Titanium Apple Watch Series 6 Models Currently Widely Unavailable

[alexhardaker]

I’ve got a SS AW S6 & I can’t see any scratches on my screen. I like the weight & it doesn’t bother me while working out. These alone make the extra price worth it. I opted for SS after my S3 aluminium AW got scratches quite easily & eventually cracked.

I know it’s a lot of money to spend on something that’ll eventually not run as quick as it did on day one or last as long, but I could pay for a new battery, so that I can keep using it. I want to use this for a minimum of 4 years, I think. I’d probably still be using my S3 AW if it didn’t have a crack on it.

 

[yojason]

I’m going to need that white ceramic to come back for series 7. while the S3 works just fine, I’d like to have the larger display with more complications.

 

[deeddawg]

The titanium that Apple uses is a poor choice of materials. They need to use a hardened titanium with an additional surface treatment like Citizen Time Corp uses on a lot of their higher end (for their brand) watches. Ti scratches too easily and is simply not an attractive metal unless prepared very specifically.

Has this been your actual experience, or just supposition?

My space black titanium S6 is in mint condition despite all sorts of DIY projects and vehicle maintenance as well as normal clumsiness that always resulted in my aluminum case Apple watches being visibly damaged within a couple months.

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

I had S2 until recently as I gave it to my sister. So now I'm ready for the new ones. It was good experiment to see whether or not I will miss it and frankly, I don't miss it much but for fitness and notifications I do so decided to get them again.

Gurman is right, its stupid to waste money on this type of product. Its not Rolex or any other classical watch that is pretty much timeless. This tech is outdated very quickly and unusable within 10 years. Rolex etc. lasts generations.
People who spend on Gold, Ceramic, etc. just want to show off that they have money and its a vanity thing. Nothing else. (also stupidity )

I have an AW4. It works. I had a 10s Max iPhone, and got a hand-me-down 11 Pro Max. My 10 was working, but the camera upgrades were intriguing. They haven't been 'the greatest of all time' like I was lead to believe.

Yeah, staying on the crest of the Apple tsunami every year is expensive, and wasteful. Apple also pats themselves on the back about being so 'pro-environment', and yet it's all a fraud. Making their computers impossible to upgrade is making more IT waste, and putting out incremental updates of their other accessories is also not very pro-environment either. However, what kind of updates could they make that would make them 'earth shaking' updates. One year, one of the 'big updates' was always on. That's a big update? That is why people tossed their older models to upgrade? (Yes, I realize that's an oversimplification, but really, that was the reason many updated)

The updates each year seem to be rather pointless. How earth shaking can a new version of a long existing 'mature' product be eventually? When they get to implantable cell phones, call me. The march would begin again...

 

[aknabi]

A real first world problem

Well in terms of the Apple eco-system I live in the "third-world", the Netherlands... we STILL don't have LTE for Apple Watch... so all we can purchase is the aluminum models... I'd love a Hermes or any Apple Watch Edition (and *really* want LTE), but all I can do is watch y'all in envy.

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

The titanium that Apple uses is a poor choice of materials. They need to use a hardened titanium with an additional surface treatment like Citizen Time Corp uses on a lot of their higher end (for their brand) watches. Ti scratches too easily and is simply not an attractive metal unless prepared very specifically.

The titanium they use is not '100% titanium'. Heck not much is. Apple uses a titanium alloy of other compounds, and it is very likely much stronger than the stainless steel bodies and yes, lighter.

 

[deeddawg]

How do you get $100? The 44mm is $429 in aluminum and $849 in titanium.

He wrote $100 over stainless steel, not aluminum.

in 44mm:
- cellular aluminum is $529 with sport band.
- stainless steel is $749 with sport band, adds sapphire display vs ion-x glass
- titanium is/was $849 with sport band, includes an extra year of warranty and a 2nd sport band

In my experience, selling a year old stainless steel would get me an extra $100 or more on Swappa vs aluminum - particularly since I'd end up with dinged up aluminum and pristine/mint stainless steel (space black), so the effective premium for SS for me was ~$100.

