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Purchasing an used series 4

BigDO

BigDO

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Dec 9, 2012
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I’ve never had an AW and I’m going to get one to play with and check the fitness/health functions. I don’t want to spend the price of a new one, and can get a very good deal on a 1yr old series 4.

I would like to know if getting a year old one will in any way diminish the user experience, mostly from the battery life point of view? What is the typical expected lifetime of the battery (i.e. how many years does it typically last), and how much worse will the battery life be in a normally used one year old watch?

Also, am I making a mistake by buying a used one, or should I bite the bullet and buy a new one? I am getting a used S4 (LTE) at half the price of the SE (if that helps for calibration of the value vs performance).

Thanks!
 
If you check other posts on this forum people report their battery life health after 1 year and the vast majority are still above 95% so I wouldn’t worry about the battery.

Thread here

forums.macrumors.com

WatchOS7 Battery Health

Wow my launch day S4 is at 88% while my dad’s launch day S4 is still at 100%. How is everyone’s else looking? I’m sure it’s cause I have it constantly charging while I’m at home on the dock.
forums.macrumors.com forums.macrumors.com

have the original owner check the battery health and you’re good to go.
 
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After 2 years my battery health is 87% but I still get 2 days out of it. Battery life of the series 4 has been very good imo.
 
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Thanks guys. Do you think an S4 is a good way to get a feel for the watch, and use it till S7 is out or possibly longer (if S7 doesn’t have any must have features)?

I could also get a used S5 but it will cost more, and I am quite keen on this S4 as it is a SS model.
 
Depends on how much it is :)
But in general the series 4 is a great Apple Watch with lots of the big modern features and it of course has the latest design if that’s important to you.
 
BigDO said:
Thanks guys. Do you think an S4 is a good way to get a feel for the watch, and use it till S7 is out or possibly longer (if S7 doesn’t have any must have features)?

I could also get a used S5 but it will cost more, and I am quite keen on this S4 as it is a SS model.
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An S4 is a great way to introduce yourself to the watch and it's features. It will last till the S7 and beyond. As long as the S4 is in good shape I say go for it.
 
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Agree with the others, it's possible that the watch battery life will be impacted, but I bought a 1 year old used Series 3 off someone here when the 4's came out & battery life was fine. I used it for a year with no issues (then moved on to a 5, but never had any issues with the 3).

I think that the LTE series 4 is a good value at 1/2 the price of the SE. I like having the cellular version so that might influence my decision.

The big move from 4-5 was with the always on screen. I have a 5 & don't use it so my opinion is biased, but I don't think it's worth the upgrade to a 5. The series 4 was the first 64 bit watch & the first one with the larger screen. Aside from the Always on screen & a few other small differences (compass app I think), they are very similar. I would stick with the Series 4 if you are looking to just check it out at this point.

Although it's slow at this point, my Series 3 is still entirely usable, so I would say that the Series 4 would be good for a while.

I would double check to make sure that the watch is only one year old, since it first came out 2 years ago. A 2 year old battery would have a lot more wear than. 1 year old one obviously.
 
firedept said:
An S4 is a great way to introduce yourself to the watch and it's features. It will last till the S7 and beyond. As long as the S4 is in good shape I say go for it.
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It looks great in the photos sent to me. It's a SS model, so there are some faint microabrasions, but I can always polish these out. I will check it out in person tomorrow, and also check battery health. What would you say is an acceptable health % for a one year old watch (normally used)?
 
I bought my S4 Nike when it was released and am still happy with it. Granted, I rarely wear it except when running and the battery is at 97%. If you find one in great shape and at a good price buy it.
 
Go for S4 Nike 44mm and close the thread :D
Great battery, great price, 90% features of S6.

Battery king is still the S3, but feature wise S4 is worth the battery impact.
S5 has lower battery life than S4, and while S6 has reached battery life of S4 it's double the price.
 
zerozoneice said:
S5 has lower battery life than S4
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No. S5 battery life with always-on-display is less than S4 but you’re free to turn off the always-on-display on the S5 if you want. On the flip side, the S4 doesn’t have have an option for an always-on-display at all.

