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Series 4 Edition

  • Ceramic

    Votes: 31 62.0%
  • 18K Gold

    Votes: 5 10.0%
  • A new option?

    Votes: 14 28.0%

  • Total voters
    50

douglasf13

macrumors 68000
Jul 2, 2010
1,782
1,083
I'm not sure if it would be an Edition model or not, but I'd love to see a brushed stainless case (rather than polished.)
 

44267547

Cancelled
Jul 12, 2016
37,642
42,495
I'm not sure if it would be an Edition model or not, but I'd love to see a brushed stainless case (rather than polished.)

Many times I have posted I would like to see a brushed stainless over the regular 316L stainless, it would hide scratches better, and kind of give it a more neutral/weathered look. A brushed space gray stainless would be an instant purchase for me.
 
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determined09

macrumors 65816
Jun 9, 2009
1,454
312
I'm not sure if it would be an Edition model or not, but I'd love to see a brushed stainless case (rather than polished.)
I'm sounds like either the Edition model or the GPS models will be discontinued for series 4. :(
 
Last edited:

TJ82

macrumors 65816
Mar 8, 2012
1,263
926
I don't think anybody is expecting them to drop the GPS-only version... We're talking about the Series 1 non-GPS version that's still a part of the lineup

Would Apple have to register the code for an already released Series 1? Doesn't make sense to me.
 

eVolcre

macrumors 68000
Jan 7, 2003
1,979
587
My expectation is that they're going to eliminate the Ceramic models from the line up, presumably because they didn't sell very well. If so, this will be incredibly disappointing as I was looking forward to a ceramic S4!

I don't think they'll drop GPS-only. They're trying to onboard more people into the watch ecosystem, and the way to do that isn't to eliminate the cheapest model, nor does it seem very Apple-like to offer Cellular connectivity "for free", a la iPad.

My wild and unsubstantiated theory is that either this year or 2019 they’ll introduce a round Apple Watch. Premium ceramic or Hermes bundles only. And continue to order the square ones at lower price points. One Watch for more data driven smart watch type needs. Another premium priced for style.

At some point they will reach peak tech on a Watch and upgrade cycles will get longer. So what’s next? Smart bands. New shapes. Exclusive bundles etc.
 
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anthonymoody

macrumors 68040
Aug 8, 2002
3,120
1,211
I'd get a ceramic S4 if, but only if, they address the 'body bezel' issue. Once I saw it, I couldn't unsee it, and I couldn't accept it on my wrist.

If you don't know what I mean, look at the way the screen glass meets (or more accurately...doesn't meet) the ceramic body edge. There's a small step in between, whereas on the SS and aluminum models, the screen and body feel and look like a continuous curve.
 

Lennyvalentin

macrumors 65816
Apr 25, 2011
1,431
794
There's a small step in between, whereas on the SS and aluminum models, the screen and body feel and look like a continuous curve.
The step you speak of is there on the aluminium watch. It's there on iphones also by the way, and I'm pretty dang sure it's there on the stainless steel watch as well, because it uses the same sapphire crystal display as the edition watch.

The reason it is there is - I think; speculation alert lol - because with a curved display glass the very outermost edge would become very very thin, so any sort of impact right there could easily cause the entire display to crack or shatter. Therefore, Apple grinds off the edge during manufacturing. Personally I don't really notice it unless I go looking for it (with my nails; my fingertips are rather too soft and blunt to feel such minute details very well.)

So you should probably be glad Apple is doing this; it's for your own good. :)
 
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anthonymoody

macrumors 68040
Aug 8, 2002
3,120
1,211
The step you speak of is there on the aluminium watch. It's there on iphones also by the way, and I'm pretty dang sure it's there on the stainless steel watch as well, because it uses the same sapphire crystal display as the edition watch.

The reason it is there is - I think; speculation alert lol - because with a curved display glass the very outermost edge would become very very thin, so any sort of impact right there could easily cause the entire display to crack or shatter. Therefore, Apple grinds off the edge during manufacturing. Personally I don't really notice it unless I go looking for it (with my nails; my fingertips are rather too soft and blunt to feel such minute details very well.)

So you should probably be glad Apple is doing this; it's for your own good. :)

Nope. It's not there on the SS and it's not there on the aluminum. I know because I have both. (There's a much smaller step on the iPhone X).

Just rub your finger across the line between the screen and the body. It's entirely different on the ceramic.
 

Lennyvalentin

macrumors 65816
Apr 25, 2011
1,431
794
Nope. It's not there on the SS and it's not there on the aluminum.
It's definitely there on my OG aluminium watch, and you can see the step on series 3 alu watches in Apple's images on their site. My iphone 7 has a very noticeable step (actually it feels like two steps, like the glass itself is tiered.)

Curiously - and I hadn't noticed this before - the images on Apple's site of stainless models don't show a step (I only checked the hermes watch closely, but all of them should be identical in this regard methinks.)

Anyway, if the edition has the step, surely that's a really insignificant detail to get hung up on. It's hard to spot with the eyes unless you hold the watch up close to your face, and it's hard to feel with your finger. And like I mentioned, it has the chance of improving impact resistance, so while not perhaps win-win maybe but I would say single-win, for the potentially improved survivability. I personally wouldn't see this as a dealbreaker; the price would be for me, as upwards of $1.5k for a disposable piece of electronics is a lotta dough for regular people, even if it looks fricken wicked honestly. I paid $3k for a Macbook Pro this summer, and that's like, an entire Macbook Pro! :) An apple watch is tiny in comparison.
 

anthonymoody

macrumors 68040
Aug 8, 2002
3,120
1,211
It's definitely there on my OG aluminium watch, and you can see the step on series 3 alu watches in Apple's images on their site. My iphone 7 has a very noticeable step (actually it feels like two steps, like the glass itself is tiered.)

