I predict it’s not about forcing. But they kind of had to have it ready st launch. My gut tells me we will get google music. And Spotify. And etc. just not sure when.
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To 3 or not to 3 - that is my question...
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The LTE model also includes a ceramic back and (more than*) twice the storage when compared to WiFi only S3. Even if LTE is not needed right away or deemed too expensive at this point in time, the comparably moderate additional cost for the mentioned improvements are well worth it imo.
Perhaps you may want to use LTE at a later point in time, when your plan changes or the monthly fees become lower. Or you simply may want to have a better resale value later on. Or perhaps there are other differences that are not yet known (e.g. Bigger battery or faster CPU for the LTE version).
I'd rather buy the LTE model and keep LTE inactivated if not needed, instead of going for WiFi only.
[*Formally it's 16GB vs 8GB, but after all system files are loaded, iirc there is some 5ish GB available on the 8GB version and some 13ish GB available on the 16GB version. Official limit for music storage on the watch is 2GB on the 8GB ⌚️ and 8GB on the 16GB ⌚️]
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i'm coming from a series 0 launch model into the LTE series 3. may coworker and some friends have the series 2.
my watch moves 3x as fast as a 2 and 10x as fast as my 0
everything is just smooth. definitely worth it.
and no one has brought up the speaker and mic being crisp, so there, i just did
my watch moves 3x as fast as a 2 and 10x as fast as my 0
everything is just smooth. definitely worth it.
and no one has brought up the speaker and mic being crisp, so there, i just did
You can tell a difference on the speaker and mic from the S0? The S0 speaker was just too weak to be of much use.
As a person that works out everyday, indoors some and outdoors others -- I see many reasons to upgrade. The altimeter and extra heart rate and VO2 max features are pretty dang cool. A lot of other health watches started releasing these features over the last couple years, and I'm glad Apple is going this direction as well. Now I wish they would support an external chest strap for HR monitoring as that's more accurate during a run or working out.
That's interesting. I've really been going on and on about the watch features (they are really elfing good c'mon) that is all i can use my current series 0 for. I've never had a watch that could actually run the apps...
The first generation Apple Watch speaker I thought was good enough and actually loud enough to hear the notifications or phone calls, but it also depended on the environment someone was is in as well.
absolutely.
I went outside and made a call at work on the watch just to test it, was standing on a main road with cars passing by at 50+. everything was audible. when I walked away it was perfect. if I would have been inside I may have had to lower the volume
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my watch speaker on my series 0 were useless outside
Never had that issue, even with my volume maxed. Again, your environment may vary.
I live and work off the same major road on long island, which sees similar traffic conditions.....
the series 3 works amazing, the 0 I could only here if I was inside a confined space
What about going from series 0 to series 2? Would that be a noticeable difference? I feel like there might be a redesign coming soon so I am unsure if I should get the series 3 or not. I would not be getting the LTE version. I have found some pretty good deals for the series 2 but if it wont be a serious upgrade in speed, then I will have to get the 3. Thanks in advance
If you're coming from the first generation Apple Watch to the Series 2, there is a difference in speed and you have the GPS functionality. It Also has the increased water resistance of 50 m.
But I agree, the redesign is likely coming. I don't know if that will be 2018 or not, but that's likely slated for the next major improvement for the Apple Watch.
But if you really want the notable speed difference, the reports are fairly positive with Series 3. But even the Series 2 is faster over the first generation Apple Watch, and has a lot of the same core functionality and if you look, you will start to find more slashed prices on the Series 2.
According to ifixit the series 2 also has the barometer chip i believe same as the series 3. According to them it was not set up to do as much.
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/201...own-finds-a-bigger-battery-and-few-surprises/
Battery life should be better on the series 2 than the lte version as the battery sizes are about the same. Difference being the s2 doesn't have to contend with lte eating up the battery.
I bought the s3 but returned it. Could not get past the red dot.
I held both in my hand and could not tell a difference in performance between the two on os4 for the apps i have on the watch.
