I started with a Sport, ended up selling it on swappa and getting a stainless with Applecare+ in mint condition on the same site. No regrets. It's far superior in look, band compatibility, and durability.
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 Sport owners, will you go to SS next time?
- Thread starter quackers82
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
IF I get another one, it'll be a sport again. I don't think that spending $550+ on a watch that will be outdated in 1-2 years is worth it, but that's just me.
Are people having issues with scratched front on thir sport watches? I ask because my wife has a sport watch and all of her other watches have been beat to hell, but her sport watch looks perfectly fine. I honestly had no idea the sport watch didn't come with sapphire until reading here. I am stuck wondering just how much sapphire actually matters for the average user. Seems to me an extra $200 to keep away scractehs that we aren't even seeing is a bit much.
The Sapphire screen is only one of the changes for the extra dollars. Ironically I felt the Stainless Steel would drive me nuts more because it would get fine scratches easier than the Sport. Also the Sport is lighter, the screen more easily viewable under strong sunlight made it an easier choice.
Every now and then I think the Stainless case would have more band options, but as I wouldn't mind a gold case next time, the matte Sport in Gold I hear is much cheaper than the shiny one!
We honestly never factored bands in because she likes the sport bands. If I ever get a watch the sport band ius all I would consider too since I would be using this thing for nothing more than runs and the gym (unless they come out with something amazing that isn't currently a part of the watchOS).
So do I understand correctly that trhe sport band doesn't work with the stainless watch? I always thought that all the abnds were interchangable so long as you're purchasing the correct size (38mm or 42mm). I guess that's not correct huh?
As far as the original question, have scratched sport watches been an issue for many? Seems to be a large concern (in this thread).
Sport bands are compatible with Stainless Steel. It's the other bands that looks "different" on sports model because the joins aren't the same type of metal.
As for scratching I have no experience. But I have banged my sapphire around and no scratches whatsoever.
I did bang against the wall really hard one time and got two small but annoying scratches.
I'm definitely upgrading but that's not to say I don't still love the Sport. I originally bought the silver aluminum with white band because sight unseen I couldn't justify the price of the SS. And, I was getting it just because — not for a special occasion like my birthday or Christmas. Even though I love the Sport, every time I see the SS I get SS envy. So, for my birthday next week my husband is buying me a SS with black sport band (I guess this is older and not offered as an option anymore) for $419 new in box, and he will take the Sport so long as I give him the black band. If it wasn't such a great price I'd probably have waited for the next generation, but now that I know the SS is coming I can't wait for it to get here.
If I was buying him one I would have thought the 42mm but to my surprise he said he wouldn't want one bigger than the 38mm. When he tried on the Sport it looked just fine, though he definitely needed the longer strap.
I agree, especially since BB was selling the Sport for $249 & $299. You could almost get a second watch for the price difference.
I never see AWs at all. The one I am wearing is the first and only AW I have seen outside an Apple store. I wear a variety of knock off bands that Apple doesn't sell, so that is more than unique enough for me.
I got my SB last month as a gift. If I had bought one myself, it would have been the Sport model. As others have said, it's a first gen product with a limited useful life.
That said, now that own a steel/sapphire, my opinion is changing. The watch feels great and had absolutely no marks on it, despite being knocked against iron rivets on my coffee table and concrete barriers. I guess I'm am not as carefully as I thought I would be.
That said, now that own a steel/sapphire, my opinion is changing. The watch feels great and had absolutely no marks on it, despite being knocked against iron rivets on my coffee table and concrete barriers. I guess I'm am not as carefully as I thought I would be.
I love my sport but now that I know I how much I love my Apple Watch I'll go for the SS this year.
My only regret was not getting matte silver. Black really limits your band options, and I have had it in a case for the past few months.
Definitely not. I like it and get a lot of use out of it, but it is certainly a luxury item I could live without. If it wasn't for the $200 Best Buy sale I may not have bought one at all. With the gen one product it just doesn't offer a ton of functionality to justify the price, plus it is slow and has poor battery life. I'll probably buy each generation as the upgrade difference between sale and purchase will likely be $200 or so and it will be worth that but not enough to go with the SS.
I purchased a Space Gray Sport when it was on sale at Target for 299. Unfortunately, after a week of very light use the anodizing around the screen and the sharp edges around where the watch bands attach were already showing flakes/wear. I understand wear is normal but considering it had only had very light use I wasn't very happy and ended up returning it. I personally prefer the look of Space Gray over any of the other Apple Watches but I'm not sure that I would purchase it again. Maybe I just got a bad one?
It sounds like you got a bad one. I go the same model in the larger size (42) for Christmas and it isn't showing any signs of wear and I have worn it every day and for a couple weeks I also wore it every night (sleep++ app).
I'll consider the SS when it is time to upgrade, just for the durability and "ain't that purdy" aspect. In the mean time, the matte finish on the Sport has proven quite scratch resistant and aside from a shiny pin-hole sized divot from some unknown impact, remains looking as new as the day I received it in May. The screen, on the other hand, already has a couple of tiny scratches in the corner I can feel with my fingernail. I put a Zagg protector on it, which gives me peace of mind with minimal downside.. it is invisible in casual observation and I don't even think about it anymore. It takes a scratch, then self-heals over a day or two. The "composite" back on my Sport shows some wear that probably wouldn't have happened with the SS's ceramic back. It's just cosmetic, through, and the material contributes to the remarkable lightness of the Sport version.
Material Science 101 Experiment for today: To get an idea of the higher reflectivity of the sapphire crystal vs. the ion-glass, if you have an iPhone 5S, 6, or 6s, hold it up to the light so you can see the sky in the reflection. The main screen of the iPhone is ion-glass, whereas the TouchID home button is sapphire crystal. You can easily see the home button reflects more light than the screen. On top of that, sapphire also transmits slightly less light than glass, so you have a double-whammy: more reflection, less light getting through. Still, the Apple Watch OLED screen can really crank out the photons, so I doubt it is all that much of a factor in real life.
Material Science 101 Experiment for today: To get an idea of the higher reflectivity of the sapphire crystal vs. the ion-glass, if you have an iPhone 5S, 6, or 6s, hold it up to the light so you can see the sky in the reflection. The main screen of the iPhone is ion-glass, whereas the TouchID home button is sapphire crystal. You can easily see the home button reflects more light than the screen. On top of that, sapphire also transmits slightly less light than glass, so you have a double-whammy: more reflection, less light getting through. Still, the Apple Watch OLED screen can really crank out the photons, so I doubt it is all that much of a factor in real life.