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Apple Watch Series 5, wise to buy now?

I

ian87w

macrumors G3
Original poster
Feb 22, 2020
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Planning to get an Apple Watch for wife. It seems like Apple is set to be releasing a new AW every year. Series 4 was arguably a big jump from Series 3, but Series 5, interestingly, imo is not a huge jump from Series 4. Being mid cycle, is it wise to get a Series 5 now? We probably won't get to see a series 6 by September, but just don't want to get that annoying feeling if series 6 is a big step up from series 5.

Not seeing any rumors so far, so I'm guessing/hoping that series 6 will be a minute refresh over series 5. Thoughts?
 
i just bought an S5 several weeks ago. You can over-analyze yourself out of any tech purchase because there’s always something new coming along. If the current S5 suits your needs, it’s a very capable device. And, it’s not obsolete when you buy it because OS updates should continue to add new benefits.
 
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ian87w said:
Planning to get an Apple Watch for wife. It seems like Apple is set to be releasing a new AW every year. Series 4 was arguably a big jump from Series 3, but Series 5, interestingly, imo is not a huge jump from Series 4. Being mid cycle, is it wise to get a Series 5 now? We probably won't get to see a series 6 by September, but just don't want to get that annoying feeling if series 6 is a big step up from series 5.

Not seeing any rumors so far, so I'm guessing/hoping that series 6 will be a minute refresh over series 5. Thoughts?
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I think S6 will be a big jump but personally I’d buy S5 now since this is the 1st watch that has AOD meaning even when it ceases to function as a smart watch it will still function as a watch til the battery dies. Over 5 years on and my original Apple Watch is still going strong (wearing it every night to track my sleep) so I’d expect S5 to perform just as good, if not better.
 
matrix07 said:
I think S6 will be a big jump but personally I’d buy S5 now since this is the 1st watch that has AOD meaning even when it ceases to function as a smart watch it will still function as a watch til the battery dies. Over 5 years on and my original Apple Watch is still going strong (wearing it every night to track my sleep) so I’d expect S5 to perform just as good, if not better.
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What makes you think it will be a big jump? I'm just reading speed and battery improvements.
 
I'm here because I got myself a Series 5 and upgraded the wife's Series 3 she uses as a nurse. She's mentioned a few times that she has to keep flipping her wrist while doing whatever it is nurses do when they need a watch so I figured the AOD would be a nice change for her.

Personally, I wore an Apple Watch daily for three plus years (had Series 1 - 3) until I lost all of my data in a "revert from beta" incident and the bitterness is just now starting to wane. Sitting at a desk all day I've always missed the stand reminders and there's only one way to start earning all of those achievements back...
 
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I just purchased a 5. Enjoyed the 4 and gifted it to a family member who was still using a Series 1. It will last for years and look good doing it. I was tempted to wait for 6 but would then be wondering what 7 would look like. Go for it. Life's too short!
 
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There is nothing rumoured right now that would make me hesitate getting an S5 if I didn‘t already have one. And to me, AOD was indeed a game changer; it makes the AW look and feel so much more like a real watch.
 
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I would - we may be mid cycle but it doesn't matter.

I bought an iPhone 11 last week - i could have waited for that too.

If you get a AW5 now, at least you won't have to endure the launch day madness for the 6!
 
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matrix07 said:
I think S6 will be a big jump but personally I’d buy S5 now since this is the 1st watch that has AOD meaning even when it ceases to function as a smart watch it will still function as a watch til the battery dies. Over 5 years on and my original Apple Watch is still going strong (wearing it every night to track my sleep) so I’d expect S5 to perform just as good, if not better.
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I woulnd't get your hopes up. The big jump was last year with AOD. My bet is this year will just be improvements in speed and battery life with maybe 1 or 2 new features thrown in, which would be fine by me.
 
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Knowlege Bomb said:
I'm here because I got myself a Series 5 and upgraded the wife's Series 3 she uses as a nurse. She's mentioned a few times that she has to keep flipping her wrist while doing whatever it is nurses do when they need a watch...
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Wow...your wife needs a watch to do some tasks in her job as a nurse where in some cases life and death is possibly at stake and instead of wearing a normal watch which would provide information immediately at a glance she wore an Apple watch which showed a blank black face requiring her to keep flipping her wrist...
Why...why...why??
 