My black titanium Apple Watch has been stellar so far. I had only used the aluminum ones before and by the time the first 6-9 months were over they usually had some nicks and scratches as I do leave my watch on for everything and even though I am careful. The titanium watch does not have one scratch on it, nowhere, even though I have hit it against door knobs, frames and other interesting items . For those of us who like their stuff to be pristine and keep the watch for 2-3 years I think they are a valid choice (especially the black one with the coating as I hear that the silver one does scratch). I would be sad if they stop offering them, though I am not up for an update until the next generation (or the one after) anyway.
And besides, the black just looks really nice compared to the grayish color of the aluminum.

Yup. The couple of aluminum case apple watches I owned invariably got dinged within a couple months and I got to stare at that damage for the rest of the time I owned them. Even when I'd slip a TPU case on the watch before DIY projects & vehicle maintenance. Switched to space black stainless and never had a visible ding.

I did spend the extra $100 on the titanium S6 vs stainless -- in addition to the above extras the space black Ti is a nearly perfect match to the space black link bracelet. I'm not anticipating upgrading my watch this year.

 

[ijbond]

Have both aluminum & steel.
aluminum feels like a toy with worthless glass.
the steel is the bare minimum for a “watch”.

Me too have both aluminium & steel.

Both glasses are okay. But I am very disappointed about the many micro-scratches on stainless steel all over steel surface despite careful handling. On aluminium not a single scratch visible.

Apple shop told me, they are not able to repair or to polish the steel surface. Then tried it myself without success.

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

Yup. The couple of aluminum case apple watches I owned invariably got dinged within a couple months and I got to stare at that damage for the rest of the time I owned them. Even when I'd slip a TPU case on the watch before DIY projects & vehicle maintenance. Switched to space black stainless and never had a visible ding.

My earlier stainless AW had a large dent in it. It impressed the Genius when I traded it in on the 4 I have now. They even checked twice that it wasn't an aluminum model. Nope, I'm just rough on my toys. JUST MISSED the screen too...

 

[jclardy]

I hope Titanium sticks around for S7, I finally skipped an AW generation with S6 and so was planning on going with a nicer one.

 

[bruinsrme]

Don't worry guys, series 7 will be a minor update.

but there will be new bands with fancy new names and 1% change in the color depth.

 

[Freida]

Problem really isn't Apple but the whole society. You've highlighted it. The fact that people upgrade every year is the start of the flaw. I don't think we can blame Apple for doing small increments. I think we should blame those that are wasteful and buy every year. That is something we, as a society, are creating and we can only blame our behaviour for the impact we cause.

The older I get the more I realise that there is absolutely no need to upgrade every year or even every other year. These devices are awesome for many years. We just consume too much these days which, in return, is causing all these environmental issues.

I don't see that changing as most people are selfish so yeah, kinda pointless answer from me I guess

I have an AW4. It works. I had a 10s Max iPhone, and got a hand-me-down 11 Pro Max. My 10 was working, but the camera upgrades were intriguing. They haven't been 'the greatest of all time' like I was lead to believe.

Yeah, staying on the crest of the Apple tsunami every year is expensive, and wasteful. Apple also pats themselves on the back about being so 'pro-environment', and yet it's all a fraud. Making their computers impossible to upgrade is making more IT waste, and putting out incremental updates of their other accessories is also not very pro-environment either. However, what kind of updates could they make that would make them 'earth shaking' updates. One year, one of the 'big updates' was always on. That's a big update? That is why people tossed their older models to upgrade? (Yes, I realize that's an oversimplification, but really, that was the reason many updated)

The updates each year seem to be rather pointless. How earth shaking can a new version of a long existing 'mature' product be eventually? When they get to implantable cell phones, call me. The march would begin again...

