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Stainless Steel Apple Watch Vs Aluminium Apple Watch Sport [MERGED]

Personal opinion here and YMMV, but in my needs/use/experience, the Apple Watch is an atrocious fitness watch. Do not even consider it for anything related to fitness.

It's great to passively track heart rate over long periods of time to see trends and the like, but it's useless for fitness.

Buy a Suunto Ambit or something for fitness use especially if you do any running or cycling at all.

The Watch is great for many things, but it's absolutely useless as a fitness device if you have require any level of feature/function/accuracy, IMO. It's largely novelty at this point in terms of fitness use, even if the battery life was credible within that subset of features (which it is not).

Gaprofitt said:
Hey All,

Couple of questions..

I'm looking at the SS vs Aluminum with the sport band, $399 vs $599, is the upgrade worth it? The better glass and stainless vs Aluminum, also what about 38 vs 42mm?

One question I had is the pedometer in the watch, when you're not near the phone obviously steps taken will be more. Does it sync the phone's pedometer against the watch or how does that work?

I was looking at buying a top tier fitness watch, which is $249, am I dumb to do that when I can have an apple watch with fitness and a more capable watch, especially with future software updates.

Greg
Click to expand...
 
The $249 will get you a Fitbit Surge, I own one. It is far superior to the Apple Watch for fitness purposes. I even prefer FitBit's software.

But the watch does so much more.

If not talking about the Fitbit, please do not read this :oops:
 
I had a fitbit flex, lasted 18 months, and I had to ask for a plug replacement as in 6 months. Build quality was a complete disaster. I lost 24 kg. The web was quite good, and the process was working for me. But they decided not to support HealthKit. So, for all these reasons, I decided not to support them.

After the Fitbit stopped working I regained 15 kg ... In 6 months ... Waiting for the apple watch. I also had too much stress on me during those months ... Which always results in me gaining weight.

I am liking the apple watch plus myfitnesspal combo much more. I lost 5 kg in two months. I am back on track, and myfitnesspal food database is much better. The web is not so pretty as fitbit, but finally more efficient.

So, for basic fitness functions apple watch is much more than enough. And once podcasts apps gain independence from iphone, I think it will be perfect for my needs. Either music or podcasts to train without any need for cables, iPods or phone. I need this watchOS 2 update . (Now with the iPhone it is ok ... But it might be much better).
 
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Gaprofitt said:
Hey All,

Couple of questions..

I'm looking at the SS vs Aluminum with the sport band, $399 vs $599, is the upgrade worth it? The better glass and stainless vs Aluminum, also what about 38 vs 42mm?

One question I had is the pedometer in the watch, when you're not near the phone obviously steps taken will be more. Does it sync the phone's pedometer against the watch or how does that work?

I was looking at buying a top tier fitness watch, which is $249, am I dumb to do that when I can have an apple watch with fitness and a more capable watch, especially with future software updates.

Greg
Click to expand...
My Sport with $50 Amazon black stainless band. Very high quality band.
image.jpg
 
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Look up "Hoco watch bands" on eBay or Amazon... They come in silver, black, gold or rose gold and they are Top-Quality.
You can even look up "Hoco" on these forums and see what others are saying about them... Heres a few pics of mine.

IMG_0334.jpg
IMG_0335.jpg
IMG_0336.jpg
IMG_0337.jpg
 
Just got it. Removed a link. Fits well, nice enough for $50. We'll see how it holds up. Comes with all the tools you'll need but no instructions. YouTube fixed that.
 
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Which one did you go for? Which one do you prefer?

Trying to decide which to get. I know steel is more money but do you think it's worth the extra cash?
 
Personally, I believe that the Sport Space Gray is the best looking Apple Watch (next to the Rose Gold Edition).

I look at it like Space Gray Aluminum > Stainless Steel > Stainless Steel Space Black > Silver Aluminum

(I think the silver alu. is the ugliest, ironically).

Looking at all the watches: Rose Gold = SG Sport > Yellow Gold > Stainless Steel > SS Space Black > Silver Sport
 
I have owned Alum Sport, SG Sport, and now the SS. Hands down the feel and look of the SS is the best IMO. Going from the Sport to the SS you can immediately feel a substantial difference in quality and weight. I love my SS and would never go back to Sport. And I did love both other Sport versions when I had them, but like I said once I got the SS the choice was a no brainer for me.
 
