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Should I buy the Apple Watch Series 5 NOW...Or Wait?

I was at a similar point some weeks ago and I decided to buy a Series 3. Simple reason is I did not know how I would use the watch, if it would have some value for me or not.

When I got the watch, I realized I had no clue about how to use it or what to use it for. Also, I didn't look at any alternatives (Garmin or Suuntu watches).
Now I do know about that stuff, have the watch integrated into my daily routine and it's definitely not my last watch, I'll probably upgrade to S6 or S7. But I'm still happy for how I decides as it was a comparably small investment.
 
If you want to buy an Apple Watch for safety and activity tracking, Apple Watch 5 or 4 or 3 should suffice.

Especially since you mentioned that you don't really wear watches. Before you go for the top model, try and understand if you are a smartwatch person or not.

So, I really like the idea of buying an older version to explore your and the watch's limit.

The other side of the story is your love for Tech! In terms of upgrade, Watch 5 wasn't really a massive step up from Watch 4. So, we can expect Watch 6 to take a big leap.

According to a patent and rumors around it, the new watch may have a touch ID and many more hardware upgrades. If your intention behind the buy is more than just basic functions, waiting might make sense.
 
iDron said:
I was at a similar point some weeks ago and I decided to buy a Series 3. Simple reason is I did not know how I would use the watch, if it would have some value for me or not.

When I got the watch, I realized I had no clue about how to use it or what to use it for. Also, I didn't look at any alternatives (Garmin or Suuntu watches).
Now I do know about that stuff, have the watch integrated into my daily routine and it's definitely not my last watch, I'll probably upgrade to S6 or S7. But I'm still happy for how I decides as it was a comparably small investment.
Click to expand...

Garmin and Suuntu Are really geared towards the ‘performance’ side of things in terms of exercise orientation, that’s far more optioned over the Apple Watch Series 3, which being that you’re sort of new to the Apple Watch in general, you made a good choice, as it’s far more basic, user-friendly in terms of the interface and overall you don’t really need a detailed guide on how to navigate the Apple Watch, as it’s fairly simplistic moving forward. It’s a ‘safe choice’ in your situation.
 
I’m in the same boat, my husband’s birthday is next month and I thought about surprising him with an upgrade to series 5. I’ve heard because of the virus there may be delays in some products, yet we have clues that they’re working on new things. So I think I’m going to wait for him (and myself!) for Christmas.
 
Relentless Power said:
Garmin and Suuntu Are really geared towards the ‘performance’ side of things in terms of exercise orientation, that’s far more optioned over the Apple Watch Series 3, which being that you’re sort of new to the Apple Watch in general, you made a good choice, as it’s far more basic, user-friendly in terms of the interface and overall you don’t really need a detailed guide on how to navigate the Apple Watch, as it’s fairly simplistic moving forward. It’s a ‘safe choice’ in your situation.
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Well these dedicated sports watches have a far longer battery life and are more durable and have those physical buttons. But I spent 2 weeks looking at Apps and how to use the watch in my workout routine. I got the WorkoutDoors and HealthFit App for regular tracking and Im/exporting of GPX files, for skiing in the winter there is slopes, for hiking and biking there are ViewRanger, Komoot and Wikiloc Apps for navigation.

I'm sure Garmin/Suuntu have a but more functionality, but what big things am I missing with my AW? At least can't really think about much.
 
I’m in the same situation. Wife’s series 2 is practically useless and she wanted a new watch. Usually in April there is a $80 discount on the latest Apple Watch. I’ll prob get her a 40mm series 5 if it gets down to $329.
 
Do you have a medical condition where oxygen saturation levels need to be monitored? If not then should that be the main selling feature of the S6 you may as well get an AW now.
 
The Series 4 is still so advanced that it feels new. Historically the Watch's entry models have seen sparse discounts during its first year ($15-30 if you're lucky), and rumours about upcoming Watch features haven't been reliable – to my memory, the ECG and always-on display weren't heavily rumoured when they were announced. I'd only wait if blood oxygen level is somehow so important to you that it's worth banking on a rumour and waiting six months.
 
Why is no one suggesting getting a s4, it got everything s5 have except aod. You can get one off swappa for around 200 bucks, I paid 230 for a 44 lte s4 only 3 months ago for my brother, when s6 comes out u probably only gonna lose 60 bucks for resale value
 
ilikewhey said:
Why is no one suggesting getting a s4, it got everything s5 have except aod. You can get one off swappa for around 200 bucks, I paid 230 for a 44 lte s4 only 3 months ago for my brother, when s6 comes out u probably only gonna lose 60 bucks for resale value
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I agree with this. My husband just purchased a S4 after I bought the S5 and there’s literally no difference between the two. S4 is a really good choice for a first watch. AOD is a nice feature but not a necessity. Same with the EKG feature on the S5 unless you know you have a heart condition.
 