Curiously - and I hadn't noticed this before - the images on Apple's site of stainless models don't show a step (I only checked the hermes watch closely, but all of them should be identical in this regard methinks.)

Anyway, if the edition has the step, surely that's a really insignificant detail to get hung up on. It's hard to spot with the eyes unless you hold the watch up close to your face, and it's hard to feel with your finger. And like I mentioned, it has the chance of improving impact resistance, so while not perhaps win-win maybe but I would say single-win, for the potentially improved survivability. I personally wouldn't see this as a dealbreaker; the price would be for me, as upwards of $1.5k for a disposable piece of electronics is a lotta dough for regular people, even if it looks fricken wicked honestly. I paid $3k for a Macbook Pro this summer, and that's like, an entire Macbook Pro! :) An apple watch is tiny in comparison.

That's the thing - in ceramic, the white contrasts so starkly to the black glass, that it's *easily* noticed, and cannot be unseen. It was a total deal breaker for me. I was at the store to purchase one.
 

Lennyvalentin

macrumors 65816
Apr 25, 2011
1,431
794
It was a total deal breaker for me. I was at the store to purchase one.
Well, despite my fairly crappy eyes these days I actually can see the step on my alu watch, at least if light falls straight on the flat edge. If angled, it gets difficult. Still, not a big deal overall to me. I feel you too might well reconsider.

Or well, maybe wait another week for series 4 to be presented first... Then perhaps make a new decision. :D
 

44267547

Cancelled
Jul 12, 2016
37,642
42,495
My wild and unsubstantiated theory is that either this year or 2019 they’ll introduce a round Apple Watch. Premium ceramic or Hermes bundles only. And continue to order the square ones at lower price points. One Watch for more data driven smart watch type needs. Another premium priced for style.

At some point they will reach peak tech on a Watch and upgrade cycles will get longer. So what’s next? Smart bands. New shapes. Exclusive bundles etc.

I’m not confident about the round Apple Watch implementation with Apple. I don’t see a round Apple Being not in the immediate future, especially depending where Apple leads with this new design being here shortly. I’m not Trying to be a cynic, but Apple has a very strange and mysterious way of not conforming to other competitor hardware standards. But for the time being, I do find the rectangular design more contemporary and the stainless pairs nice with my link bracelets.
 

jbizzybeetle

macrumors 6502a
Mar 9, 2015
501
195
Definitely favoring the ceramic if available in S4. Recent S3 comparison between alum & ceramic suggested ceramic made quicker connection (switch from WIFI) with cellular outdoors.

For me a good thing. Others prefer free WIFI in their yards.

It may be just a fluke with unit quality or build-date difference, but ceramic was consistent even if seemed somewhat marginalized by ios update from 4.3.1 to 4.3.2.
 

macduke

macrumors G5
Jun 27, 2007
13,485
20,591
Gold plated Apple Watches have been sold by third parties in the same range as the ceramic price. Given the gold plated leak, I wonder if they will replace the Ceramic with a gold plated variant that actually uses real gold?
 

KarimLeVallois

macrumors 68030
Feb 22, 2014
2,614
1,776
London
Gold plated Apple Watches have been sold by third parties in the same range as the ceramic price. Given the gold plated leak, I wonder if they will replace the Ceramic with a gold plated variant that actually uses real gold?

Wouldn't that just be going backwards as in the Series 0 editions?
 

Lennyvalentin

macrumors 65816
Apr 25, 2011
1,431
794
Recent S3 comparison between alum & ceramic suggested ceramic made quicker connection (switch from WIFI) with cellular outdoors.
That's interesting! I asked in the edition owners' thread about this (seeing as the ceramic case should be more transparent to RF transmissions compared to metal), but nobody offered to check it out for me.

Do you remember where you read this?
 
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KarimLeVallois

macrumors 68030
Feb 22, 2014
2,614
1,776
London
That was made from solid gold. It didn't sell because it was ridiculously expensive.

Gold plating shouldn't be that much more expensive than the DLC coating on the Space Black stainless steel watch.

I just meant the look, but it also wears really easily, so not sure how durable it'll be?
 

determined09

macrumors 65816
Jun 9, 2009
1,454
312
That was made from solid gold. It didn't sell because it was ridiculously expensive.

Gold plating shouldn't be that much more expensive than the DLC coating on the Space Black stainless steel watch.

Someone is selling gold plated Apple watches for $2,000
 

macduke

macrumors G5
Jun 27, 2007
13,485
20,591
That was made from solid gold. It didn't sell because it was ridiculously expensive.

Gold plating shouldn't be that much more expensive than the DLC coating on the Space Black stainless steel watch.
Right. However I think that it would cost more than that because don't they charge the same for either color now? Also if you can get away with that pricing then go for it—I'm sure plenty of people would pay $1200-1500 for a gold plated Apple Watch. Many have paid third parties this much or even more.

I just meant the look, but it also wears really easily, so not sure how durable it'll be?

The one shown in the leak was rose gold glossy, which is not a color that they've done. It's more of a true rose gold than the anodized, matte pink that they do on the aluminum.
 
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