In the OzB tradition of posting RRP price drops:
With the announcement of the Apple watch SE ($429+) and Apple watch series 6 ($599+)
Apple have dropped the starting price of the apple watch series 3 to $299+
38mm is $299
42mm is $349
all with free delivery
This makes tomorrows ebay deal of apple watch series 3 for $279 pretty dumb. Better to buy direct from apple.
If by "bigger proper screen" you mean some decent computer monitor or a TV, then yes.
Otherwise it's just a tiny watch and you won't be spending lots of time gazing at it. The smaller watch it going to be as limited as the bigger version - you won't be using any on-screen keyboard (no such thing), you won't be browsing photos, internet or anything but only checking app statuses or waiting for siri to get your intentions right. It will be the same experience reading messages, receiving a call or avoiding that honeycomb list of apps, where everything looks similar. Steps are counted the same way, so are your heartbeats, in which you'll loose interest after a month tops, unless you're a solid trainwreck (good on you then!).
Oh why the neg?
I'm looking for ideas for a bigger Apple Watch then.
You have obviously never seen the difference between the two watches
Yep, when it’s so small slightly bigger makes a big difference
Alright, so I checked and it's mostly about the bigger version being better for bigger fingers and.. bigger picture (2x surprise!).
I can't be sure much people interact with their Apple Watches through that (either way) tiny touchscreen - I mainly use voice and generally treat it as an extension to the phone. And Apple Pay is under the physical button.
@pizzaguy: why are you discounting the fact that you need higher processing speed to get a better reaction to your voice commands, surely 2-3 generations of CPU on the watch would tell you it's more than just screen sizes?
Apple Watch SE
Starting at A$429
Apple Watch Series 3
Starting at A$299
Difference : 130
original comment is asking about $130.
difference between the same Series 3 is $50.
so i stand by what i said. It is not just a slightly bigger screen.
@slowmo: Well that changes my stance entirely. The original question was about the screen only and I was talking sizes only.
edit: Wasn't even a question. I shall neg myself. (edit: I can't neg myself!)
@pizzaguy: no worries, all good. I thought to clear up any confusion.
imo, the watch series 3 is a bad buy. I personally would go for the SE because I cannot buy OS upgrade support for another 2 years with the $130 I 'saved' if I were to buy the series 3.
i would rather wait for black friday sales on the series 5. I wouldn't do series 4 even, because the underlying SE chip is a series 5 chip.
edit: the only reason i would justify buying a series 3, is i am buying it for 10 kids, and the 10x$130 i saved, would go finance my series 6 ;)
Perhaps an extra $180 for the 44mm one even better..
Depends on your wrist size
no, my wife doesn't have a big wrist and 44mm works well for her (Tried it in store before covid) and my son tried it too and it fit perfectly,
@jayboi: I have small wrist and the 44 still fits. But the smaller one looks better on smaller wrists
Since they’re the same price, would OW still price beat for 5% off?
no, because it's not cheaper than what they're selling it for..
Would not recommend, unless you must save the difference ($129) between the 3 and the SE. The SE is essentially 85% of a series 6 and the 3 features an outdated design with internals that may not be as future proof in the coming years. Unless $199, I see no reason to buy a watch released in 2017.
Yup. Also extra features on series 6 ECG etc won’t work in Australia
What won't work in Aus?
Just the ECG stuff I believe which was the case with Series 5 last year also.
So far what I've read to points towards the new sensors being supported at launch for Australia. The 6 also has an always on display. If you are looking at the SE, I'd consider seeing how cheap the 5's drop at some places as it might be a better buy and get you an always on display.
The electrocardiogram (ECG) feature. It’s not enabled in Australia on any model that supports it.
@JoKing: The ECG I believe checks for abnormalities with heart beat. We miss out as Apple needs to get regulatory approval to offer this functionality and the Therapuetic Goods Administration (TGA) hasn’t approved the device for this use, either because Apple hasn’t submitted it for review or because they tried and got rejected. I’ve heard it’s a case of Apple not submitting as they believe it wouldn’t pass the benchmarks required in Australia, but I don’t think anything has been confirmed.
Note they have been adding new countries to ECG support as recently as a few months, so perhaps we’ll see it eventually.
@Smigit: Yeah right, that is a bit of a bummer. That and the new processor seemed like the only difference between the SE and the 6 (on quick glance).
According to the link provided by Heybargain below, there a couple of things Australia misses out on. The more you know.
@Manny Calavera: https://youtu.be/XgTzqi78u_g
You gotta pay but if you want it for free, it gets even more complicated
the only reason i wanted a series 6 is because it has the blue case, but that's an obscene amount of premium to pay for features that will never be released in Australia. ECG was available since watch 4. It's been 2 generations already and nothing happens.'
Yeah I'd avoid it, especially given this year they dropped the Series 2 as a supported model and it won't get WatchOS 7. The Series 3 had a much better processor, but it's now next in line to lose support which fortunately won't be this year if they are still selling it, but who knows whether it will get WatchOS 9 in two years.
it probably would stop at 8?, my original apple watch last update was watchos 4. so if we count 4 generations on the OS, a s3 would stop updates at watchos 8
I would guess that if the Watch 3 remains on the market, they'll support it for the next OS release which is announced in June/July and available this time next year. I dont think Apple has dropped OS updates for an iOS product thats still for sale.
