Series 3 in 2020?

[HeyKatie]

Hey everyone!

Seeing as the price has dropped quite a bit on the series 3 I am really considering buying it with the refund I will be getting from my Versa 2. Is this watch still a good option in 2020? Mostly be used for exercise, music, weather, texting and siri.

 

[TheSkywalker77]

I love my S3, it works amazingly for exercise and sending the occasional text. I don't use it for music so I can't speak there, but if you have AirPods it should work amazingly. As for Siri, I've had some issues with it, mainly with the speed of it. Other than that though I have no major complaints. It's an amazing watch for the price.

 

[tehStickMan]

watchOS6 killed my Series 4 in terms of speed, which is Series 5 as well. Couldn't imagine what happened to S3, which is half the CPU. Would not recommend unless you get an extreme deal.

 

[7thson]

I own a SS series 3 and love it, but I don’t know if I could endorse buying one now when that model will be 3 years old in 4 months. Series 3 GPS models have only 8gb of storage vs the S4/5 having 16gb in both GPS and cellular. This is significant if you intend to store music/podcasts on the watch itself. However, your budget and needs will dictate your decision. If you do buy one, maybe hold off on updating to watchOS 7 until the jury comes back on whether it’s a performance killer. WatchOS 6 works fine on mine.

 

[throAU]

Hey everyone!

Seeing as the price has dropped quite a bit on the series 3 I am really considering buying it with the refund I will be getting from my Versa 2. Is this watch still a good option in 2020? Mostly be used for exercise, music, weather, texting and siri.

If you have waited this long, I'd personally hold off until the s6 releases and the s5 becomes the baseline model at the current S3 price.

The S4/S5 have the same processor in them and the S4 (from personal experience) is much faster than the S3, the screen is much nicer (it isn't much bigger on paper but it is quite different in person), you get the new faces, etc.

I've had an S2 and S4 (the S2 is basically a slower S3 - also bought the GF an S3 a couple of years ago), and the S4 and up are a HUGE jump in performance and clock-face features.

I think buying an S3 in 2020 will result in huge buyer's remorse when you discover you could have had an S5 or similar at the same price in a few months' time. It's just a massive step up in performance and everything else.


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watchOS6 killed my Series 4 in terms of speed, which is Series 5 as well. Couldn't imagine what happened to S3, which is half the CPU. Would not recommend unless you get an extreme deal.

I'd reset your watch and start over, my S4 is now fine. I did have some gremlins that were fixed with a wipe/restore.

My GF hasn't had any issues with her S3 so far however. I think an early upgrade to watchOS 6 (IIRC it took longer to come to S3 and earlier) may have screwed up something during the upgrade.

 

[ThugFreak]

Deleted

 

[44267547]

Hey everyone!

Seeing as the price has dropped quite a bit on the series 3 I am really considering buying it with the refund I will be getting from my Versa 2. Is this watch still a good option in 2020? Mostly be used for exercise, music, weather, texting and siri.

Being that it seems like you might be on a budget, the Series 3 should be perfectly fine for simple tasking with weather/communication/Siri. It’s perfectly capable for all of those things, but if it was me, I would probably Invest in the Series 4 Apple Watch, you’re essentially receiving updated processor, extended battery, and overall It’s vastly improved over the Series 3. However, your tasks are so simple with the Apple Watch, the Series 3 is plenty sufficient, as long as you can accept that it’s watchOS support will be rather limited moving forward.

 

[HeyKatie]

Thanks everyone for your replies! It’s about a $300 difference between the series 3 and series 4 right now which is freakin insane! Is the 6 going to be announced in June or Sept?

 

[44267547]

Thanks everyone for your replies! It’s about a $300 difference between the series 3 and series 4 right now which is freakin insane! Is the 6 going to be announced in June or Sept?

Apple has never announced the Apple Watch launch in June. If it does launch for 2020, they would announce in September as tradition, and then it would likely launch in September through October. (The Nike Edition had a later launch in years past.)

 

[EdwardC]

I’m still using a Series 1😁 it’s probably pretty slow but I have nothing to compare it to so I’m keeping it till it no longer functions.

 

[mk313]

Thanks everyone for your replies! It’s about a $300 difference between the series 3 and series 4 right now which is freakin insane! Is the 6 going to be announced in June or Sept?

I would say that if you are interested in an Apple Watch and can live with the fact that at some point in the relatively far off future (3 years or so?) you won't be able to upgrade the software, and that at some point before then, you will likely experience slow performance after upgrading to a newer Watch OS, then go ahead & get the 3. It's a great deal at that price & still works very well. I have one & it's my favorite Apple Watch ever. I replaced it with a 5, due to the better cellular connectivity (full ceramic back) and because I got a cray good deal through Sprint. But I still have the 3 as my backup & it's still a great watch.

The Series 4/5 are a nice upgrade for sure, but if it were me & I was deciding on getting a Series 3 now, or waiting until September(ash) to pick up a Series 4/5, I would go for the 3 now. Obviously, the closer we get to the fall, the less likely I would be to do that, but you have a whole summer to enjoy it, and who knows if the release schedule will be adjusted at all due to Coronavirus.

Another thin to consider is how long you plan to keep the watch. If you plan on keeping it for a long time, then it might make sense to wait, but if you could see yourself spending another $200 on an upgrade in 2-3 years, then I think the 3 is an appealing option.

 

[locksmack]

Consider looking at a used Series 4. There aren't too many differences between the 4 and the 5, and as Apple Watches don't hold their value well, a used watch can be had for a steal. Especially if you want a Stainless Steel model. This would be my preference over a new series 3.

 

[ThugFreak]

Thanks everyone for your replies! It’s about a $300 difference between the series 3 and series 4 right now which is freakin insane! Is the 6 going to be announced in June or Sept?

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[44267547]

Consider looking at a used Series 4. There aren't too many differences between the 4 and the 5, and as Apple Watches don't hold their value well, a used watch can be had for a steal. Especially if you want a Stainless Steel model. This would be my preference over a new series 3.

I agree with your suggestion, but when looking at the series 4, it is priced considerably higher over the series 3, and I gather the OP is trying to be budget conscious as possible, which also their ‘use cases’ are fairly minimal with basic tasking, so I gather this Series 3 is probably the best option, but if the OP waits maybe another month or two, we will see some more discounts on the Series 4 in preparation from various retailers (liquidating remaining stock) for the Series 6 if it launches in September.

 

[HeyKatie]

I’m not on a budget per say I just can’t bring myself to spend almost $600 on a series 5 watch! My brother is still using his series one and it’s ok, he was planning on giving it to me when he upgrades in Dec but I’ll just bite the bullet and buy my own right now.

I’ll check out Swappa, been keeping an eye on kijiji and fb marketplace for a 4 at a decent price.
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Checked Swappa but by the time I pay exchange it doesn’t make sense for me to buy used. thanks for the suggestion though!

 

[Duckhunter]

My vote is a series 3 if the price is a lot cheaper. But it honestly depends on how much and what you are going to use it for. I have a series 3 and it still runs great and doesn’t seem sluggish to me. But I’m not a heavy watch user. I mainly use mine for notification and replying to text messages and exercise tracking.