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I had the sport and now have the SS. I definitely prefer the SS. It is aesthetically more appealing, has more heft, and the sapphire crystal is more robust (note that I have not dropped my watch, though I have accidentally brushed it against things). The steel body does scratch easily, but those scratches are just as easily removed.

As for whether it's worth it, that's a call you will have to make in consultation with your wallet :)
 
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Had both models..the SS was far more appealing to me. The body does scratch up, however thats typical for normal daily wear and tear.
 
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Personally, I will never spend $500+ on any watch without sapphire watch face.
I have no problem with my watch body all scratch or beatup, which most of my metal watch are like that, but I could not stand one single scratch on the watch face, which is where I obtain info from my watch, not form the body of watch.
 
It is just a balance of weight, style, and cost.
  • Weight:Sport feels considerably lighter, which was a priority for me. I much preferred it to the SS. (Some prefer the greater weight of the SS as an indication of quality and strength.)
  • Style A: SS looks better to most folks in general.
  • Style B: If you like the look of the black, then the black sport is the only option without spending stupid money.
  • Screen: I see no material value in the sapphire. I have had watches with both, and after decades of use no difference in appearance. It is a theoretical difference, not practical.
  • Cost: SS comes with a $200 premium for the metal, glass, and a colored dot on the digital crown.
 
So I've had the SGS since launch and just caved yesterday and went and bought the SS. I love the SS so much more. The quality and durability of the SS is going to be much better in the long run.
 
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I started off with the silver sports. Mainly because I wanted it on launch day and I couldn't get the one I wanted SS with soft pink modern buckle during the initial pre -order as the site kept crashing. I don't mind the sports at all. At the end of the day it does the same thing as the other models. My problem with the sports started when I kept on buying expensive bands. I bought both the Milanese loop and classic buckle. Both looked fine with the sports but obviously would look better with the SS. Still I was adamant that I wouldn't upgrade. Then I finally managed to get hold of the soft pink modern buckle and it just did not look right with the sports watch.

So I bit the bullet and bought a SS. It makes sense. I've spent £530 on watch bands so far so it didn't make sense to keep hold of the sports when my bands cost far more than the watch!

I'm happy with my SS watch. Aesthetically it looks a lot better than my old sports watch and matches my bands better. Also it has the added benefit of the Saphire crystal display.
 
I opted for space gray model, for a number of reasons, first I was worried about scratches on the SS. I've seen plenty of posts in this forum and how there is a general expectation that you will be buffing those scuffs out. Likewise reviews of the SS model basically say the same thing. While many people will have absolutely no marks on their AW, I didn't want to take a chance.

Secondly, as a runner and someone who works out all the time, I felt the lighter weight better, and when trying on the both watches, the sport felt better.

While I liked the idea of the sapphire protecting the watch, and it is virtually scratch proof, its more prone to shattering, and its not as viewable outside then the ion glass.

Finally I didn't want to to spend 200 dollars more for the SS model given those points above, and apart from the delta, I really didn't want to spend 709 dollars for a watch (42mm plus apple care, plus tax).
 
maflynn said:
I opted for space gray model, for a number of reasons, first I was worried about scratches on the SS. I've seen plenty of posts in this forum and how there is a general expectation that you will be buffing those scuffs out. Likewise reviews of the SS model basically say the same thing. While many people will have absolutely no marks on their AW, I didn't want to take a chance.
Click to expand...

Having had both Sport versions, they were nice, but if you get damage/scratches/scuffs to the casing there's nothing you can do about it ie I can polish my SS casing back to new. The micro scratches etc on the SS body are very hard to see, you really have to look for them so isn't an issue for me.
 
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Mojopin said:
Having had both Sport versions, they were nice, but if you get damage/scratches/scuffs to the casing there's nothing you can do about it ie I can polish my SS casing back to new. The micro scratches etc on the SS body are very hard to see, you really have to look for them so isn't an issue for me.
Click to expand...
I understand that you'll not be able to buff out the ALU, like you can the SS, but by the same token, I don't think it shows those scuff less then the SS. Personally speaking I'd rather not try to buff out scratches, that's just me.

I also think the weight and ion glass are reasons why the sport is better for my needs, i.e., using it for running.
 
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