AW3 to AW4, but why?

[44267547]

Let’s be honest.... the Series 4 isn’t that big of a look difference....

I was being honest, but your interpretation of ‘that big of a look’ is different from mine. I truly think this Series 4 makes the Series 3 look that much more dated. I mean, how else would you expect Apple to revamp the Apple Watch as it is with the rectangular design already? The casing and display has changed. Not to mention the bezel reduction. The Only real way for the Apple Watch to ‘look that much different’ is if they offered a round version or something similar.

day to day if someone walked by with an AW it would be very hard to tell what series it is..

Have you actually seen Someone wearing a Series 4 yet in person? To me, I find this strange. Because it is immediately noticeable that someone else is wearing a Series 4 just _alone_ with the display size you can tell the difference. Obviously the shape is very similar. Perhaps it depends on the person and how tech orientated they are to notice the difference.
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I think the series 4 is a great update but it’s not a redesign.

It Uses the same rectangular shape as the other models, but when you set the Series 4 in comparison next to the first GEN through the Series 3, undoubtedly it’s different.

 

[PeteS1963]

Yes, I’ve seen a Series 4, both at the Apple store and someone wearing it. A close friend turned up with a Series 4. I noticed his new strap before I noticed the Series 4. My wife had trouble noticing the difference until they were side by side. Sure, if the watch face is on it’s more noticeable but most of the time the screen is blank.

For an Apple fan the difference is more obvious but for the majority of the public they just see an Apple Watch. When we were down the pub last week no-one noticed his new Watch until the subject of Apple came up. All bar one have iPhones too. In a way this is quite clever and good as from a marketing view point you want people to see “Apple Watch” not just some “fancy watch”.

Personally I prefer the look of the Series 3 and below. To me the Series 4 looks too “blobby”. Especially when (I’ve tried it on my friends watch) you put one of the old nylon bands on. They meet the case straight on and IMHO make the Series 4 look a bit, well, weird. Probably one reason Apple discontinued the nylon band collection.

But does it really matter whether the Series 4 is better looking, a redesign/obviously difference? What are you trying to prove? Surely other factors are more important.

 

[mackie8]

i hate the look of woven nylon in the series 4 ... makes it more look like a fitbit versa specially the sport model...

 

[PeteS1963]

Having said all of that.... for me I really like the Series 4 bigger display, loader speakers and ECG. However, there’s some debate about when ECG will be available here in the UK. If ECG is available soon-ish in the UK I’ll bite the bullet and upgrade. If it’s still an issue going towards the Series 5 I’ll wait. I don’t really want to pay for a significant feature that isn’t there.

 

[Heithel]

Look so attractive but I just can’t justify the price from my Series 3 for not so many improvements for my usage.

 

[bruinsrme]

Back in June/July, I purchased an AW3.

According to reports, the AW4 is slightly larger, with better battery life, and more options of icons and such on the watch face.

But, as an AW3 user, am I really losing out on anything else?

Screen screen screen.

 

[newellj]

I made the upgrade, for the reasons mentioned in a lot of these posts. Was it compelling? No. Is it really nice? Yes. Even my wife, sort of surprisingly, wanted to upgrade. We used the Apple trade-in program, which may or may not be the best price you'll get, but there are no fees, no buyer remorse issues, and you keep your bands (we both had the S3 Nike+ version), charger block and cable, so overall it's a pretty attractive way to upgrade.

Larger display and faster processor on top of a noticeably thinner casing imo are reason enough to upgrade. Coming from the Series 3 and I find it a huge upgrade.

+1 for this. I just received a series 4 w/ cellular two days ago and the processor and display changes are quite noticeable to justify the upgrade from series 3 w/ cellular for me. (My near-sight is kind of crap and I appreciate the display change in particular.).

I made the jump
1. bigger screen
2. Better optical heart sensor.
3. BT5 make a big deference in communicating with the phone etc
4. Louder speaker
5. Better LTE reception
6. Over all feels faster
7. EKG is pretty cool once its activated
8. Like the new faces but they do need to add the message icon and now playing to them.

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Screen screen screen.

Yes. BTW, has anyone else found the S4 display too bright at its default setting? I dialed it down to the lowest setting and like that a lot better.

