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Apple Watch series 6 vs series 4, worth it?

D

dcaccount

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Nov 17, 2013
317
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Hello,
I have had my Apple Watch serie 4 for about 1,5 years and I am happy with it.

I would have decided to upgrade with series 6 but I am a bit doubtful.

My question is simple, is this upgrade worth or shall I better wait for next one?

What is your suggestion? Please advise.
Thanks,
Dan
 
‘Worth’ is based on your own expectations, not someone else’s.

You need to ask yourself your own questions in terms of...’What do you like about the S6? What would compel you to upgrade from your S4 to the S6? Is there any specific features or functionality that you absolutely want over your S4? Is AOD something that you would really appreciate? Can you justify the price difference between both between the S4 to the S6 for said above questions. Those are all things you need to ask yourself, and then you will to arrive your conclusion.
 
Correct what you are saying but I do not think, I am the only one who has thought of this upgrade.

I do not have any expectation, for sure I like the blue version more than my S4, but the question is if S6 generally speaking is a step forward in terms of overall performance.

Example. I had S2 and I upgraded to S4, it was a big step forward despite I did not have any particular reason to upgrade other than overall performance.

This is my question!
Thanks,
Dan
 
I upgraded from the 4 to the 6, the always on display is a bigger upgrade than I thought it would be, being able to just glance at my watch and see the time without having to raise my wrist is good, the compass and blood oxygen sensor are both things I wanted too.
 
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If you are happy with it and it does what you need, why upgrade?

Too me it seems crazy how often people in the Apple Watch are upgrading. It is like they worry about missing out on the latest and greatest, even if that latest i minor or of little practical value to them.

But of course it all depends on ones financial situation.
 
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Broken Hope said:
I upgraded from the 4 to the 6, the always on display is a bigger upgrade than I thought it would be, being able to just glance at my watch and see the time without having to raise my wrist is good, the compass and blood oxygen sensor are both things I wanted too.
Click to expand...

Thanks! And in terms of overall performance, speed?
 
applenerd600 said:
Sure, the S6 has some advantages to the S4 but if you are happy with your watch and you aren't missing something I think there is no reason to get the S6.
Click to expand...
I agree. It depend on what you are using it for. If you dont need stuff like the oxygen sensors then there is very little to upgrade for. The 6 isn't that much faster than the 4. The one thing that is useful is the AOD.
 
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I'm waiting on my silver SS S6 to arrive, replacing my silver SS S4. I'm mainly upgrading for the AOD; I passed on the S5 because I'd only had my S4 for a year, but I'm ready for the upgrade now. Unlike my S0->S3 upgrade, I'm not too excited about the performance increase - the S4 is just fine for me, in daily use. But I am really excited about that always-on-display!! As sensitive as raise-to-wake is, there are times where it doesn't work and/or situations where it NEVER works (holding a hand strap on the train, for example) and I'm tired of having to contort my arm or use my other hand, just to see the time. Ordered a braided loop band as well (8-9 week backorder) so I'm pretty excited.

DF20045E-4707-4D79-9AF7-C95846259E3D.png
 
In terms of raw performance, it's not worth the upgrade. The S5 has the same performance as the S4 and the S6 is only 20% faster than the S5 (and by association, the S4 as well). While I noticed slight improvements to app loading times, it's not a major change.

The main reasons I upgraded from the series 4 to the series 6 are the AOD, faster charging, blood oxygen monitoring, and to upgrade from aluminium to stainless steel.
 
mavis said:
I'm waiting on my silver SS S6 to arrive, replacing my silver SS S4. I'm mainly upgrading for the AOD; I passed on the S5 because I'd only had my S4 for a year, but I'm ready for the upgrade now. Unlike my S0->S3 upgrade, I'm not too excited about the performance increase - the S4 is just fine for me, in daily use. But I am really excited about that always-on-display!! As sensitive as raise-to-wake is, there are times where it doesn't work and/or situations where it NEVER works (holding a hand strap on the train, for example) and I'm tired of having to contort my arm or use my other hand, just to see the time. Ordered a braided loop band as well (8-9 week backorder) so I'm pretty excited.
Click to expand...

Same exact situation here.

Tim
 
cardfan said:
Nope. Not at all. Most likely it’ll be a waste of money for you. Most are waiting for S7.
Click to expand...

If the S7 has some kind of form factor change (larger screen, etc), then I'll upgrade again. In the meantime, did not want to miss out on another year of the always on display.

Tim
 
I'm in the same boat. Got a 4 and itching for a 6. The resale value of the 4 is pretty crap. I might be able to cover half the cost of the 6. Which doesn't really add up to me.

My 4 is also 5 months old only. Battery capacity is 100%. I think I'll just wait for the 7 and get that. AOD would be nice but it's not a deal breaker for me. I'm just itching to buy something is all. LOL. I think I'll put the money towards the 12 Pro (which I also don't need, because I have an 11 Pro already) LOL!
 
I went from an S4 Aluminum to an S6 SS. The AOD is wonderful, IMO, but I also upgraded for the material + cellular. The faster processor just makes all interactions *smoother*, which makes it feel faster, but it’s nothing like the speed jump from the S3 to the S4.

Overall, if you’re totally happy with your watch, and don’t want/need SpO2, not sure the AOD alone is a compelling-enough reason to upgrade. In my personal situatio, it was a combination of features that led me to upgrade.
 
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Broken Hope said:
I upgraded from the 4 to the 6, the always on display is a bigger upgrade than I thought it would be, being able to just glance at my watch and see the time without having to raise my wrist is good, the compass and blood oxygen sensor are both things I wanted too.
Click to expand...
Thank you for your post- that's very handy. I have a series 4 which I've been using more and more. I'm considering the series 6.

As an aside, I did find that if I use a simple watch face that rotating my wrist turned the watch face on quickly, pretty much every single time, more so than screens with several "complications". Then if I need to I swipe across to another watch face if I want more than the time. However, AOD would be useful.

Does AOD also work if the watch is off? There are times eg doing yoga when I want to be able to see the time but don't want to wear my watch.

I was also considering waiting for the series 7. It sounds like it has a number of possible new features. Though I tend to think that it's worth waiting for a second iteration if there are lots of new features.
 
S4 is the sweetspot for performance/features/battery life.
i get exactly the same battery life from S6 as with 4 (2.5 days). S5 was a whole day less.
SpO2 sensor is great but doesn't tell you anything useful, not even a warning if it goes below whatever value. Nevermind sleep apnea detection.
Sleep detection is accurate but again, extremely dumbed down. Therefore still using Autosleep like on my old S4

So stick with your S4s and save the money, funny times coming ahead.
If S7 has a major battery improvement, it'll be worth

And yes, sold my S4 Nike 44 which covered slightly more than 1/2 price of a new S6 Nike 44.
 
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I’m motivated to go from the S4 to S7 as a 3 year upgrade and the cellular option.
 
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