sapphire

[applestein]

New here (first post). I just upgradded to the series 7 ss silver. A large part of this was for the sapphire face as my previous apple watch got scuffed pretty badly. Had it for a week so far and it seems much more scratch resistant. It even has a different finger feel to me at least. However, whenever i try to look online for information regarding the long term durability of the sapphire face I only come across articles or videos of the s0 or s1 sapphire being "scratch prone". What are some of your experiences with scratches over the long term of the sapphire face? I couldn't be happier with it for this first week.

 

[Monkswhiskers]

I have had 3 different AW with sapphire screens,
all the screens were flawless when I came to part with them, they are more prone to shatter under certain circumstances however (happened to me once).

 

[deeddawg]

New here (first post). I just upgradded to the series 7 ss silver. A large part of this was for the sapphire face as my previous apple watch got scuffed pretty badly. Had it for a week so far and it seems much more scratch resistant. It even has a different finger feel to me at least. However, whenever i try to look online for information regarding the long term durability of the sapphire face I only come across articles or videos of the s0 or s1 sapphire being "scratch prone". What are some of your experiences with scratches over the long term of the sapphire face? I couldn't be happier with it for this first week.

People rarely create posts/comments to say they've had no issues with something.

So while absence of evidence isn't necessarily evidence of absence, the lack of complaints is suggestive that issues in normal usage are few.

My personal experience is that my S4 SBSS and S5 SBSS were both mint after a year's daily usage with no cases or protectors, as is my year old S6 SBTi. No discernible damage to the casings or screen.

 

[bricktop_at]

My personal experience is that my S4 SBSS and S5 SBSS were both mint after a year's daily usage with no cases or protectors, as is my year old S6 SBTi. No discernible damage to the casings or screen.

Same here, S4 SBSS, S5 SBTi, S5 SS and also the S6 SSG have all completely unblemished screens.

 

[bluespark]

In case you need to hear more of this, I've purchased sapphire-faced Apple Watches without exception since S2 and have never had even a trace of a scratch on any of the screens. If you take reasonably good care of your watch, I expect you will have the same experience.

 

[jz0309]

my then ~2.5 yr old S4 SBSS had an absolutely mint body, but there were some minor scratches in the sapphire, only visible at certain angles and in sun light, so it didn't bother me. But, story is, sapphire CAN scratch, and, just for the record, I'm rather "rough" on my watch, wear it mountain biking, yard work and everything and I have banged it many many times ...
My S0 one day, I hit something in the garage and it totally shattered the screen, about 2 or 3 months after AC+ had expired.
For me, AC+ is a must on the watch, regardless of sapphire or ion-x

 

[BugeyeSTI]

Apple's sapphire is not the same quality as the sapphire used on more expensive watches.

 

[deeddawg]

Apple's sapphire is not the same quality as the sapphire used on more expensive watches.

Yes, that four year old video has been posted to MR several times.

Attacking one's watch with a utility knife is not a good idea.

Good safety tip! We'll be sure to avoid doing that. 👍

 

[BugeyeSTI]

Yes, that four year old video has been posted to MR several times.

Attacking one's watch with a utility knife is not a good idea.

Good safety tip! We'll be sure to avoid doing that. 👍

Not a utility knife, that won't damage a screen. Mohs picks designed to test gem stones show that Apple uses sapphire but it's not the same quality as a $300 watch he tested it against. 4 year old makes no difference, he's tested newer products and gets the same results

 

[deeddawg]

Not a utility knife, that won't damage a screen. Mohs picks designed to test gem stones show that Apple uses sapphire but it's not the same quality as a $300 watch he tested it against. 4 year old makes no difference, he's tested newer products and gets the same results

Okay, also don't attack your display with Mohs picks. Noted. 👍

When those other watches possess the same integration with the iphone, then I'll care about the difference. Nothing's indestructible, so it's no surprise that the Apple sapphire displays can be damaged. They are, however, demonstrobly more scratch resistant than the Ion-X glass. Sufficiently so that I wonder what model the OP had previously.

@applestein - what was your previous watch model? You're positive it wasn't an aluminum model?

 

[Itinj24]

The amount of time is completely irrelevant. I can keep my sapphire display Watch in my drawer for 100 years and it will still look like new. Conversely, I can carve a picture on it with a mohs 10 pick after unboxing it and it will look like trash in less than a day. What is relevant is what you do with it and how you treat it.

That said, I was digging a trench in my backyard. Lifted a heavy rock and rubbed my S6 SBTi along another embedded rock as I was lifting. Did a number on the Watch case but the screen was left unscathe. The mark went up to the border of case and screen so the screen was definitely involved.

Furthermore, I rubbed my S6 SBTi along the handle of my SS oven and that did leave a small metallic like mark on the sapphire.

