First Timer - Series 5 or Series 6?

[collegegal24]

Hey everyone, I posted a few months ago inquiring about the Series 3 and Series 5, and ultimately decided on waiting to see the difference between the Series 5 and 6. Now that it has arrived, I'm conflicted on which to get. From what I have seen, almost no store is offering the Series 5 anymore and there's a lot of talk saying they're practically the same in terms of specs and pricing. I'm planning to wait until Black Friday/Cyber Monday to make my purchase, but should I just go for the newest series for the sake of longevity? Or should I consider the SE too? I'm finishing my last year of college and want to treat myself, as well as start my fitness journey; quarantine has pushed me back on that and I hear an Apple Watch has helped many with theirs (there are many reasons as to why I am looking into an Apple Watch, this is just one of the perks).

Also, do you think there will be any sort of sale for the Series 6 come BF/CM? I'm looking more at Target or Amazon, but open to suggestions! Let me know what you think.

 

[AJ44]

If I was in my last year of college it would be SE all the way and use the savings to pay off school loan or to add to your 401k with your first company. Treat yourself with an eye on the future, plenty of time for latest and greatest when you’re established.

 

[Mr. Awesome]

If you’ve saved up for it to give yourself a treat, go for the 6. You’ve earned it.

If you’re just buying this just “to treat yourself,” and you haven’t budgeted for it, I say don’t do it.

 

[WitchDoktor]

I waited to get on the Apple Watch train until the Series 3 came out - what sold me was the waterproofing and the cellular. Even at that I went entry-level and got the aluminum case. I quickly found that it's something that is much more than the sum of its parts and it became a valuable asset to me. It's a solid performer and I passed it to one of my kids when the Series 4 came out. It's still going strong.

I passed on the Series 5 because it didn't have THAT much more to it than the S4 in my opinion. I didn't care about 1st gen Always On, and the only other feature that interested me was the compass. I do a lot of backcountry hiking and prefer to rely on my physical compass.

In your case since you say you're starting on the fitness journey, I can see that this could be a tough choice. If you're new to Apple Watch I'd suggest the SE to see if it fits for you. If so, then you save some cash while you navigate the learning curve and you can upgrade to a Series 7 next year.

 

[lifereinspired]

Hey everyone, I posted a few months ago inquiring about the Series 3 and Series 5, and ultimately decided on waiting to see the difference between the Series 5 and 6. Now that it has arrived, I'm conflicted on which to get. From what I have seen, almost no store is offering the Series 5 anymore and there's a lot of talk saying they're practically the same in terms of specs and pricing. I'm planning to wait until Black Friday/Cyber Monday to make my purchase, but should I just go for the newest series for the sake of longevity? Or should I consider the SE too? I'm finishing my last year of college and want to treat myself, as well as start my fitness journey; quarantine has pushed me back on that and I hear an Apple Watch has helped many with theirs (there are many reasons as to why I am looking into an Apple Watch, this is just one of the perks).

Also, do you think there will be any sort of sale for the Series 6 come BF/CM? I'm looking more at Target or Amazon, but open to suggestions! Let me know what you think.

Hi!

Congrats on your upcoming Apple Watch. I'm sure you'll love it!

Here are my thoughts. Oddly, there are very few S5s left on for sale and they aren't on much, if any sale pricing. Last year when the S5 when on sale, there were really good deals available on the S4. Not sure why the difference this year.

Obviously, if they are the same price, or close (between the S5/S6) get the S6. It has more new features and will have better resale value. Only you can know if you need the S6 vs SE. Will you use any of the features that are specific to the S6? I definitely will. I have a rare respiratory disorder and the SPO2 monitoring/sensor is an answered prayer for me. But I know that is likely a rare scenario, most won't "need" it like I do. If you want/need LTE, I will say that the SE is a great value. LTE is $100 extra on the flagship (S5/6) but only $50 more on the SE.

As far as Black Friday sales, obviously none of us have a crystal ball & don't know the future. There will likely be sales on S3 (last year, Best Buy had it for $129, if I remember correctly) but I don't honestly remember any major sales on the S5. You might find a little bit of a sale, but I would doubt you'll see huge sales. According to camelcamelcamel.com, the 44mm dropped to $410 around Black Friday last year. YMMV

Lastly, I'm including a link to a post I did last week. I created a sheet that shows in-depth comparison of the Apple Watches starting at S3. I'm going to be releasing an update in the next couple of days with even more info, better layouts, etc so since you're not purchasing this week, you might check it again in a day or two. But you may find it helpful. https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/i-created-an-apple-watch-comparison-chart-to-share.2256661/

 

[collegegal24]

Thank you for the advice!! You are all so right. Thankfully, I attend a CSU and have been privileged enough to have all of my tuition paid by financial aid, with money left over each semester. I've built up a savings and figured making it this far (bio major/chem minor - ROUGH!) was worth getting myself something nice I am now looking more into the SE versus S6.

 

[chanerz]

First timer? Might as well gor for the latest series 6.

 

[wilberforce]

Basic aluminum GPS-only S6. All the features and none of the fluff.

(Obviously just an opinion - one person's feature is another person's fluff)