Series 6 is more like Series 5S

[Donnation]

I hate to say this I really do, because I love the Apple Watch and I even really like the Series 6. But honestly, its really just a Series 5S and is the weakest update since the Series 0 was replaced by the Series 1.


- Battery life is exactly the same as the Series 5

- AOD is barely, and I mean just barely, a slight bit more readable outside

- The speed is negligible coming from the Series 5. Its milliseconds faster and really not noticeable

- The Blood Oxygen sensor is gimmicky at best. I'm sure it will improve, but I get different readings all over the place. Even with that, I'm not sure its anything more than something you'll use every once in a while just to see what it is. I don't know if this is what go force touch removed but it wasn't worth it.

-No improved durability or water resistance

-No charging brick and same price for the watch


I just don't think there is that killer feature or hardware improvement that makes this a true leap from last years watch. Its nice, don't get me wrong, but not really any different than the Series 5

After using mine for a couple of days I don't think I'll be keeping it. The Series 5 is the EXACT same watch minus the blood oxygen sensor, which to me hardly justfies keeping the watch. If you are coming from a Series 4 or later, it will be a nice upgrade.

 

[JW313]

You are correct. It’s not made to be a Series 5 replacement but rather a series 3-4 replacement. It’s been the same droning on iPhone every S year.

 

[Simacca]

I hate to say this I really do, because I love the Apple Watch and I even really like the Series 6. But honestly, its really just a Series 5S and is the weakest update since the Series 0 was replaced by the Series 1.


- Battery life is exactly the same as the Series 5

- AOD is barely, and I mean just barely, a slight bit more readable outside

- The speed is negligible coming from the Series 5. Its milliseconds faster and really not noticeable

- The Blood Oxygen sensor is gimmicky at best. I'm sure it will improve, but I get different readings all over the place. Even with that, I'm not sure its anything more than something you'll use every once in a while just to see what it is. I don't know if this is what go force touch removed but it wasn't worth it.

-No improved durability or water resistance

-No charging brick and same price for the watch


I just don't think there is that killer feature or hardware improvement that makes this a true leap from last years watch. Its nice, don't get me wrong, but not really any different than the Series 5

After using mine for a couple of days I don't think I'll be keeping it. The Series 5 is the EXACT same watch minus the blood oxygen sensor, which to me hardly justfies keeping the watch. If you are coming from a Series 4 or later, it will be a nice upgrade.

And the series 5 is a minimal upgrade from the s4. Think I will keep my s4 now until the s7 comes out next year.

 

[Smoothie]

I went from the Series 3 to the Series 6, so this is a noticeable upgrade for me. I’m very disappointed in the blood oxygen sensor. It often fails to get any reading, and when it does the readings have huge variance. If blood oxygen accuracy is important for someone, they shouldn’t rely on this. Get a pulse oximeter for $50 which will be much more accurate.

 

[ukms]

I hate to say this I really do, because I love the Apple Watch and I even really like the Series 6. But honestly, its really just a Series 5S and is the weakest update since the Series 0 was replaced by the Series 1.


- Battery life is exactly the same as the Series 5

- AOD is barely, and I mean just barely, a slight bit more readable outside

- The speed is negligible coming from the Series 5. Its milliseconds faster and really not noticeable

- The Blood Oxygen sensor is gimmicky at best. I'm sure it will improve, but I get different readings all over the place. Even with that, I'm not sure its anything more than something you'll use every once in a while just to see what it is. I don't know if this is what go force touch removed but it wasn't worth it.

-No improved durability or water resistance

-No charging brick and same price for the watch


I just don't think there is that killer feature or hardware improvement that makes this a true leap from last years watch. Its nice, don't get me wrong, but not really any different than the Series 5

After using mine for a couple of days I don't think I'll be keeping it. The Series 5 is the EXACT same watch minus the blood oxygen sensor, which to me hardly justfies keeping the watch. If you are coming from a Series 4 or later, it will be a nice upgrade.

I get what you are saying but who is to say it has to be called an ‘S’ rather than the next in the series just because it’s a minor upgrade ? ...

The updates are relatively small in the opinion of some but the reality is nobody is forced to change.

what is the threshold to meet for a 6 rather than a 5S ?

 

[Donnation]

I get what you are saying but who is to say it has to be called an ‘S’ rather than the next in the series just because it’s a minor upgrade ? ...

The updates are relatively small in the opinion of some but the reality is nobody is forced to change.

what is the threshold to meet for a 6 rather than a 5S ?

Better battery - Better Water Resistance - Better Speaker - More Storage - Brighter Screen

Those would be at minimal things that I would consider necessary to be considered an actual 6 instead of 5S. At the end of the day we got a series 5 that came with a blood oxygen detector that specifically says when you use it to not consider it medically accurate (so what's the point of it?)