 

[applestein]

Okay, also don't attack your display with Mohs picks. Noted. 👍

When those other watches possess the same integration with the iphone, then I'll care about the difference. Nothing's indestructible, so it's no surprise that the Apple sapphire displays can be damaged. They are, however, demonstrobly more scratch resistant than the Ion-X glass. Sufficiently so that I wonder what model the OP had previously.

@applestein - what was your previous watch model? You're positive it wasn't an aluminum model?

yes, it was a series 6 blue aluminum model. It scratched so easily for me. still no problems at all for my new sapphire crystal

 

[applestein]

Okay, also don't attack your display with Mohs picks. Noted. 👍

When those other watches possess the same integration with the iphone, then I'll care about the difference. Nothing's indestructible, so it's no surprise that the Apple sapphire displays can be damaged. They are, however, demonstrobly more scratch resistant than the Ion-X glass. Sufficiently so that I wonder what model the OP had previously.

@applestein - what was your previous watch model? You're positive it wasn't an aluminum model?

sorry, upon rereading my original post i see where i failed to specify that. Yes, it was aluminum and now I have a ss model. Was just wondering how other people faired with a saphire crystal over the long term.

 

[Night Spring]

The stainless steel watch is $300 more than the aluminum? Am I getting that math right? For me, the price difference isn't worth it just to get a more scratch resistant screen. I just put on a screen protector film, which are less than $10 on Amazon, for packs that contain multiple protector films.

 

[deeddawg]

sorry, upon rereading my original post i see where i failed to specify that. Yes, it was aluminum and now I have a ss model. Was just wondering how other people faired with a saphire crystal over the long term.

Thanks, that makes sense then. The aluminum models don't have sapphire - their watch crystals are Ion-X glass. They're definitely much more susceptible to scuffing and scratching than are the sapphire watch crystals on the stainless and titanium models.

I've had two stainless watches (S4 & S5), and one titanium (S6). All remained mint even after a year's usage with no cases/covers/protectors. That was not the case with my aluminum S2 or S3 models.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

The aluminium watches I’ve owned have been really durable with maybe one or two tiny scratches here and there by the end of their life. The technology lasts the same amount of time and I’m not worried about chucking a slightly scratched AW in the drawer after 3 years to be honest. Never understood the obsession with worrying about scratches, just use it and enjoy it.

 

[deeddawg]

The stainless steel watch is $300 more than the aluminum? Am I getting that math right? For me, the price difference isn't worth it just to get a more scratch resistant screen. I just put on a screen protector film, which are less than $10 on Amazon, for packs that contain multiple protector films.

Stainless Steel models (GPS+Cellular) are $200-220 more than the Aluminum GPS+Cellular models.

Screen protector films look like crap even brand new (IMHO). I'm unaware of any tempered glass protectors that properly cover the display of current gen models with the thinner bezels.

Plus, speaking for myself, my issue with the aluminum models was more the case getting dinged though, which hasn't occurred with my Ti or SS models.

The aluminium watches I’ve owned have been really durable with maybe one or two tiny scratches here and there by the end of their life. The technology lasts the same amount of time and I’m not worried about chucking a slightly scratched AW in the drawer after 3 years to be honest. Never understood the obsession with worrying about scratches, just use it and enjoy it.

Some of us like our stuff to remain looking nice rather than getting dinged up. I'd manage to ding my aluminum watch within a couple months then have to see the ding every time I'd look at the watch. Switched to SBSS and that issue was solved. Money well spent IMHO. You can certainly feel differently - each to their own.

Also - with my S4 & S5 SBSS watches I resold on Swappa. Not only did year old SBSS models typically fetch a good $100 more than the year old mint-condition aluminum models. ... and of course a dinged up aluminum watch was gonna be worth a whole lot less.

BTW - if you're tossing three year old apple watches into a drawer, you're throwing away money. They appear to still have a decent resale on Swappa.

 

[tonyz123456]

The stainless steel watch is $300 more than the aluminum? Am I getting that math right? For me, the price difference isn't worth it just to get a more scratch resistant screen. I just put on a screen protector film, which are less than $10 on Amazon, for packs that contain multiple protector films.

Honestly, watches are an emotional purchase at this point.

You can buy a $60 Fitbit that does most of what an Apple Watch does so the real comparison is a $60 Fitbit vs. a $300 Apple Watch SE (95% of an Apple Watch series 7) vs a $430 aluminum Apple Watch Series 7 vs. $800ish for steel/titanium vs. $1300 for the Hermes faces + strap vs $10k+ for a Patek Philippe or some other fancy brand that is only mechanical.