 

[bruinsrme]

I consider the Apple Watch a necessity, it’s my health which is my top priority. That being said, I am still rocking a Series 4 because I do not care about an always on display, and I’m waiting for a redesigned watch.

Although having had the vid it would have been nice to have the 02 and heart rate on my wrist. However the pretty accurate $15 o2 / heart rate finger sensor from amazon was nice to have.

 

[Eric_WVGG]

I disagree with Gurman. As an owner of a titanium series 6, I bought it for 2 reasons

1) Stronger than stainless steel while weighing only 10% more than aluminium.
2) Has a premium look that doesn't show scratches as much as the stainless steel counter parts.

#1 is especially important since I do workouts and the lighter weight just makes it more comfortable.

The watch has hit quite a few things and so far not a single dent on the frame of the watch or the screen thanks to the sapphire glass compared to my previous series 5 aluminium to which the frame got dinged and the screen sustained a scratch mark.

I plan to wear this watch for 3 years or so before trading up or selling it to upgade to the next model.

My friend loves his as well. Are we sure that the titanium isn't selling unexpectedly well, and this is one of those rare instances where Apple misjudged how big a hit something might be?

If there's any truth to the rumor that this year's iPhone Pro will have titanium rather than steel, I think it's much more likely that Apple drops steel from the Watch line and the titanium model assumes its slot.

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

Problem really isn't Apple but the whole society. You've highlighted it. The fact that people upgrade every year is the start of the flaw. I don't think we can blame Apple for doing small increments. I think we should blame those that are wasteful and buy every year. That is something we, as a society, are creating and we can only blame our behaviour for the impact we cause.

The older I get the more I realise that there is absolutely no need to upgrade every year or even every other year. These devices are awesome for many years. We just consume too much these days which, in return, is causing all these environmental issues.

I don't see that changing as most people are selfish so yeah, kinda pointless answer from me I guess

It's Apple too. 'If you build it, they will come'. Not pointless...

 

[jmgregory1]

Much like I was excited to upgrade from my 2018 iPad Pro 12.9” to the M1 iPad Pro, I really hope that Apple launches the square edged Watch this year, so I can upgrade my series 5 Nike version to a titanium. My Watch has become an indispensable part of my daily life, and because of that, I want to now have it in a more robust metal / sapphire lens version, as I’m hard on my watches - and I love titanium as a wearable metal.

 

[the future]

Mine functions too, but it’s useless other than to tell the time. Apps run far too slowly, the motion tracking is way off, etc.

Later versions will probably be functional longer than the very first version. Same thing as with phones. When a product category matures, individual models at some point reach a „good enough“ point where the product will last quite a bit longer than the models that came before. I would guess Series 4 was that model for Apple Watch.

Remember when Apple used to claim that the Apple Watch Edition would essentially have the prestige of a Rolex, and would be timeless and desirable enough to be passed down as an old heirloom to your kids?

Apple have never, ever claimed something like this. Stop making things up.

A Rolex is a multi-generational mechanical watch that will run for a century or more if properly serviced.

For the cost of this regular service, you could also each time get a brand new Apple Watch.

And they don’t release a new version every year with half a dozen new complications (so to speak) or new software that won’t run on your 5 year old Rolex etc.

Almost like there is technological progress in smart watches and no such thing in mechanical watches. As you said yourself, why even bother comparing these very different things? A mechanical is pure jewellery, smart watches are pure function. But if one decides one needs/wants those functions, why wouldn‘t one choose a model that looks a little nicer than the others? Because you do wear it at a very visible place on your body.

I don't work around heavy equipment, just dinged my AW on steel handle. You can notice scratch in the top right corner. Again, SMH.

That‘s not a scratch, that‘s a crack. Sapphire crystals are a lot harder than regular glass, but also more brittle. Meaning they will scratch much less, but break (a little) easier.

