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Second thoughts about Aluminum...

D

dtlee1974

macrumors regular
Original poster
Apr 2, 2010
140
84
I've had a Black SS series 0 for over three years now. Aside from wiping some grime off now and then it looks like the day I bought it. At the time of the pre-order I figured I'd save a few bucks and get the Aluminum. Since then, I've seen a friend's aluminum S0 up close and its a wreck. It actually seems to have corrosion around the speaker ports and lots of scratches.

What would be my best bet for finding a Black Stainless 44mm in stock to exchange my Aluminum that arrives Friday for? I can't queue up on Friday morning. I do work about 3 blocks from an apple store and drive by a second much larger one (Mall of America) so is there a stock reporting website that actually works? I could wait for one to pop up and go swap it out sometime in the first two weeks. Or should I just order one now?
 
https://www.istocknow.com

Not sure the quality stock reporting. But I am following it. I have a 44mm S4, stainless steel space black for delivery 9.28-10.2. But I will be in a store getting my Xs on 9.21 and would prefer to grab a watch at the same time.
 
I went back and forth on this myself - but settled on a Gold SS with a 10/5 delivery date. If you can't queue up try a site like istocknow.com to see local stock each morning and then reserve one for in-store pickup. It usually is not available on Friday (launch day) but they usually turn it on over the launch weekend at some point. I did this last year to exchange the S3 I ordered for a different one and it worked well.

I may try to do it myself in order to get the watch a little faster
 
I'm also starting to have second thoughts about my aluminum watch order. However I found armorsuit will have a full body protector film available on Amazon for about $13 so may just get that and stick with the original order.
 
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I've got a s2 aluminium since launch day and it looks pretty much like new. Been using it to the gym, hiking, showering, swimming etc. No issues. I think you need to picture how well you take care of products instead of how others are doing it. If you generally take good care of them and have few issues you'll be fine. I'm sure there are tons of people with the same watch has me that has given it a much harder beating than I have.
 
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Saw my friends SS yesterday. It was all scratched up. He said he used to buff it out, but it got old to keep doing it and he’s not OCD enough to care that much anymore. He said he appreciates the watch for what it does. “It’s not a Rolex”.

I guess if you are real OCD this may be an issue, but if you are active with the watch, things are going to happen. The SS scratches up super easily and requires a lot more care and the aluminum takes some abuse better but doesn’t polish up AND it is much lighter. I’m an athletic person so I care more about functionality than some scratches.
 
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I've had my aluminum series 0 for just under 3 years and overall the case is in great shape. Not sure what someone would do to cause corrosion but aside from a couple of pretty unnoticeable marks on my aluminum frame it's fine. And I haven't babied mine.
 
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numberfour said:
I've got a s2 aluminium since launch day and it looks pretty much like new. Been using it to the gym, hiking, showering, swimming etc. No issues. I think you need to picture how well you take care of products instead of how others are doing it. If you generally take good care of them and have few issues you'll be fine. I'm sure there are tons of people with the same watch has me that has given it a much harder beating than I have.
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My S2 gold aluminum looks pretty much like new too. Even the S0 space gray aluminum that I passed onto my now 15-year-old son is in outstanding condition.

I like the looks of the black SS and now the gold SS, but they are not compelling to me at the price. The weight of the SS would also be a negative in what is largely a fitness device.
 
iBought said:
Saw my friends SS yesterday. It was all scratched up. He said he used to buff it out, but it got old to keep doing it and he’s not OCD enough to care that much anymore. He said he appreciates the watch for what it does. “It’s not a Rolex”.

I guess if you are real OCD this may be an issue, but if you are active with the watch, things are going to happen. The SS scratches up super easily and requires a lot more care and the aluminum takes some abuse better but doesn’t polish up AND it is much lighter. I’m an athletic person so I care more about functionality than some scratches.
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Does your friend have the simple SS or the SBSS? I’m asking because the SBSS has the DLC coating (Diamond like carbon coatin) that is supposed to be a lot more resistant to scratches which is the reason I’m going with the SBSS this time around. I’m very active and workout regularly. Plus I think the SBSS looks better when worn both dressed up or casually.
 
iBought said:
Saw my friends SS yesterday. It was all scratched up. He said he used to buff it out, but it got old to keep doing it and he’s not OCD enough to care that much anymore. He said he appreciates the watch for what it does. “It’s not a Rolex”.

I guess if you are real OCD this may be an issue, but if you are active with the watch, things are going to happen. The SS scratches up super easily and requires a lot more care and the aluminum takes some abuse better but doesn’t polish up AND it is much lighter. I’m an athletic person so I care more about functionality than some scratches.
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SS scratches, my wife has the SS. I have the Black SS, I haven't been able to scratch it. I've wrenched on motorcycles, cars, shot guns, built furniture, moved a datacenter including un-racking and re-racking 40ish servers/routers/switches and it looks good as new. Its a tank.
 
