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Apples watch price differences question

Never mind

Never mind

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Oct 25, 2018
1,071
1,191
Dunedin, Florida
Thinking of buying my first Apple Watch and would like to know if possible, what is the differences besides stainless steel / titanium or aluminum series 5 that you pay between $300 / $400 if not more for? Is it just a metal that causes a price increase or do you get something inside the Watch that commands such a high premium over one another? Or are they all the same internals?

thank you
 
Basically, you pay more for the materials, e.g., stainless steel, titanium, or ceramic. Those models also have a sapphire screen instead of the ion x glass on the aluminum models. Performance is the same across all models.
 
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BSG75 said:
Basically, you pay more for the materials, e.g., stainless steel, titanium, or ceramic. Those models also have a sapphire screen instead of the ion x glass on the aluminum models. Performance is the same across all models.
Click to expand...
this, but they also only come with cell, which I believe is a $100 "upgrade" on the all versions
 
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BSG75 said:
Basically, you pay more for the materials, e.g., stainless steel, titanium, or ceramic. Those models also have a sapphire screen instead of the ion x glass on the aluminum models. Performance is the same across all models.
Click to expand...

Thank you very much for the heads up. So sapphire glass is superior to and worth the Additional cost ? Thought I read somewhere that someone had scratches on their sapphire Apple Watch.
 
I’ve had both Alu and SS Watches over the years. I had to have Alu for S3 and S4 as we didn’t get LTE support where I live until December ‘19 but started with an SS S0 and went back to SS when it went on sale here once more.

My experience is that SS and sapphire glass are unmarked when I upgrade whereas Alu gets dinged up on the case and marks particularly around the edges of the glass. Of course that’s with the same usage pattern. Note SS picks up fine scratches in use, but those marks buff out with a Cape Cod cloth or similar metal polish.

Looks are a personal thing, but sapphire glass is shinier than Ion X and of course the cases are much different aesthetically. Lastly SS is noticeably heavier than Alu.

None of the finishes are indestructible and you can both scratch and shatter either glass, it’s just that sapphire is much more scratch resistant - it may be more brittle and therefore likely to shatter if hit hard or dropped on a tile floor etc. however. I’ve never personally broken a watch display of either type.

Ceramic is likely the hardest wearing case, but I haven’t had one to test personally. Space Black SS with the Diamond Like Coating is especially hard wearing also, though it can be marked too.
 
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Materials. That’s all you need to know in terms of what you’re paying for. As long as Apple continues to offer the Sapphire display on the more ‘premium models’, I’m in. I would never buy the aluminum model ever again given the junk quality with the ion-X Glass. Quite a few members have shared my experiences, even though the price hike is quite steep for the stainless and above models, I just have no desire to want to see any micro scratches.
 
Relentless Power said:
Materials. That’s all you need to know in terms of what you’re paying for. As long as Apple continues to offer the Sapphire display on the more ‘premium models’, I’m in. I would never buy the aluminum model ever again given the junk quality with the ion-X Glass. Quite a few members have shared my experiences, even though the price hike is quite steep for the stainless and above models, I just have no desire to want to see any micro scratches.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the feedback and good to know that aluminum is not the best path to take. I’m leaning towards titanium or stainless steel. Thanks everyone
 
there is a significant different in weight between stainless and aluminum also

the aluminum are 30.8 or 36.5 grams. (40 or 44mm)
while stainless are 40.6 or 47.8 grams

it definitely feels more solid on your wrist.


when buying and choosing case color, think of the different band combos you might use.
There are tons of bands on amazon for under $30, so don't think you won't add more.

I got a Milanese loop for $20. Yes it's not the same quality as Apple's band, but it works great for the few times a year I want to "dress up".

In my opinion, an entirely silver metal band doesn't go so well with a black case.
My first watch was black, and I changed to "silver colored" on my subsequent watches. Since, to me, the silver body goes better with more bands.
 
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What I would like to see Apple do, [Which I know they won’t], is put sapphire on the aluminum model. However, it would be counter-productive, because that would draw away from the stainless/Ti Apple Watch attractiveness. The reality is, Apple knows that consumers are not will to pay $700+ for a stainless Apple Watch, it’s really for a select few people that actually opt for the aesthetics, given the watches all perform all the same OS.
 
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The only thing that increases functionality is if you get a cellular model or not if purchasing the Aluminum version. The cellular model adds $100. If you step up to the stainless, titanium, or ceramic models all of the watches have cellular built in so you are at that point only paying extra for the exterior materials. The two major exterior materials are the case (aluminum, stainless steel, titanium, or ceramic) and the screen (hardened glass, sapphire)/ In the aluminum models the screen is hardened glass like on an iphone but in the SS, titanium and ceramic models it is sapphire. Sapphire is very, very scratch resistant and most of us find our screens without a single mark even after years of use vs. the regular hardened glass which will show marks.
 
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