Is it a good time to buy a Watch?

[ParaShot]

Hi there. Nowadays I'm thinking about getting my first Apple Watch for my sports and other stuff but as you may guess it's almost middle of the year and apple 2018 keynote is messing with my mind. Is it a good time to buy a Watch Series 3 or will there be any futuristic design for Watch Series 4 like iPhone X. If you were in my position what would you do? Is it worth to buy Series 3 now ?

 

[jimbo1mcm]

I am in the same boat and I have elected to wait for the possible 15% bigger screen in probably the same size plus an upgraded processor. Ming Chi said it would also have a "trendy" new design. I guess you could buy it now but you would probably lose $200-300 in a quick sell in September. Good luck.

Update: I caved and bought a stainless model. I have all summer ahead of me and wanted to use it. If a newer model with more features comes out in Sept/Oct, I'll sell this one. You only go around once,

 

[jigzaw]

I have a Series 0 and have decided my next one will be Series 4, whenever that happens. On this site we've heard rumors that there will be a re-design that makes the screen area larger (hopefully without enlarging the whole watch) and I'm really interested in the possibly more advanced heart monitoring, etc.

No idea when this comes out but I assume sometime this year. If you can wait I'd vote wait, but if your needs are such that you really need/want one right away, obviously you'd have it for at least a few months before a new one is prepping to come out. Just depends how urgently you need/want it.

 

[Michael CM1]

I just bought a refurbished Series 3 for $50 less to replace my Series 0. I don't know what major addition could be made in Series 4 that rivals cellular or GPS, and I don't even really need those (which is why I got WiFi-only). I would expect the update to the Watch to come out a few months from now, so you shouldn't be outdated too soon. If you like saving $50, I'd go Series 3. I got mine from Best Buy.
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I have a Series 0 and have decided my next one will be Series 4, whenever that happens. On this site we've heard rumors that there will be a re-design that makes the screen area larger (hopefully without enlarging the whole watch) and I'm really interested in the possibly more advanced heart monitoring, etc.

No idea when this comes out but I assume sometime this year. If you can wait I'd vote wait, but if your needs are such that you really need/want one right away, obviously you'd have it for at least a few months before a new one is prepping to come out. Just depends how urgently you need/want it.

The Series 3 feels like a completely different watch. I will wear mine in bed (as a sleep tracker with theater mode one) and then literally all day, and the battery will show 80 percent when I charge it. That's with Raise to Wake on. I know you know that THIS IS NOT SOMETHING WE EVER SAW ON A SERIES 0. I haven't tried it, but these could easily have battery life that lasts three days.

 

[ParaShot]

I have a Series 0 and have decided my next one will be Series 4, whenever that happens. On this site we've heard rumors that there will be a re-design that makes the screen area larger (hopefully without enlarging the whole watch) and I'm really interested in the possibly more advanced heart monitoring, etc.

No idea when this comes out but I assume sometime this year. If you can wait I'd vote wait, but if your needs are such that you really need/want one right away, obviously you'd have it for at least a few months before a new one is prepping to come out. Just depends how urgently you need/want it.

I just bought a refurbished Series 3 for $50 less to replace my Series 0. I don't know what major addition could be made in Series 4 that rivals cellular or GPS, and I don't even really need those (which is why I got WiFi-only). I would expect the update to the Watch to come out a few months from now, so you shouldn't be outdated too soon. If you like saving $50, I'd go Series 3. I got mine from Best Buy.

Thanks for you advices. Actually I want to buy it now because of money issues and I cannot stop myself! But I'm really curious about the new one. If it's gonna be larger screen I would be jealous but otherwise everything on Series 3 is perfect for me. So that's why I'm really on the middle of my decision

 

[JPack]

We're overdue for an updated form factor. The current Watch design is from 2015 and it's rare for Apple to carry forward a design for more than 3 generations.

Series 3 has a few components that are out of date. For instance, it uses a Qualcomm modem from 2015.

I would expect quite a jump for Watch this year.

 

[ob81]

People are typically going to say wait here. If the series 3 meets your needs, go ahead and get it. If you are the type of person that gets the itch to upgrade your product as soon as a new version is out, wait and get a series 4 day 1 so you can at least have it a year.

