Original Apple Watch Added to Apple's 'Vintage Product' List

[szw-mapple fan]

Should've been vintage a loooong time ago. My Series 4 is almost as old as my Series 0 was when I upgraded to the Series 4, and the Series 4 is WAY better than the Series 0 was at the same time. It was limping along with hardly any battery life for exercises and was so incredibly slow. Meanwhile my Series 4 is still a champ. I see no reason to upgrade until the Series 8, and if they don't have the sensors I want then I may wait even longer if the battery still seems good.

"One of us! One of us!" The vintage gang has a new member today…

Agreed. I feel like series 4 is where Apple found it’s stride with the watch and finally put one out with minimal compromises with the larger screen and swim tracking. My 4 is still going strong as well.

 

[ApplesAreSweet&Sour]

I see Apple Watches as disposable electronics, this is why I went aluminum. As soon as there's reasonable technology increment, I go to the newest watch.

This is the only reasonable approach to buying AW:

Absolutely no reason to worry about scratches or high-end aesthetics -No matter the metal, the internals are obsolete within a few years.

 

[MauiPa]

I had one, upgraded to a series 3 - big improvement, brought my battery down to 80% health, replaced with a series 6. Can’t believe anyone would still be using those older ones. Now I get an ECG, replace my handheld device, get 2 days between charges, and I worked out for 1.5 hours for 13% charge. I guess if my body could do it, it would last for a marathon (not in the cards for me though)

 

[MauiPa]

I'm actually wearing mine right now. My older sister gave it to me (her husband's friend gave it to him and he didn't want it.) It's good for counting my steps and not needing to enter my login PW fpr my iMac as much. Also I use a lot of timers (ADHD management) and it's great for that stuff. In the year I've had it I'm not sure I've ever tried to browse a website, so not sure how slow it is there. I might actually take the plunge on a S7 this year though.

Not sure if you can browse a website on any smart watch, that’s kindof funny though. I’d definitely need better glasses

 

[Zdigital2015]

Imagine if you bought a gold one.

If you could afford the gold one, you don’t care.

 

[imola.zhp]

I have one in a box that has never been opened. Hope to sell it one day for a bundle.

 

[svish]

Such a long time ago!! Nice to see how much the Apple Watch has improved to date.

 

[BugeyeSTI]

Recently, I dug out my mother's Series 0 Rose Gold watch that's been stuck in a drawer for maybe a year or more. When I try to charge it, it says "Charging with this accessory is not supported by Apple Watch" and it stays stuck at 10%. I let it discharge for 3 days and tried charging it again, but it still repeats the same message. It seems other people had the same issue around the time of release, but so far I haven't been able to find any solutions that work.

Is it a rose gold edition watch? If it is and your comfortable with tech repairs you might look into getting a replacement battery kit from ifixit and start watching so videos on battery replacement on the AppleWatch.

A1578 Battery for Apple Watch (38 mm, Original & Series 1)

Replace a 205 mAh battery compatible with Apple Watch 38 mm Original and Series 1 Models A1553 and A1802. 3.8 Volts (V). Battery Model A1578.

www.ifixit.com

 

[Denzo]

I have a S1.. stainless cost a pretty penny then. But admittedly it doesn’t get much air time these days. My S4 is more than capable. A watch isn’t something that I would upgrade every two years anyway. Apple milk me enough on the phones.😂

 

[antonrg]

Still wearing mine🤣🤣 does what I need it to do. Not replacing it until it dies.

 

[mjs916]

I'm actually wearing mine right now. My older sister gave it to me (her husband's friend gave it to him and he didn't want it.) It's good for counting my steps and not needing to enter my login PW fpr my iMac as much. Also I use a lot of timers (ADHD management) and it's great for that stuff. In the year I've had it I'm not sure I've ever tried to browse a website, so not sure how slow it is there. I might actually take the plunge on a S7 this year though.

Can you tell me more about the ADHD management? I’ve never used a PM system here but I assume there is one of you don’t mind sharing how you use the timers.

The iPad 3 with Retina display was the worst. It was too slow to handle the graphics and was only on the market for 6 months.

I got burned by that thing. I loved it, as it was my first iPad but I’m still bummed that Apple replaced it with a more capable model *Phil Schiller voice* “AND” dumped the 30-pin dock connector after 6 months. AND to add insult to injury, completely ruined even simple web-browsing with one of the iOS 9 updates.

I traded it in last October for $60 bucks off of my Watch SE. It collected dust for so long I’m surprised it had any value left.

