When the original Apple Watch came out I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it. I knew its strengths and shortcomings from the reviews I read. I was anxious to experience the benefits of a smart watch that was part of the Apple ecosystem. The Apple Watch wasn’t going to be my first experience with a smart watch. Maybe some ten to fifteen years ago, maybe more, I used a Microsoft based smartwatch technology that delivered one-way data updates via legacy cellular network. That technology seems archaic by today’s standards, but it was a humble beginning for the technology. Using that technology provided me with an early glimpse of what was possible with smart watches. I knew the Apple Watch had great potential and as an early adopter of all things technology I wanted my hands on one.
The experience with the original Apple Watch left a lot to be desired. I was lucky if Siri responded to my requests, opening applications took so long I often gave up and small glitches in early versions of Watch OS often provided an unsatisfying experience. All those things being said, three years later, I still used the watch. While I couldn’t benefit from features available in more recent watches such as resting heart rate, longer battery, automatic workout detection, and others, the watch performed the best it could with what it was capable of and I made it work.
One of the reasons I never upgraded was the cost of a new Watch. For the larger of the least expensive Apple Watches I was looking at spending more than $400. It was hard to justify that. That was true until I saw the Series 4. Once I got my hands on one and saw the larger screen, and specifically the Infographic watch face I was hooked. I knew I had to have one. So a week later, after navigating the retail environment to actually find one in stock, I picked up a 44mm aluminum with black sports band.
The experience of moving from the Series 0 to Series 4 is nothing short of dramatic. Siri works almost flawlessly, applications open quickly, the screen is brighter, the speakers are louder, etc. I could go on and on about how significant all the changes are. If you already have a Series 3, the Series 4 may not be a significant upgrade (screen size excluded). Not a day goes by where I use the watch and say “well that would have taken forever or not worked on my Series 0”.
Anyone with a Series 0 who has been thinking about updating – now is the time. Check out the review by Macworld’s Jason Cross.