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Sold my series 0 years ago - Is it time to buy again?

B

bulldoze

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 15, 2011
229
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I had a first series Apple Watch and although it was ok for some things I found the HR functionality pretty terrible and it had no on board GPS so it was poor for running. It was also slow and did not fit my lifestyle at the time as I worked in places where I had to take it off.

Now we are at the series 5 and I have just bought an iPhone 11 I am thinking that now might be the time to get back on board?

I work in a place where the discreet messaging would be a boon. I am also drawn to the GPS functionality and the fact that as its the 5th generation it will surely be much, much faster? My only concern is the HR accuracy - has this improved in the last 4 years?
 
I guess you are good to goo too. Between serie 0 and series 5 it's not the biggest gap but it's enough to change. In my opinion, the best feature for this generation is the always on display. Thanks to this feature, you wrist looks like regular as everybody who wears a watch.
 
bulldoze said:
I had a first series Apple Watch and although it was ok for some things I found the HR functionality pretty terrible and it had no on board GPS so it was poor for running. It was also slow and did not fit my lifestyle at the time as I worked in places where I had to take it off.

Now we are at the series 5 and I have just bought an iPhone 11 I am thinking that now might be the time to get back on board?

I work in a place where the discreet messaging would be a boon. I am also drawn to the GPS functionality and the fact that as its the 5th generation it will surely be much, much faster? My only concern is the HR accuracy - has this improved in the last 4 years?
Click to expand...
I upgraded from a S0 to a 5. Massive, massive upgrade.
 
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You know it's time for an upgrade when Apple officially discontinues its support for the product you have. Unless you're one of those collectors I recommend you to upgrade from the S0 to S5.
 
Realistically, you have to make this decision for yourself. You can read a lot of posts on here, all of which are very positive about the improvements with the Apple Watch over the years. But purchase the Apple Watch, you have 14 days to find out if it’s for you or not, which I think is more than ample time to see all the differences over the course of almost 5 years.
 
I waited. I wasn’t impressed with series 0, 1, 2. I got the 3 used and I liked it. I took the plunge with a titanium series 5 and love it. Faster processor makes the watch more useful.

Reminds me of the iPad. I got the original iPad in 2010 and sold out. i now have the iPad Pro and iOS 12 & 13 is a game changer. iPad 0 was just a big iPhone imho. Bigger phones made it obsolete for me.
 
I've had a series 2 and a series 4, had friends with series 0.

IMHO the S4 onwards is where the watch has finally become pleasant to use. The previous versions were definitely compromised in terms of performance. They worked... but slowly. The s4 seems "fast enough". Given apple put the same processor in the S5, that probably indicates that Apple think so too, for now.

Then again, my GF has an S3 and its a lot faster than my S2 was. Either way, S4 on definitely... S3 - maybe fast enough.

edit:
S0 to S5 not being a big gap? The performance improvement (responsiveness) difference between S2 and S4 is MASSIVE (I still use my s2 while my S4 is charging and its a massive step back). Never mind S0...
 
I pre-ordered the Series 0 Apple Watch the day it became available.
I used it over the course of two or three months back in the Summer and Fall of 2015. I found that it could do certain things pretty well, receiving notifications, answering messages, taking one or the other phone call, I used it for activity and workouts and closed my daily rings - but after the novelty of it had worn off, it suddenly became a daily chore to wear it. I took it off, put it back in the box and put it in the drawer, where it still rests today.

I kept following the Apple Watch during the keynotes, but never felt a certain urge to buy one - until five weeks ago, when the Series 5 with the always-on display was announced. First I pondered to hold out until next year, but then my wife wanted one to better stay connected (for example not missing out on phone calls from kindergarten, where our daughter started to go this year, just in case). So I thought what the heck and ordered one, too.

Now I've been using my shiny new natural Titanium 44mm Apple Watch with cellular connectivity (in conjunction with a new iPhone 11 Pro) for almost two weeks and I have not regretted one second since spending the money.
The difference to the Series 0 is like day and night, the display is gorgeous, it is lightning fast, watchOS has been greatly improved, everything is working as expected, they have great watch faces and the whole experience of wearing and using it has been totally improved across the board in the last four years. I have a mixed use case of primarily fitness, activity and workout tracking, receiving notifications, sending and answering messages, occasional phone calls, emails and management of daily tasks. I also find the very accurate heart rate monitor, the ECG and the fall detection really useful.
I also like how it seamlessly switches between Bluetooth-iPhone, WiFi and cellular. The watch really feels independent.

And I am getting real great battery life out of it, too.

So from my point of view, as a former Series 0 owner and rejector, I would say yes - if it fits your use case and you can churn out the necessary money: go for it. I think there has never been a better time for Series 0 upgraders.
 
There are a few big things that make me thing that the watch will be right for you now. First, it sounds like your personal circumstances have changed in a big way since the series 0. You are right to call out the discreet messaging. With the addition of quick replies and scribble, responding to text messages is much better than it was under watchOS 1.0.

The speed and responsiveness of the watch has increased considerably. Watch apps are actually usable now, even if developers aren’t always on the ball (I’m looking at you Spotify).

As for heart rate, Consumer Reports performed an in-depth review of the Apple Watch compared to other wrist-worn heart monitors a couple years ago. They found the Apple Watch was the mostly accurate, with only chest straps being better. And that was BEFORE the improvements introduced in series 4.

Based on everything you said, it seems to me like now is the time to give the Apple Watch another try and I think you’ll be quite pleased.
 
I’ve had a series 0, 3, 4 and now a 5. The series 5 is the best one yet. Very fast & responsive, beautiful display, great for running outside without a phone, HR sensor is just as accurate as my chest straps that I use on my treadmill and Peloton bike, and 32GB of space for apps & music. Battery life will get you through a day... even with the AOD turned on, I get from wake to bed with about 30% to spare.

Cellular use for a couple hours will notably shorten that, but apple’s pretty up front about that.

While I’m just getting in to running, it’s great going out with just the watch and a pair of Powerbeats Pro, but still being connected to phone and iMessage.
 
Series 3, minimum. Series 1 and Series 2 are starting to show their age with watchOS 6.

But, yes. Worth buying again. There have been significant hardware and software improvements since then.
 
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We had series 0 and had upgraded to series 3, huge difference, especially in battery life. watchOS 4 decimated battery life on both of our 0s. watchOS 6 seems to be slamming the new watches almost as bad. But between 0 and 5, man thats not even a question. Battery life on the 44 is fine, not as good as my series 3 on the previous watchOS but certainly good enough for one day with everything enabled with no worries. The 40 my wife originally had was really bad. We returned it just today and got the 44. She will be much happier. I do hope 6.1 when released will improve battery life but for now, on the 44s, it’s fine.
 
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