Best renewed (older) Apple Watch year for ECG?

[nquinn]

Looking at Amazon renewed Apple watches with new batteries.

Don't need anything new and fancy, but mostly want a model that supports heart monitoring for defensive protection as I get older. Looks like Series 4 is the oldest series that supports it? (any limitations?)

(I don't have any major issues, just seems like a wise idea since it's the #1 killer).

How old would you go? (which series)? Any other major cutoff points/features for the cpu or other capabilities?

Apple Watch and iPad series/naming are a disaster.

Blood oxygen sensor is nice to have but not necessary. Might be good for monitoring sleep though.

 

[Howard2k]

I would not go older than S6. That's pretty much the current CPU it's a safe bet that it will get longer support than S4/S5.

 

[jz0309]

Looking at Amazon renewed Apple watches with new batteries.

Don't need anything new and fancy, but mostly want a model that supports heart monitoring for defensive protection as I get older. Looks like Series 4 is the oldest series that supports it? (any limitations?)

(I don't have any major issues, just seems like a wise idea since it's the #1 killer).

How old would you go? (which series)? Any other major cutoff points/features for the cpu or other capabilities?

Apple Watch and iPad series/naming are a disaster.

Blood oxygen sensor is nice to have but not necessary. Might be good for monitoring sleep though.

ECG was introduced with S4, you can use that model for sleep tracking.
I personally would only buy refurbished from Apple, would not trust anybody else for a "new" battery. Apple themselves don't replace AW battery when your's run below 80% health, they give you a refurbished
How much are you willing to spend?

 

[BenGoren]

First, yes: the one-lead ECG hardware was introduced with Series 4.

But!

The watch itself will only check for signs of atrial fibrillation. It will NOT inform you of any other heart conditions (other than high / low heart rates in certain circumstances). It most emphatically will not inform you of current or past heart attacks.

It will save the results of any and all ECG measurements to the Health app on the phone, where they can be saved as a PDF. A cardiologist (amongst other health professionals) could review those readings, but you’d have to send the PDF to the doctor and the doctor would have to look at it. If you have a doctor who would be interested in providing that service to you, fantastic! But that’s quite rare, especially if you don’t currently have any indications of any sort of heart disease.

And again note that this is a single-lead ECG. I understand that there’s lots of useful information in there, but most doctor’s offices use multiple-lead ECG machines for reasons (that I wouldn’t begin to pretend to personally understand).

So … TLDR: it will screen you (imperfectly as with anything but darned well) for afib, but you should absolutely ask your doctor about using it for anything more than that.

b&

 

[nquinn]

First, yes: the one-lead ECG hardware was introduced with Series 4.

But!

The watch itself will only check for signs of atrial fibrillation. It will NOT inform you of any other heart conditions (other than high / low heart rates in certain circumstances). It most emphatically will not inform you of current or past heart attacks.

It will save the results of any and all ECG measurements to the Health app on the phone, where they can be saved as a PDF. A cardiologist (amongst other health professionals) could review those readings, but you’d have to send the PDF to the doctor and the doctor would have to look at it. If you have a doctor who would be interested in providing that service to you, fantastic! But that’s quite rare, especially if you don’t currently have any indications of any sort of heart disease.

And again note that this is a single-lead ECG. I understand that there’s lots of useful information in there, but most doctor’s offices use multiple-lead ECG machines for reasons (that I wouldn’t begin to pretend to personally understand).

So … TLDR: it will screen you (imperfectly as with anything but darned well) for afib, but you should absolutely ask your doctor about using it for anything more than that.

b&

I'm well aware it will be imperfect. Just adds one extra possible check though.

 

[nquinn]

I'm thinking i'm leaning towards Series 6 stainless steel version right now (because it has a sapphire screen, oxygen, and ecg) for about $210-$250 from Amazon renewed for a 40mm.

Any reason I should bump to series 7 or 8?

 

[ndouglas]

I'm thinking i'm leaning towards Series 6 stainless steel version right now (because it has a sapphire screen, oxygen, and ecg) for about $250 from Amazon renewed.

Any reason I should bump to series 7 or 8?

Sapphire screen and stainless steel are admittedly nice features. However these things get obsolete so rapidly that I would personally go with Series 7 or 8, since they both (I could be wrong?) have a faster CPU.

Also, I think saving $100 or so is appealing but in the long run I would be more worried about added costs from buying Amazon and most other “renewed” items,…. Unless you’ve done it before and have good experience with it, and** unless the “renewed” status has some guarantee about the battery not having many cycles on it already.