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appleaddict_05 said:
I agree with this. My husband just purchased a S4 after I bought the S5 and there’s literally no difference between the two. S4 is a really good choice for a first watch. AOD is a nice feature but not a necessity. Same with the EKG feature on the S5 unless you know you have a heart condition.
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S4 also have ecg, the only major update s5 have is a compass and the aod, oh and 16gb more storage.
 
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ilikewhey said:
Why is no one suggesting getting a s4, it got everything s5 have except aod. You can get one off swappa for around 200 bucks, I paid 230 for a 44 lte s4 only 3 months ago for my brother, when s6 comes out u probably only gonna lose 60 bucks for resale value
Click to expand...

That’s exactly what I would suggest as well. Series 5 is a stagnant upgrade, unless you really need to have the always on display, the Series 4 is the clear winner in terms of everything it offers, especially with a hefty discount you can find them/priced match.
 
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If you are blessed enough to contemplate losing money, let alone spend any, during times such as these; then go ahead with a S5 now and then buy the S6 later. However, it would be more prudent to wait to see what Apple comes out with the S6 and then either decide on the newest model or grab the S5 on a discount.
 
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I got pretty lucky and picked up a 44mm Space Grey with GPS and Cellular, with box and everything mint condition for $300. Retail is $529. Originally bought in early March. Previous owner didn’t even have it a month. I feel like I stole it.

Always on is a game changer for me. Get the 5...skip the 3 and the 4. If you don’t mind preowned it may be a cheap way to go.

image.jpg
 
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Steven. said:
Do you have a medical condition where oxygen saturation levels need to be monitored? If not then should that be the main selling feature of the S6 you may as well get an AW now.
Click to expand...

I’m contemplating waiting for the 6; I feel like the GPS on my S4 is a little worse than my S3 was. It often runs long. (Like I’ll show 4.15 miles when the rest of my group on various watches shows 4.00). For me it’s not an emergency to upgrade (especially with so many races being cancelled because of coronavirus) so I might as well just wait for the latest version so it upgrades for longer, maybe it has exclusive faces, maybe they tweak something to improve the GPS.
 
Got my 5 GPS+Cellular 44mm für 440 € @ Amazon warehouse deals. I got my wife a 4 for 200€ also at Amazon warehouse deals. You can get one cheap now and wait for deals after the 6 is released. By the way the watch will always get some scratches so dont mind if the used one has one or two marks...
 
S3 with cellular (stainless steel) meets all of your current needs and can be attained on Swappa for about $200. I personally would buy one of those to use until the S6 is released, then re-assess at that point. Stainless also comes with sapphire screen so used examples will be less likely to have scratches.
 
I’m in the same boat. I’d really like the AOD, but I have a series 4 SS. I’ve looked at some of the used series 5 SS models, and I’ve come close to pulling the trigger. I’m mostly just concerned that the series 6 will bring native sleep tracking and better battery life. Honestly, those are the only two things that matter to me. Pulse oxygen monitoring has shown little use to most people in other products, just like ECG. ECG is cool, but I never use it. Sure. I’m glad it’s there, in case I have an irregular heart beat show up. It’s not very likely though.

All in all, I think that battery life is the only thing that I’d be really frustrated with missing out on. To make really big gains, I’m thinking micro-LED is the only potential solution. I’m not sure that’s ready for this year. Otherwise, they can only optimize the processor more, but I’m thinking that might maybe had less than one more day to it (at most).
 
PaladinGuy said:
I’m in the same boat. I’d really like the AOD, but I have a series 4 SS. I’ve looked at some of the used series 5 SS models, and I’ve come close to pulling the trigger. I’m mostly just concerned that the series 6 will bring native sleep tracking and better battery life. Honestly, those are the only two things that matter to me. Pulse oxygen monitoring has shown little use to most people in other products, just like ECG. ECG is cool, but I never use it. Sure. I’m glad it’s there, in case I have an irregular heart beat show up. It’s not very likely though.

All in all, I think that battery life is the only thing that I’d be really frustrated with missing out on. To make really big gains, I’m thinking micro-LED is the only potential solution. I’m not sure that’s ready for this year. Otherwise, they can only optimize the processor more, but I’m thinking that might maybe had less than one more day to it (at most).
Click to expand...

Micro ED will allow for a wider color gamut, increased brightness over OLED, but more importantly, it requires less power draw, which will conserve battery Life. So instead of Apple continually making the battery larger on an annual basis With each iteration, they need to find technology that is more efficient, which is micro LED. But I agree, I don’t suspect 2020 will be the year, probably more or less 2021 leading into 2022.
 
I wonder if the rumors about the static buttons will come to fruition this year, which might allow for a slightly larger battery.

I agree with what someone else said. I think they’ll keep processing power about the same as the series 5, in order to keep battery draw down.
 
I don't think we'll see a multi-day AW anytime soon as Apple cramp new features into the next watch series. With all the new things included, I bet they'll be happy to quote the similar battery life as current S4/S5. Unless they have some real breakthrough in the new SOC.
 
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Does anyone think they might increase the number of apps that can use the AOD with the series 6? If so, do you think it would just be a software tweak? It would be awesome to be able to use the AOD with third party exercise apps.
 
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