 

[Mad Mac Maniac]

I'd say buy now. You will get the next 6 months of enjoyment out of the thing. Obviously it depends on how much you want a fitness tracker/smartwatch, but honestly if you're interested in the area I think you'd get a lot of use out of it now. 1 year upgrades are always relatively minor and series 3 over nothing is a huge leap.

Many advice givers around here seem to think there is like a 1 month window to purchase a device and then you need to wait for the next model otherwise you're a sucker.

Even if you really want to upgrade later you could sell your Series 3 for the new one without losing too much.

 

[kiranmk2]

In the last month I've bought Series 3 watches for myself and my wife from eBay. For her, I got a boxed 38 mm gold GPS that was as good as new for £240 and for me I got a 42 mm aluminium GPS (unboxed, no charger, but we share) for £200 (but got a 15% off with a flash eBay offer) - again looks as good as new. For reference, the 38 mm is £329 new (incl tax) and the 42 mm is £349 new (incl tax). You have to keep an eye out and pounce as soon as the right listing comes on, but even if we decide we don't like the Watch or want to upgrade to series 4 we can resell our series 3 for close to what we paid.

 

[ParaShot]

People are typically going to say wait here. If the series 3 meets your needs, go ahead and get it. If you are the type of person that gets the itch to upgrade your product as soon as a new version is out, wait and get a series 4 day 1 so you can at least have it a year.

I'd say buy now. You will get the next 6 months of enjoyment out of the thing. Obviously it depends on how much you want a fitness tracker/smartwatch, but honestly if you're interested in the area I think you'd get a lot of use out of it now. 1 year upgrades are always relatively minor and series 3 over nothing is a huge leap.

Many advice givers around here seem to think there is like a 1 month window to purchase a device and then you need to wait for the next model otherwise you're a sucker.

Even if you really want to upgrade later you could sell your Series 3 for the new one without losing too much.

Actually that is really what i think right now! Because of our economy and problems i cannot know how expensive the next watch is going to be and even if i want to upgrade everything every year. I’m a student and this will be my birthday gift. Atleast for another 2 years i will use it then when i earn my money i think i can buy the newest one. The only problem is like this message

We're overdue for an updated form factor. The current Watch design is from 2015 and it's rare for Apple to carry forward a design for more than 3 generations.

Series 3 has a few components that are out of date. For instance, it uses a Qualcomm modem from 2015.

I would expect quite a jump for Watch this year.

The parts that have been using for 3 years. So it’s kind of old...

But i think i will going to buy and enjoy what i have because whatever i buy, next year they are gonna sell the better one.

 

[44267547]

We're overdue for an updated form factor. The current Watch design is from 2015 and it's rare for Apple to carry forward a design for more than 3 generations.

Series 3 has a few components that are out of date. For instance, it uses a Qualcomm modem from 2015.

I would expect quite a jump for Watch this year.

Even so, do you think the consumer cares about the modem inside the Apple Watch? That’s not what’s going to upsell The Watch. What will continue to rejuvenate the Apple Watch is the physical changes that the consumer can see, (i.e.- a larger display, tweaked form factor, additional casing colors/options, etc.

Even If the modem used inside Apple Watch is considered dated, peformance/speed is morenotable how much more efficient the Apple Watch is with the faster dual core processor.

 

[JPack]

Even so, do you think the consumer cares about the modem inside the Apple Watch? That’s not what’s going to upswell The Watch. What will continue to rejuvenate the Apple Watch is the physical changes that the consumer can see, (i.e.- a larger display, tweaked form factor, additional casing colors/options, etc.

Even If the modem used inside Apple Watch is considered dated, peformance/speed is morenotable how much more efficient the Apple Watch is with the faster dual core processor.

It's really about being an improvement to power consumption and package size.

The X7 LTE modem in the Series 3 is fabbed on a 20nm process. The latest X24 LTE modem from Qualcomm is fabbed on 7nm and I would expect it to provide much better power efficiency and free up valuable board space, particularly important for Watch.

The same thing is true for the S3 chip. The S2 for example was manufactured using 16nm, which was n-1 at the time. As Apple moves all the components to the leading edge process, this will free up board space for a larger battery to power a larger display or other new sensors.