Received my AW6 and conpared it to my S5 on a run. Oh boy the GPS is waaaaaay better than the one in the S5. No more drunken lines, sharp corners and accurate position even between buildings.
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Series 6 is more like Series 5S
- Thread starter Donnation
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Really? I did a bike ride and had some BS lines. Should be both the same ...
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Is the S5 on WatchOS6 or 7?
Per comments at DCRainmaker it seems unclear to which extent the improvements are the hardware and to which extent they're the software.
Compared it to an old run. We will see it in the final Review from DC Rainmaker.
Just remember when doing single-instance compares that the GPS satellite coverage can be rather different from one day to the next.
They're not in geo-sync orbit, so the constellation is always moving around. Different days and times can give different #s of "visibile" GPS sats and thus affect device accuracy.
DCR's full review / testing will be a good read. More a curiosity to me though as at this point I'm far more a casual runner so it really makes no functional difference for me if a track distance is 0.1% off or 4% off.
I’ll probably just continue to upgrade each year as I do. Doesn’t really bother me too much, I just like having the latest.
I just packed my S6 and will be shipping it back to Apple. It just doesn't feel like much of the upgrade over my current S4, so I'll wait and see what they deliver next year.
I know we all have to try things for ourselves and there’s nothing wrong with that, but I’ve said it many times, S4/S5 owners have no reason really to upgrade to the S6. If you are an S3 owner and below, it’s totally a major upgrade in every way, but I generally think Apple is after market share with those who are not upgrading with the older generation Apple watches, which is who they want. I generally just upgrade every year because I have am obsessive with the Apple Watch, but I realize it’s kind of an expensive habit to do that for such a menial upgrade for a Series 4/5 owner. I’m looking a bit ahead here, but I think the S7 for 2021 will be huge.
I was curious about this, after reading DC Rainmaker’s review. I have a series 5, and my maps all look the same as they did before WatchOS 7. I have a feeling only the Series 6 gets the improved GPS mapping.
I’m doing the same. Im keeping my series 5 another year. I normally upgrade every year but after trying the 6 and the new oxygen sensor, (readings were more miss than hits) it just seems like I’m throwing money away. Will take that money and throw it towards a new iPad Air instead.
Me as well I am sorry to say. Since my watch shipped I pinged ponged between being really excited for it to wondering why I even ordered it. It actually came Monday and I just opened it this afternoon.
I was coming from a series 4 as well. I got the Red one and was super excited about that aspect alone. (But not gonna keep a watch for a color.) I never even tried a S5 so I even got a little excited about the AOD but after using it for a bit it's kind of meh...at least in my use case. I don't know how much control apps have in AOD mode or if they can make an "AOD" friendly app but for me, I use iCatcher for Podcasts almost all day so that app is always on my screen on my AW. But with AOD, it just dims and shows a clock. I still have to wake the watch to do any kind of interaction with the app.
One good thing at least is I don't feel too upset. My AW4 serves my needs perfectly and isn't lacking in any way. I will see what Apple offers up for the series 7.
I have always had a problem with my series 3 being significantly off from my iPhone on runs, registering 10-20% shorter runs. Is 6 better?
@ponytrekker Compared to the real route in GMaps its way better. The GPS is very good!
Just curious as to why you bought it? Did you think it had features which hadn’t been mentioned in the keynote or the website. The series 6 was pretty much exactly as Apple described - even a bit better in some ways for me.
Personally I would wait and see what the series 7 brings. Unless you need a blood oxygen reader, a slightly brighter AOD or slightly better battery and internal storage,then I’d wait.
The 4 didn't have an AOD. But if they didn't need a 5, the case for a 6 isn't too much more compelling.
I upgraded from 5 and for me it was worth it. I like more battery and better sensors. My main reasons to upgrade
Yeh, AOD, Oxygen Sensor plus more battery at this moment doesn't justify the $$ loss on my SS S4 Cellular.
I'll keep my watch for another year, and see what 2021 bring
thanks
I'll keep my watch for another year, and see what 2021 bring
thanksAgreed, these are pretty incremental coming from the 4, and I'm not just trying to justify keeping my SS S4, it's just hard for me to justify the ~$600 essentially for Blood Oxygen. AOD has never really appealed to me to pay extra for.
I think a redesign will bring a solid state side button, maybe a thinner case or improved/additional speakers?
And to add:
I think we’re close, but micro LED displays will be a ‘game changer‘. Micro LED uses considerable of Power Draw versus OLED, which Apple might be able to use a thinner battery, thus reducing the casing thickness. The health advancements are great, but that’s requiring more battery consumption, which is why Apple had to increase the battery thickness again this year for the S6. (The S5 also had a thicker battery.)
I think watchOS has matured very quickly, and it’s been mainly positive, but I would like to see some hardware refinement, maybe even some type of new casing structure, but in the same design.
Not sure I need an ultra thin Apple Watch. I’d rather they used any efficiency to improve battery life.