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The last 2 updates on my S3 have been OK. However the 7.4 update took about 6 hours.

in day to day usage the watch is fine, and the battery still seems to last a decent amount of time. My wife’s S2 is only now just starting to show signs of the battery going, but obviously hasn’t had the latest watchOS for a while.
 
As long as you buy the newest model you will not have any upgrade issues.
The only thing we ask from you is that you buy into the Apple model of "product discontinuation" and "repurchase".
Thrust us, we care about your ... money.
Btw: my 25 year old Seiko tells time great.
 
Interesting! The author of the article interprets this measure as a sign of imminent discontinuation of the S3. From my point of view it could also be that this procedure is put in place to ensure that future updates can still be installed. As always, we will see...
 
The Apple Watch Series 3 has become the new iPod touch 6th gen.

The iPod touch 6th gen was sold with an outdated A8 chip until May 28, 2019. Apple only released the 7th gen because the 6th gen wouldn’t run iOS 13 that was announced only 6 days later on June 3, 2019 at WWDC 2019. That old A8 iPod touch was sold as is since 2015.

Tim really likes to milk old tech (2013 Mac Pro, AW3, iPod touch 6th gen, Apple TV HD) I’m quite surprised Apple doesn’t still sell an iPhone with 16GB🤣

I remember Apple under Jobs, they didn’t sell junk that couldn’t run the latest software properly. Apple Watch Series 3 should have been discontinued when the SE came out, and the SE should have been priced lower.

You shouldn’t have to restore your brand new Apple Watch just to update it because of Apple’s cheapness. If they planned on selling this model for as long as they have, why didn’t they add more storage when designing it?
Agreed. One of the minus points of the Cook era is that he doesn’t seem to have the pride in product that Jobs had.

Reaching certain price/profit points seems to be the over-riding priority.
 
I have the series 3 base model. It’s a horrible experience when a new update comes out because I constantly need to press “deny” on the update pop up until I wipe the whole memory only to get a few security updates. I mainly use a Withings activity watch now instead..
 
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Speaking of storage, when will they stop limiting "media storage" on the Watch? I have 32GB of storage yet I can only use like 8 for music. What's the rest reserved for, seriously?
 
What is a actually new in the watch os? Emoji? I mean if the unpairing process is worth :)
 
Seriously. I’m thinking you jest. Apple Pay is very quick on mine. Double click hold near ding and done
Ok, I wasn’t clear enough, setting up the cards back for Apple Pay I mean. Unpairing and pairing back the phone there are a few things that don’t survive the transfer.

But after setup, yes, it’s just like the phone’s ApplePay and it’s great. I now go for a run and/or short groceries untethered without the phone at times and it still works: double tap the side button, optionally crown-scroll to the desired card if not using the last one again, place wrist, done. The UI of the watch I find it impressive, quite clear and lively for the quite small size.
 
Yes. He's a word that rhymes with back, so naturally, it's unacceptable to some.

Yet another item thrown to the wayside by Apple?! Come on, I can’t possibly afford to upgrade everything.
Well you had it almost 4 years now. That’s a pretty long time considering the technology. In the scheme of things I’ll bet the S3 was probably the first version they designed from the feedback they gained from everything that preceded it. Everything else was designed in a closed lab. It’s amazing considering what they knew then and now.

Lol and the series 3 continues to just suck.
That thing was such a piece of garbage.
So bad that they were able to sell it for 4 years, right? 🙄

The bad thing is that Apple is still selling this watch as new today
With this news it’s time to put the old girl down. But it was good while it lasted.

As long as you buy the newest model you will not have any upgrade issues.
The only thing we ask from you is that you buy into the Apple model of "product discontinuation" and "repurchase".
Thrust us, we care about your ... money.
Btw: my 25 year old Seiko tells time great.
My Citizen Aqualand still runs too, but I‘d much rather wear my S3 99.9% of the time.
 
Ok, I wasn’t clear enough, setting up the cards back for Apple Pay I mean. Unpairing and pairing back the phone there are a few things that don’t survive the transfer.

But after setup, yes, it’s just like the phone’s ApplePay and it’s great. I now go for a run and/or short groceries untethered without the phone at times and it still works: double tap the side button, optionally crown-scroll to the desired card if not using the last one again, place wrist, done. The UI of the watch I find it impressive, quite clear and lively for the quite small size.
It was even better when I upgraded to a S6 & my bank won't now allow me to re-add a card that I had on my old watch. I thought that was ripping it a bit, but for it to maybe happen after a software update, ouch!
 
I must be the only Series 3 owner who doesn't mind this. I mean yeah, it takes a little longer than updating my XR, but given that I only use it for sleep/fitness tracking, it's no biggie (still does Apple Pay alright, answers calls fine etc.....)
 
I know, right? I have no idea what other people are referring to as slow/choppy/whatever… the fact that it can still be updated and run most of the same stuff as the latest 'n greatest Apple Watches is pretty nice. Not having much storage is the problem, but a minor inconvenience at worst.
 
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I don't understand why they still offer the Series 3 but not the Series 4 or 5. What's up with that??? But I guess if someone wants to save $$$ it comes at a price of convenience. At least there's a cheaper option for folks who want to get into Apple Watch.

Of course, if one is REALLY put out by the update process, they could just not update. If they're buying a watch that's 3 series behind, they're obviously not gung-ho about having the "latest and greatest" of something anyway.
 
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My Series 3 cellular SS still runs like a champ and is a beautiful as the day it came out of the box. As it is cellular there is no update issue. I will be updating to Series 7 this fall. Bought my wife a Series 3 GPS last month to hold her over until the fall. Her series 0 SS died, which she found perfectly satisfactory.
 
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I bolded the part I have an issue with. It should NOT be for sale today, in fact it should have been dropped before WatchOS 7, and definitely discontinued when the SE came out.

Having to unpair, restore/update, and re-pair is not a good user experience is is very unapple like.

Job’s famously said that “We don’t ship junk” when asked about a cheaper Mac Mini (back in 2007) He said cheaper stuff requires too many compromises and hurts the end user. Tim was sitting right next to him when he said that. I guess he wasn’t paying attention.

I’d consider the currently selling AW3 to be junk and a terrible value. Buy a series 4 or series 5 in gently used condition.
I agree, it should not be for sale at all. But Apple is obsessed with hitting price points, and they take risks every year to see how bold they can be with them. Raising prices for XS was a bad bet that cost them billions. Producing the 12 mini turned out to be a mistake. Keeping the Series 3 was also a terrible decision. If they have any decency at all, they will drop the Series 3 this year and slide the current SE into that slot.
 
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