I knew what I was buying so that's on me. Just giving my opinion that this upgrade is probably the most incremental upgrade I can remember the watch having.

 

[Apple_Robert]

It has been said by so many people, that the series 6 is a small spec bump (besides the SPO2). As much as you are on the forums Donnation, you had to have seen the heads up about what to expect. Coming from a series 5 as well, I will be fine with the series 6 on Monday. And I look forward to the next Apple Watch. I didn’t need to get this one but, who knows what tomorrow brings, I might not even be here. I might as well enjoy myself a little

 

[almostinsane]

Umm, where is your better battery or water resistant specs? This is such BS. The 6 is a crappy upgrade over the 5 hands down. No 5 owner should ever upgrade to a 6.

 

[wilberforce]

One thing I am interested in, is the (claimed) ability to review notifications without first waking the display.

From Apple: "When their wrist is down, the user can also now access Notification Center and Control Center, tap on complications, and swipe to change faces without having to wake their watch screen."

How well does this feature work, is it worth upgrading S5 to S6?

 

[MinimeJer05]

Coming from a Series 3 this feels like a whole different experience. But I can totally see where S5 owners would feel cheated.

 

[Apple_Robert]

Umm, where is your better battery or water resistant specs? This is such BS. The 6 is a crappy upgrade over the 5 hands down. No 5 owner should ever upgrade to a 6.

Same water resistance and we won’t know about battery until a tear down is done.

The spec bump happens all the time with Apple. It is SOP for Apple. No need to be mad or overly disappointed. It’s not a big deal.

 

[deeddawg]

-No charging brick and same price for the watch

If you factor in the consumer price index and that the cost of 5W USB bricks is in the 50-70 cents each range on Alibaba, you’re still getting the watch at a discount relative to last years price.

CPI Inflation Calculator

www.bls.gov

 

[Frankfurt]

I upgraded from the S4. I am typically upgrading every other year. Best features vs the S4: AOD, faster processor and more options in casings. I went with Blue Alum and it is a stunner!
I did upgrade the S3 with the S4 given the larger screen. If there is a leap forward with the S7 - then I might change again.

 

[Apple_Robert]

Coming from a Series 3 this feels like a whole different experience. But I can totally see where S5 owners would feel cheated.

I am using my series 3 while I wait on my series 6 to get here, and the 3 feels so old compared to what my series 5 could do. Lol I don’t even have LTE on my watch right now. The horror of it all.

 

[Apple_Robert]

One thing I am interested in, is the (claimed) ability to review notifications without first waking the display.

From Apple: "When their wrist is down, the user can also now access Notification Center and Control Center, tap on complications, and swipe to change faces without having to wake their watch screen."

How well does this feature work, is it worth upgrading S5 to S6?

That is definitely something I will be testing and using come Monday afternoon. I also like the fact that the watch will be able to connect to 5Ghz.

 

[Donnation]

It has been said by so many people, that the series 6 is a small spec bump (besides the SPO2). As much as you are on the forums Donnation, you had to have seen the heads up about what to expect. Coming from a series 5 as well, I will be fine with the series 6 on Monday. And I look forward to the next Apple Watch. I didn’t need to get this one but, who knows what tomorrow brings, I might not even be here. I might as well enjoy myself a little

True words.

And yeah, I knew it was going to be a spec bump, but I thought with the removal of force touch that we'd see some major battery improvements and I already know after using this for a day and a half that its the same as the 5. Not terrible, but the exact same. And while I'm fine with the same size and dimensions, an improved speaker and brighter screen are always welcome.

 

[Apple_Robert]

True words.

And yeah, I knew it was going to be a spec bump, but I thought with the removal of force touch that we'd see some major battery improvements and I already know after using this for a day and a half that its the same as the 5. Not terrible, but the exact same. And while I'm fine with the same size and dimensions, an improved speaker and brighter screen are always welcome.

I forgot about the increase in speaker sound. Is it noticeable or about the same? With the alleged minimal battery upgrade, i knew battery life would ether be the same or an hour better at the most. Overall, battery life for me with the 5 has been good.

I think we will see a few new features surface well before the new OS beta is released.

For me, the watch does everything I need and more. While I would like to see some OS changes and enhancements as w all would, I was very happy with my series 5 for the last 10 months. The series 7 may even be better.

Apple needs to keep focused on the watchOS. Otherwise, the new tech won’t mean very much for us.

 

[imlynxy]

I usually very skeptical about Apple products. I changed from 5 to 6 and I like them. Screen response faster, cellular network also connected snappier. Bluetooth and Wifi both hold better than before. Speaker is louder.