 

[bruinsrme]

I made the upgrade, for the reasons mentioned in a lot of these posts. Was it compelling? No. Is it really nice? Yes. Even my wife, sort of surprisingly, wanted to upgrade. We used the Apple trade-in program, which may or may not be the best price you'll get, but there are no fees, no buyer remorse issues, and you keep your bands (we both had the S3 Nike+ version), charger block and cable, so overall it's a pretty attractive way to upgrade.


I agree with the price thing when it comes to the trade in return. However, after I factor in the potential aggravation factor or selling it to the wrong potential buyer I will gladly take the slight loss with apple. Congrats on the new watch.

 

[circatee]

I have a Aluminium ready for pick up today. I will review it, prior to picking it up.
To me, since I already have a AW3 SS SB, I am nervous (not sure why exactly), about getting an Aluminum model...

Screen screen screen.

 

[bruinsrme]

I have a Aluminium ready for pick up today. I will review it, prior to picking it up.
To me, since I already have a AW3 SS SB, I am nervous (not sure why exactly), about getting an Aluminum model...

The biggest thing is you’ll appreciate the weight difference. The Al models are that much lighter in the wrist.

I have both in the series 4. I like the SB a lot more that the Al.

 

[PeteS1963]

I have a Aluminium ready for pick up today. I will review it, prior to picking it up.
To me, since I already have a AW3 SS SB, I am nervous (not sure why exactly), about getting an Aluminum model...

The issue with the aluminium is that the screen obviously isn’t sapphire and is more prone to scratches. The aluminium body is pretty durable. On my Series 3 aluminium I have a few very light scratches near the bezel. Nothing (as yet!) on the actual display surface. You know, the kind of scratches you can only really see if you go into a dark room and shine a touch at it. But personally it’s a watch and I have better things to do

 

[big samm]

Went from series 0 to series 3 lte, that was a huge upgrade i could really feel the difference in performance, now from series 3 to series 4 lte the performance is not that drastic but is noticeable.
The larger screen alone made me upgrade lol
But there’s also the louder speakers, Taptic feedback on the digital crown, better heart rate monitor , better sensors gyroscope etc, 64 bit processor, ECG functionality , new watch faces , better Lte connection all this combined with Watch os 5 it’s quite a nice upgrade for me! But yes if you have a series 3 and your happy with it save the money and wait next year see what comes up.

 

[ray737]

Back in June/July, I purchased an AW3.

According to reports, the AW4 is slightly larger, with better battery life, and more options of icons and such on the watch face.

But, as an AW3 user, am I really losing out on anything else?

I made the switch from 3 to 4 and it has been awesome. The screen is way bigger and more functional. LTE transfer is way faster. It’s also thinner and faster. Overall love it. Glad I sold my AW 3

 

[Smoothie]

Is the HR monitor that much better than the AW3? My AW3 is pretty bad when it comes to monitoring high intensity interval training. It won't accurately track large swings in heart rate over a short period of time. The watch won't display my HR in the high intensity phase. The readout is gray. By the time it shows my HR, I've already backed off. I had to purchase a chest strap, which solved this problem. If the AW4 solved this, I'd think about buying one.

 

[Ffosse]

Given that I pick up my series 3 about once every two months, I think I'll skip the 4. Im all about Swiss automatics.

 

[newellj]

Can't say about the HR monitor - I tested my S3 against various other devices and it was always dead-on (or at least in complete agreement), but I know that this varies from one user to another.

One thing I've noticed that seems to be much more accurate is the GPS. I do a 5x8 mile bike workout and the GPS track with the S4 is much more consistent than it was with the S3.
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Given that I pick up my series 3 about once every two months, I think I'll skip the 4. Im all about Swiss automatics.

To me, the Watch isn't a watch. It's a health/fitness wearable. As I'm typing this I have a Rolex GMT II on my left wrist and the S4 AW on my right wrist. For whatever it's worth, no one ever comments or asks about why I'm wearing two "watches."

 

[circatee]

Can't say about the HR monitor - I tested my S3 against various other devices and it was always dead-on (or at least in complete agreement), but I know that this varies from one user to another.

One thing I've noticed that seems to be much more accurate is the GPS. I do a 5x8 mile bike workout and the GPS track with the S4 is much more consistent than it was with the S3.
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To me, the Watch isn't a watch. It's a health/fitness wearable. As I'm typing this I have a Rolex GMT II on my left wrist and the S4 AW on my right wrist. For whatever it's worth, no one ever comments or asks about why I'm wearing two "watches."

LOL - okay, I’ll ask. Why?

