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Going from 4 to 8...

chfilm

chfilm

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Nov 15, 2012
3,451
2,133
Berlin
Hey guys,

I'm a happy owner of a stainless steel series 4 and am contemplating wether or not it makes sense to consider a series 8.
My watch still seems to be good, only on some days I feel the battery did last longer.

performance seems to be good still on watch os7, and I don't know what use the blood oxy sensor or fertility tracking would be for me as a guy, but still, 4 years feels a long time for such a gadget.

Are there any reasonable arguments to go to the 8?
I would probably go for SS again just because of the more durable display, otherwise it would be a no brainer. Convince me or hold me back please ;) I mean I wonder what other upgrades they could eventually bring to the watch next year that would be worth it hold out another year..
 
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If your only issue is that the battery doesn't last as long as before, I'd say just get the battery replaced for $80. I don't have a 4 (I'm on a 5), but I have no plans to update yet. The larger screen of the 7/8 would be nice, but I can't see buying a new watch when the old one still does everything I want & doesn't feel slow.

I have no idea what's coming next year, but if it's a small upgrade, I'll hold off another year at that point. I'm only planning to upgrade if 1. They add cellular bands that offer better performance, 2. The 5 starts to feel slow, or 3. a new feature is added to the new watch that I feel is worth the upgrade.

I guess there is a 4th scenario, if T Mobile offers a crazy deal on a new watch. I'm not expecting that, but I upgraded to the 5 when Sprint had an amazing deal, something like 1/2 off the watch if I stayed for 2 years (since I've had a cellular watch for many years now, I had no plans to leave anyways, so it was kind of a no brainer).

But aside from that, I plan to keep my titanium 5 for the foreseeable future.
 
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chfilm said:
Hey guys,

I'm a happy owner of a stainless steel series 4 and am contemplating wether or not it makes sense to consider a series 8.
My watch still seems to be good, only on some days I feel the battery did last longer.

performance seems to be good still on watch os7, and I don't know what use the blood oxy sensor or fertility tracking would be for me as a guy, but still, 4 years feels a long time for such a gadget.

Are there any reasonable arguments to go to the 8?
I would probably go for SS again just because of the more durable display, otherwise it would be a no brainer. Convince me or hold me back please ;) I mean I wonder what other upgrades they could eventually bring to the watch next year that would be worth it hold out another year..
Click to expand...
went from SBSS S4 to Ti S7 last year, great update, AOD is awesome and imho enough reason to update.
If you're going SS, compare the price with the Ultra which has several more features for the same price, but of course if you prefer the "traditional" look of the AW, get the 8. I have an Ultra on order ...
 
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jz0309 said:
went from SBSS S4 to Ti S7 last year, great update, AOD is awesome and imho enough reason to update.
If you're going SS, compare the price with the Ultra which has several more features for the same price, but of course if you prefer the "traditional" look of the AW, get the 8. I have an Ultra on order ...
Click to expand...
How has the titanium fared compared to the DLC space black? I too have a SBSS S4 and will be moving to titanium this year.
 
I am also on a SB SS S4 and at the moment plan to hold off since my battery still holds 86% charge so I get 20-24 hours of battery life.

If the S8 supported BT 5.3 (the Ultra does, so I wonder if it has a different SIP than the S8?) then I would make the jump since my iPhone 14 Pro Max and Air Pods Pro 2 do, but now I wait for the Series 9 to see if it gets 5.3 on the non-Ultra watch.
 
nosnhojm said:
How has the titanium fared compared to the DLC space black? I too have a SBSS S4 and will be moving to titanium this year.
Click to expand...
in 3+ years not a single scratch on the SBSS, and I'm rather rough, the Ti has a "scratch" from a bang, only visible when I look for it and I think I could buff it out, just haven't been bothered with it. Will have to see how the Ultra compares. What Ti are you looking at? not available for the S8 :(
 
chfilm said:
Hey guys,

I'm a happy owner of a stainless steel series 4 and am contemplating wether or not it makes sense to consider a series 8.
My watch still seems to be good, only on some days I feel the battery did last longer.

performance seems to be good still on watch os7, and I don't know what use the blood oxy sensor or fertility tracking would be for me as a guy, but still, 4 years feels a long time for such a gadget.

