I am getting a big tax return this year and had a thought about either upgrading my iPad Mini or my Apple Watch. Is the 7 a big jump from the 4 or not? I am content with 16GB and the speed of my series 4. Having a always on screen would be nice. What do you say?
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Apple Watch Series 7
- Thread starter jwolf6589
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Buy apple stock
Apple watches have no resale value just buy them used
Apple watches have no resale value just buy them used
Last year I went from a 4 to a 5 (got it pretty cheap since it wasn’t the current model), and I like the always on display a lot more than I thought I would. It’s great for discretely checking the time.
I find the faster charging of S7 to be a significant advantage in this regard.
I would like that feature. But how much more battery is used over the series 4 which lacks the always on display?
How much more does it use over the series 4? I charge my battery at usually 60% at night.
My S6 and S7 got significantly better battery life than my S4 ever did with AOD turned on. Can’t say the same for the S5. Battery life on that was atrocious. Wonder if efficiency was tweaked after the S5 since AOD was new to the S5. Of course everyone’s usage varies but mine has been the same since the S4.
I regularly get 24+ hours with my S6 and S7 (AOD on). With the S5 (AOD on), was lucky to break 14 hours. My S4 without AOD was right around the advertised 18 hour mark.
I regularly get 24+ hours with my S6 and S7 (AOD on). With the S5 (AOD on), was lucky to break 14 hours. My S4 without AOD was right around the advertised 18 hour mark.
I was originally going to stick with my S4 for another year but ended up getting a Ti S7. I’m really happy with the upgrade. The larger screen and faster processor are both nice, and I appreciate the AOD a lot more than I expected. I’d say the battery life is a little better than my S4, despite the bright AOD.
Just picked up my wife’s and my series 7 watches this afternoon. Both are upgrades from a series 4. We felt it was a worthwhile upgrade. Apple also is offering $130 on trade ins which is more than they are selling for on eBay. No experience yet on battery life. Like the new oximeter sensor.
I upgraded from the four to the seven. A solid upgrade, but not amazing I do notice the extra size and always on Is definitely a nice feature. Whenever I toggle it off because I need to save battery or am in theater mode, I notice how annoying it is to have to tap the screen or jiggle my wrist to see the watch. And you do have rhe blood oxygen sensor. I did not notice much of a speed bump. And always on cancels out any extra battery life. Feels like it’s about the same at the end of the day as my aW4. I am happy with the purchase, but I am sure I’d still be happy with the Aw4 as well.
I also have the same iPad mini as you. I really thought about this upgrade as the new model looks sweet. But I want the headphone jack for my home office set up. I have a pair of legacy bookshelf speakers with no Bluetooth connection. I just don’t to fiddle with extra dongle‘s. I honestly don’t use the iPad mini that much, so I went with the Apple Watch upgrade. If I used the mini more frequently, I would have done that upgrade instead.
I also have the same iPad mini as you. I really thought about this upgrade as the new model looks sweet. But I want the headphone jack for my home office set up. I have a pair of legacy bookshelf speakers with no Bluetooth connection. I just don’t to fiddle with extra dongle‘s. I honestly don’t use the iPad mini that much, so I went with the Apple Watch upgrade. If I used the mini more frequently, I would have done that upgrade instead.
Yeah the bigger screen of the mini 6 would be nice. I use my Mini 5 all the time and find it a very useful device especially when traveling and I like to read books and or watch movies on the plane. It sure beats using a iPhone for that and a bulky laptop.
I went from series 3 to 7 and first 24h I am quite unhappy with how poor the battery life is on this thing.
I set it up exactly as my series 3 with screen off and everything else same. Used to charge my 3 once every 3 days (don't use it all the time) but I have a feeling I will be charging this one by the end of the day.
If this is how it will work then it is going back.
I set it up exactly as my series 3 with screen off and everything else same. Used to charge my 3 once every 3 days (don't use it all the time) but I have a feeling I will be charging this one by the end of the day.
If this is how it will work then it is going back.
Then I'm pretty sure 7 will make you very happy.
I love it minus the battery issue.
My 4 would go for at least 36-48 hours in my typical usage. I always put it on my charging stand at night so no problem making it through a full day. If I'm on an overnight trip I don't usually worry about a charger as it will last the two days. The 7 doesn't want to charge from my Belkin stand charger.
Recently I upgraded from Series 4 to 7 and don't regret it at all. I was initially going to wait for S8 because I really wanted that flat design rumored for S7, but due to unforeseen circumstances I decided to give my S4 to a senior family member to use it primarily for fall detection and decided to get a S7 for myself.
I really like the new Midnight color, which is almost black and blends nicely with the display plus I think it looks better than Space Gray. The 20% bigger display is definitely noticeable and a nice upgrade, not to mention the Always-On Display, which was also one of the selling points for me. (I wouldn't upgrade just for that, though.) The SpO2 sensor is nice to have, too, and from my use so far the heart rate sensor also seems more accurate than on S4 during workouts (less spotty).
The battery life with AOD and brightness set to 2/3 and Background App Refresh OFF is about similar to my S4 if not only slightly worse (my battery health on S4 was excellent - still at 95% after 3 years), so if I take it off the charger around 7:30 it will still hold cca. 65% charge around 9pm. With a 45-min workout (and Fall Detection during Workout ON) the battery after cca. 14 hours will be at around 55-60%.
But then if you're content with your S4, I'd say wait for S8. If there is a redesign, it will feel more of an update than S7 to begin with.
I really like the new Midnight color, which is almost black and blends nicely with the display plus I think it looks better than Space Gray. The 20% bigger display is definitely noticeable and a nice upgrade, not to mention the Always-On Display, which was also one of the selling points for me. (I wouldn't upgrade just for that, though.) The SpO2 sensor is nice to have, too, and from my use so far the heart rate sensor also seems more accurate than on S4 during workouts (less spotty).
The battery life with AOD and brightness set to 2/3 and Background App Refresh OFF is about similar to my S4 if not only slightly worse (my battery health on S4 was excellent - still at 95% after 3 years), so if I take it off the charger around 7:30 it will still hold cca. 65% charge around 9pm. With a 45-min workout (and Fall Detection during Workout ON) the battery after cca. 14 hours will be at around 55-60%.
But then if you're content with your S4, I'd say wait for S8. If there is a redesign, it will feel more of an update than S7 to begin with.
I personally feel confident that there will not be a big redesign this year. Obviously, I’m just guessing, but I don’t see it happening. They already had to retool things for the series 7. It would probably be very expensive to retool again in just one year.
I think the series 4 was really when it became a mature product. So, from then on, things got more incremental with updates.
All that to say, we’re about 8 months away from the series 8. That’s a long time to wait for things that aren’t likely to change very much. I’d say to get a series 7 now if you want the updated sensors (as someone else said, the current generation optical heart rate monitor is definitely more accurate), always-on display, SpO2, bigger display, faster charging. Those add up to a pretty nice upgrade from a series 4 in my opinion. Only you can know if it’s worth the cost to you.
I think the series 4 was really when it became a mature product. So, from then on, things got more incremental with updates.
All that to say, we’re about 8 months away from the series 8. That’s a long time to wait for things that aren’t likely to change very much. I’d say to get a series 7 now if you want the updated sensors (as someone else said, the current generation optical heart rate monitor is definitely more accurate), always-on display, SpO2, bigger display, faster charging. Those add up to a pretty nice upgrade from a series 4 in my opinion. Only you can know if it’s worth the cost to you.
Yeah, it's quite subjective. Forgot the faster charging, though I still use a regular charger to charge my S7 because from what I heard fast charging tends to be detrimental to batteries...
