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Convince me not to get the Aluminum...

vistokid said:
Awesome replies on here , thank you so much!

I've decided that I'm going to head over to my local Apple Store today and get an aluminium. I've literally never worn one before. I'll give it a go and if I don't like it I'll exchange it for a stainless steel.
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I’ll be joining you soon. Have had a silver SS Series 0 for nearly 3 years. As a piece of jewelry, it’s been awesome. But like others here, it’s hard to justify the added expense. Still, will miss it. But it is staying in the family as one of my kids asked for it.
 
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Mapple86 said:
I think its a really easy decission between aluminum and SS.
Aluminum:
- You want to upgrade every year for the next gen
- A formal look is not important for you
SS:
- Because of bad resell price, you should keep it 2-3 years
- More formal look and a piece of jewelry

But with the Black Sport and a black link bracelet or black milanese or some leather bands you can get a formal look too.
Just not a "bling bling" jewelry look.
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I have had every generation of the Apple Watch so I am certainly a yearly upgrader. I picked it up this evening and just set it up. It's impressive! I don't mind the aluminum yet. So far so good!
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Relentless Power said:
I would say the aluminum is the most popular choice, and it is very durable with the 7000 series aluminum/and adequate protection with the Ion-X Glass. If you decide to try the stainless for whatever reason, don’t be thwarted by the additional weight, you will adjust to the point were you wouldn’t even notice it on your wrist after a while. Let us know what your thoughts on the Sport model.
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All I've had are Stainless and Ceramic and I didn't mind the weight one bit. Can't really go wrong with any model I guess.
 
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Today I thought about that:
If there would be 2 iPhones. One with aluminum frame and gorilla glass and one iPhone with SS Frame and an unscratchable Screen for 290€ more... which one would I buy?
Wait... we have nearly this two iphones and the choice was simple for me.
Xr vs Xs...
ok sure, with the iphones there is more difference, but its a bit comparable.
I know that I secretly would ever want a SS watch and I know I would not be as happy with the aluminum as I would be with the SS.
Yes it is 290€ more and if you want to upgrade every year, you will lost ~200€ more than with the aluminum every year.
 
I am considering selling my SS S2 Milanese Loop AW to replace it with S4 black aluminum. While I love the look of the silver stainless steel, and how it can to be paired with basically any possible wrist band / color, I am over with swapping bands etc and just want something more cost effective and simple. Like others have said, loosing upwards of $500 on a watch in a year is no fun, and forcing myself into waiting for a next gen because of the depreciation, kind of takes it away from the overall experience (at least for me).
The problem with Apple Watches is that Apple is at baby steps stage, compared to where they are with iPhones, so this means that that there will be always significant improvement to the CPU and overall performance of the watch which would make the upgrade very tempting, unlike the iPhone, which is already a CPU/performance beast and yearly upgrades leave a lot to be desired. 3-4 years old iPhone performance (user interface etc) about as good as brand new iPhone, a year old Apple Watch, performance like crap compared to the latest Apple Watch - I think this trend will continue for several years for Watches.
 
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The Apple Watch is pretty expensive but I just write it off as a fancy meal. How many times do we blow lots of cash on a meal and think nothing of it, with nothing to show for it (except for the memories)?

And for me the watch has provided lots of pleasure and I enjoy the way light reflects off the surfaces, which is new to me since I previously had a space grey.
 
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I don't disagree, many people spend money on booze, expensive meals and God knows what else. I mean if you want something, you'll always be able to find cause to justify the purchase. Just as some will have the opposite perspective. One thing is clear, there are no hard and fast rules and there's not one solution that's right for everyone. The good news is, Apple gives us options!

If having a stainless model is important to you, go for it. If you have a different perspective, that's cool too.
 
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noteple said:
every time I look at the aluminum I wonder if I should have bought the stainless steel

every time I look at the stainless steel, I smile.
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Exactly. I got the S3 aluminum and after a while I was simply waiting when the S4 would come out to get the SS again. No SS available for Launch Day, so I "had" to get the Hermes SS if I wanted a SS for Launch Day. In a way, I didn't mind as I wanted to try out the bands. Their leather bands are great. But I didn't think I would like the Hermes faces as much as I do.
 
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Stainless steel = Watch you can wear smartly
Aluminium = Gadget watch you can do cool stuff with.
I never thought I would love the Hermes as much as I do, can't live without the faces either. And that's coming from a three year aluminium user.
 
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davidec said:
Stainless steel = Watch you can wear smartly
Aluminium = Gadget watch you can do cool stuff with.
I never thought I would love the Hermes as much as I do, can't live without the faces either. And that's coming from a three year aluminium user.
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As an aluminum watch owner at one point and now a stainless watch owner, I still think someone can wear the aluminum watch ‘smartly’, it’s all about how you carry yourself and what type of band you want to pair, but the stainless Apple Watch obviously is much more aesthetic with the high shine stainless casing.

But the stainless watch with the added weight Over the aluminum is what really gives it the premium, substantial feel on the wrist.
 
