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Would you buy a Series 2 at this point? (2021)

I

ian87w

macrumors G3
Original poster
Feb 22, 2020
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Indonesia
Would you buy a Series 2 at this point?
I got a friend who look forward to upgrade to the upcoming Series 7, replacing his Series 2 aluminum. I was offered the Series 2 for really cheap. Minor chipping of the paint on the body, screen still good. What do you guys think?

I'm not that crazy over smarwatches, but at the same time I'm curious. However, Apple Watches prices are hugely inflated in my country (as you guys probably already know from me complaining about it). So buying even a brand new Series 3 imo is not worth it, let alone the SE or Series 6. This Series 2 might be a nice way for me to try that so-called "eco-system" without spending a lot of money :D

Downside, of course, Series 2 is already dropped from software support. It's not even supported with WatchOS 7. I'm not sure how significant between WatchOS6 and WatchOS7, but I don't think the Series 2 is well equipped to run many apps anyway. So I would probably mainly use the built-in features like notifications and health tracking.

Anyway, interested in your thoughts.
 
Apple_Robert said:
No way would I buy a series 2. It is too old, in my opinion.
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Not even for ~$50? I may be able to negotiate further down since I have time until Series 7 is released. :)

For reference, 42mm Series 3 brand new is priced at ~$300 in my country. 44mm Series 6 aluminum is ~$580... 🤣
 
To dip a toe in the water, I‘d risk 30-40$ I guess.
I bought (and meanwhile sold) an S2 SS earlier this year and easily recovered what I have paid. It worked fine with iOS 14 and although it was rather slow in comparison to my S6, it was definitely OK and it did what it was supposed to do
 
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ian87w said:
Not even for ~$50? I may be able to negotiate further down since I have time until Series 7 is released. :)

For reference, 42mm Series 3 brand new is priced at ~$300 in my country. 44mm Series 6 aluminum is ~$580... 🤣
Click to expand...

Well, for 50 $ I guess it’s ok. Keep in mind that it’s pretty slow, has almost no usable storage and lacks a lot of the cool useful features of the new ones. You could buy it if you really want it and meanwhile save some money for the future SE or the 1st gen SE at discount when the new one launches.
 
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firewire9000 said:
Well, for 50 $ I guess it’s ok. Keep in mind that it’s pretty slow, has almost no usable storage and lacks a lot of the cool useful features of the new ones. You could buy it if you really want it and meanwhile save some money for the future SE or the 1st gen SE at discount when the new one launches.
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Yeah I read a lot about how slow it is by today's standard. But then again I plan to just use the built-in apps and see what it feels to wear an Apple Watch.

Will see closer to the Series 7 release. :)
 
depends on what you want to do. If your expectations are not very high and you'd just use it to count your steps, tracking your ride and for notifications, go ahead! only risk is - you might like it a lot and be tempted to save for a 6/7 :)
 
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Mistborn15 said:
depends on what you want to do. If your expectations are not very high and you'd just use it to count your steps, tracking your ride and for notifications, go ahead! only risk is - you might like it a lot and be tempted to save for a 6/7 :)
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Well, that's the idea :D
I don't want to spend so much money on a new Apple Watch just to try it out.
 
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I wear Apple Watches 24/7. One is an AW2 and the other an AW5. I can't see any reason not to buy an AW2. Its battery life is far better than than that of the AW5 and it does everything I want it to do. Go for it. It doesn't though have all the health monitors that the later Apple Watches have.
 
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KennyJr said:
I wear Apple Watches 24/7. One is an AW2 and the other an AW5. I can't see any reason not to buy an AW2. Its battery life is far better than than that of the AW5 and it does everything I want it to do. Go for it. It doesn't though have all the health monitors that the later Apple Watches have.
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Thanks for sharing. Not too worried with the other sensors as many of the health features such as sudden fall and EKG are not enabled in my country.
 
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I agree with apple Robert. Not for 50 that’s too much. 10 bucks then yah why not. You’ll like the watch so imho no need to test it.
 
Mistborn15 said:

^ video of S2 in 2021.

Also, you won't get a better watch than this for $40-50. So if he reduces the price, it is good but I'd advice against unrealistic $10-20. Let him get his series 7 too :)
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Seems like the issue is just performance, but the basics like notifications etc seems fine according to the youtuber.

Thanks for the tip. :)
 
If it updates like the S3 to 7.5 forget it, did my wife’s today what a royal pita. Some planned obsolescence happening there lol.
 
My daughter is still using my old SS S2 Apple Watch. The watch is fine for most basic tasks if you are not expecting things to happen instantly. I would offer him $20-25 as $50 is too much. You can find S3 if you lucky for under $100 used and new one pop on sale for $120 or less from time to time. Yes, S3 are more pain in the butt to update due to limited memory and the fact that they support latest OS, but they are much more responsive and faster. S2 are limited to watchOS 6.x so most likely you won't be dealing with updates in the future.
 
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Considering that a new Apple Watch S6 costs upwards of $550 in Indonesia (compared to $400 in the US) I would say that $50 for an S2 is a decent price and a great and most importantly affordable way to dip your toes in the water.
 
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Don’t think of it like which watch is good or even good enough. Think of it like a test drive. I’m spending 50 to see what a smart watch is like.

Then if you like the concept start bellyaching over what features it doesn’t have. And remind yourself that many people bought and liked the 2 when it was knew.

Also remind yourself that US prices don’t show taxes or much warranty. That Americans often go without to get low prices. And that we would trade even that for a better social support system other citizens enjoy.
 
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mono1980 said:
The battery in that thing is probably garbage and you'd have to spend at least $50 just to replace it.
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Not as bad as you might think. The Series 2 tops out at watchos 6. 6 seems to be a lighter OS that gives better battery life. All those stories of Series 4 or 3 watches which could go 2 or 3 days on a charge came when they were running 6.
 
ian87w said:
Would you buy a Series 2 at this point?
I got a friend who look forward to upgrade to the upcoming Series 7, replacing his Series 2 aluminum. I was offered the Series 2 for really cheap. Minor chipping of the paint on the body, screen still good. What do you guys think?

I'm not that crazy over smarwatches, but at the same time I'm curious. However, Apple Watches prices are hugely inflated in my country (as you guys probably already know from me complaining about it). So buying even a brand new Series 3 imo is not worth it, let alone the SE or Series 6. This Series 2 might be a nice way for me to try that so-called "eco-system" without spending a lot of money :D

Downside, of course, Series 2 is already dropped from software support. It's not even supported with WatchOS 7. I'm not sure how significant between WatchOS6 and WatchOS7, but I don't think the Series 2 is well equipped to run many apps anyway. So I would probably mainly use the built-in features like notifications and health tracking.

Anyway, interested in your thoughts.
Click to expand...
Bit late to the party but short answer, no. Not even sure I would go with a Series 3 right now due to storage capacity - each time WatchOS updates you end up resetting the watch. Probably go with Series 4 onwards.
 
I am a light Watch user and bought Series 2 ceramic watch a month or two ago. It is not fast with notifications delivery and data sync (to/from iPhone), but with modest load (notifications, workouts, alarms) it is still perfectly fine. Using it alongside Series 4 and Series 6 watches - find it perfectly fine so far :)
 
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it's not like a phone or an iPad it's a watch, if it still can tell the time who really cares and also if it's on your wrist who's gonna know it's a s2 or anything else as the watches all look identical. I'd be happy wearing that as a beater for work , doing the garden , going down the dump etc.. and save for something a little better down the line.

You can pay $50 for some china made clone tat from Aliexpress that sets fire to your wrist in a week or a couple of year old apple product, I know what I'd choose.
 
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