Titanium Natural vs Stainless Steel Silver

[hmorneau]

I had a SS S5 and I loved it. That watch is now going to a family member so I just upgraded to the SS S7 without thinking much about it. Now I feel like nothing has changed, which might not be a bad thing since I loved the SS S5. (I know there is some change, but nothing that I really notice in my day-to-day life).

Long story short, I noticed the Titanium Natural and I'm kind of doubting myself, not sure if I should get that instead. I was expecting the Titanium to be much more expensive but to my surprise, it's only $100 difference. I'm still in my return window so it's something possible.

I do a lot of sports, but the weight never really bothered me. But as I'm very active, so I always manage to bang it on something. My S5 SS had quite a bit of scratch (none on the Sapphire Crystal) but I managed to kill the battery so it got replaced with AC+ and it's all shiny again.

For those of you who had both Ti natural and SS, which one did you prefer and why?

P.S. I'm not interested in the different coating (black), I like the natural color. Also, I have never considered aluminum as a sapphire crystal for me it's a must-have.

 

[justywusty]

Do it! I’m upgrading from an S4 SS to S7 Ti. For the $100 premium, you get the light gray titanium sport band included as a bonus, plus an extra year of standard warranty.

Mine should be here in a few days.

 

[Drowssap]

I did the exact same thing, got the SS and returned it for the Ti, wanted something different.

 

[hmorneau]

I did the exact same thing, got the SS and returned it for the Ti, wanted something different.

How do you like it to far compared to the SS?

I have the milanese loop and the Nike sport loop (grey), I wonder if it would match.

 

[mavis]

I've had silver stainless steel AWs since the S0 in 2015, so I decided to try a natural Ti watch this time, just to change it up.

I really like it! The decrease in weight was noticeable but not significant, IMO (not sure if that even makes sense) but the brushed finish isn't as much of a fingerprint magnet as the SS was, and it has a nice luster. The color of the Ti is a little different than the metal of the stainless steel link bracelet, but the finishes match, so ... I don't know. I like it.

I think this picture shows the subtle color difference fairly well. Also, you can see the reflectivity of the Ti. I think it looks great!



Actually, you can see the reflectivity better in this next picture. That picture above looks almost matte 🤣

 

[1CaesaR1]

I recently did something similar. Before my current set of watches, I had the S6 Graphite SS and S5 Silver SS. I used the S6 during weekdays as a more formal watch. S5 SS was my weekend watch and really the SS silver is just so awesome (pairs with any watch) - it is like the "party" version of the AWs. I loved wearing it on weekends with a variety of bands as it would go with any and looked very nice/vibrant. The battery life on S5 was starting to go and I found an awesome deal on an S5 natural titanium. Replaced the silver SS with natural titanium. I like the natural titanium, but find it to be more "refined" and muted. Not sure how to describe it, but it is not as flexible with band pairing as the SS silver was. Natural titanium is just more elegant and looks great with darker bands (see the post above me with the black link). I do miss that vibrant look that silver SS had. So if I have only one watch, I would prefer natural titanium, but in my case where I have SS graphite, I miss my SS silver. Will probably soon replace the S6 graphite with S7 SS silver.

 

[Justin51]

I had an SS S4 and and SS S5..... For the S6 I went natural TI and I don't regret the decision one bit, however I am switching back to the SS S7. It goes with more bands and I like how timeless the SS looks.

 

[hmorneau]

I think this picture shows the subtle color difference fairly well. Also, you can see the reflectivity of the Ti. I think it looks great!

I personally don't like black leather much (except maybe for functional stuff like a car seat, and even then, I would prefer a dark brown). But I'm not a fan of leather anyway with watches, I find they smell funky (is it the case with the Apple band?). I always went with metal with my mechanical watch and now rubber with the Apple Watch.

I'm also not a fan of the mix of titanium and stainless. So I think my Milanese loop would not be great with it.

So sorry, I don't want to sound mean. But like everything in life, it's a matter of taste.

I think maybe simply the Midnight Sport Band with the titanium would look nice.

Kind of that sport/classy look.

I had an SS S4 and and SS S5..... For the S6 I went natural TI and I don't regret the decision one bit, however I am switching back to the SS S7. It goes with more bands and I like how timeless the SS looks.

Wow, you really switch every year! I personally hate shopping for those types of things. I prefer to find something I like and be set for a while. You really are making me doubt. Yeah, I love the SS, that's why I got it for my S5.

 

[hmorneau]

Thanks all, I decided to order just now the Titanium + midnight sport band (as seen above). I will compare with the SS once it arrives in a few weeks and I will decide which one I keep.

 

[Justin51]

I personally don't like black leather much (except maybe for functional stuff like a car seat, and even then, I would prefer a dark brown). But I'm not a fan of leather anyway with watches, I find they smell funky (is it the case with the Apple band?). I always went with metal with my mechanical watch and now rubber with the Apple Watch.

I'm also not a fan of the mix of titanium and stainless. So I think my Milanese loop would not be great with it.

So sorry, I don't want to sound mean. But like everything in life, it's a matter of taste.

I think maybe simply the Midnight Sport Band with the titanium would look nice.

Kind of that sport/classy look.


Wow, you really switch every year! I personally hate shopping for those types of things. I prefer to find something I like and be set for a while. You really are making me doubt. Yeah, I love the SS, that's why I got it for my S5.

I get a new watch every year but last year was the first time I switched it up...... Either way I am going to keep the Ti as I really do like it..... Congrats on ordering the the Ti, run it through it's courses and see which one you like and as stated before it's a personal presence and you can't go wrong with either.