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actually space grey with black sport band looks smart ..
in our office mostly aluminum users.... even our director is wearing aluminum with black sport band...
others are wearing xiaomi miband ... haha
i think only scratches is the biggest issue with aluminum.... anyway u can always give aluminum a chance....
but if u have ceramic model S3.... that is still worth keeping...

before i discover apple watch... i was using orange gshock watch in the office...
 
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noteple said:
every time I look at the aluminum I wonder if I should have bought the stainless steel

every time I look at the stainless steel, I smile.
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This year, I started with aluminum, returned for SS, and went back to aluminum.

I smile every time I look at the SS, too, but it's not without its drawbacks. Economics is a big drawback if you won't keep the watch for 2-3 years or more (that's IMHO and YMMV). Another drawback was the sapphire crystal. It may be more scratch-resistant, but I really didn't like how reflective the uncoated sapphire display is. I don't understand why Apple doesn't use an anti-reflection coating on these displays.

As several posts above say, there are a lot of factors to consider, and different people are going to come to different conclusions, which is fine.
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davidec said:
Stainless steel = Watch you can wear smartly
Aluminium = Gadget watch you can do cool stuff with.
Click to expand...


Are those facts, or just opinions?
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Relentless Power said:
But the stainless watch with the added weight Over the aluminum is what really gives it the premium, substantial feel on the wrist.
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The thing I love most about the SS is how, at least to my eye, the brightly polished case just sort of disappears, and therefore makes the watch look smaller.
 
For me it's all about the link bracelet. Coming from being a mechanical watch enthusiast, the 38mm Series 0 SS on link bracelet was the combination that really sold me on the Apple Watch looking and feeling great. If you aren't interested in the bracelet, I think aluminum really makes sense, especially if you plan on upgrading frequently. I'm still using my Series 0 while I wait for my Series 4 to arrive. :)
 
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douglasf13 said:
For me it's all about the link bracelet. Coming from being a mechanical watch enthusiast, the 38mm Series 0 SS on link bracelet was the combination that really sold me on the Apple Watch looking and feeling great. If you aren't interested in the bracelet, I think aluminum really makes sense, especially if you plan on upgrading frequently. I'm still using my Series 0 while I wait for my Series 4 to arrive. :)
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100% agree with that.
I love my link bracelet and the watch cant look better with any other band.
Black aluminum can work with the black link bracelet, but I want the shiny silver finish of watch and link bracelet.
If I would not want to use the link, a silver sport with black sport loop would be ok too.
 
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I actually returned my AW4 Nike GPS/LTE on Monday and purchased an immaculate AW3 SS. I just worried too much about scratching the ion glass that I couldn’t enjoy it. I’ve always had SS but didn’t want to pay the premium for AW4 SS. Maybe next year I can pick up a good used SS AW4.
 
killhippie said:
I still can’t see the point of a money pit watch that will one day be obsolete. I’m still rocking my Tag Heur 2000 series, 18 years old going on strong. I’m just still not convinced of the value of wearables yet.
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This. While I love the idea of a smart watch, I know that this is a money pit sink hole that knows no end. Every couple of years, the watch will give me a reason to think I need to upgrade. I do not want to go down that route.

For the price of the gold stainless with Milanese loop, I can get myself a Rado.
 
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brentc133 said:
I actually returned my AW4 Nike GPS/LTE on Monday and purchased an immaculate AW3 SS. I just worried too much about scratching the ion glass that I couldn’t enjoy it. I’ve always had SS but didn’t want to pay the premium for AW4 SS. Maybe next year I can pick up a good used SS AW4.
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There is a lot of sense in buying last years technology and for you, going from an Series 3 to a series 4 next year at half the price will be a massive step in technology so enjoy. For us that like the latest tech, we pay through the nose for it and shouldn't grumble
 
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Had my S0 SG Aluminium for three years and now my S4 SBSS for about one week. I have to say: didn't think that it would look so much better! Definitively wouldn't want to go back. The pitch-black, shiny body just looks so amazing... <3

That being said, it's 290€ price difference since the SS only comes with LTE. But well, I plan to keep it 'til it doesn't get any updates anyway, so...
 
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caelius said:
Had my S0 SG Aluminium for three years and now my S4 SBSS for about one week. I have to say: didn't think that it would look so much better! Definitively wouldn't want to go back. The pitch-black, shiny body just looks so amazing... <3

That being said, it's 290€ price difference since the SS only comes with LTE. But well, I plan to keep it 'til it doesn't get any updates anyway, so...
Click to expand...

Yeah the price hike is not proportionate to the upgrade in materials, but the shininess, exclusivity and durability helps to justify it somewhat...
 
I made the same decision as you - went from a SS Series 2 to an aluminium Series 4. I couldn't justify the price difference for SS. I actually like the look of the aluminium, probably in part because it's different than what I've had for several years.
 
I made the jump from Series 0 SS to Series 4 aluminum. I miss the shiny SS a bit but the cost difference would have been enough that I could not justify the purchase. And the aluminum is close enough in coloring to work with my Milanese loop.

Bottom line: I’m fine with the change. Was worth it to get the new features and massively improved processor speeds.
 
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