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Do you upgrade your Apple Watch every year?

I can’t help it. I read all the rumours and articles which puts a bug in my head that just grows into some kind of compulsion taking my mind from economical reasoning to financial ruin.
Every year! 😭

My watch does work very hard for me as I’m an exercise victim too!
 
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I went from the original Watch to the series 8 GPS aluminum 41 MM. I wore out the battery in my original and also wanted the heart monitoring features in the series 8. So nope I don’t upgrade until I wore it out.
 
I went only from S7 41mm to S8 to 45mm and will not upgrade for few years.
Battery life of 2days is enough :)
 
No. Have the SE1 and none of the new features after really entice me.
 
My first AW was the Series 2, which I was peer-pressured into buying by a coworker ... I thought it was a pointless product before I bought it, and my opinion stayed the same after I bought it, and I rarely wore it.

The second one was the Series 4 which I thought was an amazing product, and used up until 2 months ago, when the battery finally started having major problems and needed to be recharged every few hours.

I upgraded to AW Ultra. I was hoping to get one more year, but, oh well.

I don't plan on upgrading again until either the battery stops working, or there are some major new hardware features (Glucose monitoring, Blood pressure monitoring, 5G, Significantly better battery life, thinner/lighter, etc)
 
I still have a series 3 which I am wearing every day and it's working fine. Maybe if one day if it goes belly up I'd consider buying a new one. Yet I am not a watch guy and sometimes pretty careless while working or working out even.

A watch for me cannot be something fancy and pristine but sturdy and rugged. Also I bought the smallest variant of the Apple Watch because giant watches are a nuisance.
 
I’m still wearing a Series 5 as not a lot has really changed in regards to the 6,7 and 8 series. This is one of those products much like the iPad where there is little point upgrading annually unless you don’t mind tiny spec bumps and half the cost being lost in deprecation.

I may replace mine this year as it’s started turning itself off, usually while I am in the middle of a long run so it loses my exercise data. I nearly ripped the Watch off my wrist yesterday and threw it lol.
 
I've done some childish and pointless things, but nothing as stupid as that. The 4yo XR and the Intel MBP are still on the job, plus I've made several thousand dollars by not investing in Apple products. I'm just not a very good consumer.
 
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Not every year by any stretch, but when there were enough new health-focused features, yes. Here's my progression.
  1. OG silver aluminum 42mm on launch day in 2015,
  2. Series 4 space grey aluminum 44mm on launch day in 2018,
  3. Got a bit weak-kneed for a stainless steel Series 6 44mm (bought used on Amazon for $250, March 2022),
  4. Ultra on launch day in 2022 (gave the SS S6 to my daughter... she was due for an upgrade over the rose gold alu 3, a hand-me-down from my wife when we got her a starlight alu series 7 on launch day 2021)
 
chadamorrill said:
Not every year by any stretch, but when there were enough new health-focused features, yes. Here's my progression.
  1. OG silver aluminum 42mm on launch day in 2015,
  2. Series 4 space grey aluminum 44mm on launch day in 2018,
Click to expand...
Series 4 also had a nice jump in visible screen size. Totally worth it IMO.
 
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A definite no, still rocking my 40mm series 5. I was very tempted by the improved battery life and screen brightness of the Ultra, but when I tried it on at the Apple store it just looked (and felt) too big for my wrist...
 
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I upgrade when there is a game changer feature or mine is acting up:

S0 launch day
S4 when my S0 was basically too slow and battery life was an issue
S5 AOD, as a motorcycle rider, this was a game changer (being able to see the time without taking my and off the bars)
Ultra a complete shift in the AW.

I won't upgrade the Ultra until there is a major feature added, or something happens where I have to spend close to $100 to repair, which may be unlikely now that we can extend AppleCare.
 
Yep, every year I refresh the website like a madman at launch. Same goes for the iPhones. Would love to see an iUp program for the AW. I like keeping it fresh and the excitement of unboxing new tech every year. If there’s no upgraded Ultra this year, the thought of going another year with the same device on my wrist is depressing.
 
I upgrade phone & watch every year but if the Ultra wasn't released last year I wouldn't have bought the Series 8. No useful upgrade over the 7 (for me).
 
My last purchase was the S5, not upgrading yet as there is nothing extra I specifically want so until there is something, or the battery does not last a working day I will keep the S5. Not a vanity device for me, it's in constant use for fitness, notifications, and so on. My only watch these days.

My battery is currently at 85%, not bad, and still lasts me from dawn to dusk before needing a charge.
 
LeeW said:
My last purchase was the S5, not upgrading yet as there is nothing extra I specifically want so until there is something, or the battery does not last a working day I will keep the S5. Not a vanity device for me, it's in constant use for fitness, notifications, and so on. My only watch these days.

My battery is currently at 85%, not bad, and still lasts me from dawn to dusk before needing a charge.
Click to expand...

FFS, my wife just got back from an overnight and has lost her watch... So like I say, we don't upgrade unless there is a reason! S8 upgrade here we come.
 
Every few years like most, it seems. S0, S3, S6, S7 (current). The only reason I went from S6 to S7 is that the S6 is now at the bottom of a lake 😬
 
First watch was a stainless OG "series 0".

Updated to a black stainless S3 cellular. Way faster + cellular.

The S3 was damaged beyond repair about 4 months before S5 was rumored to come put, so I bought an aluminum non-cellular S4 to tide me over.

Bought the stainless S5 cellular when it came out - always on screen for the win. Then gave the S4 to my dad, who still wears it daily.

Updated to the stainless S7 cellular Hermes when it came out (notably larger display in a barely larger watch).

-- So I'm mostly on an every-other kind of cycle.

As for whether or not I'll buy the S9, it all depends on its feature set. If it's a rehash of the S8, which doesn't have any compelling (for me) new features as compared to my S7, then probably not. If there's a compelling new feature (longer battery life, perhaps, or BP monitoring, or something we haven't thought of) then I will. The Ultra is also kind of growing on me, so I'll have to try that on again and see if I still find it too big. So an update to the S9 or an Ultra 2 is up in the air for now depending on what Apple does to make it different from current models.
 
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