When I picked up an open box S9 from the local Best Buy for a shade over $200 last week, I had the chance to trade in my S4 Nike edition 40 mm. The trade-in value was $15. I decided to keep it for nostalgia. The S4 did a good job for several years until the battery life dropped to maybe 8 hours. Battery health was around 69% last time I checked. It's hard to appreciate the incremental changes unless you go several years between models, so that the improvements accrue.
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RIP, Apple Watch Series 4
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Twenty years ago that was the case, tech moves a lot slower now.
On the high end? Sure. For everyday tech and everyday users, not so much.
I had mine for 4 and half years before upgrading to the series 9. It’ll hold a special place in my heart.
My first Apple Watch...I still use mines when I go play basketball(have a case on as well) since playing with my Ultra would probably cut someone 😅.
If it dies I guess I'll buy a SE an older version.
If it dies I guess I'll buy a SE an older version.
For the vintage list, nah. It's still not the obsolete list. And while some people may consider this device in the same mental category as an heirloom watch, it's a piece of wearable electronic hardware with a non-user-replaceable battery.
This is your warning, by the way, to check your battery over the next year and pay for a replacement, assuming you plan to keep it longer.
After you lose updates, eventually apps will stop working right and it will just tell time. If you're not a collector or have a sentimental attachment (it was your father's, something something butt, etc), the cost of battery replacement and hassle then may make buying a new one instead a lot more appealing, anyway. Or just use it until it dies
My 44mm Stainless Steel version is also working as good as new. It's been fantastic, to be honest. Great product. I started having problems with battery life about a year ago, but a reset fixed that. Battery still only lasts a day, but still, I've had it for 7 years, so can't complain.
I still use mine every night for sleep tracking. Hopefully Apple don’t do anything with OS updates to stop it working for that.
Apple Watch S4 is the best Apple purchase that I have ever made. I purchased S4 at launch in 2018 and opted for the SBSS model (felt extravagant at the time going for SBSS rather than the aluminium model, but in hindsight, it was the right decision). Still regularly wear my S4 in 2025 & it still looks as good as new.
In September 2024, I purchased a reduced price Series 9 (in SS Graphite). I now switch between S4 & S9 (generally now use S4 for running / exercise). Truth be told, in day to day use, I notice very little difference between S4 and S9. The only feature I ‘miss’ on S4 is the blood oxygen sensor.
In September 2024, I purchased a reduced price Series 9 (in SS Graphite). I now switch between S4 & S9 (generally now use S4 for running / exercise). Truth be told, in day to day use, I notice very little difference between S4 and S9. The only feature I ‘miss’ on S4 is the blood oxygen sensor.
Yes but it only tells the time and date and maybe can be a stopwatch.Well, my Seiko Kinetic is from 2009 - and it is still running and looking like new...
...and it doesn't need updates/upgrades either!
I noticed my Series 5 couldn't be updated anymore and so I gave it to my brother. Now I use a Garmin Venu 3 which I'm pretty happy with. It does many things better than Apple, but not everything.
As soon as Apple comes up with third party watch faces for Apple watch I will buy another Apple Watch. I just can't stand looking at the same boring watch faces anymore.
As soon as Apple comes up with third party watch faces for Apple watch I will buy another Apple Watch. I just can't stand looking at the same boring watch faces anymore.
Apple effectively writing off older models is getting seriously irritating. First off if you have an Apple Watch but your iPhone is too old you can't update it then when your Apple Watch is a little too old they start taking features away from it.....it is absolutely ridiculous. Latest one I noticed was the removal of the ability to pay with an Apple Watch when you are logged on your iMac. You could click on Apple Pay and it would chime on your watch and you were good. Now I can't.
They have to move on at some point. This is how tech companies have always worked.
Because it stops receiving updates, new apps stop working. After that, you find the newest IOS on your phone can't talk to the watch. And worst of all, Apple stops making repair parts.
Think about those who thought they would make a mint by buying a first-generation solid gold watch. Rather than a valuable antique, they now have e-waste that can not legally be dumped in the trash.
This means Apple will not maintain spare parts stocks as it is before at all the distribution channels. However, you could still find those parts here and there at least for the next couple of years.
In the end, it could easily sustain 10 years and it's much more than its intended lifetime by design.
I upgraded from a 0 to a stainless steel 4 and am still using it today. If I go for a run and use it to track it, then it won’t last the whole day but I’m in the habit of chucking it on charge for half an hour or so at some point during the day and that works for me.
I’ll get a new one at some point I expect, but having just dropped a load of cash on a Mac Mini M4 Pro and Studio Display I’m feeling a bit poor and the titanium case is a must for me.
I’ll get a new one at some point I expect, but having just dropped a load of cash on a Mac Mini M4 Pro and Studio Display I’m feeling a bit poor and the titanium case is a must for me.
We can only hope that China or the EU passes a law to prevent this kind of intentional downgrading. It would never happen in the US.
Seriously. You buy a product because to like the list of features and the price. But then next year by remote control one of the features is removed and you are not offered a refund. Eventually one of the large markets will pass a law to prevent that or to protect features using existing warranty laws.
whatever, no different than any other old computer tech ...
and no, those who truly bought the S0 solid gold watch clearly have/had enough $$$ to burn on a tech piece and if they really thought they would make a mint - they gambled and lost. Recycle it, that's legal pretty much everywhere afaik.
I don't think that much of anyone bought the gold series 0, it was given out as a promotional bit to several celebrities.
OP may be referring to the removal of the blood oxygen feature, but this wasn't removed from existing watch users. 🤷♂️
To a broader point, companies shouldn't be able to change the terms after the sale has been conducted. Arbitration agreements are stuffed into routine updates nowadays, among other tenets of enpoopification.
Where can I buy a fresh battery for my 4? I use it for sleep tracking and garage work so my 8 doesn’t get more scratches.