 

[mavis]

Yup, that's exactly the combination I bought. Natural Ti with midnight sport band:



It definitely looks more blue than I was expecting, in certain light ...

 

[hmorneau]

Yup, that's exactly the combination I bought. Natural Ti with midnight sport band:

It definitely looks more blue than I was expecting, in certain light ...

Ho, it's blue?

Edit: Just saw there is a midnight blue and midnight. I think the midnight that I got is dark gray.

 

[mavis]

Ho, it's blue?

Edit: Just saw there is a midnight blue and midnight. I think the midnight that I got is dark gray.

That's exactly what I got: Midnight Sports Band. That's what it says on the box. And yes, in brighter lighting, it's definitely blue (as you can see in those pictures).

 

[MacDevil7334]

Yep it has been pretty well documented that Midnight is actually a really dark blue rather than black. Only really noticeable in bright light, but definitely there.

 

[hmorneau]

Yep it has been pretty well documented that Midnight is actually a really dark blue rather than black. Only really noticeable in bright light, but definitely there.

How to confuse people. So they have no more dark gray or really black?

 

[mavis]

That's right. Nor do they have white, any more. Which is why I held on to my S1 white for years, even though I got newer white bands with newer watches - Apple seems to have developed a real aversion to color-neutral watch bands. The white bands started moving from white to off-white a few years ago, and now they've completely abandoned it with this year's Starlight. I haven't noticed it with black (my S0 black sport band still looks fine, so I've never needed to replace it) but I seem to recall that even black was somehow watered down and became lighter, several years ago.

Edit: duh. I'm sure they've done this so they can sell more bands. If your "black" band has a hint of blue, but another black band has a hint of red or green or whatever, you're probably more likely to purchase additional bands to match your style/outfit than if you just had a plain, black band that actually went well with everything. Diabolical. ?

 

[jz0309]

yea, color choices have been changing quite a bit, I hang on to all my bands except those where I am 100% sure I will never wear them ... below is my Ti that I got last week with desert sand/black Nike sports band. I had gotten that band like 1.5 or so years ago and didn't open it til today

 

[MacDevil7334]

View attachment 1924109

How to confuse people. So they have no more dark gray or really black?

Yeah Apple’s hero render images are notoriously inaccurate. Always wait for real world pictures if you are unsure about a color.

Truth is that Apple hasn’t had a true “black” sport band since the original shade of black that was sold in the S0-S3 era. When the S4 came out, the Black sport band became more of a really dark grey and stayed that way through the S6. Now we have Midnight, which is a really dark blue instead of a really dark grey. I wouldn’t worry about it too much. You’d have to put midnight next to one of the older black versions to really notice. It’s going to read as black in most lighting.

 

[hmorneau]

You're a band of connoisseurs!

Thanks for all the info. Really appreciated. So I will wait for it to arrive before judging. Just make me realize that I'm very classic in my choices. Hopefully, after that, I'm set for the next 5 years or more.

 

[justywusty]

I had an SS S4 and and SS S5..... For the S6 I went natural TI and I don't regret the decision one bit, however I am switching back to the SS S7. It goes with more bands and I like how timeless the SS looks.

Which bands do you find Ti doesn’t really go well with?

Also, any that you find Ti goes better with than SS?

 

[Sheepish-Lord]

You're a band of connoisseurs!

Thanks for all the info. Really appreciated. So I will wait for it to arrive before judging. Just make me realize that I'm very classic in my choices. Hopefully, after that, I'm set for the next 5 years or more.

Your battery will not hold a proper charge around that 5yr mark most likely so don't count on that. Apple Watch is definitely one of the most disposable products sadly.

 

[Night Spring]

Your battery will not hold a proper charge around that 5yr mark most likely so don't count on that. Apple Watch is definitely one of the most disposable products sadly.

My mom and my partner are still using their S0 watches, lol. My partner doesn't use his enough for the battery life to matter, and my mom hasn't complained, though she stays home most of the time so I suppose she can recharge whenever the battery runs out.

You are right, though, that for most people, the battery life becomes a problem by the five year mark. But that is true not just for the Apple Watch, but also for other Apple mobile products, like the iPhone and iPad. I also suspect it's a problem with AirPods and other wireless earphones. So I doubt the watch is more "disposable" than any other gadget.

 

[hmorneau]

Your battery will not hold a proper charge around that 5yr mark most likely so don't count on that. Apple Watch is definitely one of the most disposable products sadly.

Ho really? Silly me, I got my battery replaced in my S5 3 months ago free of charge with AC+ (which I still have monthly on it), I guess I should have just bin it.

 

[PaladinGuy]

I still sometimes doubt my decision to stick with the Silver SS this year. I get the itch for natural Ti every couple weeks, and I start to think I should have gone with my initial instinct. I've just always had Silver SS. The picture I have seen of the Natural Ti with silver lugs/band connectors don't look great. I think that the seamless pairing of any band is one of the biggest strengths of the Silver SS.

I actually tried on a Natural Ti for the first time a couple weeks ago, and it really is gorgeous. The weight is noticeably different, but it's not huge. I noticed that it doesn't say "Edition" on the back, which I thought it would.

I don't think you can really go wrong with Silver SS or Natural Ti. Both are beautiful finishes and have the most important feature - sapphire.

 

[hmorneau]

The picture I have seen of the Natural Ti with silver lugs/band connectors don't look great. I think that the seamless pairing of any band is one of the biggest strengths of the Silver SS.

Same, but I have realized over the last two years that I basically only use the rubber band since it's what I use for sport every day. And I'm too lazy to switch bands all the time, so my metal band is basically going unused. But it's nice to have the option...