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Thinking of Returning Apple Watch 6

Falcon703549

Falcon703549

macrumors member
Original poster
Aug 15, 2011
43
10
Had this since release day, I was on series 4 and I am struggling with the justification for keeping it.

At the time I could not get the loop to go with it, so took an alternative which has not been opened and is still sealed.

Interested in opinions regarding upgrade from 4 to 6, anyone else questioning the value?

I did think about getting a 5 but the prices seem silly amazon are advertising a GPS 44mm for £429 when Apple charged me £409.

John Lewis are selling at £379 - so for £30 extra get a 6 - crazy prices.

Opinions please, help me decide.
 
I have a 4 and I thought I would upgrade to the 6. However, I am not sure if it is worth it given mine is still in great shape. I think I would like the always on display, but I am not sure I need it. I also don't need to monitor my blood oxygen. I am curious to hear what others say.
 
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I really really really like the always-on display. Use it all the time, every day. Removes the main thing that bugged me about the S4.
Others think the AOD is meh, or actually dislike it and disable it. So it is entirely a personal preference.

All the other added features are IMO fluff, or for people with niche uses. The ECG, SpO2, compass, etc: most play with it a few times when new, then forget it.

I'm sure there are exceptions for certain people with specific needs, but the AOD is the main distinguishing feature between S4 and S5/S6
 
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Falcon703549 said:
Had this since release day, I was on series 4 and I am struggling with the justification for keeping it.

Interested in opinions regarding upgrade from 4 to 6, anyone else questioning the value?
Click to expand...

Only you can decide what's the proper decision for you.

Me? Always On Display was a game changer in my indirect usage of the watch. Especially for the extremely common task of checking the time whilst doing other things. Particularly handy when my spouse and I are sitting close together and I wish to check the time without disturbance.
 
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IMO if you have a Series 5, you don't need to upgrade (I sold my watch before announcement at a great price, otherwise I wouldn't of upgraded). If you have a Series 4 you upgrade if you like the AOD. Series 6 is really a Series 5S as they've refined the battery optimization in my opinion to not burn through the battery with AOD like Series 5 did. So with that said, if AOD isn't a NEED or DESIRE, you probably can get by with the Series 4, unless you also want the doubled storage capacity that Series 5 and 6 have (32gb). The rest IMO is just fluff.
 
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AOD was a major selling point for me and my use case. The health features were not as important.

A Series 5 achieves what I want and will wait for another must have feature before upgrading.
 
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Falcon703549 said:
Now that's an idea I had not considered.
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I went to a Series 5 from a 6. don't miss anything other then the faster charging to be honest.

Definitely recommend apple's refurbs if you can get one of those. Space Black is officially discontinued outside of Hermes so that would be a worthy buy

Always on display for me is a must, can't see going back to a Series 4
 
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techno-Zen said:
I went to a Series 5 from a 6. don't miss anything other then the faster charging to be honest.

Definitely recommend apple's refurbs if you can get one of those. Space Black is officially discontinued outside of Hermes so that would be a worthy buy

Always on display for me is a must, can't see going back to a Series 4
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No space black available and all Cellular which I don't need would not use.
 
Falcon703549 said:
No space black available and all Cellular which I don't need would not use.
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Sim. sit here Falcon, also on a S4, received the 6 last Fri., doubtful it's staying & like the S5 refurb angle but again like you space gray/black & just GPS is all I need hmmm ............
 
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I mentioned it before, but if somebody can wait until Black Friday, (especially being that Black Friday is all digital this year), you can probably locate a S5 Heavily discounted. I personally would wait it out if I was in the market for an S5, and retailers are also elongating Black Friday this year where it’s not just a few days, it’s more like 3/4 weeks worth of sale prices.
 
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rdavis41 said:
IMO if you have a Series 5, you don't need to upgrade (I sold my watch before announcement at a great price, otherwise I wouldn't of upgraded). If you have a Series 4 you upgrade if you like the AOD. Series 6 is really a Series 5S as they've refined the battery optimization in my opinion to not burn through the battery with AOD like Series 5 did. So with that said, if AOD isn't a NEED or DESIRE, you probably can get by with the Series 4, unless you also want the doubled storage capacity that Series 5 and 6 have (32gb). The rest IMO is just fluff.
Click to expand...

totally agree. i moved from S4 to S6 for the AOD, I really wanted it last year with the S5 but told myself to wait, but I didn't want to wait any longer. S7 is likely to have more significant changes much like the S4 did, i anticipate some changes to the case / body / screen although i'm certain the bands will still work and it will still remain a square form factor (although maybe less bezel etc.) apple seems to update the body on their iPhones and Watches every 3 years for the last 6+ years now.

Year 1: New body/screen design
Year 2: A few nice new features that didn't make it into Year 1.
Year 3: A few more but very small new features combined with low cost color and material changes to make an old design "feel" newer but not really cost Apple that much.

then start over...
 
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hirsthirst said:
Don't overthink it - sell the 4, keep & enjoy the 6. Life is too short * to worry about £50 difference here & there, everyone obsessing about maximising / justifying their options ...

* unless you need the money, in which case keep the 4 & start saving for a 7 instead
Click to expand...

Agreed. I’ve been to enough funerals to learn not to be so focused on Tomorrow that I fail to enjoy Today.

Still need to make smart financial decisions, of course, but do enjoy Today.
 
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I have series 4 SSG and series 6 Nike. I am a band collector, and I like them with different bands. For me, the only feature that actually makes a difference is AOD. Do I like it very much? Yes. Do I think it is worth spending a few hundred to upgrade your series 4? No, not really.
 
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I was going to sell my S4 alu and get an S6 alu- friend was going to bring an s6 over from Hong Kong for me which would've been £340 I think. I may still do that, but I managed to get a perfect condition space black titanium S5 for £450 on ebay and sold my S4 alu for £200. I'm thinking I may just stick with the S5 as the case is much nicer and I don't think any of the features of the S6 are worth it over an S5.

Case material aside, the S5 AOD feels like a nice little upgrade from the S4 and right now I have no desire to get an S6 (and that's from someone who has had a gen 2,3,4 watch, every iphone iteration since 3g, and the majority of macbook 13" air/pro iterations since the black macbook in 2006!)
 
In the end only you can decide what works for you. From a $ standpoint I personally decided the watch was my one purchase that probably is not a “need” that I will make because I love tech and fitness. What justifies the upgrade yearly to me is depreciation and resale especially when I compare AW to Fitbit. I’ve yet to have to pay full price for an Apple Watch because I usually get 60-75% of retail price which puts my yearly upgrade cost at what it would be at to buy a Fitbit every year give or take. But not everyone is into doing that.
 
I always do the 2-year refresh, so next year when 7 hits unless it can predict the future, I'll be bypassing and get the 8 when it comes out. So if you had the 4, trade it in, enjoy your 6 and enjoy the multiple face updates we will get over the next year ;)
 
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I was going to upgrade my S4 for the O2 monitor, but it apparently doesn’t work like I thou it would (while exercising) so probably will wait for S7 or S8.
 
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Devyn89 said:
I’ve got a series 4 and I’m not upgrading. The red watch tempted me but what I have now works fine. I don’t need the blood oxygen And the always on display will be nice when I upgrade in the future.
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I had an S5 and upgraded to get the Red. It is striking and I love it ! Gave my 5 to my daughter and I am Rocking the Red!!! Worth it to me!
 
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