Get new battery on S7 or get new S10?

[dmk1974]

My Series 7 GPS+Cellular 45mm is in perfect condition and works great, but the battery life is not quite making it through a day. I checked the battery health and it shows 79% and recommends service.

I don't see any significant functional upgrades in the Series 10 (granted, it's a little faster I guess and extra 1 mm on the screen). Being newer of course, it'll probably be supported longer down the road though with OS updates.

Would I be better off just getting the battery replacement at my local Apple Store for $99 (I read they actually just replace the watch with another). Or get the Series 10 equivalent for $429? Thanks!

 

[jz0309]

My Series 7 GPS+Cellular 45mm is in perfect condition and works great, but the battery life is not quite making it through a day. I checked the battery health and it shows 79% and recommends service.

I don't see any significant functional upgrades in the Series 10 (granted, it's a little faster I guess and extra 1 mm on the screen). Being newer of course, it'll probably be supported longer down the road though with OS updates.

Would I be better off just getting the battery replacement at my local Apple Store for $99 (I read they actually just replace the watch with another). Or get the Series 10 equivalent for $429? Thanks!

yes, you'd get a refurb.
Have you looked at the front page? AW10 is $100 off at Amazon/BestBuy (again)...
Me? I wouldn't spend $100 on the S7 but take advantage of the discounts for the 10 ...

 

[dmk1974]

yes, you'd get a refurb.
Have you looked at the front page? AW10 is $100 off at Amazon/BestBuy (again)...
Me? I wouldn't spend $100 on the S7 but take advantage of the discounts for the 10 ...

Yes, the front page is where I saw that link for pricing for the 10. Since my current 7 is GPS+Cellular, that's where I got the $429 sale price from in my original post.

 

[BugeyeSTI]

My Series 7 GPS+Cellular 45mm is in perfect condition and works great, but the battery life is not quite making it through a day. I checked the battery health and it shows 79% and recommends service.

I don't see any significant functional upgrades in the Series 10 (granted, it's a little faster I guess and extra 1 mm on the screen). Being newer of course, it'll probably be supported longer down the road though with OS updates.

Would I be better off just getting the battery replacement at my local Apple Store for $99 (I read they actually just replace the watch with another). Or get the Series 10 equivalent for $429? Thanks!

FYI, if you have the battery replaced, remember that the refurbished watch you receive back will have SPo2 disabled..

 

[dmk1974]

FYI, if you have the battery replaced, remember that the refurbished watch you receive back will have SPo2 disabled..

Good point. I've used it maybe 4-5 times ever just because I knew it was a feature. Not critical for me, but excellent note as you said that it would be removed. And the 10 doesn't have it either anyway.

 

[Howard2k]

FYI, if you have the battery replaced, remember that the refurbished watch you receive back will have SPo2 disabled..

Is that true? I don't remember reading any validated examples.

 

[jz0309]

Is that true? I don't remember reading any validated examples.

I thought for the longest time that if you get a refurb that you actually pay for you will get one without SpO2. And that if you do have AC+, you’d get one with SpO2.
But there have been some posts recently where folks who did have AC+ did get a refurb without SpO2, someone actually said they had to sign a waiver when they dropped theirs off at the Apple Store.
So, not quite sure anymore.
My S7 still has AC+ and been at 81% for over 6 months. When the time comes I will get in writing upfront that I will get a refurb with SpO2, should Apple decline/deny I will go to small claims court.

 

[BugeyeSTI]

Is that true? I don't remember reading any validated examples.

Yes it is. If you have AppleCare+ you will receive a refurbished watch at no charge with SPo2 enabled (just like the watch you turn in). If your watch isn't under warranty and you pay for the battery replacement out of pocket, you receive a refurb with SPo2 disabled.

 

[jz0309]

Is that true? I don't remember reading any validated examples.

below link is to the post where poster says they had to sign a waiver, watch was under AC+ and the waiver said you're not getting SpO2 back ;(

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/apple-says-watchos-26-is-compatible-with-these-apple-watch-models.2458445/post-33945939

 

[mjpearce023]

I had a series 10 for about 3 months and went back to my series 7 and now Im waiting on series 11 to decide if I should upgrade or replace my battery (I'm still stuck at 81% health). The biggest difference to me for the series 10 was the change from stainless steal to titanium. The 10 was lighter and slightly more comfortable than my SS 7 but that wont make much difference with the aluminum models. I didn't notice a difference in speed for anything other than Siri. Siri is much faster on the 10. The main reason I returned the 10 was I don't care for the new design. Slightly thinner is better but the wider screen and larger bezels was a clear step in the wrong direction in my opinion. I prefer the more rectangular look of the series 7 to the square look of the series 10. Some of my favorite watch faces on the 7 just didn't look as good on the 10 and I stuck to faces with a black background to hide the larger bezels. It felt like too much of a compromise to be an upgrade.

 

[BSG75]

below link is to the post where poster says they had to sign a waiver, watch was under AC+ and the waiver said you're not getting SpO2 back ;(

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/apple-says-watchos-26-is-compatible-with-these-apple-watch-models.2458445/post-33945939

Hmmm...my wife just had her Series 6 battery service under Apple Care +. The replacement watch has working SpO2.