Just a few thoughts, good luck with your choice, keep us posted. I have a negative view of most refurbished claims/places but I‘m happy to learn that I’m mistaken and perhaps Amazon “renewed” is fairly legit…

EDIT: Oops I just reread your post, it seems they do have new batteries, that’s a pretty good deal then perhaps.

 

[BenGoren]

I'm well aware it will be imperfect. Just adds one extra possible check though.

So long as you go into it with your eyes open.

I would offer three more observations.

First, an appointment with a cardiologist should be covered at the standard specialist rate with your insurance. It should be cheaper than a watch and will be far, far, far more effective at identifying potential causes for concern.

Second, the real heart health benefit from the watch isn’t the ECG; it’s from Siri encouraging you to close your activity rings. I can’t think of a more effective nor economical means of improving your heart (and overall) health than to buy a watch and do your best to make Siri happy. You still need to eat well and sleep well, of course — but just having Siri make sure you move well is of incalculable benefit.

Third … add me to the list of those who wouldn’t trust anybody other than Apple to refurbish one of these devices. You might get lucky, but you’re betting against the house — never a good position to be in.

My wife just had the battery in her own long-since-out-of-warranty S4 “serviced” by Apple for about $80. They didn’t replace the battery; they sent back a good-as-new mint-condition refurbished watch (same model / color / etc.). That right there far more than paid for any amount of “savings” we could have had by buying an old device refurbished by somebody who isn’t Apple.

It’s not just watches that Apple treats like that. My current iPad Pro is also a refurbished like-new replacement that I got when the battery on the old one was starting to run low towards the end of the standard warranty period. You basically have to do something stupid, like run your phone through the washing machine, before Apple leaves you in the cold — and, if you pay for AppleCare+, a replacement in such an instance will cost you less than the “discount” you might get by buying third-party refurbished.

Yes, you spend more up front buying new from Apple. But it’s the smart way to save money in the long run.

b&

 

[nquinn]

So long as you go into it with your eyes open.

I would offer three more observations.

First, an appointment with a cardiologist should be covered at the standard specialist rate with your insurance. It should be cheaper than a watch and will be far, far, far more effective at identifying potential causes for concern.

Second, the real heart health benefit from the watch isn’t the ECG; it’s from Siri encouraging you to close your activity rings. I can’t think of a more effective nor economical means of improving your heart (and overall) health than to buy a watch and do your best to make Siri happy. You still need to eat well and sleep well, of course — but just having Siri make sure you move well is of incalculable benefit.

Third … add me to the list of those who wouldn’t trust anybody other than Apple to refurbish one of these devices. You might get lucky, but you’re betting against the house — never a good position to be in.

My wife just had the battery in her own long-since-out-of-warranty S4 “serviced” by Apple for about $80. They didn’t replace the battery; they sent back a good-as-new mint-condition refurbished watch (same model / color / etc.). That right there far more than paid for any amount of “savings” we could have had by buying an old device refurbished by somebody who isn’t Apple.

It’s not just watches that Apple treats like that. My current iPad Pro is also a refurbished like-new replacement that I got when the battery on the old one was starting to run low towards the end of the standard warranty period. You basically have to do something stupid, like run your phone through the washing machine, before Apple leaves you in the cold — and, if you pay for AppleCare+, a replacement in such an instance will cost you less than the “discount” you might get by buying third-party refurbished.

Yes, you spend more up front buying new from Apple. But it’s the smart way to save money in the long run.

b&

Normally I'd agree, but Amazon renewed prices are WAY lower, not just a little bit.
You can get the series 6 stainless steel for like $210-$250.

Apple Watch Series 6 (GPS, 44mm) - Space Gray Aluminum Case with Black Sport Band (Renewed)

GPS model lets you take calls and reply to texts from your wrist Measure your blood oxygen with an all-new sensor and app Check your heart rhythm with the ECG app The Always-On Retina display is 2.5x brighter outdoors when your wrist is down S6 SiP is up to 20% faster than Series 5 5GHz Wi-Fi and...

smile.amazon.com

Apple wants $450 for a 5 series and $550 for a 7 series. (so guessing $500 for a 6 series). We're talking 2x the price.

Refurbished Apple Watch Deals - Apple

All refurbished Apple Watch models are Apple-certified, including a 1-year warranty. Shop now to save up to 15% with free delivery and returns.

www.apple.com