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Apple Watch 3 mistake?

michial

michial

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Sep 15, 2009
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I don’t own an Apple Watch yet but see they are $259 for the 42mm GPS version on Amazon and Best Buy. I don’t need the heart monitor on the 4 and none of the other features on the 4, while nice are not enough to draw another nearly $200 out of my wallet. I feel $250 is a great deal for a series 3 and I’m ready to take the plunge.
Is this a mistake buying an older model? How long will it last? Lastly is there a difference between the Nike and regular sports band? I really like the Nike band.
 
The difference between the 3 and 4 are mainly the bigger screen and the internals (upgraded CPU etc). You said you dont really care about the EKG stuff so you would probably be just fine on the Series 3. I will say, the screen on the Series 4 is NICE. The difference between the Nike and regular are just the band and the Nike has a couple extra watch faces.
 
bbednarz said:
The difference between the 3 and 4 are mainly the bigger screen and the internals (upgraded CPU etc). You said you dont really care about the EKG stuff so you would probably be just fine on the Series 3. I will say, the screen on the Series 4 is NICE. The difference between the Nike and regular are just the band and the Nike has a couple extra watch faces.
Click to expand...
Thanks. I’m sure the 4 is nicer. But not having ever owned an Apple Watch I won’t know the difference. I’m not willing to pay almost double for it.
 
michial said:
I don’t own an Apple Watch yet but see they are $259 for the 42mm GPS version on Amazon and Best Buy. I don’t need the heart monitor on the 4 and none of the other features on the 4, while nice are not enough to draw another nearly $200 out of my wallet. I feel $250 is a great deal for a series 3 and I’m ready to take the plunge.
Is this a mistake buying an older model? How long will it last? Lastly is there a difference between the Nike and regular sports band? I really like the Nike band.
Click to expand...

I returned my AW4 Aluminum and bought a pristine used AW3 SS for less and haven’t missed anything from the AW4. I honestly don’t notice much difference in speed. The larger screen was nice but in reality it’s just a black rectangle on your wrist the majority of time.
 
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brentc133 said:
I returned my AW4 Aluminum and bought a pristine used AW3 SS for less and haven’t missed anything from the AW4. I honestly don’t notice much difference in speed. The larger screen was nice but in reality it’s just a black rectangle on your wrist the majority of time.
Click to expand...
While I get the point and have nothing against it.. Your phone is also just a black rectangle most of the time. The only times it needs to be more than that is when you are using it.
 
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I think the AW3 is possibly the pinnacle of apple watches to date. It has everything you need functionally from a fitness watch and the best battery life. AW4 starts to adds niche functions that reduce the battery life and destroy the value proposition unless you have a particular need for those functions. Sure, it looks great but recognise that you are paying for looks rather than features. So don't feel bad about buying a SW3 - Its a great watch.
 
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I was in the same boat last year but then it was the AW2 vs AW3. I went for the AW2 as I wanted the experience and see if a smartwatch was something for me without paying too much. I am still happy now with the watch but still glad I went for 'last year's' model because I saved quite some money which I could invest in watchbands. Having multiple bands really completes the experience in my opinion.
 
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personally, I prefer the look of the series 4 and the watch faces. I am going to be upgrading my 3 simply for those reasons. Looks aside, I am completely content with the speed of the 3 though.
 
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michial said:
Thanks. I’m sure the 4 is nicer. But not having ever owned an Apple Watch I won’t know the difference. I’m not willing to pay almost double for it.
Click to expand...

I had upgraded/traded up to the AW4 but ended up returning it and kept my AW3 (there are various reasons for this) but I'm happy with the decision. Unless you really want the EKG, which is a moot point for you, there isn't too much of a reason to get it with that big of a price difference. The AW3 will be working well for at least another couple of cycles (my AW2 is still working just fine and I keep it in rotation). The bigger screen was nice for a while but I didn't really need it for the things I use the AW for.

Get the AW3 - see if you like having an AW and figure out the things you'd use it for in your life. Upgrade next year or the year after. That's a good value for your $.
 
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Went from the Series 2 38mm to the Series 3 42mm for $209. Haven’t looked back. Battery life is awesome and speed is MUCH improved.

$259 is a great deal for the Series 3 42mm. Some say battery life is worse on the Series 4. Some say it’s better. I get over 2 days on a single charge. I use AutoSleep, AutoWake and HeartWatch. All 3 apps are awesome if you want to have a smart alarm and better heart rate result details. Doesn’t drain my battery at all.
 
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michial said:
I don’t own an Apple Watch yet but see they are $259 for the 42mm GPS version on Amazon and Best Buy. I don’t need the heart monitor on the 4 and none of the other features on the 4, while nice are not enough to draw another nearly $200 out of my wallet. I feel $250 is a great deal for a series 3 and I’m ready to take the plunge.
Is this a mistake buying an older model? How long will it last? Lastly is there a difference between the Nike and regular sports band? I really like the Nike band.
Click to expand...

I think the Series 3 is still perfectly suitable for a purchase, it still has the dual core processor, water resistance rating, audible Siri that is shared with the Series 4. The major difference most don’t think about, is the Series 4 has the 64-bit architecture (Dual core processor), which basically will help prolong the watch support life for future applications.

And of course, the other significant features is a larger display and the EKG feature for the Series 4.
 
the new ECG has no value to me.
I wish I could buy a AW4 with older heartbeat sensor for $325.
The price jump was not worth it.

If I was new to AW, I would get AW3 and wait for AW5.
 
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I was in the same situation and I was able to get a Series 3 42mm Stainless Steel black Milanese Loop for $355, and I couldn't be happier. It's a great watch, and I saved $500!
 
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I've just took the plunge on a S3 SS AW which should be here on Monday.

I was torn between that and a S4 aluminium with GPS but they were the same price.
£479 for new and aluminum or £479 for SS Series 3.

Went with S3, as I've never owned one before so it'll be a test of whether I actually get along with it and if I do, I can trade up in September to S5.

The additional screen does look really nice, but I just don't like the look of aluminum over SS.
Plus, the additional heart rate stuff is not going to be used at all, I'll be turning it off on the Watch so that was never a factor in my decision.

Excited! :)
 
Picked up a new AW3 Nike GPS+LTE off eBay (they were running a 15% off everything sale yesterday). ended up around 270 as I wanted to try the cellular for a month (10$ a month seems excessive for the amount of data used). Bigger screen and processor were the only draw of the series 4 but at least 200$ more for a comparable 44 LTE didn't seem worth it. GF still uses series 2 with no issues so I would anticipate at least 2-3 years use.
 
I bought a S3 on the Apple Refurbished section and returned it because the speaker. If I’m going to use it on runs and I cannot hear it then it’s not going to work for me. I found a S4 Nike on Best Buy’s website and it arrived within days. Yes, it does have a louder speaker, additional faces and features and only you can decide if it’s worth the additional cost works for you. I tried and it didn’t work for me.
 
michial said:
Thanks. I’m sure the 4 is nicer. But not having ever owned an Apple Watch I won’t know the difference. I’m not willing to pay almost double for it.
Click to expand...
FYI I just bought a Series 4 44MM on vipoutlet.com for 341.00 with free shipping and no tax (had a 10% off code as well) it's refurb but listed as Grade A (basically new). I wanted the larger watch face and faster CPU. 30 Day Money back if any issues.
 
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