which should have been expected. after 10 years the market is saturated, and it's a mature product that has had no killer feature to upgrade early for.
this post was submitted on 07 May 2025
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I had the Series 4 awhile back, and it died after a very shallow dip in the water. Took the opportunity to upgrade to the Ultra 1, and I see absolutely no reason to upgrade past it. It isn't fundamentally different than... well, the other Apple Watches, beyond having a button you can't set to do anything particularly useful and having an ever so slightly larger screen (which is the main reason I got it).
So your apple watch broke doing something you should be able to do with it and you "upgrade" to the same watch? Wow.
Well, to be fair, my old Series 4 was a refurb, so the waterproofing likely wasn’t factory fresh.
I’ve had an Apple Watch 5 since it came out and I see no reason to upgrade. The only thing I really dislike is the battery life but to fix that you’d need to get a Garmin or similar. So can’t think of a reason I would upgrade.
I have the first gen Apple Watch SE from half a decade ago and I haven’t been given a reason to upgrade to the SE 2, much less whatever flagship we’re up to now.
casio 4 life
They should try to make it cordless, so you don't have to have the charger plugged in all the time 🤪
It's a disposable watch. If shipment could just stop that would be great.
Everyone who actually owns one says they're keeping theirs for years and see no need to upgrade, but go on.
You have a valid point if you say this for all smart watches though. None will last half a century like a proper watch.
It's also likely driven down by non stop paywalling of features. Consumers like myself are just exhausted. I am only looking for non paywalls devices going forward and if those go away, then I'm going to be done with smart devices. I can't keep paying hundreds to a thousand dollars for a device only to not be able to get the features of that device unless I keep throwing money at a company. I know they have costs to maintain software and add features but I can't have perpetual costs on everything I buy.
I’m trying to think of what Apple Watch features are paywalled and other than buying apps that aren’t necessary or a part of the core device, I’m not thinking of anything. Are there particular features you’re thinking of?
Comparing to Garmin where I get daily workout recommendations based on your sleep and recovery. From what I've seen the workouts are behind the paywall.
that's more like an added perk from garmin. I'd hardly consider workout plans a core feature of a watch.
That is absolutely a core feature of Garmin not just a perk. The fact that Apple didn't include it while doing explicit commercials for biking, running, and swimming was definitely to make it seem like it's direct competition.
i mean as a core feature of a watch/smartwatch in general. garmin is going above and beyond compared to the competition in that area, and that's great. But that doesn't mean every other smartwatch manufacturer arbitrarily locking traditional watch features behind paywalls.
and yeah apple does fitness themed commercials for apple watch because it does help with fitness a ton out of the box. just not specifically guided workouts.
Ah, so there is a subscription for guided workout sessions through Apple Fitness. I have that as a part of my subscription and it doesn’t have any kind of recommendation feature though; it’s just a subscription to watch guided workout sessions if you want to go seek them out.
The watch still has all of the health and workout tracking features available without it. Garmin is slated as more of a fitness-based watch so it doesn’t surprise me they might have different features than the Apple Watch does.
costs to maintain software and add features...
...and shareholders to please...
Arguably the bigger cost sink.
Most definitely.
Wonderful news. That means less electronic junk to recycle, much less pollution.
I'm actually quiet happy to own a dumbphone and no smartwatch. Having a powerful Linux laptop is great, but I came to the conclusion humans need low-tech for their mental health. Not having tech around me helps me focus, go on nice walks, write what's on my mind and read books. I just feel happier.
If you aren't careful, the things you own can end up owning you.
Ironically, owning a smart watch is what helps me keep focused. I can put my phone down and not be tempted to look at things on it. The watch will alert me if I get a call and only certain notifications go to it while my phone stays parked somewhere else in the house.
Honestly, I’ve been tempted to get an LTE one and stop owning a smart phone… the only thing holding me back is my job requiring one.
Same here. Phone stays in my pockets and I can do all my timers, alarms, calculator, and reminders to leave for appointments. Especially useful while cooking.
Can confirm the LTE models are totally worth it especially if you have AirPods and some music streaming service (or get a model with enough storage for your local songs). It’s amazing being able to just walk out of the house, still have music, notifications, the ability to call emergency services, directions, and even my 2FA unlocks when needed all on my wrist, all day. And unlimited data is only a $10 addon to my existing provider line.
Same, I hardly ever look at my phone anymore during the day. I just glance at my notifications from my watch, if it's not important I swipe it away and if it's something I need to follow-up on I'll just leave it for later. Then I go right back to whatever I was doing.
I get distracted a lot less these days, and my phone gets insane battery life now. My Pixel 6 is several years old now, but it still regularly gets 48+ hours of life because of how little wear I put on the battery.
I was honestly hoping that’s where phones would go - watch for calls and standard phone stuff, tablet for anything big. Now I think there’s a place for glasses instead, and def for all the various things we do when standing around bored
Or you could set this up on your phone. It sounds sort of nonsensical to say you need to focus and not be distracted by your phone while also finding a way to keep yourself distracted by your phone. Maybe try being without any of it and learn to exist apart from it instead of finding increasingly smaller devices to keep you connected at all times.
That would be awesome, and I regularly do so on vacations, but let’s be real here: I like having a job so I can have a house and food and pay for goods and services when necessary. Being constantly connected is a basic requirement and responsibility for employment, so I’m going to choose the connection with the least impact on my daily life.
Sick Fight Club reference, bro
As much as I dislike Windows and smartphones the current nature of the world is that that are all necessities for most people.
Windows just has so many programs built up with it over the years and it’s really hard to convince people to jump to Linux and deal with all the compatibility problems. Things are getting better, but right now it’s like real time raytracing with how it’s perpetually 4-5 years away from being realistic.
Smartphones are an absolute necessity for the vast majority of people. If you don’t have a laptop or some other computer your phone is likely the only way you are able to apply for jobs nowadays. It’s also the easiest way to access your banking services with plenty of banks offering online banking now. Let alone social media and how important that has become in everyday life. Sure dumb phones can handle calling, texting and voicemail but for most people that isn’t enough anymore.
Our mental health and the demands of the modern world are at odds. I doubt we can or will ever go back to simpler technology because of the way things are in the world.
I used to think this about Linux but it's just not the case for the vast majority of software now. The switch is a lot less painful than you're making it out to be. As far as the modern world goes, it demands this bs because we let it and things still got done without the smartphone.
As much as I dislike Windows and smartphones the current nature of the world is that that are all necessities for most people.
I was told Linux is incredibly difficult to use, Windows is so much safer/better.
Honestly, I used to believe this, until I installed Linux. Well, I was just lied to. I very easily installed everything that I need. My Linux distro works just fine. I can even play my favorite games. To this day, I haven't moved back to Windows. The Microsoft empire is based on aggressive lobbying and advertising, not on superior product quality.
Billionaire-owned multinational corporations spend hundreds of billions of dollars a year on advertising. They have entire teams that study consumer psychology. The goal of advertising is to undermine human rationality.
If humans were purely rational, why would they waste billions on advertising ?
They would just say "here are our products. Here are our prices. Buy them if you want to".
Smartphones are also the easiest way to access your banking services with plenty of banks offering online banking now.
I don't need to access my banking services 24/7. I have cash and a debit card that does the job. If I need to see my bank account, I just use my computer.
What you need and what you think you need are not the same things.
You're speaking my language.