A used S4 for 50% of the price of the SE is a good deal but I wouldn’t pay much more than that.
 
EugW said:
No. S5 battery life with always-on-display is less than S4 but you’re free to turn off the always-on-display on the S5 if you want. On the flip side, the S4 doesn’t have have an option for an always-on-display at all.

A used S4 for 50% of the price of the SE is a good deal but I wouldn’t pay much more than that.
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yes it does, i tested all 3 models.
Used the S5 with every exclusive feature turned off, basically turning it into a S4. One full day less battery.
S6 lasts exactly as the S4: 2.5 days.
 
zerozoneice said:
yes it does, i tested all 3 models.
Used the S5 with every exclusive feature turned off, basically turning it into a S4. One full day less battery.
S6 lasts exactly as the S4: 2.5 days.
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When did you test it? People had S5 battery life problems during the early days of WatchOS 6. These problems were fixed in later iterations of WatchOS 6, and remain fixed in WatchOS 7.
 
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Just found out battery is 80%... should I pass?
 
BigDO said:
Just found out battery is 80%... should I pass?
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Just checked the battery on my two year old S4...it's 85%.

If I hadn't of checked, I wouldn't have known it's depleted to that level. Nothing apparent in day-to-day usage.

I'd say still go for it, but negotiate on the price a bit. It's still a very usable watch.
 
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1 year and down to 80% is really low. Like you will not notice it now, but if it degrades at that rate, it will be barely usable in 2 years.
 
StevesSweater said:
1 year and down to 80% is really low. Like you will not notice it now, but if it degrades at that rate, it will be barely usable in 2 years.
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Whilst I agree with this comment, if they buy an SE at full price, in two years they’ll be lucky to get 50% of the purchase price for it, so the losses will be similar / slightly more.
 
That seems REALLY low for a 1 year old watch. I'd make sure that you actually checked the battery health & not the current battery charge level. If you swiped up from the bottom of the screen & checked on that screen, that's the current charge level, not how much life is left in the battery.

If it really is that low, I'd be surprised if it's only one year old. Seems more likely that it was bought when the 4's rolled out & has been used heavily since them. If it truly is one year old, that seems like a bad battery to me.

All that being said, it's still 1/2 the price of an SE. As long as you know what you're getting, it's probably still worth it. I think that battery replacement service is $80 from Apple, probably a little less elsewhere, so just factor that cost in as something that you'll have to pay eventually; sooner if you use it a lot, later or maybe never if you turn out to not enjoy the Apple Watch, or else you'll have to make sure to charge it more often than is normally required.
 
Don’t want to start a new thread, but now I’m looking at Series 6, 2 months old, 100% bat health, at 25% off new price.

Done some brief reading, and I think that the new SOC, and brighter AOD may be a nice to have.

Thoughts? Pull the trigger?
 
25% off anything basically brand new, latest generation is a good deal. If it is over 60 days since activation you can't purchase AppleCare+ for it, bear in mind.

In the UK there are deals for the Series 5 stainless steel models 64% off RRP (£319 instead of £699) for comparison (unsure which country you are in)
 
BigDO said:
Don’t want to start a new thread, but now I’m looking at Series 6, 2 months old, 100% bat health, at 25% off new price.

Done some brief reading, and I think that the new SOC, and brighter AOD may be a nice to have.

Thoughts? Pull the trigger?
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I know there was a couple of deals on the S6, like $30-50 off the aluminum variant. I have S4 and think it's basically the same as the S5 and S6, but I think an S6 is a better buy. I bet you can find a new or lightly used S5 which is basically the same as the S6 (wouldn't recommend the S5 if you want AOD since battery life isn't too great).
 
Thanks all, went with the 6. Liking it so far, we’ll see how it goes once the honeymoon period is over.
 
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