AW6 or AW5 for $50 less

[cfs]

Hey all,

In the market to buy the AW as a gift. ECG is an important feature so looking at AW6 or AW5. Oxygen feature not so much. I see AW5 is $50 less that AW6 right now. For those who have experience with these watches, is it worth just paying the extra $50 to get the AW6?

Thanks in advance!

 

[nburwell]

IMO, I don't think the S6 is worth it -- hence why I stuck with my S5 and chose not to upgrade. Now if you find measuring blood oxygen important, then certainly go with the S6 (but it doesn't seem like you need it).

 

[cfs]

IMO, I don't think the S6 is worth it -- hence why I stuck with my S5 and chose not to upgrade. Now if you find measuring blood oxygen important, then certainly go with the S6 (but it doesn't seem like you need it).

Thanks. If you didn't own one and were to buy now, would you save $50 and go with 5 or pay $50 and go with 6?

 

[MacDevil7334]

If the price difference is only $50, I’d pay for the S6 personally. You also get a faster processor and brighter AOD outdoors for that money. The better value might be to look for a lightly used S5 on a site like Swappa. If the price difference was closer to $100 or more, I’d say get the S5 and don’t look back.

 

[cfs]

If the price difference is only $50, I’d pay for the S6 personally. You also get a faster processor and brighter AOD outdoors for that money. The better value might be to look for a lightly used S5 on a site like Swappa. If the price difference was closer to $100 or more, I’d say get the S5 and don’t look back.

Appreciate it. It's a birthday gift so I need to get new or I would be in trouble with this person .

Unfortunately the new AW5 is still fairly up there in price.

Thanks again!

 

[JW313]

If the price is only $50 go with the S6.

If you can get $300 off of the SS S5 vs SS S6 like some were getting at Best Buy, then go with the S5.

 

[MacDevil7334]

Appreciate it. It's a birthday gift so I need to get new or I would be in trouble with this person .

Unfortunately the new AW5 is still fairly up there in price.

Thanks again!

Oh completely understand if it’s a gift! If the person is going to keep the watch for a while, the S6 is probably the better buy, even if it’s more money up front.

 

[JCCL]

For 50 difference I would go with S6. 100 or more I would pick the S5. I have an S5 myself and have no desire to pick up a S6, but if I was buying a new one I think those were the parameters I would follow.

 

[sixtydashone]

50 dollars is not a lot of money in the grand scheme of things for me, so I’d absolutely go for the series 6.

 

[MacDevil7334]

OP if you haven’t made your purchase yet, Best Buy is having a sale on Nike S5 watches today. Might change the cost differential for you.

Apple Watch Series 5 Nike+ from $299 (Up to $150 off)

This offer has expired!Be sure to follow us on Twitter for the latest deals and more. Sign-up for our newsletters and have our best offers delivered to your inbox daily.Best Buy is currently offering Apple Watch Series 5 Nike models from $299. Free shipping is available for all. You can see the...

9to5toys.com

 

[kc9hzn]

$50 isn’t a whole lot of money, especially for a gift that you’re already planning on spending multiple hundreds of dollars on. Plus, the S6 will likely have a slightly longer support cycle (your recipient will likely get one more watchOS release from the S6 than they would from the S5). I have an S5, but the blood oxygen measurement would be nice since I have issues with asthma.

 

[nepatriot]

Are you comparing 44mm size cases, GPS + cellular? I see that today at BB, a 44mm AW5 with stainless steel case, sapphire glass, still @ $450, and an AW6 44mm aluminum case and mineral glass is now $530 (was $510). Both cellular. I see the aluminum AW5 GPS + cellular at $400.

So the difference today between aluminum 44mm case, w/cellular, AW5 and AW6, is -$130. I didn't look at the GPS only versions.

They have refub's and open box too.

When the $50 difference between a SS AW5 and aluminum AW6, that was very compelling too many, especially those who view the improved durability of the AW5 SS and sapphire as more important to them vs. the AW6's BO, brighter AOD screen, newer\faster processor and charging, new haptics. Now that difference is $80.

If aluminum is OK for you, and the features of the AW5 are OK, you can save $130 on the AW5. Assuming you want 44mm and cellular.

 

[bigdog5142]

I picked up the AW5 Stainless Steel 44mm at Best Buy for $449 yesterday...so they’re still available. My store even had it in stock. This is a HECK of a deal for a stainless steel watch.

 

[Apple_Robert]

Not a bad deal. It saves you some sales tax.

 

[JW313]

I picked up the AW5 Stainless Steel 44mm at Best Buy for $449 yesterday...so they’re still available. My store even had it in stock. This is a HECK of a deal for a stainless steel watch.

Same. If you want to keep the watch long term (2+years) its a no brainer

 

[cfs]

Thanks all. Appreciate all the responses. Needed a 40mm watch. Went with the AW6 Rose Gold with the Baltic Blue Leather Link Band from Apple (as a side note crazy how comfy that band is compared to a third party I tried).

I just saw the Gold 40mm Stainless at Best Buy for $399. Great deal. Don't need Cellular but great deal nontheless. May just get that one and now return the other. That a ll depends though if they like the gold as opposed to the rose gold. Personally I like the gold but it isn't for me.

The person I am gifting for has heart stuff. I heard oxygen sensor isn't too accurate and don't intend to use this for a medical device. That said, hear rate sensor is nice to get a baseline over time- which all AW have.

Thanks again everyone.

