Someone else made an interesting point in another thread, now that the Apple Watch is increasingly becoming more powerful, even where the Series 3 is 70% faster over the Series 2, we don’t know that the support won’t be extended somewhat longer. I Still think it’s early to tell how much Longevity we will see in overall watchOS support, considering the first Gen watch was under powered.
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Would Series 0 Stainless Owners Go Stainless Again?
- Thread starter parseckadet
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Someone else made an interesting point in another thread, now that the Apple Watch is increasingly becoming more powerful, even where the Series 3 is 70% faster over the Series 2, we don’t know that the support won’t be extended somewhat longer. I Still think it’s early to tell how much Longevity we will see in overall watchOS support, considering the first Gen watch was under powered.
I have a series 0 and probably would not get a stainless steel one again. I would more than likely get the black aluminum one. I bought the stainless steel with bright blue band when it came out.
I purchased an aluminium S2 on the day they were released, my first Apple Watch. At the time I wasn't sure how much, if at all, I would like it, so I didn't want to spend too much money trying it out. I have worn it every day since I got it and it has become one of my favourite Apple products. I will hand it down to my son when I upgrade.
Now that I know how much I enjoy the watch and that I wear it daily, I am fairly certain my next one will be a SS model.
I realise this is kind of the reverse of the original poster's question, but just adding another data point.
Now that I know how much I enjoy the watch and that I wear it daily, I am fairly certain my next one will be a SS model.
I realise this is kind of the reverse of the original poster's question, but just adding another data point.
I had an aluminium sport watch first time round and went with stainless steel when I upgraded to Series 3. I’m enjoying the change but not at all sure which way I’ll jump next time. I like both and find both pretty resilient to the hard knocks of daily life. I now have a few straps that I think may look too dark for the silver aluminium (the black woven nylon and a blue leather loop) but on the other hand I liked the Milanese loop with the aluminium but I’m not keen on it with the stainless steel body (I guess it’s a bit too matchy matchy).
I purchased the SS S0. Then I upgraded to the S2 (kept my s0 as backup/night watch). Basically my wife said “You upgrade your phone every two years. If you are going to upgrade the watch on a similar pace, maybe you should test the aluminum?”
The aluminum is lighter - but not really too light. The screen IS more delicate. I cracked it doing yard work and didn’t even realize when exactly it happened. AppleCare took care of that and I had my S0 for a few days. The S0 has been smacked against the bard door more times than I care to admit, and not a mark.
There is a clear durability difference. And a difference in how you carry yourself. You find yourself a little more cautious walking around door jams with the aluminum. But if you are going to upgrade regularly, and want to save money in doing so, give the aluminum a try.
My 2 cents
The aluminum is lighter - but not really too light. The screen IS more delicate. I cracked it doing yard work and didn’t even realize when exactly it happened. AppleCare took care of that and I had my S0 for a few days. The S0 has been smacked against the bard door more times than I care to admit, and not a mark.
There is a clear durability difference. And a difference in how you carry yourself. You find yourself a little more cautious walking around door jams with the aluminum. But if you are going to upgrade regularly, and want to save money in doing so, give the aluminum a try.
My 2 cents
Volkswagen makes Porsches.
Volkswagen makes Volkswagens.
Apple makes SS watches.
Apple makes aluminum watches.
There’s a price difference for a reason.
So WWDC happened since I created this post, which does have some influence on my thinking. Before I was on the fence about upgrading at all. I'm a big podcast listener though, so that addition in watchOS 5 sealed the deal on upgrading for me. I will, without a doubt, get far more use out of the series 4 with LTE, waterproofing, and podcasts than I do my series 0. I'm taking a cruise in January, so I would be very pleased if they somehow improve the waterproofing to 100m, but I'm not holding my breath on that one. Not sure I would trust a 50m waterproof watch doing something like SNUBA, even if I do only go down to 30-40ft.
My current thinking has me going back to why I bought the SS in the first place, and that is the thought that I don't want to worry about having to baby the watch. If I'm going to wear a watch I want to wear it every waking moment, no matter what I'm doing. The watch loses a lot of utility for me if I have to take it off when I'm doing more nitty-gritty things, like yard work or doing an oil change on my car. It's the same reason I've mostly stuck to the sport band, I don't want to have to worry about staining my leather or nylon bands when I do the dishes and whatnot.
I will say that my series 0 has served me well. It has been on my wrist at work, conferences, business trips, doing yard work, working on my cars, while cutting up trees with chain saws, packing and unpacking for a cross-country move, keeping track of complex medication and care routines for 3 senior dogs (who have all sadly passed away), commuting 70+ miles to and from work each day, the list goes on and on. Through all of this it is hard to boil down all of the benefits the watch has given me down into a tangible list, but it has done more for me in these last three years than any watch I've owned before ever has.
So in that sense perhaps it isn't so hard to justify spending the extra money for the stainless. It also helps that I'm getting a bit of a bonus from work that I wasn't counting on that will easily cover the additional cost. So right now the plan is to buy the space black series 4 come September. Of course, we'll see how what actually is released may change that.
My current thinking has me going back to why I bought the SS in the first place, and that is the thought that I don't want to worry about having to baby the watch. If I'm going to wear a watch I want to wear it every waking moment, no matter what I'm doing. The watch loses a lot of utility for me if I have to take it off when I'm doing more nitty-gritty things, like yard work or doing an oil change on my car. It's the same reason I've mostly stuck to the sport band, I don't want to have to worry about staining my leather or nylon bands when I do the dishes and whatnot.
I will say that my series 0 has served me well. It has been on my wrist at work, conferences, business trips, doing yard work, working on my cars, while cutting up trees with chain saws, packing and unpacking for a cross-country move, keeping track of complex medication and care routines for 3 senior dogs (who have all sadly passed away), commuting 70+ miles to and from work each day, the list goes on and on. Through all of this it is hard to boil down all of the benefits the watch has given me down into a tangible list, but it has done more for me in these last three years than any watch I've owned before ever has.
So in that sense perhaps it isn't so hard to justify spending the extra money for the stainless. It also helps that I'm getting a bit of a bonus from work that I wasn't counting on that will easily cover the additional cost. So right now the plan is to buy the space black series 4 come September. Of course, we'll see how what actually is released may change that.
50m waterproofing is from what I understand only good for surface swimming and diving in pools, it can't (or is at least not guaranteed) to take the pressure of scuba diving.
You want a 100m+ rated watch for scuba diving, and I doubt we'll see that from Apple honestly, with all the holes in the case and sensitive electronics inside and so on...
It is another common scenario, I did the same as you. I also used to wear fine watches so the extra cost for the premium materials of the SS over my planned 3 yr life is marginal. I went from a series 0 aluminum to a series 3 SS.
The FTC prohibits the term waterproof to be used by a watch manufacturer in the United States. There will be no such term used to describing the Apple Watch for those considerations. Its water *resistant* rated.
https://beckertime.com/blog/why-there-are-not-any-waterproof-watches/