LTE is only active when iPhone is not in range. S3 chip should have better energy efficiency and offers better performance, so can go back to energy-conserving sleep mode earlier. I expect S3 watch to be on par with S2 watch, perhaps even offering better battery life.
Both Siri and wireless data transfer are notably faster. UI in general feels smoother.
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What are the benefits of the ceramic back? I don’t personally put much value in the additional storage. The thing will be obsolete before I need more, I suspect.
I have the same struggle. Owning a black SS 0 with link bracelet - at the time a $1,100 purchase, now approximately a $200 value. The black steel/link bracelet looks great and has held up well. Hence, no buyer's remorse despite the steep depreciation in value.
For me there are three criteria in upgrading:
1) Performance S3 vs S0: I think this is a no brainer from the above discussion.
2) LTE or only GPS: I don't need LTE. It is a "nice to have", but the LTE watch comes with some other perks (ore storage, ceramic back)
3) Space Grey Aluminum vs SS ($400 vs $700 incl AC): both I can wear with the link bracelet. I am just not sure how aluminum with ionic glass will hold up vs SS (there are mixed comments).
I could also hold off until 2018. But if the form factor changes old bands may turn out useless. Of course, I could always buy S3 when the S4 arrives to overcome that issue.
Have not decided yet.
For me there are three criteria in upgrading:
1) Performance S3 vs S0: I think this is a no brainer from the above discussion.
2) LTE or only GPS: I don't need LTE. It is a "nice to have", but the LTE watch comes with some other perks (ore storage, ceramic back)
3) Space Grey Aluminum vs SS ($400 vs $700 incl AC): both I can wear with the link bracelet. I am just not sure how aluminum with ionic glass will hold up vs SS (there are mixed comments).
I could also hold off until 2018. But if the form factor changes old bands may turn out useless. Of course, I could always buy S3 when the S4 arrives to overcome that issue.
Have not decided yet.
I can offer this perspective. I am aware of my wrist and am pretty good at not knocking it or scraping it up against things, however, I have put my Series 0 aluminum watch through a LOT and the glass face looks great. I have run approximately 2,000 miles with the watch, made over 500 skydives while wearing it, and have worn it out on countless outings in the field. Just glancing at it, you cannot see any scratches. If you were to carefully inspect the glass and it was angled just right, you can see two barely noticeable scuffs on the glass...but only in the right light.
Bottom line: the glass holds up pretty darn well. And in 2-4 years, the Watch will be hardly worth anything, so do a couple of minor scuffs matter?
Just food for thought...
Just get the SS space black. The DLC coating is so well done and the sapphire display is worth it. After wearing my SS Black with link bracelet and comparing to my wife’s aluminum, I just couldn’t go to the aluminum. Would regret after a few months. The $300 difference is a lot, but not compared to the $1100 we paid for the space black with link bracelet in 2015.
For me it's a personal thing: Had poor experience with composite back. Pieces breaking out from the letters, saltwater or sweat leaving "damage dots". Others report obfuscation (over time) of the sensors (though it's unclear whether that has any impact on the sensor functionality). Also, ceramic is less probable to cause allergic reactions on the skin. And it simply feels better and more solid to me - perhaps because of the added weight?
As for the storage: With the standard 8GB watch you have some 5ish GB free for apps, pics and music. And you can save up to 2GB of music onto the watch.
With the 16GB of the LTE version it's 13ish GB free and an 8GB limit to stored music.
The former is probably (easily) sufficient until next year, if you don't need much music. But if you think of keeping it longer or want a better resale value next year, the LTE watch is probably more "future-proof" so to say (I know that "future-proofness" is much argued about, but I'm not aware of a better word right now).
The Space black stainless steel watch with a diamond like carbon coating is everything everybody says it is. I own both the regular stainless model and black stainless, it's not even close in comparison to how durable the black stainless is against scratches. I could turn around and sell my black stainless watch, and list it as new, that's how perfect it is with the sapphire display and also due to the DLC coating.