@Smigit: it wouldn't, but i wouldn't be surprised sometime next year this time, you see the series 4 coming out at bargain prices… then maybe SE2 flagged for the year after.
in a very odd way, i feel that apple seems to be creating more variants of the same 'thing' now…. in the past, there is only 1 option. 1 pod, 1 watch and 1 iphone.
@slowmo: The SE is basically a series 4 already, so they won’t replace the 3 with that model mid year.
@slowmo: The CPU didn’t get any updates between the 4 and 5. The only addition I think is one or two of the minor sensors that the SE picks up over the 4 (compass). As such I don’t think there’s enough to warrant a 4 re-release.
https://9to5mac.com/2019/09/18/apple-watch-series-5-processo…
Apple Watch 5 was basically all about the ECG function and always on display. The SoC didn’t see any update or nothing meaningful. The SE basically already lacks the major features the 5 received over the 4.
@Smigit: ok, now i'm confused. i know Australia never had ECG.
but the ECG started from Watch 4 (https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208955)
if s5 is same as s4, then SE would be exactly the same CPU. (but it's not really the same https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple-designed_processors#Appl…)
so the only thing that was going for Watch 5 is really the always on display, storage and compass.
the series 4 doesn't have a compass. (I have one and this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Watch)
the SE would have a compass, bigger storage over S4, always on altimeter (which the S5 doesn't)
the S5 SoC has a built-in magnetometer. the S4 doesn't. how important is a compass to someone? i don't know.
@slowmo: The Apple series chips are a “system on chip” rather than just a CPU. It includes all the miscellaneous bits too. So in the case of the S4 vs S5, the CPU component was the same but the chip as a whole added the magnetometer which provides compass functions.
The Series 5 watch was a hugely incremental release. You’ve corrected me regarding ECG, even that wasn’t new. It was basically just an always on display.
https://9to5mac.com/2019/10/06/apple-watch-series-4-vs-serie…
To be fair I think that was a better advancement than the Series 6 over a Series 5 if you happen to have last years model, but maybe I’m just not excited by blood oxygen readings.
So yeah, given this and given the 4 and SE are very very close, not identical but, it’s unlikely they’ll re-release a Series 4 branded model.
I don't understand why they are still selling the 3?
They have it in stock and they need some cheaper version to product list.
Some people(I don’t know who the hell would) like it’s design. Just a guess
market penetration. they don't want to sell the SE too cheap if it's going to be aimed at kids (family setup).
so if you think about it, the S3 watch is ideal for kids because kids break things, and it has gps and cellular. It also runs WatchOS 7.
why do they restrict it (family setup) to just SE and above? ;)
just my 2 cents.
Yeah, I can see it being a go to for parents wanting a tracker for children as part of the new Family Setup offering.
there is a market for that already, esp when schools that frown on smart phones, and you still want to be able to contact them (or the other way round) in case of emergencies. i am totally sold on this affordable option ,
spacetalk (https://www.jbhifi.com.au/products/spacetalk-kids-smartwatch…) is retailing for $299, it's not a big jump to something you can easily control with your iphone. so it's a no-brainer for me.
@slowmo: Yeah we saw those and never found one we especially liked when we looked 24 or so months ago. I imagine some of the newer models are better though, we haven't looked for some time. Back then a number of the options locked you into plans offered by the provider etc. When I say "they" thats the market in general, there were a small number that allowed you to bring your own data service and at a glance it looks like SpaceTalk is one of them.
better to go for watch SE
thanks op, now i need an iphone.
Not unless somebody in your family has one!
battery only last 18 hours better go for mi band 5
Can't beat the 10 year battery on my Casio watch.
My sundial wants to have a word with you.
no thx, i dont like tech that works ~50% of the time. ;)
Was about to say that, lasts at least another 5 billion years
citizen eco joins the chat
if battery is that big of a concern, might as well go get any citizen eco range, that battery last for upwards of 20 years.
Check CEX and cash converters, already 200ish 2nd hand for last 6months.
I managed to grab a series 4 for 200 from cashies
Umm, no. I’d rather have a new battery thanks.
I thought the bigger bargain would be either the S4 or S5, both not available from Apple, and both marginally less magical than the S6.
the retailers seems to have been hamstrung by apple…. the prices are just about 100$ cheaper than the new models. some are even more expensive than the newer models. (ref jbhifi sold the iwatch 5 gps+cellular at $799. you can get the s6 cheaper)
Me, I’d wait for the SE. The bigger screen real estate is worth the extra money. Also the Watch 3 will run out of IOS update before the SE.
I’m hoping to pick up a series 5 on clearance but it’s hard to find stock so actual clearance pricing may never come on top of the dropped RRP. The difference between 5 and 6 is only $50 on RRP which is probably worth spending for all of the improvements, a better chip, and 2.5x brighter screen
S- 479
5- 599 (+120)
6- 649 (+50)
i ran into the exact same problem. I want the always on, but not willing to pay that premium for the 6.
the gps+cellular of 5 in the retailers i looked ended up being more expensive than the 6 of the same version.
ignoring the brighter screen , the chip and the watchos support lifespan is worth a lot more than the difference between the 5 and 6. :(
and i suspect apple marketing dept knows it. the always on thing on SE would've stolen series 6's sales.
Yeah I’m probably going to end up going for the SE and trying to stack on discounted gift cards and offers. I don’t think I’ll be wearing the watch every single day so not worth the $170 extra to go up to a 6
it is worth to invest 130 more for the bigger proper screen.