good time to upgrade. I can also probably sell the S3 for $150 or something on eBay.

Is there anything wrong with the S5, such as battery life? I'll be going from the 38mm to 40mm. The always on display will also be nice as the wake screen on wrist raise doesn't always work for me.

Main drawback would be battery life. Personal experience - I was recently at an adventure camp with my students. At the end of the day (~18 hours), my S5 was down to 22%, while my colleague with the S3 Watch still had close to 70% battery life. It basically has worse battery life than my 3-year old series 2 Apple Watch.

Otherwise, coming from the S2, I am enjoying the always on screen, the faster speed and the larger screen.

 

[staggerlee41]

Main drawback would be battery life. Personal experience - I was recently at an adventure camp with my students. At the end of the day (~18 hours), my S5 was down to 22%, while my colleague with the S3 Watch still had close to 70% battery life. It basically has worse battery life than my 3-year old series 2 Apple Watch.

Otherwise, coming from the S2, I am enjoying the always on screen, the faster speed and the larger screen.

Having come from a S2 myself to a S4 I have noticed the S2's battery to be noticeably better but not vastly different either. Both have been what I consider very good. I'm not sure it's a fair comparison to make with your S5 and colleague's S3 in terms of battery life unless your settings were exactly the same. Settings can absolutely impact battery life. As you're probably aware, Apple claims 18 hours of battery life on a single charge so you're within their suggested range. Not that I'd ever complain about MORE battery life. Honestly I hope they're working on improving battery life not just incrementally.

That said, with the settings I'm using, I am usually around 40-50% with one full day 2-3 hours of usage.

To the OP, if you really want a watch now, go for it. The sales seem to be pretty good, maybe the best thus far? You might find better sales after S6 is released but the value of your S3 may also be better now if you were going to part with it. On the other hand, you may also be tempted by the S6 depending on what that ends up giving us.

 

[Aspasia]

Today is my second day with the AW5 (44). It goes on my wrist at 7 a.m. and stays on until 11:30 p.m. Am using it for daily activities, exercise, working out, heart rate, messages, email, etc. Battery life right now is 50% (8:45 p.m.). It was around 30% last night when I took it off.

Screen is very responsive and am looking forward to using it on the water (sea kayaker). While it's my first Apple Watch, I think it's quite fantastic.

 

[Abazigal]

I'm not sure it's a fair comparison to make with your S5 and colleague's S3 in terms of battery life unless your settings were exactly the same. Settings can absolutely impact battery life.

I would say it's more or less the same - an entire day of activity tracking while we accompanied our students on their respective activities. The main difference would be my always-on-display vs his lack thereof.

Honestly I hope they're working on improving battery life not just incrementally.

I suspect it's more the opposite. Apple seems to have settled on this magic number of "18-hour battery life" where they assume the average user wears his watch the whole day, then takes it off to charge overnight while he sleeps. That's why they seem comfortable "burning" any excess battery life on features like the AOD (always-on-display) that improve the user experience, so long as it doesn't reduce the watch's battery life below this threshold.

 

[perezr10]

The Series 5 isn’t that much faster than the Series 3.

 

[sird28]

Find a SS S4 for the same price as the Aluminum S5 to me is the better deal. Same processor so supported just a long software wise, same big screen, better looking/better materials in SS and Sapphire Screen.

Missing Always on Display, and Compa..... ok missing Always on Display

AoD is nice, but almost everyone that has a apple watch doesn't have AoD so its really the normal to have that black non-lit screen.

 

[nickdalzell1]

The Series 5 isn’t that much faster than the Series 3.

Indeed. Mine might be faulty but it's definitely slower (it stutters a lot if many apps are running--say, more than 5 in the dock) and the RAM management is garbage. It starts closing apps and services crash if you run more than 7 in the dock at once. Eventually Siri and dictation fail outright (act like you're no longer connected to your phone/wifi) and I have to reboot every few days. The Series 3 is zippy as all get out (perhaps the smaller screen helps? I've read rumors the Max size iPhones stutter more noticeably than smaller screens) and it can handle all 10 in the dock without breaking a sweat.

AOD is nothing to me. On Galaxy Watches/Gears it was always the first thing I turned off. It annoyed me while sleeping, drained the battery and seemed pointless since I have to look at the screen anyway to see the time and it always woke up by that time. Also seemed more vulnerable to 'accidental swipes/touches'. Kinda like an iPhone with an AOD should one exist. Can you imagine the butt-dialing if that came about?

I never needed to use 'water lock' on my S3, since the screen seemed to remain off when wet. My S5 requires it or it starts opening apps or doing random things when wet otherwise.

 

[rbart]

I think your S5 has really a big problem.
If I compare my S5 to my wife's AW series 3, it's night and day for performance.
The S3 is still very usable, but all apps start slowly, it's slower when you switch faces, it stutters ...
It's still right, but it's very far from S4/5
And I love AOD when running, it's a game changer when using apple workout app.

 

[nickdalzell1]

Well, despite my issue with speed/apps/RAM at least I got everything else working fine!

Not sure if watchOS 6.1.1 hurt it or not. It didn't hurt my S3 but it got less than 1/3 the features of it. My dock on my S5 starts losing apps after I go past 7. They just vanish from the dock like they're exiting or crashing. Eventually most internet-dependent functions (Siri, dictation, weather) refuse to work/update data and I have to reboot. Love the watch otherwise if not just for the larger screen. Better for my fat fingers. Also like the Infograph faces.

I can see the benefit of AOD for swimming but not running/walking. If I try to look at my S3's data while doing either, it's already awake before I can view the screen comfortably. Kinda unnecessary. In fact, I just let the haptic touches let me know every mile, every ring closed. I always view the data when I'm done either way.

 

[44267547]

The Series 5 isn’t that much faster than the Series 3.

I agree to an extent, but it probably depends what you’re doing on the Apple Watch to notice the ‘speed difference’. But in terms of how most consumers use their Apple Watch, yes, you’re right the overall speed boost should be about the same in terms of navigation/opening – closing, ect . It’s not like the Apple Watch is based on performance for everything, although some third-party apps can be demanding, I think the majority of what people use the Apple Watch for is really notifications and fitness, which you really don’t need to have the latest processor to officially utilize those features.