I went to the Apple Store today and fitted the S3 Space Grey Aluminum LTE on my SP SS link bracelet that came with the SS S0 to see how it looks. It's hard to tell the difference (matte vs shiny). Will the the alum casing/glass hold up as well as my current SS - maybe not, but I am generally pretty careful with my gadgets.
Net net the price difference between the Space Grey and Black SS LTEs is about $240 (after taxes and AC+). That difference buys me 2 years of LTE service or AirPods.
Hence, I decided to go that route and ordered the Space Grey LTE S3.
I expect to use this S3 2-4 years (we'll see). In the event I am disappointed with the alum casing/ion glass I will revert to SS the next go around.
Case closed.
Net net the price difference between the Space Grey and Black SS LTEs is about $240 (after taxes and AC+). That difference buys me 2 years of LTE service or AirPods.
Hence, I decided to go that route and ordered the Space Grey LTE S3.
I expect to use this S3 2-4 years (we'll see). In the event I am disappointed with the alum casing/ion glass I will revert to SS the next go around.
Case closed.
In the article they said the series 3 may have trouble with battery life. I had the series 3 for a few days and my series 2 lasted around a half a day longer. Another one of the reasons i returned the watch. It kept looking for a signal and would take forever to connect to one. This drained my battery pretty quickly. So i just turned LTE off.
For the apps i use on my watch the series 3 did not seem any faster than my series 2. At all. Now i am not saying that it isnt the case as the series 3 is certainly faster. It’s just depending what apps you have running will determine how much of a difference you will see between the two.
The wireless chip isnt faster, just more energy efficient. It uses %50 less power than the series 2 wireless chip. But that is to off set the power consumption from LTE. The series 3 has a 107Whr battery compared to the series 2 103Whr. A whopping %4 increase.
Compared to the series 0’s 78Whr battery which the series 2 had a %32 increase over that model.
http://appleinsider.com/articles/17...ireless-speeds-while-maintaining-battery-life
Thats about it. Same screen, same size battery about, form factor, battery life, water resistance etc. THE series 2 even has a barometer chip that was not mentioned by apple. The same one as the series 3. I may be mistaken but i believe they both use the bosch BMP280. Why they did this i have no idea. The series 3 has more memory at 16gb which i do like for future proofing but that was not enough to overcome its problems in my opinion. I don’t use my watch for music at all. So no big deal.
in the end the LTE problems combined with the absurd red dot killed it for me. I have no use for LTE on my watch and the series 3 does not come in stainless steel without it.
https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Apple Watch Series 3 Teardown/97521
https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Apple Watch Series 2 Teardown/67385#s136502
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Besides the problem that a new watch still is sorting the files and battery is not yet fully "burned in", I can not confirm that experience.
For me, e.g. Siri is a central app I'm using all of the time. And it shows the improvements pretty clearly.
According to 9to5Mac it's "up to 85% faster". I seem to remember that this number was also claimed by Apple itself during the keynote and I also read it on a few reviews. In any case, loading data (e.g. weather etc.) feels notably snappier than on S2.
Don't forget the 70% faster CPU. Apple may not have claimed direct efficiency improvements, but with the CPU working much faster, it can go back to power-friendly idle mode earlier. So even if power efficiency is "only" as good as on the S2, the battery will drain faster on an S2 for identical tasks, as the CPU has to work longer.
Does the battery drain faster on S3 when being on LTE? Surely, big time. But unlike the S2, with an S3 you have the choice:
- Take your iPhone with you and you have a better (or at least not worse) battery than with S2 because of the improvements and LTE not sipping on power.
- Or be connected with the S3 standalone. Costs a lot of battery, but is impossible with an S2 in the first place.
The speaker is audibly improved. And Siri talking is a bigger deal than it may seem. Changes the interaction significantly and for the better. General user interaction with the UI feels way more fluid now. Choice of LTE is very welcome.
So I beg to differ: At first glance, S3 seems to be pretty much an S2 with LTE slapped in, but in fact it's not. Far from it!