S4: Battery replacement or buy S7/S8

[tkmyzw]

I have an S4 40mm since released and works fine and satisfied when it comes to the feature.

Current battery health is 74% and the battery lasts more or less 12 hours depending on what I do. And I usually charge during both breakfast and dinner every day which is slightly annoying and want to charge only once a day or less.

For example, when I drive or go for hiking a few hours, the battery only lasts less than 10 hours which means don't last until dinner even though fully charge in the morning.

My options to solve will be battery replacement or watch replacement. The former cost 82 USD equivalent and the latter cost 430 equivalent in my country’s currency.

The blood oxygen sensor, AOD, and fast charging of S7 are attractive to me but I'm still not sure If they are worth it. On the other hand, S4 is likely to be dropped from the support list of new OS shortly, also battery life may not be improved with the new OS as new OS tends to require more processing power as well as more battery.

I appreciate it if you give me an opinion on what you would do.

 

[perezr10]

I had a similar decision about 3 weeks ago. My 13 year old son has a 40mm Series 4 watch that was also at 74% battery life. The battery would die at 8pm and not last all day. My son didn’t care about having an always on display and he wanted another Space Gray watch. We found out that Apple doesn’t sell the Series 7 in Space Gray. So I went to the Apple Store to have the battery replaced. They took my son’s watch and we received a package in the mail about a week later.

We didn’t get his old watch back but a brand new Series 4 watch. The battery life is GREATLY improved. It’ll last almost a day and a half now on a single charge.

 

[jz0309]

I have an S4 40mm since released and works fine and satisfied when it comes to the feature.

Current battery health is 74% and the battery lasts more or less 12 hours depending on what I do. And I usually charge during both breakfast and dinner every day which is slightly annoying and want to charge only once a day or less.

For example, when I drive or go for hiking a few hours, the battery only lasts less than 10 hours which means don't last until dinner even though fully charge in the morning.

My options to solve will be battery replacement or watch replacement. The former cost 82 USD equivalent and the latter cost 430 equivalent in my country’s currency.

The blood oxygen sensor, AOD, and fast charging of S7 are attractive to me but I'm still not sure If they are worth it. On the other hand, S4 is likely to be dropped from the support list of new OS shortly, also battery life may not be improved with the new OS as new OS tends to require more processing power as well as more battery.

I appreciate it if you give me an opinion on what you would do.

Apple does not replace the battery, you'll get a refurb replacement, basically new screen, casing and battery ...

 

[tkmyzw]

I had a similar decision about 3 weeks ago. My 13 year old son has a 40mm Series 4 watch that was also at 74% battery life. The battery would die at 8pm and not last all day. My son didn’t care about having an always on display and he wanted another Space Gray watch. We found out that Apple doesn’t sell the Series 7 in Space Gray. So I went to the Apple Store to have the battery replaced. They took my son’s watch and we received a package in the mail about a week later.

We didn’t get his old watch back but a brand new Series 4 watch. The battery life is GREATLY improved. It’ll last almost a day and a half now on a single charge.

That's good the battery lasts 1.5 days. I'm glad your son must be happy.
I'm still drifting but will review how I use my AW again and check new features worth extra 350 bucks.

 

[Evolesque]

I’ve owned my SS Gold S4 since it was released and did the battery replacement/whole watch replacement last week. Personally this was worth the replacement cost. I would love to upgrade to a newer watch but honestly none of the feature upgrades have been substantial enough to me to make me feel excited to buy a new one. The replacement lastly is a double edged sword. I got used to having scratches over time on my Gold PVD coating. Now I got a shiny pristine watch again and kind of went back to being more aware and careful with it. Haha

 

[tkmyzw]

I’ve owned my SS Gold S4 since it was released and did the battery replacement/whole watch replacement last week. Personally this was worth the replacement cost. I would love to upgrade to a newer watch but honestly none of the feature upgrades have been substantial enough to me to make me feel excited to buy a new one. The replacement lastly is a double edged sword. I got used to having scratches over time on my Gold PVD coating. Now I got a shiny pristine watch again and kind of went back to being more aware and careful with it. Haha

What was battery health before replacement?

 

[mlody]

I also decided to do battery replacement on my SS S4. I figured since AW SS costs $800 (for bigger size) plus tax, a battery replacement at $69 was a great deal - less than 10% of the total cost. I also don't find any of the new features on S7 attractive, and none scream must-have, at least for me. Overall, the decision was easy, and I am happy with the watch's performance.
I also think that S4 might get supported longer than everyone is anticipating since CPUs in AW since S4 haven't changed or improved that much. Apple continues to recycle the same old CPU under a new name, generation after generation. Even if the 2023 watchOS drops the support for S4, it will still be a fine watch. My daughter is still using daily my old S2, and she is okay with that. I plan to give her my S4 in 2-3 years, but first, Apple needs to release a watch that is a more significant jump than what they have thus far; otherwise, I will continue to stick with S4.

 

[MacNut]

Im going to upgrade my S4 to the 8 this fall. It's due for a replacement.

 

[jav6454]

I'm also on the S4 bandwagon, but given its release during the October timeframe, I'll wait it out.

 

[tkmyzw]

I have decided to replace battery(new body) next week.
Hope I can use it another couple of years with the latest OS.