To be honest I bought AW6 SS to see what it was and I was 95% sure that I return them. Now I’m 100% sure that I keep them.

I use watch a lot and this is the main product that keeps me with Apple.
So far this is the smart watch on the market.

Agree that Blood Oxygen is not as accurate as should be.
Also agree that it is 5S, not 6, but I like the product.

The all above is my only opinion.

 

[ukms]

The 6 is a crappy upgrade over the 5 hands down. No 5 owner should ever upgrade to a 6.

In your opinion of course !

 

[BrettDS]

One thing I am interested in, is the (claimed) ability to review notifications without first waking the display.

From Apple: "When their wrist is down, the user can also now access Notification Center and Control Center, tap on complications, and swipe to change faces without having to wake their watch screen."

How well does this feature work, is it worth upgrading S5 to S6?

This is definitely gonna take a little getting used to, but I think it is a great feature. Occasionally the watch won’t wake up when I raise my wrist or when I want to use it and with this feature I can do pretty much whatever I want to the watch without worrying about waking it up first. Swipe down and it wakes up and displays the notifications. Swipe up and it wakes up and displays the control center.

Tap a complication and it wakes up and opens the app associated with the complication. This is great, but it’s the part that will take some getting used to. Right now I’m in the habit of just randomly tapping on the watch face to wake it up if it didn’t wake up when I raised my wrist. But now if you tap on a complication when you’re trying to wake the watch you actually start an app rather than just waking up the watch.

 

[ukms]

So ...... what some are actually griping about is that Apple haven’t moved the AW to the iPhone naming convention rather than anything truly wrong with the product.

 

[jbachandouris]

Sadly, none of what you said is news. The rumors all pointed to the exact same thing. Reviewers said this wasn't for series 5 owners. If this information hadn't already been provided, your post would have merit.

 

[Runs For Fun]

As a Series 3 owner, this is a huge upgrade.

 

[Abazigal]

I hate to say this I really do, because I love the Apple Watch and I even really like the Series 6. But honestly, its really just a Series 5S and is the weakest update since the Series 0 was replaced by the Series 1.

I think people are looking at this the wrong way.

- Battery life is exactly the same as the Series 5

At this point, I think it’s safe to say that Apple is comfortable with the current 18-hour battery life of the watch, and don’t see multi-day battery life as a dealbreaker which is going to discourage potential customers.

Think about it - most people are going to be charging their watches overnight, so any longer battery life doesn’t really result in any significant improvement to the user experience. Instead, the battery gains could go towards supporting more power-hungry features.

For sleep tracking, there’s faster charging, which pretty much solves the same problem of the watch not lasting a full day. Simply let it charge while you wash up and have your dinner and it will have enough charge to last through the night. Then charge it the following morning over breakfast and it’s good for another day of work.

- AOD is barely, and I mean just barely, a slight bit more readable outside

Were you having problems reading the display on your series 5 before?

- The speed is negligible coming from the Series 5. Its milliseconds faster and really not noticeable

It will probably let you eke out another 1-2 years more of upgrades compared to the series 5. That’s when the processor improvements will make their presence felt.

- The Blood Oxygen sensor is gimmicky at best. I'm sure it will improve, but I get different readings all over the place. Even with that, I'm not sure its anything more than something you'll use every once in a while just to see what it is. I don't know if this is what go force touch removed but it wasn't worth it.

To me, it’s the same as App Library - what you want out of it depends on how much effort you put towards integrating it into your lifestyle.

-No improved durability or water resistance

It’s metal and glass.

-No charging brick and same price for the watch

Somehow, I don’t think the absence of a charging brick will be felt. Mine is still sitting untouched in my Apple Watch box.

I just don't think there is that killer feature or hardware improvement that makes this a true leap from last years watch. Its nice, don't get me wrong, but not really any different than the Series 5

After using mine for a couple of days I don't think I'll be keeping it. The Series 5 is the EXACT same watch minus the blood oxygen sensor, which to me hardly justfies keeping the watch. If you are coming from a Series 4 or later, it will be a nice upgrade.

That’s the whole point. Most people are coming from not owning an Apple Watch at all, or an older series 2-3 watch, so this represents a solid upgrade for them either way.

Technology simply doesn’t improve quickly enough to enable the sort of advancements that would make a series 6 a must-have over the series 5, nor would it be sustainable anyways.

 

[44267547]

As a Series 3 owner, this is a huge upgrade.

Yup, and you are in the perfect opportunity to appreciate everything that S6 offers with a new form factor, health sensor, AOD, etc. I really don’t suggest Series 5 owners upgrade to the S6 unless you like the new Casing options graphite, health features or want the brighter AOD.