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Upgrade S0 to S4 or wait for S5 ?

iTundra

iTundra

macrumors regular
Original poster
Oct 12, 2011
120
75
My S0 is starting to become an issue. Battery life has diminished and I often hit low power mode around 6p. It's slow. My aging eyes would appreciate a larger and brighter screen.

Very tempted to go for a S4 but would hate to do that and then four months later regret not waiting for S5.

However, S5 will likely be an incremental upgrade only and rumors here and elsewhere aren't making it sound like much of an upgrade. Ceramic doesn't interest me that much. Sleep monitor and MicroLED would both be welcomed but it sounds like those are down the road after S5.

More accurate heart rate and activity monitoring would be very welcomed. My wife's primary concern with her S4 is that it can't recognize casual workouts like riding her bicycle to the store and it doesn't provide accurate data for bicycle rides. I would love to have accurate power info (e.g., in place of powertap, pedals, etc.) but I'm not sure if that's really possible to calculate.

Any insights or thoughts welcomed.
 
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Hi. This has been asked recently many times. I would respectfully suggest that you look at these previous posts to gain an insight on peoples opinions.
 
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At this point, I would probably wait for the Series 5. Altogether, I don’t see the Series 5 being ‘majorly’ upgraded over the Series 4, but at least will give you the newest Apple Watch if that’s what you want. If however your First GEN watch doesn’t make it, the Series 4 is still a great watch Purchase and by no means is it outdated.

There still hasn’t been any indication we will see a Series 5 in September, but that doesn’t mean that there won’t be one either.
 
I was sure it'd been asked many times before but couldn't find much with search. Several S3 to S4/5 threads but no S0 to S4/5.
 
Well in that case, without question wait for the series 5

As Relentless says, the series 4 is a fantastic watch still. But I wouldn’t go for a series 3. Series 4 was a huge upgrade from 3.
 
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Why upgrade to the S5 when the S6 will be coming down the line? Maybe even wait for the S7?
 
iTundra said:
My S0 is starting to become an issue. Battery life has diminished and I often hit low power mode around 6p. It's slow. My aging eyes would appreciate a larger and brighter screen.

Very tempted to go for a S4 but would hate to do that and then four months later regret not waiting for S5.

However, S5 will likely be an incremental upgrade only and rumors here and elsewhere aren't making it sound like much of an upgrade. Ceramic doesn't interest me that much. Sleep monitor and MicroLED would both be welcomed but it sounds like those are down the road after S5.

More accurate heart rate and activity monitoring would be very welcomed. My wife's primary concern with her S4 is that it can't recognize casual workouts like riding her bicycle to the store and it doesn't provide accurate data for bicycle rides. I would love to have accurate power info (e.g., in place of powertap, pedals, etc.) but I'm not sure if that's really possible to calculate.

Any insights or thoughts welcomed.
Click to expand...

I went from the S0 to the S4 in December. It's difficult to overstate the dramatic increase in performance. If your S0 is having problems then 4 months might be a long wait for what might be an incremental improvement. For me the improvements exceeded my expectations. I'm using apps on the watch much more, my complications are always up to date, using apps and swiping between faces is fluid... and yes the larger display is easier on the eyes.

I never had accuracy issues with the heart rate monitor on my S0, but of course the S4 offers more heart rate monitoring metrics as well as ECG. My workouts are mostly bicycling and I've never had any issues that I'me aware of, but of course to get accurate power and cadence metrics would require sensors on the bike like the powertap pedal system. I'm more interested in just basic metrics like distance, average speed, how much I climbed, heart rate numbers... and for all that I've found using the outdoor bicycle workout does just fine. There are more specialized monitors and apps for serious training metrics, but many of those can produce metrics that can be integrated into the Health app.
 
MacFather said:
According to trusted analyst Ming Chi-Kuo there is no Series 5 later this year, only a new ceramic option of the Series 4.
Click to expand...

Which will prove to be interesting, and my belief is that the Apple Watch doesn’t need to be updated every year, because it’s matured nicely, I would say every 18 months seems more likely for watch releases. Plus, consumers generally don’t upgrade their watches on an annual basis. Should be an interesting move to see what happens, but I have a feeling we will know much more about 3/4 weeks before the keynote if we will see a Series 5 or not
 
Go for what you know and get the 4. It irks me to a degree when I hear folks say wait until the next model because by that “logic” you might as well wait until the model after that or the model after that.
 
Sometimes waiting pays off. If there is a good chance that the next version will have a feature that you really desire. Or it's closer to the new one being introduced than it is to the current one having been introduced.
 
jjohnstonjr said:
Go for what you know and get the 4. It irks me to a degree when I hear folks say wait until the next model because by that “logic” you might as well wait until the model after that or the model after that.
Click to expand...

If there is potentially a new model around the corner why wouldn’t you wait?
 
iTundra said:
Sometimes waiting pays off. If there is a good chance that the next version will have a feature that you really desire. Or it's closer to the new one being introduced than it is to the current one having been introduced.
Click to expand...

The Apple Watch is that one product that usually introduces a feature others weren’t expecting. If there is anything to look forward to this year, it actually is watchOS 6 versus any new hardware features. There’s a whole slew of changes rumored to be coming, which we will know about starting on Monday during the WWDC preview.
 
StumpyBloke said:
If there is potentially a new model around the corner why wouldn’t you wait?
Click to expand...

At some point you have to bite the bullet and just buy what is out there. Say the S5 comes out and then people say "Oh I will wait another year."

Long story less long no matter what you buy there will always be a newer model of something coming out.
 
Yes I know. But no one is saying wait another year, we are saying just wait a short time to see if there’s going to be a new one

Anyway, the OP has got enough feedback now to make an informed decision hopefully.
 
I went from a Series 3 to a Series 4 two weeks ago. The S3 was stainless and the S4 is aluminum and was used as I fully intend to move to the S5 when it’s released, even if it’s as soon as this year.

So far, no regrets.

I’m letting my girlfriend use my S3 right now and even though it’s 42mm and she’s a small thing, she’s completely enamored with it...I’m starting to suspect I won’t get it back. :oops:
 
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I went First Gen to S4 LTE just a month ago and don’t regret it. The performance and battery improvements alone were worth it. The addition of LTE when outdoors is nice peace of mind as well.
 
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