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How banged up

J

JLH81

macrumors regular
Original poster
May 10, 2016
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Is your watch? I have an S4 aluminum and have some scratches on the aluminum part of the watch. I guess it's inevitable since I wear it daily, but it still bothers me. Anyone else have a watch that is showing daily use?

I won't feel so bad if I'm not the only one with a banged up S4...
 
S4 Stainless steel in black here, got on release day. Both crystal and case look brand new. I wear it every day, and never take it off, even for yard work, etc.

I previously had a aluminum sport, and the case and crystal (especially) showed wear after only a few months.

I know the steel costs substantially more and doesn’t hold resale value compared to the aluminum, but man does it hold up to wear.
 
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I have a Aluminum S4 coming up on 10 months now. I’ve worn every day for everything and no dings or scratches to the case and none I can see on the glass. I’m sure it may have micro scratches on the glass but if I can’t seem them I don’t care. I am not gonna shine halogen lamp on it and use a jewelers loupe to find them.
 
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I have a couple of minor scratches on my S4 Aluminum Space Gray. However I work at Xerox on the big production printers, and there are a lot of spots to bang the watch on. I have a protector on the watch now to help prevent any deep screen scratches. Bought Apple Care+ for the watch when I got it, just in case...
 
My co-worker couple years ago being nice opened a door for me, that hit my S3 and broke the screen, so now both my Apple watch and my wife's (both S4 aluminum) have Apple Care+. They're only a few months old, early March I think, but they look new.
 
My alu space grey s4 is still perfect after 9 months non stop use, except a few minor spots on the crown.
 
My S2 aluminum still looks nearly perfect

*goes to knock on some wood*
 
my S3 aluminum i got back in September looks good for the most part except two dings (from the gym)
 
Series 3 aluminium without a mark on it. I wear it daily, use it for sleep tracking and work outside, so it has a tough life. I’m surprised that after all this time it’s in such good nick. Still, I’m looking forward to getting a Series 5 whenever that comes out.
 
I have a S4 since Dec and it was pristine until a few weeks ago when I started swimming. Brushed it against the concrete wall which is rough. Put a few scratches on top of the glass. Still not too bad though....can barely see them since it's on the top of the glass curve and not in front of the information.
 
All this “banged up” talk is largely down to the design of the Apple Watch. In its current design it doesn’t lend well to scratches and dings.

My old TAG Heuer (tough as old boots sapphire crystal watch) had dents in the casing and scratches and chunks taken out of the sapphire crystal. But you know what - it actually looks just as good if not better like that. These things are designed to wear. Sadly an Apple Watch is not.
 
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JLH81 said:
Is your watch? I have an S4 aluminum and have some scratches on the aluminum part of the watch. I guess it's inevitable since I wear it daily, but it still bothers me. Anyone else have a watch that is showing daily use?

I won't feel so bad if I'm not the only one with a banged up S4...
Click to expand...

It is inevitable.

Even my old mechanical watches with hard crystal faces and PVD stainless bodies ended up scuffed and scratched.
 
PeteS1963 said:
All this “banged up” talk is largely down to the design of the Apple Watch. In its current design it doesn’t lend well to scratches and dings.

My old TAG Heuer (tough as old boots sapphire crystal watch) had dents in the casing and scratches and chunks taken out of the sapphire crystal. But you know what - it actually looks just as good if not better like that. These things are designed to wear. Sadly an Apple Watch is not.
Click to expand...

Yep, the Apple Watch is a different animal. Like you, I see the scratches and dings on my mechanical watches as "battle scars," each one representing a memory of what I was doing when the scratch or ding happened. They give the watch character and make it uniquely mine. A wearable device, whether it's an Apple Watch or a Rolex, is going to get scratched and dinged up over time. Wear it and enjoy it.
 
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JLH81 said:
Is your watch? I have an S4 aluminum and have some scratches on the aluminum part of the watch. I guess it's inevitable since I wear it daily, but it still bothers me. Anyone else have a watch that is showing daily use?

I won't feel so bad if I'm not the only one with a banged up S4...
Click to expand...

S3 GPS. I've got a nice ding on the face and one on the side. Not horrible, not bad. The watch is actually holding up really well and I've had some bad smashes with it. None of the dings have bothered me, like the above poster - I see this as more character and battle damage than anything.

My Apple Watch is one of my most used devices that I really enjoy.
 
9023F846-BA13-465F-B3D5-E72FBB18031F.jpeg Got my watch on launch day. The display and casing are still flawless. But I also had a good training with my S0. Whenever my work brings my wrist close to steel or strong magnetic fields I wear my S0.
 
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RickGrimes said:
And yet many people wear them daily without issue.
Click to expand...

Of course. I wear mine daily I haven’t got any marks or damage, but that’s not the point. Some traditional watches are designed in such a way that the dings and scratches usually look fine. The Apple Watch isn’t that type of design. Attitude to how you want your accessories to look plays a part, but the Apple Watch tends to show damage more, even if it’s small.
 
I have a s2 space black and it’s got a tiny chip and a couple of dings from when it went flying off my wrist because I didn’t have the bracelet clasp securely. The Apple bracelet miraculously survived with a pin prick sized chip and the sapphire screen survived without a single blemish.
 
Relentless Power said:
Black stainless. Flawless. (All thanks to the DLC coating and sapphire display.)
Click to expand...

‘I’ve heard this regularly all over the internet. I think it was Gruber who said he couldn’t believe how his watch looked like it had just come out of the box after years of use.

I actually had ordered a black stainless steel original Apple Watch (series 0) on launch day and ordered a black aluminum as well. I regretted having spent that kind of money on the stainless so I cancelled the order and received the aluminum instead. I’ve been eager to get one ever since. I got the aluminum for the Series 3 but I think I know what Series 5 I’ll get next month. ;)

P.S. I hope they reinstate the black stainless steel link bracelet for the Series 5.
 
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