Any Series 4 Users Upgrading To Series 6?

[The-Real-Deal82]

The only thing that stops me from buying the SS versions is the resell and trade in value. If it wasn’t so bad I would’ve opted for the SS instead of aluminum. I upgrade my Apple Watches every 2 years, but this may be the first year I stretch it to 3. So far my S4 is doing okay.

I’ve been into watches for about 30 years and used to have no problem paying £1k for a watch but that mindset changed when I started buying Apple watches due to their short shelf life. It’s gone from owning a watch that i’ll enjoy for years to a watch that is a more functional use that loses most of its resale value and is redundant after 6 years max. For that reason alone I won’t justify paying £600+ just to have an exterior case that’s made from a harder and shinier material. The aluminium Watch isn’t cheap and certainly doesn’t look cheap, but is affordable enough to write off easily after a few years use IMO.

The Hermes AW fascinates me in that it’s more than double the price of the normal stainless again and I’m not really convinced what it offers? It’s a very nice looking watch I must firstly say. The exclusive faces aren’t that special though (my opinion of course) and like the Hermes handbags and belts the company is famous for, the straps are shockingly expensive for what they are. As long as the consumer has brand satisfaction I suppose, but Hermes are like the lower luxury Michael Kors of the mechanical watch world. The Hermes AW does hold its value well though compared to the standard SS models so it has that in its favour.

 

[Harlandos]

SS S4 - SS S6 here also..

- I really like the always on display.
- My S4 was down to 88% battery, so the battery boost is excellent.
- Not so fussed with blood monitoring or the compass but they're fine. Perhaps not a massive selling point, but nice to have.
- The SS S6 for some reason feels lighter. Strange but true.

I am also curious about having a 3rd SS on my next upgrade (Series 8). When aluminium offers the same fit and feel, albeit even lighter. Perhaps it's screen robustness that I am most keen on.

I'll also add that my SS S4 took a major hit on battery life until 7.0.1 (and turning off the backgrounders app refresh). However, it evened out after 5 days or so and returned to it's usual, excellent performance.

 

[heyyitssusan]

I did. Love it. The blue is gorgeous, the AOD is a nice touch and the battery life is way better than my S4. I always upgrade my watches about every 2 years anyway, so it was time.

 

[gadgetgirl85]

I ended up taking my series 6 back. I do miss the AOW display though. To be honest, I don’t really notice a massive difference.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

I'll also add that my SS S4 took a major hit on battery life until 7.0.1 (and turning off the backgrounders app refresh). However, it evened out after 5 days or so and returned to it's usual, excellent performance.

I just read your post and saw the words ‘Background App Refresh’ and it dawned on me I’ve had poor battery life since last October when I had my S5. I just checked mine in settings as I’ve never bothered to go that deep into it and spotted this.

It’s turned on on every single app!
It’ll be interesting now to see whether my battery life improves over the next few days. I’ve noticed OS7 has sped up the animations on the watch and is instant. A few here have said the S6 is faster than the S5 in general operations but we must be talking faster than a blinking eye as the speed has improved since the update

 

[valinda]

I returned my Apple Watch series 6. I really liked the 44mm size, but my series 4 works perfectly fine, and what good would it be sitting in a drawer. Resell value is not worth selling, especially for a SSSB.

 

[Harlandos]

I just read your post and saw the words ‘Background App Refresh’ and it dawned on me I’ve had poor battery life since last October when I had my S5. I just checked mine in settings as I’ve never bothered to go that deep into it and spotted this.

It’s turned on on every single app!
It’ll be interesting now to see whether my battery life improves over the next few days. I’ve noticed OS7 has sped up the animations on the watch and is instant. A few here have said the S6 is faster than the S5 in general operations but we must be talking faster than a blinking eye as the speed has improved since the update

It's sneaky isn't it! Turned on by default, even after setting up the new watch from old... really makes a significant difference. Pleased to have helped.

 

[Monkswhiskers]

I have mulled it over some more, especially now I have upgraded to the snappier OS7. AOD is the only reason why I might upgrade since I use it for sports, but I use Workoutdoors so it won't work for that. S4 is staying.

 

[bloomfeld]

My S4 still feels fast enough and battery life is still fine (switched off all stuff I do not use including Siri). Sticking to the original plan to use it at least 3 years, so bring on the super upgrade with S7 Apple

 

[chusman]

Definitely yes! Always on display is most important feature for me, don’t like raise to activate screen and I have to touch screen to see current time

 

[ice.]

bought two AW6 for my family, but will keep my SSSB AW4 for another year on my wrist

 

[Frankfurt]

My first Apple Watch was Series “0” SBSS with the black SS link bracelet. When I decided to upgrade to Series 3 I moved to Alum casing as the depreciation on SS is just brutal, if you want to upgrade every other year. I moved on to Series 4 and now upgraded to Series 6. The upgrade was worth it to me considering AOD, Blue Alum and Blood Oxygen / Sleep Tracking capability.