I am very disappointed about the many micro-scratches on stainless steel all over steel surface despite careful handling. Apple shop told me, they are not able to repair or to polish the steel surface. Then tried it myself without success.

It‘s very easy to polish pure (silver) stainless steel. Try a Cape Cod cloth.

 

[Rafterman]

I have the titanium, space gray or black or whatever. It's nice, but compared to a stainless steel, you can't really tell the difference. Ihaven't noticed any scratches either, ut I tend to be more careful.

 

[spinedoc77]

I wonder if they keep the Ti for the AW7. I had the AW5 Ti but wasn't particularly impressed. It was greyish, not really brushed, and sort of looked like the regular non edition AW. My biggest gripe was how prone it was to scratches, well not really scratches that you could feel with your fingernail, more like blemishes which some theorized was actually the coating over the Ti. My Ti became pretty ugly fairly quickly. I did sand it with a special Ti sanding sponge which brought it back to new looking, but most likely sanded off the protective coating.

Honestly I wish they would just release a brushed stainless steel version. The current SS version is more like a faux chrome color.

 

[pshufd]

I’ve got a SS AW S6 & I can’t see any scratches on my screen. I like the weight & it doesn’t bother me while working out. These alone make the extra price worth it. I opted for SS after my S3 aluminium AW got scratches quite easily & eventually cracked.

I know it’s a lot of money to spend on something that’ll eventually not run as quick as it did on day one or last as long, but I could pay for a new battery, so that I can keep using it. I want to use this for a minimum of 4 years, I think. I’d probably still be using my S3 AW if it didn’t have a crack on it.

I was actually surprised at how expensive the stainless model is compared to aluminum. Some of the stainless models cost more than the Titanium models too.

 

[deeddawg]

I was actually surprised at how expensive the stainless model is compared to aluminum. Some of the stainless models cost more than the Titanium models too.

Yeah, the different bands on the pre-configured options really skew the perceived pricing. Match a link-bracelet to an cellular aluminum watch and you're higher than a titanium with sport loop.

If you go to the Apple Watch Studio and configure with the same bands you'll find the pricing differentials are roughly:

Aluminum GPS to Aluminum Cellular = +$100
Aluminum Cellular to Stainless = +$200 for 40mm or +$220 for 44mm
Stainless to Titanium = +$100

All Stainless & Ti are cellular, no GPS-only option.

 

[votdfak]

That‘s not a scratch, that‘s a crack. Sapphire crystals are a lot harder than regular glass, but also more brittle. Meaning they will scratch much less, but break (a little) easier.

Well, scratch or crack it sucks and it should be covered by AC+. It's not like I slammed my AW into metal.

 

[the future]

Well, scratch or crack it sucks and it should be covered by AC+.

I agree, actually. The problem may be that it is considered „cosmetic“ because the crack is in the bezel and not the visible screen area.

 

[jmgregory1]

I wonder if they keep the Ti for the AW7. I had the AW5 Ti but wasn't particularly impressed. It was greyish, not really brushed, and sort of looked like the regular non edition AW. My biggest gripe was how prone it was to scratches, well not really scratches that you could feel with your fingernail, more like blemishes which some theorized was actually the coating over the Ti. My Ti became pretty ugly fairly quickly. I did sand it with a special Ti sanding sponge which brought it back to new looking, but most likely sanded off the protective coating.

Honestly I wish they would just release a brushed stainless steel version. The current SS version is more like a faux chrome color.

I’ve wondered how the titanium Watch held up over time. I don’t really care if a bare metal watch scratches, because my old Seiko Automatic actually looks better with the ~15 years of life markings on it, although I recognize that the Seiko is made with much thicker stainless and was meant to take significant abuse. Even as a titanium version, I’ll likely only keep it for 3, maybe 4 years, assuming Apple makes significant improvements over the next couple of years.

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

I emailed TCook, Mr Apple, and haven't heard anything back. Not that I expect to. *sigh*

Now that they aren't available, I seem to want one.