What is the battery health of your 3?! I upgraded from a 4 that needed to be charged twice a day after battery dipped below 80, which made it not very useful for me.
So now I have it as a backup and it gets turned on like once a week when I need a watch but my 7 is charging! (If you go this route, make sure to charge old watch to at least 60% and then turn OFF from the settings menu til you need it next time).
You could also save some $ and buy the 8 on holiday sale? Depends how much spouse would use new chip (double-tap and on-board Siri). Not sure on color choices of 8 tho if pink is a dealbreaker.
I have a LOT of free time on my hands, and never have I ever spent even a single thought on which watch face I dislike the most. I found several that I liked and ignored the rest cause humans all have unique preferences and what works for some is ‘the absolute ugliest one’ to others. Why bring in that negativity into my brain, the reality of the world does that enough for me as is, and that I can’t control…
Do you find yourself needing to charge more often than you prefer? Are there features specific to AWU other than longer battery that you’re interested in?
I just needed to replace my S4, looked at all my options and got a (refurb) stainless steel 7 that has 90% battery health, because ultras are too big for my preference, and nothing offered in the S8 / S9 was worth the added expense. Now I still have the 4 as a backup for those rare times I need a watch while the S7 is charging, and we will see what watch SX brings next year if my 7 battery health is lagging in a year. And even then 99$ for a new battery is pretty affordable for such a pretty watch!
My first AW was a refurb S4 that arrived to me a year ago with like ~82% health, so it was a few years old when I got it, but still had day long battery. Eventually it dropped and is now 78% which means it will last all day as long as I don’t use it TOO much, but a workout or listening to music meant charging 2x a day. So I found a refurb S7 last month and it has 90%, easily lasts 1 day including a workout and music, plus I kept my 4 as backup (charge to at least 60% then turn OFF in settings menu til I need it).
The only difference between which 2 models? The Series 8 added the most recent additional sensor, which was a temp sensor and used specifically for (moon) cycle tracking. The S9 did not add any sensors this year, instead the chip was updated to allow for onboard Siri (faster response and better dictating texts) and better integration of the “double-tap” gesture, making it easier to interact with your watch without touching it.
Each year brings 1 or 2 new features, from the chip to the screen to the sensors, so it really depends which 2 models you are comparing to know if one has more sensors than another.
Agreed for native camera, never tried with a GoPro. SE1 is on sale new for $109 right now at I think Walmart. Also you can surely find a refurb/used model on woot/ebay if $100 is too much for a ‘remote bluetooth camera button’.
I am glad to read this as I saw a few others say the same, they just WEREN’T having battery issues so their posts got buried quick! I’m still on wOS 9 for my 4&7, just waiting to see how the side swipe to switch watch faces drama plays out to know if I have to get used to a new way of checking my “widgets”…
Kinda hard to say after some of the major battery issues have been fixed,some people say they prefer some of the design changes, and others who are newer to Apple Watch (apparently Ultra is a HUGE seller, bringing lots of new AW wearers, and considering the only change they made to the 2 from 1 was S9 chip with double tap, I can see the point of the article I read that sales are perhaps driven by the “luxury/status” perception of the most expensive option) don’t know much about previous OS interface/interactions, so they just learn their muscle memory when interacting with watch based on OS 10, so they are happy too! Until some major feature they got used to changes with wOS 15 😅
Sometimes theres a ‘gesture’ to toggle ANC settings, like “tap left earbud 3x “ or something, which wouldn’t require any app on phone or watch,but I don’t know if this model specifically has that capability.
Man the frustrations just keep coming with this wOS 10 upgrade! I tried apple music briefly before I had a watch, and did enjoy the HiFi/Spatial Audio features compared to Spotify, but everything else kept me coming back to Spotify.
Even if this doesn’t directly affect me, WOWZA I am glad both my S4 & S7 are still on wOS 9!
Main difference is the S9 chip (also in U2) that enables better integration of the double-tap, and on-board Siri for faster response, especially when dictating. So if you know/think you’ll use your watch “hands free” a lot, the S9 might be the move, especially if you also feel the Ultra may be too big. I’ve never been a big / flashy watch guy, so I wear the 41mm case size, but that may or may not apply to you!
If you will use double tap and/or dictate a lot of texts to Siri, I’d say the 9 is worth it for you! I will also say that due to Apple’s annual release cycle for the watch, they really focus on one or two features every year, so if a new feature doesn’t excite you, the last years model sis basically the same. This year did include a chip upgrade, which facilitates the better integrated double-tap and on-board Siri. Going back to the 6, it got a new chip, S7 got a new screen, S8 got (moon) cycle tracking, so the 7 and 8 are basically the same to me(n).
I tend to buy older refurbished electronics lately, and that allowed me to afford a gold stainless sterl S7 for less than the holiday sale pricing of an aluminum 8 right now. So if you think you might like the nicer finish/durability of stainless or titanium case over the double-tap and Siri of the 9, maybe I might suggest budgeting more for the case than the newer model?
If it’s JUST the battery life, absolutely go for the Ultra 1! The S9 chip that’s in the 9 and Ultra 2 is a big upgrade putting Siri on the chip to help with dictating texts into your watch and making the “double pinch” motion recognizable with less battery drain (that motion has been an accessibility option since I think the 4) so if either of those are important to you then save up for an U2:
Check ebay and maybe even etsy
Get a least a 4 or an SE, I would recommend a 6 for always on display, and a 7 if you can afford it. If cost is an option keep an eye on woot / ebay for refurbished that are close to new condition (usually at least 85% battery health) and have been certified functional by a tech.
Is that price for the new S9 for a stainless or titanium case? U1 has been on discount (in the US anyway) basically since the U2 was released, so if the used U1 is priced similarly to an aluminum S9 new, in terms of value for cost, the used U1 seems the way to go. Otherwise if you’re looking at a new stainless steel S9, I would think you’d be able to find a new U1 for a better price than that used one. (Disclaimer - I did no money conversion, so that could be confusing me)