 

[mjs916]

Agreed. I feel like series 4 is where Apple found it’s stride with the watch and finally put one out with minimal compromises with the larger screen and swim tracking. My 4 is still going strong as well.

Was swim tracking not a thing before that? My Series 2 was waterproof and tracked my laps/strokes in the pool.

 

[harriska2]

I'm also still wearing using my Series 0. Although it's not the same watch I got on launch day, I got a different watch when I had Apple replace the battery a few months ago.

I find it entirely adequate for knowing the time, tracking my activities, being notified of messages, Apple Pay and changing tracks/adjusting volume when listening to music. I'm pretty satisfied. But it's quicker to get my iPhone out of bag and open Dark Sky than to open Dark Sky on the watch!

Dark Sky was pretty much unusable on my Series 1. Try WeatherMate. It’s slow even on a Series 6! I love WeatherMate because it is chock full of data but man does it update slow.

 

[Hat Tric]

Considering how carefully Apple seemed to create a smartwatch being a worthy part of the age old wrist watch culture in general (I hope you get what I‘m trying to say), it‘s quite a letdown that you cannot get your battery serviced after six and a half years. So it‘s a computer after all.

Having said that, any thoughts on getting my Series 2 battery replaced in the coming months before becoming vintage next year? It still works more than fine for notifications, alarms, timers and workouts and I hope a new battery will make it useful for another five years.

 

[lartola]

If you did, you did so as a fashion statement and not as a long-term timepiece, so...

For the at least $10K it cost, the gold apple watch edition should have been a long-term piece, not just another standard apple watch model with only the gold case to distinguish it from the other models. Selling for $10k or more a product that became obsolete and almost useless in 3-4 years (all OG Apple Watches released in 2015, including the gold edition models, stopped getting software updates in 2017) was a rip-off. Good thing Apple realized the abuse and isn’t doing it anymore.

 

[lartola]

I'm also still wearing using my Series 0. Although it's not the same watch I got on launch day, I got a different watch when I had Apple replace the battery a few months ago.

I find it entirely adequate for knowing the time, tracking my activities, being notified of messages, Apple Pay and changing tracks/adjusting volume when listening to music. I'm pretty satisfied. But it's quicker to get my iPhone out of bag and open Dark Sky than to open Dark Sky on the watch!

Let’s hope you never have to unpair and re-pair your series 0. If you do, it won’t let you add your cards again to use Apple Pay. I had to do that and now it says a software update is required to re-add the cards. Good thing it’s not the one I use anymore (I have a series 4 that I use regularly).

 

[lartola]

AW is just particularly striking as a consumable because Apple promoted it as a luxury timepiece and the World has bought and appreciated clocks and wrist watches for more than a century.

Now you get the same aesthetic and prices as those everlasting watches, but you're essentially forced to replace it no later than 5-7 years from purchase. And that's without considering the battery which is definitely done in just 2-3 years.

I guess that's the price we have to pay for all of those features that you'd never see in a regular wrist watch.

Actually, the battery can last much more than 2-3 years depending on your use of the watch. I used my OG for 3 years until I bought a series 4, at which time the battery was still just fine. Then I gave the OG to my dad, who has used it for another 3 years for a total of 6 until the battery got swolled and made the display pop off. 6 years isn’t that bad for a battery. And the battery of my S4 still lasts more than 12 hours after 3 years using it. Nonetheless, making us have to get a new watch every 3-4 years (because it gets a lot less useful without software updates even if the battery is ok) is an abuse from Apple.

 

[sananda]

Let’s hope you never have to unpair and re-pair your series 0. If you do, it won’t let you add your cards again to use Apple Pay. I had to do that and now it says a software update is required to re-add the cards. Good thing it’s not the one I use anymore (I have a series 4 that I use regularly

That's bad.

 

[mjs916]

Considering how carefully Apple seemed to create a smartwatch being a worthy part of the age old wrist watch culture in general (I hope you get what I‘m trying to say), it‘s quite a letdown that you cannot get your battery serviced after six and a half years. So it‘s a computer after all.

Having said that, any thoughts on getting my Series 2 battery replaced in the coming months before becoming vintage next year? It still works more than fine for notifications, alarms, timers and workouts and I hope a new battery will make it useful for another five years.

You could always go the DIY route if you’ve got steady hands. ifixit details it here:

Apple Watch Battery Replacement

Got a dead or swollen battery in your Apple Watch? Use this guide to replace it. Note: If your battery is swollen, take appropriate precautions.

www.ifixit.com