I bought the SS version of the AW3 while my wife got the aluminum. We've never had Apple watches before so we wanted to try them both.
I've been wearing the SS AW3 for about 5 days now and tried on my wife's aluminum for the first time.
Wow, it is like wearing nothing but air. The SS version is extremely heavy compared the the aluminum.
Then I started to research the differences between the two. I read that the screen brightnesss is different so, I live in FL so we have plenty of sun, I took them both outside and there is definitely a noticeable difference. The ion-x glass is brighter.
So I was wondering what is the main drivers for people buying the SS version?
- Sapphire glass is stronger? I put a screen protector on the ion-x which is invisible. Watch manufacturers use sapphire glass because the watches are suppose to last 5, 10 years. The AW3 will be obsolete in 1-2 years. The ion-x glass is also more shatter resistant than sapphire.
- Weight - The SS version is almost twice as heavy - it's night and day when trying them on - crazy.
- Cost - The SS is $240 more
Am I missing something big? The SS is shiny while aluminum is matte? I'd prefer matte, the gloss looks girly in my opinion but everyone is different. I thought there were bigger differences that justified the price increase, I should have done more research.
However, I am still within my 2 week return window.