I've had my Series 4 for about a year, but have been tempted by the AOD on the Series 5. Part of me wants to wait on the 6 and part of me wants to jump to the 5. I guess I could get the 5 and sell the 4 to offset the costs. Then, if the 6 is a big deal, just rinse and repeat.
 
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Northern Man said:
Wow...your wife needs a watch to do some tasks in her job as a nurse where in some cases life and death is possibly at stake and instead of wearing a normal watch which would provide information immediately at a glance she wore an Apple watch which showed a blank black face requiring her to keep flipping her wrist...
Why...why...why??
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Oh the HUMANITY!!! :rolleyes:

You realize they're trained to work without a watch in nursing school, yeah? A watch is a convenience.
 
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ian87w said:
Planning to get an Apple Watch for wife. It seems like Apple is set to be releasing a new AW every year. Series 4 was arguably a big jump from Series 3, but Series 5, interestingly, imo is not a huge jump from Series 4. Being mid cycle, is it wise to get a Series 5 now? We probably won't get to see a series 6 by September, but just don't want to get that annoying feeling if series 6 is a big step up from series 5.

Not seeing any rumors so far, so I'm guessing/hoping that series 6 will be a minute refresh over series 5. Thoughts?
Click to expand...

Few things:

1.) The Series 6 watch is like 7 months out, there’s no need to hold out for the Series 6 when there’s this much of a time gap until mid September.

2.) The big ‘addition’ to the Series 6 this year is likely sleep tracking, if that’s an added benefit to you, then wait it out.

3.) You mentioned very ‘few rumors’, well...that’s because we are into February, and traditionally there hasn’t been rumors with the Apple Watch this far in advance. On top of that, the Apple Watch is the one product that actually doesn’t have a lot of physical leaks/rumors, because it’s more ‘tightly controlled’ with only two main suppliers.

Bottom line:

if you want the Apple Watch, there’s no reason to ‘hold out’ just because you might miss out on the next big thing. That’s how technology evolves, you’ll Probably be starting the same thread next year, “Should I wait for the Series 7....”
 
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I just bought my series 5 this past Saturday. First one for me. I doubt there is anything in the next version that will make me say "I wish I would have waited." Of course, my other watch is a 30+ year old Rolex. Still waiting for them to improve that one. :)
 
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The coronavirus situation might push new launches out for many companies, including Apple. And availability might be a whole 'nother issue.

I'd say go for the Series 5 now. It has more storage capacity; its cellular model will do emergency notifications including fall-detection alerts worldwide without activation (More info: https://support.apple.com/en-au/HT206983 and https://www.apple.com/watchos/feature-availability/#branded-international-emergency), and I'm finding I like the always-on display very much. Worth the small premium over the dwindling supply of Series 4 watches, IMHO, and a real upgrade over the Series 3 that Apple still offers as an entry-level product.
 
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I prefer more stable versions than big jump versions. Got myself an AW5 and not regretting a bit.

Also, there must be subtle improvements from AW4 to AW5 that don't meet the eye and make it an even better product.

Also, battery way performs what I initially expected. Okay, it takes some time to finetune, but why wait for AW6? Take good care of your current model and sell it for good money if AW6 is too tempting. You'll pay a small fee for the upgrade, but most likely you'll want to keep your 5.
 
cyberone said:
I prefer more stable versions than big jump versions. Got myself an AW5 and not regretting a bit.
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I agree! I always went with the 's' versions of iPhones as the big upgrades always had manufacturing issues and the 's' versions seemed to iron out any issues from the previous. Same with the Apple Watch and I don't imagine another redesign happening until at least Series 8. Maybe we'll get sleep tracking for the Series 6, but I have no interest in that to be honest, I'll just use my old Apple Watch and one of the sleep tracking apps already out.
 
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sjinsjca said:
The coronavirus situation might push new launches out for many companies, including Apple. And availability might be a whole 'nother issue.

I'd say go for the Series 5 now. It has more storage capacity; its cellular model will do emergency notifications including fall-detection alerts worldwide without activation (More info: https://support.apple.com/en-au/HT206983 and https://www.apple.com/watchos/feature-availability/#branded-international-emergency), and I'm finding I like the always-on display very much. Worth the small premium over the dwindling supply of Series 4 watches, IMHO, and a real upgrade over the Series 3 that Apple still offers as an entry-level product.
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Good point on potential delays of manufacturing.
 
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