Are there any reasonable arguments to go to the 8?
I would probably go for SS again just because of the more durable display, otherwise it would be a no brainer. Convince me or hold me back please ;) I mean I wonder what other upgrades they could eventually bring to the watch next year that would be worth it hold out another year..
Click to expand...
I’d say that a jump from S4 to S8 is a decent one, you’ll get many features, a better SoC, and a bigger screen. If you solely need a better battery, you’d be better to just change the one in your S4, but you’ll definitely notice the change if you upgrade.

Also, I am advocating to get the SS version. It looks nicer, and it is more durable.

Given that the difference between S7 and S8 is very minimal, the best bang for your bucks is probably to buy an S7 (brand new or used), you’ll get decent discounts on it for minimal trade off
 
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CWallace said:
I am also on a SB SS S4 and at the moment plan to hold off since my battery still holds 86% charge so I get 20-24 hours of battery life.

If the S8 supported BT 5.3 (the Ultra does, so I wonder if it has a different SIP than the S8?) then I would make the jump since my iPhone 14 Pro Max and Air Pods Pro 2 do, but now I wait for the Series 9 to see if it gets 5.3 on the non-Ultra watch.
Click to expand...
How can I see how much charge the battery still holds? I had it replaced already once in my watch..
 
jz0309 said:
in 3+ years not a single scratch on the SBSS, and I'm rather rough, the Ti has a "scratch" from a bang, only visible when I look for it and I think I could buff it out, just haven't been bothered with it. Will have to see how the Ultra compares. What Ti are you looking at? not available for the S8 :(
Click to expand...
The Ultra. I wish you could still get DLC coatings on something cheaper than Hermes; it's been fantastic.
 
No one is mentioning the always on screen? That's the biggest diff between AW4 and AW5 (and onwards). I just went from SS AW4 (Black) to SS AW7 (Graphite) and the always on screen really improves the watch experience! The bigger screen is also noticeable as it really looks like the watch wraps around the edge. Speed/performance seems about the same.
 
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Also....I had a really bad experience with the battery replacement. My old SS AW4 was flawless and BOTH of the replacements had really bad screen consistency. Each one was far brighter on the right side.
 
I go from my AW4 to the Ultra.
I have a more unique requirement as i like to wear the AW as a standalone device.
  1. 20% Larger screen -
  2. Saphire glass - never had any issues with my AW4 except chewed up glass protective stickers making the watch look like a old dog chew toy.
  3. Double brightness - great for outdoors when i am riding my roadbike.
  4. AOD - I am kinda fed up seeing a black screen for most of the time to be honest. Makes it feel like a ankle bracelet for criminals, just lifeless.
  5. Double battery life in normal mode - Great because i will run it standalone in cellular mode, which sucks battery.
  6. More storage - Honestly i dont care about this.
  7. Saturation sensor - VO2 meter kinda excited for this one.
  8. Temp sensor - not useful to me as a male but hopefully it will have some benefits to me at some point.
  9. Gen 8 cpu - (marginal better then the series 6 cpu) Perhaps not a huge difference as i feel my AW4 is plenty fast.
  10. Larger speaker - This is great because i do phone calls from the wrist at times in private environments.
  11. More GPS Bands - very good addition for hiking trips + the SOS function is quite nice.
 
Last edited:
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CWallace said:
I am also on a SB SS S4 and at the moment plan to hold off since my battery still holds 86% charge so I get 20-24 hours of battery life.

If the S8 supported BT 5.3 (the Ultra does, so I wonder if it has a different SIP than the S8?) then I would make the jump since my iPhone 14 Pro Max and Air Pods Pro 2 do, but now I wait for the Series 9 to see if it gets 5.3 on the non-Ultra watch.
Click to expand...

So ended up getting a Gold Stainless Steel Series 8 today at my Apple Store.