 

[Captain Trips]

Thanks all. Appreciate all the responses. Needed a 40mm watch. Went with the AW6 Rose Gold with the Baltic Blue Leather Link Band from Apple (as a side note crazy how comfy that band is compared to a third party I tried).

I just saw the Gold 40mm Stainless at Best Buy for $399. Great deal. Don't need Cellular but great deal nontheless. May just get that one and now return the other. That a ll depends though if they like the gold as opposed to the rose gold. Personally I like the gold but it isn't for me.

The person I am gifting for has heart stuff. I heard oxygen sensor isn't too accurate and don't intend to use this for a medical device. That said, hear rate sensor is nice to get a baseline over time- which all AW have.

Thanks again everyone.

If you are thinking of returning what you bought, Amazon still (I just checked) has the Apple Watch 6 (40mm, GPS) in (PRODUCT)RED color for $339.00

New Apple Watch Series 6 (GPS, 40mm) - (PRODUCT)RED

And I had to make the same decision and I was tempted by the AW5 at Best Buy for that sale price. But then I saw the AW6 at Amazon for $339 and I want with it. The difference in price wasn't that great, and this way I got a slightly more powerful processor that should be supported for longer.

The AW6 I purchased is my first smart watch - if I already had a recent AW I would have stuck with it, like others in this conversation has mentioned doing.

 

[cfs]

Hi all,

One more question. Ugh. Sorry.

Does anyone see any real world application difference due to series 6 having support for 5Ghz Wifi, an always on altimeter, and a U1 chip?

Just trying to tell the person I am gifting for the difference of AW5 SS Gold Versus AW6 Aluminum Gold. I can explain all the other differences.

Unfortunately there is a restocking fee for Best Buy so can't open the AW5 Gold when it arrives.

Thanks!

 

[nepatriot]

Hi all,

One more question. Ugh. Sorry.

Does anyone see any real world application difference due to series 6 having support for 5Ghz Wifi, an always on altimeter, and a U1 chip?

Just trying to tell the person I am gifting for the difference of AW5 SS Gold Versus AW6 Aluminum Gold. I can explain all the other differences.

Unfortunately there is a restocking fee for Best Buy so can't open the AW5 Gold when it arrives.

Thanks!

Like any new tech device, some of the new features are for future things, other improvements on existing things.

From what I have read anyway, the U1 chip is new, and can be used by apps not yet developed. Allowing the watch to serve as a key for cars is an example. Provided you have a car or other device that uses that technology.

If you have 5G wifi in your home, or iPhone, that might improve connection speed, range maybe.

The altimeter nice if you do things where that measure is useful, and you want the watch to automatically keep track. Even mundane things. Like in the fitness app: it automatically records the amount of elevation I have walked. Example I take a 2 mile walk every day, with some small elevation changes. The app records that I have "climbed" around 120 feet. in total, over the walk. It can guess how many stairs you climbed, even how many times you stand.

The Best Buy price for an SS AW5 vs an aluminum AW6 is interesting. I have a SS AW4, now an aluminum AW6. The SS with sapphire is more durable. But I'm seeing these as disposable tech: I'll replace every 2 years, and I don't use in any more formal setting (use a mechanical watch). For me I like the BO and AOD.

For some the SS is more about fashion. Others durability. No right or wrong answer.

 

[Captain Trips]

For the U1 chip - the ability for better handoff between iPhones with the U1 chip and Homepods with the U1 chip has been added.

I haven't seen that ability for Apple Watch with U1 chips, but this could be a potential benefit of having an Apple Watch with the U1 chip in the future.

Apple Releases 14.4 Software for HomePod With New U1 Features for Mini (MacRumors)
Testing the HomePod Mini's New U1 Handoff Functionality (MacRumors)

 

[kc9hzn]

Well, I live in NYC, and I’ve noticed that, in apartment buildings, lots of routers are dual band and that 2.4GHz interference is a real issue. So 5GHz WiFi would be very useful in that case.

As for always on altimeter, if you’re hiking or frequently climbing stairs and you don’t want to have to use an exercise to get credit (perhaps you don’t want the heart rate sensor on for battery reasons), it would work for that. I believe they work based on atmospheric pressure, so you’ve got a barometer and could theoretically get some basic off-line weather predictions (for camping, sailing, or something).

For the U1 chip, Handoff to the HomePod mini as has already been mentioned. Mind you, I can’t understate the value of something like that. Just the other day, I was talking on the phone and my phone decided to handoff the call to the OG HomePod in the other room. And I’ve had plenty of other accidental audio handoffs, so the HomePod mini would be real tempting if I had a phone or watch that supported it.

 

[JCCL]

2.4 usually would more range. 5.8 has higher bandwidth capacity and much better latency. However, for the usage on the Apple Watch, I don't see it being a big difference, if any. But your usage might vary. Most networks from cheap ISP's still use 2.4 Ghz so they are more crowded - that might be the biggest difference.

 

[Captain Trips]

And I had to make the same decision and I was tempted by the AW5 at Best Buy for that sale price. But then I saw the AW6 at Amazon for $339 and I want with it. The difference in price wasn't that great, and this way I got a slightly more powerful processor that should be supported for longer.

Alas, Amazon messed up the delivery (tracking ID mixup) and they cancelled the order since they said they couldn't deliver it. So I should get a refund and I instead bought an Apple Watch 6 from a local Apple Store.

Still ended up with an AW6, though, so all is well that ends well.