Just kidding, I get it...

 

[canyonblue737]

Honest answers having had both the S3 and S4...

1. The S4 is faster. Don't let anyone tell you it makes that huge a difference now, other than boot time and upgrading the OS time I haven't seen anything that blows away the S3. It is faster but no it doesn't make a big difference in day to day use from the S3.

2. The S3 has all the big impact features from watchOS 5 also. it supports the high AND low heart rate alerts and WILL support the Afib warnings when the update hits in the fall. You will not be able to the do the ECG/EKG obviously but you will get Afib warnings even with the optical only system on the S3.

3. No fall support on the S3 but by default it is off for folks under 65 on the S4. I haven't turned my on.

4. No new watch faces that support more complications. Now I think the infographic faces are awesome on the S4, but I wouldn't upgrade just for that.

NOW... the Pros...

5. The new look is great, I think the more subtle and rounded corners combined with the thinner body make the watch look nicer on the wrist. You *will* notice it and enjoy it but lets be honest others will have to look closely to see the difference unless up close.

6. The bigger screen is amazing and the #1 reason to get the watch. It really does make everything easier to read and the round faces have suddenly become "normal" watch sized instead of "baby" size on my 44 vs. 42. The rounded corners of the screen and smaller bezels also make the design look better and more modern.

Sooo, get the theme here? The fall detection and EKG are awesome BUT very unlikely to actually be used by or benefit but a very, very small percentage of users. For me its all about the "look" and the "screen" for why to upgrade. I had the $$$$ but I could easily see this generation as skippable for an S3 user and just get the S5 with the same screen and body but maybe better battery life and the introduction of built in sleep tracking and pulse oxygen monitoring next year?

 

[musicpenguy]

As someone that upgraded from the S3 I’m finding the Infograph face a game changer. The information that is displayed is both more in a single complication and more useful. I may be imagining it but I’m also finding that the complications are updating quicker and are displaying more accurate information as a result.

Cell reception is noticeably better and that alone would be worth it for me for how much I use that on my watch.

 

[steve31]

Went from a ss blk series 3 to a ss blk series 4. Traded in my series 3 at Apple. Got 325$ for it. Would have got more if I had sold it on kijji but I didn’t want the hassle. A little bit faster but the 3 was fast. However the screen is a big difference. Seems much larger for everyday tasks. I am excited about the health features.

 

[Knowlege Bomb]

BTW, has anyone else found the S4 display too bright at its default setting? I dialed it down to the lowest setting and like that a lot better.

Yep. I have mine set on the lowest as well. It became glaringly obvious when I forgot to turn on theater mode when the wife and I hit the lights for the night and my watch practically blinded her.
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Is the HR monitor that much better than the AW3? My AW3 is pretty bad when it comes to monitoring high intensity interval training. It won't accurately track large swings in heart rate over a short period of time. The watch won't display my HR in the high intensity phase. The readout is gray. By the time it shows my HR, I've already backed off. I had to purchase a chest strap, which solved this problem. If the AW4 solved this, I'd think about buying one.

Absolutely. I had the series 3 before upgrading. I’m mostly into weight training and every time I’d check my watch in the rest period between sets, it would be grayed out. More often than not, it wouldn’t get a reading to me before it was time to start the next set.

With the S4, every time I check it its either got a reading up or it takes at most two seconds to find it. It’s actually the biggest functionality improvement I’ve noticed.

 

[Smoothie]

Absolutely. I had the series 3 before upgrading. I’m mostly into weight training and every time I’d check my watch in the rest period between sets, it would be grayed out. More often than not, it wouldn’t get a reading to me before it was time to start the next set.

With the S4, every time I check it its either got a reading up or it takes at most two seconds to find it. It’s actually the biggest functionality improvement I’ve noticed.

That's impressive. I should thank you for the response, but you may have just put another dent in my bank account.

 

[Knowlege Bomb]

That's impressive. I should thank you for the response, but you may have just put another dent in my bank account.

I’ll take the satisfaction of knowing I may have influenced somebody into a sweeeet upgrade.

 

[circatee]

I just want to say, NONE of you have helped me. This morning I collected my S4, and traded my AW3.

So, here is a link to my Go Fund Me page, so you all can chip in

 

[swarlos]

I had a series 3 sold that bad boy and got me a series 4. After having the series 4 I definitely could not go back.

I mean just look at the fire watch face on this thing

It’s !! LOL.