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Apple Watch Series 3 Finally Selling Out Before Getting Discontinued
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Series 3 is only an alarm and fashion item for me, any model of Apple Watch can do these 2 functions.
I mean, usually generally support is the other way. My Series 0 Apple Watch still connects to my iOS 16 phone just fine (and I use it daily too)
Really. Good. Question. As a former Apple employee during the more "glorious" years, it saddens me to see how outdated products are still being put up for sale when more recent versions could easily be offered instead. It is simply GREED, and this is being said by a true Apple enthusiast.
I had a series 4 that I shattered the screen just before the series 7 announcement, for me it wasn’t worth the upgrade from 4, so I ended up buying a refurbished series 3 and with a work discount on top it came at about 40 dollars, other than the reminder to wash hands, not missing anything really.
If series 8 it’s just going to be another 7 I might just stick to this 3 and call it day, can’t see myself spending more for a pro version.
If series 8 it’s just going to be another 7 I might just stick to this 3 and call it day, can’t see myself spending more for a pro version.
I had decided to wait for series 6… but 6 wasn’t quite enough so I waited for 7… 7 was basically just a 6.1 so I said I’d buy an 8 (but got a used 5 to tide me over)… fingers crossed 8 isn’t just 6.2
Only a few more days until we know for sure!
I have the S4 and as much as I think the bigger S7 screen is nice, it isn’t enough for me to upgrade.
My SS S4 is wonderful and no slouch. Battery health is at 76% so it would benefit from a battery replacement but that’s it.
There’s no way the Pro Watch that’ll be introduced this year will come close to competing with Garmin’s real outdoor watches.
I bought mine on eBay over 3 years ago, still had warranty left. I think the seller assumed it was going to be obsolete and cut used prices but Apple never stopped selling it, so I guess I got a deal.
It does what I need it to and still works. 90% battery, 431 cycles over 3 years later of daily use. ( I read how to get cycle info from the data file from an article.)
As long as it works I'm using it. It won't stop me from buying a new 8 though.
It does what I need it to and still works. 90% battery, 431 cycles over 3 years later of daily use. ( I read how to get cycle info from the data file from an article.)
As long as it works I'm using it. It won't stop me from buying a new 8 though.
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The fact that Apple was still selling this outdated watch shows what they think of their customers.
Yep. As I always say, every consumer is as well-informed as I am about the details of Apple’s publicly-stated software update roadmap!
Nope, just iPad 2. Way back then (gah, am I old?), the iPad 2 at the time was still getting updates (just like the Watch Series 3) for years even after it was discontinued AND it performed super well. It even bested the iPad "F-You" and iPad 4 for long term usability ratio, until iPad Air 1 came out and Apple then made the "plain iPad" the "budget iPad".
I have a few gaps in my own memory around this time, because I was also one of the many iPad 3 owners who felt duped by Apple with the iPad 4 just 6 months later, and I turned my attention away from the iPad line (as did a huge number of others). The iPad 3 was unfortunately under-powered for that Retina display on the A5 chip. This actually hurt iPad sales for 6 years. That's part of why iPad sales have declined since the iPad 3/4 year; and only recently (last 4 years) have recovered. Apple themselves may have a long memory and hold grudges (e.g. Mark Gurman), but so do customers like us.
Better to wait!! Unless one gets Series 3 with very high discount, there seems to be no reason in getting one.
Apple is a bit nasty with this behaviour. Even today, a few days ahead of iPhone launch day, the iPhone 13 series is listed as “New”. Sure, it is pretty new, but a bit of decency could not hurt, most people don’t know a new phone is coming.
I think the last truly significant upgrade in the Apple Watch universe was the always-on-display. This is what turned it into a real watch, i.e. you could actually read the time no matter where your arm was. This came with the series 5. Neither the 3 nor the current SE had this. So they kept selling these at a lower price, but with a significant downside to them. This year, if the new SE gets the AOD, it will only have some newer sensors missing and have a bit smaller display than the 8. It will essentially be the series 5 with a better chip. Hence, the new SE will be much more tempting than the old one — at least for me.
It might sound like hyperbole but I think there should be laws prohibiting sales of "software update dependent" consumer electronics like AW if they aren't getting more updates than 2-3 years from date of purchase.
I realise that Series 3 probably will get some amount of security updates for some amount of time.
But despite how good Apple usually is with updates for older devices, I still think there should be some sort of guarantee to the consumer.
You're always going to find someone who's out of the loop and assumes that whatever is sitting on those shiny white shelves of their local Apple store must be a great and modern product.
Apple selling S3 AW and putting slower SSDs in the baseline 2nd Gen Apple Silicon MBAs proves to me that Apple is fully aware how many of its customers just buy what looks new and is priced within their budget.
It's an easy way to make a lot more money than just selling everyone the latest and best.
Having upgraded from a 3 to a 7 last year, the only really useful difference is the always on display. The 3 will still do all of the stuff I use the AW for, namely notifications, Apple Pay, directions, Siri. In my experience it feels like it had better battery life than the 7 too
You need to do your homework next time before you make any Apple purchase because Apple has a tendency lately to sell items past their shelf lives. The S3 may be their most blatant example so far.