I would no longer choose a SS or Titanium watch.

 

[upnorth85]

I upgraded from an S4 to S6, mainly for the always on. Truly speaking it was not a necessity and I could have waited for a year but was just pampering myself and my wife by the upgrade. The upgrade is not worth the cost if you have a tight budget.

 

[44267547]

I upgraded from an S4 to S6, mainly for the always on. Truly speaking it was not a necessity and I could have waited for a year but was just pampering myself and my wife by the upgrade. The upgrade is not worth the cost if you have a tight budget.

That’s fair. And I can appreciate your honesty. Realistically, I suspect a lot of Series 3 owners were probably attracted to the S6, mainly because you have a new form factor, a much upgraded watchOS, and new health features. I generally don’t think S4 owners are that enticed to the S6, which the new entry level SE is the is cheap enough where a smart watch shouldn’t breach on ‘I spent to much on a smart watch.’ It’s an excellent value for the ‘budget-based‘ consumer.

 

[QueenTyrone]

The only thing that stops me from buying the SS versions is the resell and trade in value. If it wasn’t so bad I would’ve opted for the SS instead of aluminum. I upgrade my Apple Watches every 2 years, but this may be the first year I stretch it to 3. So far my S4 is doing okay.

Def not worth the premium price if you upgrade every 2 years or less. Unless you have excess cash. I might just do it since I used to buy 1 galaxy/note, 1 pixel and 1 iPhone a year. I don’t buy the other phones yearly anymore so I’m itching to spend money on new tech.

I react to all Apple watches the same because to me regardless of what material the case is, they are essentially the same impressive smartwatch. The aluminium doesn’t look cheap so of course people shouldn’t look down on the vast majority of AW users who have chosen to buy it.

That’s nice you can, I can’t cause I just don’t like the aluminum watch, especially when people put premium bands with it and it ends up looking tacky. Or the current trend of putting cases on them that make them look like SS.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

That’s nice you can, I can’t cause I just don’t like the aluminum watch, especially when people put premium bands with it and it ends up looking tacky. Or the current trend of putting cases on them that make them look like SS.

It looks no more tacky than the same bands on the SS version. Christ on a bike some people here don’t half put a false emphasis on these things and think it gives them a superior look. I’m sure you’d be offended if someone were to say your SS model is an overpriced bit of tack. You’ve just done exactly what you previously criticised.

 

[QueenTyrone]

It looks no more tacky than the same bands on the SS version. Christ on a bike some people here don’t half put a false emphasis on these things and think it gives them a superior look. I’m sure you’d be offended if someone were to say your SS model is an overpriced bit of tack. You’ve just done exactly what you previously criticised.

It does look tacky lmao. Putting the Milanese loop with the aluminum watch looks tacky, and it doesn’t match. When people buy the shiny bands and put them with the aluminum watch it does look tacky. Putting those cases on top of aluminum watches to mimic the SS looks tacky. The link brackets look amazing with aluminum but no one uses that combo anymore.

Also if someone didn’t say SS was overpriced I’d look at them sideways. ALL SS watches are overpriced, not a single one is truly worth the money. I haven’t done anything like I’ve criticized. I gave clear examples as to what I said looked tacky.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

It does look tacky lmao. Putting the Milanese loop with the aluminum watch looks tacky, and it doesn’t match. When people buy the shiny bands and put them with the aluminum watch it does look tacky. Putting those cases on top of aluminum watches to mimic the SS looks tacky. The link brackets look amazing with aluminum but no one uses that combo anymore.

Also if someone didn’t say SS was overpriced I’d look at them sideways. ALL SS watches are overpriced, not a single one is truly worth the money. I haven’t done anything like I’ve criticized. I gave clear examples as to what I said looked tacky.

Why do you assume people put certain bands with their aluminium models to ‘mimic the SS? The SS model isn’t on some kind of pedestal btw, it’s just another type of Apple Watch. People tend to put bands with their watches that they personally like. Are people who put a Milanese on their SS AW trying to mimic an Omega or Seiko because that band has been synonymous with those brands since the 1960’s? I doubt it even crosses their mind as they probably don’t even realise or care.

 

[QueenTyrone]

Why do you assume people put certain bands with their aluminium models to ‘mimic the SS? The SS model isn’t on some kind of pedestal btw, it’s just another type of Apple Watch. People tend to put bands with their watches that they personally like. Are people who put a Milanese on their SS AW trying to mimic an Omega or Seiko because that band has been synonymous with those brands since the 1960’s? I doubt it even crosses their mind as they probably don’t even realise or care.

