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Don't know… I'm very, very torn between aluminium and stainless because I think that the stainless (of course, with a sport band) would looks not so good at gym with a sport outfit.

What do you think?

I see the stainless Model at the gym, but not as much as I do the aluminum. I think the stainless looks perfectly fine with whatever you want to pair it with. And I also don’t really think anyone cares as much what the stainless versus the aluminum looks like in the gym. Now, maybe with a more formal outfit, the stainless would be more suitable.
 
I had the series 0 space grey and I did not enjoy it as much because it was not mature yet and I didn’t like the aluminum.

I got a Series 4 stainless gold and it feels and looks great. I wear my watch everyday so the steal and sapphire are important for me.
 
Thanks for the answers. I think I will buy the stainless version but I will wait for the series 5.
 
Thanks for the answers. I think I will buy the stainless version but I will wait for the series 5.

My first Apple Watch was a series 2 aluminium version. At the time it was £399 & I wasn't sure about the Apple Watch so decided to go for the cheaper version as it wouldn't be such a huge loss if I decided it was nothing more than a gimmick.

It soon became as important to me as my phone and I wore it every day. I have a nice watch collection worth around £25,000 and apart from a few weddings where I needed a dress watch it never left my wrist.

The series 3 wasn't worth the upgrade but I went for a series 4 stainless steel as I knew it would be my primary watch. I like the build quality & the materials are excellent. I'm sure the series 5 will probably be a minor update but I'd definitely recommend steel if you are going to wear it daily as it's more resilient to wear & tear. It also has a nice weight to it and feels a lot more premium.
 
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My first Apple Watch was a series 2 aluminium version. At the time it was £399 & I wasn't sure about the Apple Watch so decided to go for the cheaper version as it wouldn't be such a huge loss if I decided it was nothing more than a gimmick.

It soon became as important to me as my phone and I wore it every day. I have a nice watch collection worth around £25,000 and apart from a few weddings where I needed a dress watch it never left my wrist.

The series 3 wasn't worth the upgrade but I went for a series 4 stainless steel as I knew it would be my primary watch. I like the build quality & the materials are excellent. I'm sure the series 5 will probably be a minor update but I'd definitely recommend steel if you are going to wear it daily as it's more resilient to wear & tear. It also has a nice weight to it and feels a lot more premium.

The regular 316L stainless actually damages quite easily, because the steel is fairly soft for that grade of steel. The black stainless would be more optimum, with the DLC coating surrounding the casing for the added protection. But the rumor was, that Apple might bring back the ceramic casing, which I actually would believe would be the most resilient against scratches/scuffs for everyday use. Either way, the sapphire display is the real winner here, as that’s what we all want protected the most _is_ the display.
 
The regular 316L stainless actually damages quite easily, because the steel is fairly soft for that grade of steel. The black stainless would be more optimum, with the DLC coating surrounding the casing for the added protection. But the rumor was, that Apple might bring back the ceramic casing, which I actually would believe would be the most resilient against scratches/scuffs for everyday use. Either way, the sapphire display is the real winner here, as that’s what we all want protected the most _is_ the display.

cant the stainless be polished out quite easily?
I’m undecided as to whether to go black stainless with sports band or silver stainless with Milanese as both of them are on offer from my carrier.
 
cant the stainless be polished out quite easily?
I’m undecided as to whether to go black stainless with sports band or silver stainless with Milanese as both of them are on offer from my carrier.

As the watch is really exposed - wearing it on your wrist - fine scratches are inevitable. But the polished steel can be repolished very easy. I regularly use "Cape Cod" polishing. As long, as there no deep dings, you can remove every scratch with it.
I even once polished a big ding in a corner of an iPhone 8 (...it fell). Left a polished round spot, but no more ding.
Go for the steel...
 
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cant the stainless be polished out quite easily?
I’m undecided as to whether to go black stainless with sports band or silver stainless with Milanese as both of them are on offer from my carrier.

The black stainless uses DLC (Diamond like Carbon Coating) to protect the casing. It’s almost impervious to external damage. The caveat being _if_ the DLC coating becomes scratched on the casing, it can’t be removed/repaired. _If_ th e regular 316L stainless scuffs/scratches easier, It can be removed with a polishing cloth.
 
If you wear your Apple Watch all day, every day, like I do, I feel the Stainless model is well worth it. If you only wear it occasionally for fitness tracking etc. and have a nice traditional watch to wear at other times, the Aluminum probably makes more sense.
I agree. I bought a ss series 0 and upgraded to a ss series 4. When there is a significant upgrade I'll most likely by ss again.

Ironically I never wear my Apple Watch for sports, since I find my Garmin Fenix way better in terms of battery life and durability.
 
So I have been offered a deal on a SS black 44mm series 4. Watch is like new with extended years warranty. £249 off the new price from apple.
 
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Would you rather have an aluminum S5 or a SS S4 the second year?

Well I did this. My brother bought the S0 in aluminium and I went for the Space Black back then. Saw straight away that the steel was the only way to go. As a runner I needed S2 for GPS but skipped S3 because of the steel price and jumped on S4 again in steel.

Would never go for anything but the steel. Sapphire and quality feel is just too good
 
You do see steel with scratches to the screen, even micro abrasions.

Seems strange as that’s at odds with what we read on here?
 
You do see steel with scratches to the screen, even micro abrasions.

