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Mity

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Nov 1, 2014
776
704
I upgraded from an S7 AL 45mm to an S9 AL 45mm last November. I upgraded mainly for the increased storage from 32GB to 64GB. The S9 has mostly been a great experience. I use it mainly for listening to music when exercising (weights + running, no water sports) so I don't have to carry my phone and monitoring some health metrics. And the fact that I can control music playing on my phone directly from the AW while on the train or walking is awesome too!

However, I've encountered some problems:
  1. Minor - Bluetooth in Settings: There can sometimes be a lag when connecting my Bluetooth headphones. For example, if I go into Bluetooth in Settings, the OS will revert me back to the main Settings area without any input on my end. I have to go back to Bluetooth to connect headphones. Any else ever experience this? Any improvement on the S10?
  2. Minor - Is it Tidal or is it the AW?: When I try to play songs that have been downloaded on the AW via Tidal (Tidal is very poorly designed and maintained to begin with) there are often delays when navigating from one playlist to another or the next track playing while the watch still shows the previous one on the screen. Any improvement on the S10?
  3. Major - ECG: One other issue I've always had is that the ECG often shows inconclusive. Only sometimes does it seem to work fine. The heart rate and blood oxygen functions seem to always work. Any improvement on the S10?
  4. Major - Accidentally triggering music: I had/have the "Now Playing" feature on my watch face. That can easily be triggered when inserting headphones, especially non-Apple earbuds like my Bose QC1 In-Ear. I'm worried the same might happen with the S10 but even worse without any headphones since the S10 can play music directly from its speaker. Imagine being in a meeting at work and accidentally playing an embarrassing track. Did this happen to anyone else on the S9 an older models? Can music from the speaker be turned off on the S10? In watchOS 11, Apple replaced "Now Playing" with "Suggested" but it almost performs the same function.
    IMG_0468.JPG
I know it's only been a few days since the S10 came out but if anyone has seen any improvement in the areas above, I'd love to know as I'm excited about the Jet Black color. I haven't had something similar since my S5 SS in Space Black.
 

Night Spring

macrumors G5
Jul 17, 2008
14,857
8,034
I'm afraid I can't help with any of this as I don't listen to music on my watch so don't have any experience with the issues you list.

However, I did notice you mention the blood oxygen sensor, and thought I'd remind you that if you are in the US, S10 doesn't have that sensor because of the patent dispute. If you are in another country, then you won't be affected by this.
 

deeddawg

macrumors G5
Jun 14, 2010
12,465
6,563
US
For clarification - the sensor is reportedly there, just software disabled and could be reenabled if should an agreement be reached. No need for separate hardware for US models.

As to the OP questions, ECG has always been fine on my S9. My Shokz headphones connect automatically, i don’t mess with the Bluetooth settings.

No idea on the others
 

Mity

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Nov 1, 2014
776
704
I'm afraid I can't help with any of this as I don't listen to music on my watch so don't have any experience with the issues you list.

However, I did notice you mention the blood oxygen sensor, and thought I'd remind you that if you are in the US, S10 doesn't have that sensor because of the patent dispute. If you are in another country, then you won't be affected by this.

That's weird. I'm still getting blood oxygen readings here in the US.

Edit: I'm still getting readings on my S9. Maybe the ban is on S10?
 

Mity

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Nov 1, 2014
776
704
Any speed difference on the S10 vs S9 in general navigation? Overall snappiness?
 

deeddawg

macrumors G5
Jun 14, 2010
12,465
6,563
US
That's weird. I'm still getting blood oxygen readings here in the US.

Edit: I'm still getting readings on my S9. Maybe the ban is on S10?

Nothing weird about it at all. The ban only affects watches sold in the US beginning 17 January 2024

Any S9 or Ultra2 watches sold (or in third party retailer warehouses) before that date retain their blood oxygen capabilities. It is just a software disablement, and thus is reversible should the patent dispute get settled or when the patents expire in 2028 whichever comes first.

I'm not sure if there's been a teardown but it stands to reason that Apple followed similarly with the Series10, disabling the sensor in software rather than designing/building/distributing a separate model with different optical sensors.

 
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deeddawg

macrumors G5
Jun 14, 2010
12,465
6,563
US
Any speed difference on the S10 vs S9 in general navigation? Overall snappiness?
Same CPU per various other posts, thus no difference.

Not much reason to upgrade from S9 to S10 from a purely functional standpoint.
 
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Mity

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Nov 1, 2014
776
704
Same CPU per various other posts, thus no difference.

Not much reason to upgrade from S9 to S10 from a purely functional standpoint.

I guess the only reason I would be upgrading is for the Jet Black finish. I deliberately bought the iPhone 14 Pro Max in Space Black last year when the 15 Pro Max came out for this very reason. I just liked the shinny finish. It reminded me of my AW S5 SS SB.

I'm surprised that I'm one of the few people that use my AW for listening to music while working out. It's really great that I can leave my phone behind and not worry about misplacing it / damaging it at the gym.
 

deeddawg

macrumors G5
Jun 14, 2010
12,465
6,563
US
I'm surprised that I'm one of the few people that use my AW for listening to music while working out. It's really great that I can leave my phone behind and not worry about misplacing it / damaging it at the gym.

I've regularly used headphones - Shockz or Airpods - with my Apple Watches and haven't ever had the watch spontaneously start playing music. Maybe something about your Bose units? Though I don't have Now Playing as a watch face complication either. I've also not seen my S10 start playing anything spontaneously either.
 
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