It’s clear you didn’t read what I wrote but alright. I said there’s a trend of people putting CASES not bands on their Apple Watch to mimic SS, the people doing it SAID they did it to mimic SS. I said shiny bands with the matte aluminum look tacky and it does (it’s mainly a American woman thing and most American women these days have horrible taste in fashion and dress tacky so it’s typical for them to like it). I will say YES anyone using the metal link bracelet/Milanese loop with a SS Apple Watch is trying to be a poor mans omega. Which is why I don’t own either band. If I want to wear that combo I can just go borrow my parent’s luxury watches.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

It’s clear you didn’t read what I wrote but alright. I said there’s a trend of people putting CASES not bands on their Apple Watch to mimic SS, the people doing it SAID they did it to mimic SS. I said shiny bands with the matte aluminum look tacky and it does (it’s mainly a American woman thing and most American women these days have horrible taste in fashion and dress tacky so it’s typical for them to like it). I will say YES anyone using the metal link bracelet/Milanese loop with a SS Apple Watch is trying to be a poor mans omega. Which is why I don’t own either band. If I want to wear that combo I can just go borrow my parent’s luxury watches.

I have never heard of or seen such cases but like you said it’s probably an American thing. I wouldn’t say putting a Milanese strap on an AW is making the stainless a poor mans Omega or even a poor mans Seiko as many cost much more than an Apple Watch. It’s just clear Apple draw inspiration from a much older industry. The rubber sport loop isn’t an Apple design although it’s now more widely known because of their watches. I will agree, shiny bands with matt watches don’t really go too well but then many also like the 44mm when it doesn’t fit their wrist properly so it’s all a bit of a grey area. We all have different tastes.

To me the aluminium is on par with any other AW as it is essentially just a smartwatch that does the same thing. It does make me laugh when I read tech buffs suggest the aluminium is ‘tacky’ or the best one ‘like a child’s toy’ as it screams superiority complex to which I will challenge that point of view. The AW is the Honda Civic of the watch world yet it’s amusing to see pockets of owners flexing elitism over something as irrelevant as a case material like it matters to anybody except themselves lol.

 

[iToph]

I just received my S6 (SS gold) and it came as shock to me that the crown behaves different compared to S4. The S4 has a very nice feeling (haptic) feedback whenever i turn the crown. Very subtile, super precise - feeling very expensive. The S6's crown feels totally cheap, because the feedback is gone. There is still haptic feedback for some cases, but the underlining feedback is gone. Thats a shame.

What a bummer that i already sold my s4 to my nephew, otherwise the s6 would be on its way back to apple.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

I just received my S6 (SS gold) and it came as shock to me that the crown behaves different compared to S4. The S4 has a very nice feeling (haptic) feedback whenever i turn the crown. Very subtile, super precise - feeling very expensive. The S6's crown feels totally cheap, because the feedback is gone. There is still haptic feedback for some cases, but the underlining feedback is gone. Thats a shame.

What a bummer that i already sold my s4 to my nephew, otherwise the s6 would be on its way back to apple.

It’s also lost force touch too hasn’t it, how does that compare? I assume they’ve mimicked it with a vibration combined with long press.

 

[iToph]

Force touch has been deactivated in watchOS, so it doesn’t matter if you’re using the s4 or s6. That’s a shame, I liked using force touch on the Apple Watch and the iPhone.

 

[tednol]

I upgraded from a S4 to a S6. The AOD is nice, and I couldn't go back. For me it's less the fact it's always on, and more the fact that I can look at my watch and not have to wait the half second or whatever it took for the display to light up before. Feels more like wearing a watch and less like wearing a computer. But I was perfectly content without an AOD prior to owning the S6. The quicker charging is nice, previously I charged for 30 minutes in the morning and another 60 or so before bed to get me through the day and night. 60 minutes a day is all I need now. I'm also a bit of a data geek and the SpO2 functionality is working really well for me. But again, hardly a revelation.

I took the opportunity to switch from SG aluminium to graphite SS. It definitely feels more special, perhaps because of the increased weight. I used to wear a mechanical Tag Heuer and it's nice to notice the weight of a watch again. But clearly that particular upgrade didn't require waiting for a new generation of Apple Watch.

I think AW is one of those products where you can comfortably sit out a generation (or two, or three) without great sacrifices. Incremental refinements will be the name of the game. I'd argue that waterproofing and LTE were the last two significant hardware upgrades, at least from my perspective, and these came with the S2 and S3 respectively. Obviously each generation will take the best of the last generation and add some improvements.