Seems strange as that’s at odds with what we read on here?

There’s nothing strange about that. Sapphire isn’t impervious to damage against objects, but it’s highly durable to a certain degree. The difference being, it depends on what the display comes into contact with. I’ve personally never damage to sapphires display on the Apple Watch, but it seems more rare for those who have encountered damage.

Side note:

Keep in mind, sometimes it’s not the _actual_ display that scratches, it could be the oleophobic coating, which is a protective layer on top of the display that scratches. But eventually will fade once the coating starts to wear off.
 
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Keep in mind, sometimes it’s not the _actual_ display that scratches, it could be the oleophobic coating, which is a protective layer on top of the display that scratches. But eventually will fade once the coating starts to wear off.

Scratches to the coat still look like scratches under certain light, which detracts aesthetically. How durable is the coating?
 
There’s nothing strange about that. Sapphire isn’t impervious to damage against objects, but it’s highly durable to a certain degree. The difference being, it depends on what the display comes into contact with. I’ve personally never damage to sapphires display on the Apple Watch, but it seems more rare for those who have encountered damage.

Side note:

Keep in mind, sometimes it’s not the _actual_ display that scratches, it could be the oleophobic coating, which is a protective layer on top of the display that scratches. But eventually will fade once the coating starts to wear off.

I have just seen the first very small scratch in my sapphire display... Kind of a bummer but can hope it's the coating as you say... But shouldn't it be more or less slimmed down the coating here after a full year almost?
 
I have just seen the first very small scratch in my sapphire display... Kind of a bummer but can hope it's the coating as you say... But shouldn't it be more or less slimmed down the coating here after a full year almost?

The Oleophobic coating is likely worn off by now, it wears off by constant touching. If you can feel the scratch with your fingernail, then it likely is into the display, if you can’t feel the scratch, then it might be where it will dissipate if the coating is not worn off.
 
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SS series 5 will be what i will get...just love the SS look. Very expensive i know but worth it I reckon.
 
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SS series 5 will be what i will get...just love the SS look. Very expensive i know but worth it I reckon.

It’s definitely worth it. (Yes, I know ‘worth’ is a very subjective term.) The aluminum just feels too light for my preference, almost like a toy. The stainless actually has a nice weight, and of course the advantage of the Sapphire display, you can remove light scratches on the regular 316 L stainless model.
 
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SS series 5 will be what i will get...just love the SS look. Very expensive i know but worth it I reckon.

Worth every penny... I know the loss in value bothers some, but I use this watch all day, every day and just the feel and look of the steel and sapphire and sturdiness of it... Really worth it... Will buy SS again next time. If not S5, then S6.
 
This is my S4 SS.

I got this when it was released. It has been on holidays with me, in the sea, I take it biking and mountain biking with me and on a lot of drunken nights out and it still looks great with barely a scratch on it.

I wear it to the gym, normally with either a Nike sport band or a regular sport band (like this Product Red one) and I don't think it looks out of place at all, looks pretty good. The SS also looks good with pretty much all the sport bands, even when dressing up a bit you can still use a sport band as you get the classy bit from the SS watch.

edit: just realised how big it looks in the pic. I'm a big guy with big wrists so it's an optical illusion ;-)
 

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This is my S4 SS.

I got this when it was released. It has been on holidays with me, in the sea, I take it biking and mountain biking with me and on a lot of drunken nights out and it still looks great with barely a scratch on it.

I wear it to the gym, normally with either a Nike sport band or a regular sport band (like this Product Red one) and I don't think it looks out of place at all, looks pretty good. The SS also looks good with pretty much all the sport bands, even when dressing up a bit you can still use a sport band as you get the classy bit from the SS watch.

edit: just realised how big it looks in the pic. I'm a big guy with big wrists so it's an optical illusion ;-)

Yeah they actually always look bigger on the pictures... And totally agree with the SS that suits all situations - I'm a big fan of dressing my SS up with a leather buckle or the steel bracelet for the office and a Nomad leather for dinner maybe and sports bands or sports loops for the weekend
 
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My German Shepherd likes to “mouth” my stainless watch and remarkably it still looks great.
 
I've had both regular and Space Black stainless models, but went with the aluminum for the Series 4. IMO, if you plan to keep the watch for a few years, stainless is definitely worth it since the depreciation hit won't hurt as much when it comes time to upgrade. It definitely has a much more premium feel and the Space Black holds up exceptionally well over time.

However, I had a Series 3 SBSS w/LTE that only had a trade-in value of $191 a year later. When I bought it a year ago, I paid nearly $800 including Apple Care+ and tax. I know that I could have gotten more selling outright, but I didn't want to deal with the hassle. Bottom line for me, I can't justify the price premium for SS. I'd rather buy a less expensive Apple Watch and put the savings toward a nice mechanical watch that won't depreciate as quickly.

I intend to spend about 2/3 years with the steel watch, do you recommend the black or traditional steel watch?
 
I intend to spend about 2/3 years with the steel watch, do you recommend the black or traditional steel watch?

I buy the 44mm ss gold for $799 plus tax I have model 4 I use it only for the health portion WIFI+LTE the LTE never used now its time to up great but you loose a lot of money I try to sell and drop the price to$500 and still no one buying
the Apple Watch is not a Rolex that just go up in price every year so if you like the watch buy use it for few years and the just give it to some one or let Apple give you 10% for it if they want it at all
 
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