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SS vs AL
- Thread starter philpalmiero
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In what sense? The screen is less likely to scratch but slightly more prone to shattering.
The casing is easily scratched as it is stainless steel.
Overall I have found the durability of the stainless steel watches to be very good.
Sapphire glass has a harder surface finish to resist scratching but is more brittle under impacts.
I’ve never bothered considering the stainless steel version as you pay £200-300 more for a watch that effectively looks similar to the silver Aluminium Apple Watch. You get a bit more shine, that’s it.
I’ve never bothered considering the stainless steel version as you pay £200-300 more for a watch that effectively looks similar to the silver Aluminium Apple Watch. You get a bit more shine, that’s it.
The Space Black Stainless Steel has a DLC coating that is very resilient to scratches in my experience (I have a SB SS S4). In terms of the sapphire, my SS Series 0 and SS Series 4 never had a scratch even after multiple glancing impacts.
The casing on the black SS is stronger; it stays like new. Whereas the silver SS can scratch.
The scary thing is there is a £350 difference between the SS Black and the standard Aluminium version. Having a pristine drawer filler at the end of 3 years to me is not a major concern and I have to look very closely to see the scratches on my current AW that nobody else can see when you are wearing it. Everybody has different levels of OCD for the things they buy though.
I have no issue spending £749 on a watch and have spent much more than that in the past but I’d want an AW to last a decade if I’d paid that much.
I have no issue spending £749 on a watch and have spent much more than that in the past but I’d want an AW to last a decade if I’d paid that much.
Bro they look so different. Come on surely you can see it’s a huge difference.
I can see the finish difference as the black is shiny, it’s the same case appearance though. Does it look more expensive? Not to me to be honest. It looks like an Apple Watch and ironically aluminium is more expensive than stainless steel as a raw material price right now. Considering the short shelf life of these products I personally don’t see a massive advantage it paying double for a watch than ultimately gets retired to a drawer after 3 or 4 years.
We are the opposite then. The finish stands out a mile and the stainless looks nicer, way nicer.
I agree the ss looks nicer but so far my past and current have been aluminum just for the sake of saving money and upgrading more often due to lower cost.
I agree that the SS looks a lot classier. The SBSS in indestructible and the SS scratches can be polished out. Scotches can not be repaired on the aluminium silver and the paint is known to chip on the space grey. As for the screen, the SS screen is virtually bullet proof where as the screen on the aluminium scratches far too easily.
Watches are a very personal thing I think. If I want to wear a really nice watch to go with a smart outfit then I won’t be selecting an AW anyway from the watches I own. It’s more a tool for me as an extension of my phone. Functionality is all the same despite the finish and whenever I’ve had people interested in my AW, the finish has never been the topic. All personal preference though.
The screen is fine for daily wear and tear as mine is 3 years old now and has a few very light scratches on it. If you’re giving the watch a battering then this is when the sapphire glass comes into its own.
Definitely not. The Ion-X Glass (Which essentially is the same composite material as the iPhone glass) is durable, but doesn’t even hold the standard to the sapphire display on the stainless watches.
So my own experience was this:
I owned the aluminum Apple Watch when it launched in April 2015, and within the first two weeks, I noticed hairline scratches on the display, barely noticeable, but they were there under certain lighting conditions. I wasn’t really happy with that, so I sold the watch and purchased the stainless Apple Watch. After six months of use with the regular stainless Apple Watch, zero scratches on the display after coming in contact with many different objects.
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There are countless threads on this Apple Watch forum with others experiences where the stainless watch has exceeded their expectations and durability, now, that’s not to say that the Apple Watch sapphire display can’t scratch, because it can, but there’s no comparison to the Ion-X Glass versus Sapphire.
From my experience of 3 years with the aluminium watch I wouldn’t doubt scratch resistance is better with sapphire glass as I know this from having sapphire on my high end watches. The glass on the Aluminium however is durable enough for moderate everyday use. If you are working in harsh environments in a physical job where the watch is going to get bashed then sapphire is the way to go. If you are like me and have predominantly an office job with a smaller amount of hands on projects then aluminium is more than capable of handling everyday use.
For reference here is my now 3 year old Series 2. A few very light scratches but it’s there to be used right?
For reference here is my now 3 year old Series 2. A few very light scratches but it’s there to be used right?