That said, I can't tell the difference between a sapphire screen and Ion-X Glass but the overall look of the stainless steel and titanium apple watches are a step above but certainly not necessary to save money.

At the end of the day, they all track time, and most of them can count steps. For me, my line was at the aluminum Apple Watch 5 years ago but now I think it's at titanium based on the one I just got. There's no good value argument here since the best value is to just buy a $60 Fitbit. It really comes down to how much you're willing to pay for a nice fashion accessory beyond the very basic need to tell time function - even that's debatable since you can just pull your phone out.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

Some of us like our stuff to remain looking nice rather than getting dinged up. Each to their own I guess.

Prior to my S6 SBTi, I'd resell my old watch. Not only did year old SS models typically fetch a good $100 more than the year old mint-condition aluminum models. ... and of course a dinged up aluminum watch will be worth a whole lot less.
BTW - if you're tossing three year old apple watches into a drawer, you're throwing away money. They appear to still have a decent resale on Swappa.

I don’t really ‘ding’ my watches up either. I don’t have to get an SS model to resist damage because my experience over the past 5 or 6 years is the aluminium models are up to the job. The resale value is different here as the SS models appear to lose the most money and are really good secondhand buys. There isn’t a vast difference between aluminium and stainless here after a year on eBay and other seller sites. I did consider buying a used SS last time around but preferred a new aluminium after consideration as the function is more important to me than how shiny the case is. This price difference probably differs depending on the country and Swappa doesn’t exist here.

 

[Night Spring]

You can buy a $60 Fitbit that does most of what an Apple Watch does

Really? Does it have heart rate monitor, GPS tracking and an elevation sensor? Compass? Respiratory monitoring?

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

Really? Does it have heart rate monitor, GPS tracking and an elevation sensor? Compass? Respiratory monitoring?

The funny thing is, that poster said ‘most’ of the things the Apple Watch has. I’ve just looked at your list I only use GPS tracking lol. The funny thing is I work with quite a few people who only use their Apple watches for telling the time and reading messages.

 

[Night Spring]

The funny thing is, that poster said ‘most’ of the things the Apple Watch has. I’ve just looked at your list I only use GPS tracking lol. The funny thing is I work with quite a few people who only use their Apple watches for telling the time and reading messages.

Yeah. I "use" all of the things I listed, other than compass. In the sense that I look at the statistics the watch collects in my Health and Activity apps, and feel vaguely self-satisfied at my activity levels. The combination of elevation and heart rate levels during my walks are especially satisfying as I get confirmation that my heart rate goes up when I walk uphill. But whether or not that information is actually useful for anything -- well, probably not.

 

[tonyz123456]

Really? Does it have heart rate monitor, GPS tracking and an elevation sensor? Compass? Respiratory monitoring?

1. Heart rate - yes it does https://www.fitbit.com/global/us/products/trackers/inspire2
2. GPS tracking - I believe the Fitbit app integrates with your phone GPS and you can have location tracking.
3. Elevation sensor - I think I had this in my charge HR five years ago so yes it's there.
4. Compass - Again, you can probably use your phones and you can buy a $10 compass that won't ever run out of your batteries.
5. Respiratory monitoring - is this really necessary or reliable?

Also, if you are a true outdoorsman and trekking in the back country, I would buy a Garmin Inreach or GPSMap and a physical compass over relying on an Apple Watch and iPhone.

Again very happy with my Apple Watch but it's a everyday use and daily fitness device. None of the features above are really best in class on the Apple Watch if you have serious needs for it - fun to have but I wouldn't bet my life on any of them nor would I pay for it.

I only upgraded to the Series 7 for the bigger screen and because my series 2 is getting glitchy. Lightweight GPS tracking, heart rate sensor, and elevation sensors are basically standards across all similar devices. You buy apple for the reliability, brand, design, and iOS integration.

 

[deeddawg]

I don’t really ‘ding’ my watches up either. I don’t have to get an SS model to resist damage because my experience over the past 5 or 6 years is the aluminium models are up to the job.

Everyone’s gotta do what works for them. Given my experience with two aluminum models, two SBSS models, and my SBTi, the additional cost has been completely worth it to me from an aesthetic and peace of mind standpoint given the various household/vehicle/yard/etc projects I’m usually busy with.

 

[haruhiko]

Everyone’s gotta do what works for them. Given my experience with two aluminum models, two SBSS models, and my SBTi, the additional cost has been completely worth it to me from an aesthetic and peace of mind standpoint given the various household/vehicle/yard/etc projects I’m usually busy with.

Everybody said the aluminium watches have better resell value as compared to their original costs but now my aluminium S6 is all scratched up due to mysterious reasons - yes a watch is usually bumped into various stuff no matter how careful you are. I don’t think I can resell it to anyone except trading it in to Apple.