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Thanks all, most people seem to recommend the 4 or 5. The 4 seems to be selling for about $350, at least that’s the best deal I can find, makes more sense at that price to just get the 5.

Any other opinions?

If you can afford the Series 5, why not just opt for the Series 5? You’re literally purchasing the same watch with the exception of AOD/the compass. If you don’t need/care for those two specific features, then opt for the Series 4.
 
What are thoughts about resale? Assuming an intention to upgrade to the 6 when it comes out, do you think the 5 would lose more value than the 3 over the year or is it just a matter of paying more upfront?
 
I’ll be the odd one out here and say the Series 3 is an amazing deal for what you’re getting. Sure, it may not have the bigger screen, AOD, ECG, compass, or fall detection of the Series 4/5, but it’s still a plenty capable watch depending on your use case. What I use it for, (activity tracking, notification management, Spotify remote, quick weather checks, and of course, telling time) it works just fine. I will say, the lack of newer watch faces is a bummer and I find myself searching for a new, fresh face quite frequently (I change watch faces a lot). But if you don’t care about having all the newest and fanciest bells and whistles of the Series 4/5 I think the Series 3 will be a great watch for you. I absolutely love my Series 3 and will definitely use it until it loses software support.
 
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I went to see both in my local Apple store yesterday.

Main takeaways are the 3 is very capable, but feels a bit dated next to the 5- square screen, scrolling between apps, windows is a bit more stuttery, apps can get the loading icon when launching. The 5 felt more snappy and modern overall.

But 450 including tax feels a lot to spend on a watch to me. I’m strongly considering buying a used series 4 on Swappa, available for about 270-300. It has most of the features I want from the 5, I'm not concerened about AOD.
 
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Got my 3 yesterday.

If you run the S3 alongside the S4/5 it will feel dated as with any piece of tech but on its own and using it, it's great.

I think it's a very good start to AW ownership and should do me nicely, for what I need/want it for, for a while. A used watch wasn't for me given probable detiorated batteries etc.

At the £229 I paid, I'm very happy with it. If I went for the S4/5 for £100-200 more I think I'd feel pressurised into constantly making sure I used it to it's full potential and perhaps more than what I actually wanted an AW for in the first place.
 
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Series 3 is a great watch, I played with my friend's one for a day which is what persuaded me to buy.

In the end I found a mint Series 4 with only 9 months of usage for about $60 more than I would have paid for the series 3, worth it to me.
 
Long story short, I would of gotten the 42mm AW3 if I didn't find the 44mm AW4 for $299. In the end its a personal preference kind of situation.


I debated and researched getting my first AW during the holidays after all the good deals ended. I was dead set on getting the nicest deal because I wasn't sure if id like it. the current 415 price for the AW5 44mm wasn't that great if I wanted to add applecare+. I was convinced the AW3 was the best deal for me because the price and because it did the majority of things I would appreciate from the AW4/5. It was the morning of 1/1/20 when I happened to find a silver 44mm AW4 that was probably on clearance so I snatched it up and it was almost immediately sold out.
 
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