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dtlee1974 said:
SS scratches, my wife has the SS. I have the Black SS, I haven't been able to scratch it. I've wrenched on motorcycles, cars, shot guns, built furniture, moved a datacenter including un-racking and re-racking 40ish servers/routers/switches and it looks good as new. Its a tank.
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Good to know. I’m a Fireman and workout regularly also. I try to be careful as much as I can with it on but it will inevitably take a little bit of a beating. Glad to know how scratch resistant the SBSS is.
 
I have a S3 Aluminum SG and it looks like crap! The screen has a scratch down the center, and there is a series of nicks across the top of the screen. Also, the body has several nicks.

I would not say I am hard on the watch, rather it is easily nicked and dinged. I have other Garmin watches for running and cycling every day, and they look brand new.

I ordered the S4 SS SB and can’t wait to get rid my scratched up S3.
 
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Rangers94 said:
Does your friend have the simple SS or the SBSS? I’m asking because the SBSS has the DLC coating (Diamond like carbon coatin) that is supposed to be a lot more resistant to scratches which is the reason I’m going with the SBSS this time around. I’m very active and workout regularly. Plus I think the SBSS looks better when worn both dressed up or casually.
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SBSS is the black one right? If so, no he has the silver. The black sounds like as different story, so you may be good to go. For me, I prefer the color of silver but if you go black, it sounds like you are in good shape.
 
iBought said:
SBSS is the black one right? If so, no he has the silver. The black sounds like as different story, so you may be good to go. For me, I prefer the color of silver but if you go black, it sounds like you are in good shape.
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Yes the SBSS is the Space black stainless steel which has the DLC coating which the regular silver SS doesn’t have. Huge difference between the 2 and 1 of a few reasons I’m going with SBSS.
 
mjr1000 said:
Anyone pair their SB SS with a sport loop for working out? Does it look awful?
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I’ve done this with a Nike sport band. The SBSS looks good with anything really. It just has a clean look to it. The only thing though, you’ll have to get over the trick your mind will play on you about have a $50 band on a $700 watch. But the sport bands still look fine on the black SS. The silver SS the sport bands really stand out though, the Nike white one looks ok on it. The other thing about the SS models, most people don’t even realize you have a different model Apple Watch than the aluminum anyway so in general only you know the difference.
 
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mjr1000 said:
Anyone pair their SB SS with a sport loop for working out? Does it look awful?
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I use the sports band with my SB SS.
a92662593a0e70bf30bf0e7630ac4c92.jpg


Don’t think the sports loop would fare any worse.
 
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Mabus51 said:
I’ve done this with a Nike sport band. The SBSS looks good with anything really. It just has a clean look to it. The only thing though, you’ll have to get over the trick your mind will play on you about have a $50 band on a $700 watch. But the sport bands still look fine on the black SS. The silver SS the sport bands really stand out though, the Nike white one looks ok on it. The other thing about the SS models, most people don’t even realize you have a different model Apple Watch than the aluminum anyway so in general only you know the difference.
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I will be testing that Nike white with a stainless steel space black as I ordered the Nike band in addition to my watch. Did some Googling and it looks OK. Mainly will need the watch band to breath down it the South summer humidity.
 
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I’m on the fence right now between the aluminum SG and SBSS.
Preordered both, with the SG delivering on Friday and SBSS delivering in two weeks.
I just cannot seem to decide which is best for me. I’ve always had an aluminum, not too beaten up. Screen gets minor scuffs over the years from gym. But I really like the look of the SBSS.
 
FFR said:
I use the sports band with my SB SS.
a92662593a0e70bf30bf0e7630ac4c92.jpg


Don’t think the sports loop would fare any worse.
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Sport band looks fine and in fact comes with the SS, but I really love my sport loops, and not just at the gym. They are ultra comfy. Nylon on stainless, that can't look good. Can it?
 
FFR said:
I use the sports band with my SB SS.
a92662593a0e70bf30bf0e7630ac4c92.jpg


Don’t think the sports loop would fare any worse.
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Your watch is gorgeous. Loved the watch when I saw it in person but the price swings me towards aluminum. Watch series 5 if it contains a decent update will be my SBSS one.
 
gymratjudy said:
Your watch is gorgeous. Loved the watch when I saw it in person but the price swings me towards aluminum. Watch series 5 if it contains a decent update will be my SBSS one.
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You can’t go wrong with either, but the dlc coating is gravy and it’s quite durable.
 
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mjr1000 said:
Sport band looks fine and in fact comes with the SS, but I really love my sport loops, and not just at the gym. They are ultra comfy. Nylon on stainless, that can't look good. Can it?
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It looks totally fine. It's a good combo even for business casual settings.
 
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