The Series 8 does support BT 5.3 and the 20% larger screen size of the S7/S8 compared to the S4 really makes a difference with the new watch faces. I use the Modular face and the new version felt really cramped on the S4, but looks great on the S8.
 
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Another series 4 user here looking to upgrade to the S7 or S8.

Am I right that as a male, the temperature reading on the S8 is completely useless or for now at least? Crash detection isn’t a feature I wouldn’t ever like to use so I’m not bothered about that one.

Second question is how are the S7 watches refurbed from Apple? In terms of scratches/battery health? I guess they are pretty much like new?

£339 for a S7 is a good deal.

Also how much is a 44mm S4 Nike+ edition worth with a few light scratches to the body and screen? With brand new Nike straps.
 
Mikey86uk said:
Am I right that as a male, the temperature reading on the S8 is completely useless or for now at least?
Click to expand...
For men, the only function it serves is as a data point you can look at in the Health App and. The watch doesn't actually do anything with the temperature information it collects right now. There's no on-demand readings and it only checks deviations from a baseline temperature while you're sleeping.
Mikey86uk said:
Second question is how are the S7 watches refurbed from Apple? In terms of scratches/battery health? I guess they are pretty much like new?
Click to expand...
I ordered a S7 45mm Nike Refurb from Apple on Friday. Got here yesterday and is in perfect condition. Zero scratches and battery health is at 100%. The only difference from new is a sticker on the box saying "Certified Apple Refurbished"
Mikey86uk said:
Also how much is a 44mm S4 Nike+ edition worth with a few light scratches to the body and screen? With brand new Nike straps.
Click to expand...
Does it have cellular? If it's a GPS-only Series 4 with some scratches you might be better off trading it in. If the straps are brand-new you could keep them or sell them separately, as a lot of trade-in places only take the watch body itself.
 
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Mikey86uk said:
Am I right that as a male, the temperature reading on the S8 is completely useless or for now at least?
Click to expand...

At the moment, it doesn't do anything for a male as the only active function it supports in watchOS 9 is Menstruation Cycle Tracking. That being said, I do expect Apple will find future uses for it in future versions of watchOS.

Mikey86uk said:
Crash detection isn’t a feature I wouldn’t ever like to use so I’m not bothered about that one.
Click to expand...

The iPhone 14 supports it, as well, so if your iPhone is in the car it will trigger CD as well as an S8 watch.

Mikey86uk said:
Second question is how are the S7 watches refurbed from Apple? In terms of scratches/battery health? I guess they are pretty much like new?
Click to expand...

They should be. I have purchased plenty of refurbished Macs over the years (desktops and laptops) and they have all been cosmetically flawless.


The main reasons I upgraded to a new Apple Watch Series 8 over a refurbished Apple Watch Series 7 was Bluetooth 5.3 (I want my phone, my watch and my APP all on it so they support all the 5.3 features) and the ability to finance it with my Apple Card. If I went with the S7, I either would have had to pay the entire bill at once (since I do not carry balances) or finance it through PayPal, and that only gets me 6 months versus 24 and I don't get the 3% back from Apple.

Since my S4 lasted me so long, I figure I will keep my S8 for at least 2 years, and likely 4+, so the extra $200 for the S8 over the S7 works out to $25 or less a year.
 
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chfilm said:
Hey guys,

I'm a happy owner of a stainless steel series 4 and am contemplating wether or not it makes sense to consider a series 8.
My watch still seems to be good, only on some days I feel the battery did last longer.

performance seems to be good still on watch os7, and I don't know what use the blood oxy sensor or fertility tracking would be for me as a guy, but still, 4 years feels a long time for such a gadget.

Are there any reasonable arguments to go to the 8?
I would probably go for SS again just because of the more durable display, otherwise it would be a no brainer. Convince me or hold me back please ;) I mean I wonder what other upgrades they could eventually bring to the watch next year that would be worth it hold out another year..
Click to expand...
I'm going to the S8 coming from an S4 mainly due to the new features. Also, the ECG no longer works properly due to wear of the crown.
 
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