I’ve been using Apple watches since the series 0,
and I’ve upgraded basically every single year, but this year I’m returning mine.
In this honest long term review I’ll not only tell you exactly why,
but also why the series 6 is by far the best Apple watch yet, and why if you can afford it,
you should absolutely buy one over the SE or a discounted series 5.
The Apple watch has been shockingly successful,
and I see them everywhere. When I ask people about them they always say they love them.
The Series 3 is still being sold and bought like crazy,
so how can Apple get people to spend more money on a Series 6 instead of the less expensive ones?
Basically its Incremental new features and little exclusives that force people to spend more,
and by the looks of it, it's working.
This year we have a few new colors which are really cool,
mine is the product red, and we have the new blood oxygen sensor and always on altimeter.
Of course you have ECG support and probably the biggest one is always on display.
If you need those sensors for health reasons the Series 6 is absolutely worth it,
but I feel like most people don’t, and they buy the top model for just one or two reasons.
After usings the S6 for a while now, I think that most people
should buy the series 6 not because of the few incremental improvements
like the maybe brighter display, but for the real world differences that Apple didn’t advertise.
The Series 6 has killer battery life, way better than before and I don’t know why Apples not making
a big deal about it. On top of that, after 2 generations we have an actually new processor
that not only allows for this battery life improvement but super smooth perfect performance.
Now Most people don’t care about an occasional stutter with a cheaper watch, but as I was
brainstorming, going over our comments, and contemplating returning mine, something became
really clear to me. Most people make buying decisions based on today, and not how they will
use the product a few years from now, and with Apple watches people keep them longer than phones.
I’m seeing tons of people keeping them for 3,
4, and even 5 years. When we start looking at it from that perspective, the extra $50
to $100 from a discounted series 5 or even $120 over an SE starts to make a lot more sense.
Forget the extra sensors, or the cooler colors, or even the always on display,
the series 6 is going to be a supported and smooth running watch 5 years from now, and that's
something I can’t say for my series 5 or the SE which already have some occasional slowdowns.
On top of that we have some features that almost no one is talking about and Apple didn’t mention
that really make it a nicer device. First off that U1 chip that only the S6 has.
We still know very little about it, but based on leaks it will allow the apple watch to not only be
very accurately found but lots of authentication support for accurate secure unlocking.
Right now you can unlock your Mac with your watch, but the U1 will be much more secure allowing you
to unlock your house or even your car quicker and way more security. Every new Apple device
is getting the U1 chip, so having this in a watch you’ll keep for years is a good thing.
Another great S6 feature that wasn’t mentioned is the new taptic engine. This might seem minor,
but notifications are so much nicer and more pronounced than the older apple watches.
It's still silent but the vibrations feel twice as strong
and I’ve definitely appreciated that especially when using it as a silent alarm to wake up.
The brighter display in the always on mode when its dimmed and when you’re outside can be nice
as well. I’m saying it this way so you won’t get confused. When Apple said the display is
2.5 times brighter many people didn’t understand it completely, even us when we first tested it.
The display brightness is identical to the series 5 in most scenarios.
My biggest complaint with the series 5 is how much the screen dims in its always on mode
and I wished Apple would let us choose to keep it brighter but sacrifice battery life.
At the same time I understood why they didn't’. I end most of my days with about 10% battery life.
Despite the larger battery the series 6 still doesn’t let you customize it,
and in normal lighting it's exactly the same.
Now let's talk about the most impressive part that Apple won’t even admit to,
that battery life. It's still rated at 18 hours like my series 5 but there's a
world of a difference. Instead of ending with 10%
at the end of the night I now get 35-40% and others have commented they end the day with 50%.
Now let me tell you why having that extra 30-40% of battery life can make a world of a difference
to many of you, and how some of you can get double the battery life compared to an SE.
Even though I end my day with 10% battery, other than the display at its brightest setting
I’m not someone that pushes my Apple watch very hard. I exercise but it's usually not long and
usually indoors. The times that I have, for example, went hiking, my Apple watch
ends up dying before the end of the day, a few times before I was even done with my workout.
If I don’t take my charger, I’m without notifications or tracking for the rest of the way.
With the series 6 this will be much less of an issue,
and not only that, it charges 20% faster as well.
Another benefit is for sleep tracking which just came out with watch os 7.
With my series 5 I have to place it on a charger an hour before bed and
then once again in the morning or else it dies a few hours in to the night.
With the series 6 you can charge it once in the evening
or when you wake up and get ready for the day, and this is always on display.
If you’re someone considering between an SE that doesn't have an always on
or spending more on the Series 6, if you turn off the power draining always on display mode,
your battery life will skyrocket.
I’ve seen people get over 2 days of use and that's with sleep tracking and workouts,
which no other Apple watch can do.
That's thanks to the faster more power efficient processor,
the larger battery, and the lack of 3D touch hardware.
If you don’t need fantastic battery life, keep in mind as time goes on your battery degrades, and I
saw one guy who upgraded to series 6 just because his 2 year old series 4’s battery no longer lasts
throughout the day. With the 6 that extra battery life will really come in handy 3 years from now.
Let's get into the disappointments and even though the series 6 is so nice, why I’m returning mine.
I already told you about the always on display that still dims way too much for my liking,
even though the battery life is there to allow it to be brighter.
To me this was my biggest excitement and If it was 2.5x brighter in normal lighting
which is where I use my watch 90% of the time I would keep it.
Right now I still have to raise my wrist to clearly see complications.
The second disappointment is the oxygen sensor is super sensitive. Half the time
it doesn’t end up working so that along with my levels usually being fine I don’t ever
use it. I do hope that it can be improved with software for those that need it.
The last thing is minor, but the product red sport band doesn’t match the watch at all,
and many commentators thought we were shipped the wrong one which we weren’t.
Last year I solely upgraded for the always on display and this year, even though the upgrade
is much more substantial for my use case, charging every night works fine, and I’m no longer using
the sleep tracking feature. If I used that, or if I was a lot more active outdoors, or if
I was going to keep the watch for 3-5 years the extra battery life would be well worth upgrading.
But because of this channel I’m almost certain I’ll upgrade next year
so I’m not too worried about battery degradation and though I
love the better vibrations but that alone isn’t worth spending more money.
With all of that said, if you’re considering buying a series 6 and you can afford the extra
price over an SE or a discounted series 5 I would absolutely advise you to buy it.
It's an excellent watch and you will be happy with it for many years. Make sure to check out
the links in the description for discounted apple watches and also the merch shelf where you can
find super comfy premium shirts, hoodies, and even maks which support our efforts here on youtube.
If you want to see my direct detailed comparison with the series 5 or Vadims excellent review of
the Apple watch SE with Apple's Master plan, those are right there, and click
above to subscribe to see more videos. This has been Max and I’ll see you in the next video.