Apple Watch Series 3 Owners Thread

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adida101

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Topic # 223595 7-Oct-2017 15:04

So I finally took the plunge and picked up a 42mm Series 3 Apple Watch Nike from Noel Leeming yesterday, after having been thinking about it since the first one launched 2 years ago. Was considering waiting for the LTE version to launch here but decided I couldn't wait any longer.

Have to say I'm glad I finally bought one, I see it making my life better in a lot of little ways, although it's in no way essential.

Share your experiences with the new watch here!

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Reply # 1879143 7-Oct-2017 16:43

I bought one this week from Apple. Upgraded from a series 2 purely for the speed increase. I'd love an LTE model but I'm on a corporate mobile plan so unless I can work out some way to either have my employer pay the extra charge or deduct it from my salary, I can't see that happening for some time.

When you live your life on Twitter and Facebook, and are only friends with like minded people on Twitter and Facebook, you are not living in the real world. You are living in a narcissistic echo chamber.

My thoughts are my own and are in no way representative of my employer.

corksta

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Reply # 1879180 7-Oct-2017 20:00

geekiegeek:
I bought one this week from Apple. Upgraded from a series 2 purely for the speed increase. I'd love an LTE model but I'm on a corporate mobile plan so unless I can work out some way to either have my employer pay the extra charge or deduct it from my salary, I can't see that happening for some time.

How are you finding the speed increase over the Series 2? I’m considering upgrading for this reason too, looks like it’s a fairly noticeable increase?

PhantomNVD

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Reply # 1879191 7-Oct-2017 20:28

Anybody looking to upgrade their series 2 for the series 3 please feel free to PM me with a price 😬

mattwnz

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Reply # 1879221 7-Oct-2017 20:41

corksta:
geekiegeek:

I bought one this week from Apple. Upgraded from a series 2 purely for the speed increase. I'd love an LTE model but I'm on a corporate mobile plan so unless I can work out some way to either have my employer pay the extra charge or deduct it from my salary, I can't see that happening for some time.

How are you finding the speed increase over the Series 2? I’m considering upgrading for this reason too, looks like it’s a fairly noticeable increase?

I have seen some vids on the speed difference, and the speed increase doesn't seem that great. They are both not the fastest machines to use, but on the stock apps they both load fairly quickly. Also once they are loaded into the memory the most regularly used apps load quickly. It is the first load that always takes time. I have never felt that the series 2 is too slow. The drawback on the s3 model seems to be that it is thicker, and apparently people who have upgraded have noticed that.

corksta

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Reply # 1879226 7-Oct-2017 21:38

mattwnz:
corksta:
geekiegeek:

I bought one this week from Apple. Upgraded from a series 2 purely for the speed increase. I'd love an LTE model but I'm on a corporate mobile plan so unless I can work out some way to either have my employer pay the extra charge or deduct it from my salary, I can't see that happening for some time.

How are you finding the speed increase over the Series 2? I’m considering upgrading for this reason too, looks like it’s a fairly noticeable increase?

I have seen some vids on the speed difference, and the speed increase doesn't seem that great. They are both not the fastest machines to use, but on the stock apps they both load fairly quickly. Also once they are loaded into the memory the most regularly used apps load quickly. It is the first load that always takes time. I have never felt that the series 2 is too slow. The drawback on the s3 model seems to be that it is thicker, and apparently people who have upgraded have noticed that.

It’s 0.2mm thicker.

You’re right about the apps. I’ve seen a couple YouTube videos where it was noticeably faster and another not so much faster, but it seems general swiping and navigation might be faster.

geekiegeek

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Reply # 1879242 8-Oct-2017 06:21

general navigation is faster. I also like having altitude being measured as I've just started cycling to work. Can't say I notice the extra thickness.

My thoughts are my own and are in no way representative of my employer.

adida101

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Reply # 1879450 8-Oct-2017 16:40

Not that I've owned a series 2, but I can't imagine the extra 0.2mm being a problem. It doesn't feel too thick on the wrist, quite a comfortable size and about the same thickness if not slightly less than the non-smart watches I'm used to wearing.

Its been a pleasure to use for the most part so far but one of the gripes I'm having with it is apparently with WatchOS 4 you can no longer browse your iPhone's music library on your watch. You can only browse music that's been synced to the watch or use the simple pause/next/back controls for songs that are already playing on the iPhone. I don't understand why they removed this feature. I'm hoping they reintroduce some version of it with OS 4.1.

Speaking of which, does anyone know if non-LTE watches will be able to stream Apple Music when connected to wifi?

mattwnz

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Reply # 1879495 8-Oct-2017 19:49

corksta:
mattwnz:

corksta:
geekiegeek:

I bought one this week from Apple. Upgraded from a series 2 purely for the speed increase. I'd love an LTE model but I'm on a corporate mobile plan so unless I can work out some way to either have my employer pay the extra charge or deduct it from my salary, I can't see that happening for some time.

How are you finding the speed increase over the Series 2? I’m considering upgrading for this reason too, looks like it’s a fairly noticeable increase?

I have seen some vids on the speed difference, and the speed increase doesn't seem that great. They are both not the fastest machines to use, but on the stock apps they both load fairly quickly. Also once they are loaded into the memory the most regularly used apps load quickly. It is the first load that always takes time. I have never felt that the series 2 is too slow. The drawback on the s3 model seems to be that it is thicker, and apparently people who have upgraded have noticed that.

It’s 0.2mm thicker.

You’re right about the apps. I’ve seen a couple YouTube videos where it was noticeably faster and another not so much faster, but it seems general swiping and navigation might be faster.

Yes, but that is additional to it also getting thicker with the series 2, which in turn was thicker than the series 1. I would like it to have either stayed the same thickness , or get it reduced. But it isn't really a mature product yet, as the there is so much more that they can do with it, such as solar or kinetic charging through the day etc.

dickytim

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Reply # 1879579 9-Oct-2017 06:22

I upgraded from the original to series2 and felt the size and weight difference between them, which was interesting as I hadn't worn my old watch for around 6-8 weeks before my new one arrived!

With the weight increase appears to have come significantly better battery life, but I shouldn't spam the series3 thread with my lowly series2 stories!!!

Anyway enjoy your new watches all. As soon as I got my original watch it made a difference, standing up every hour etc.

geekiegeek

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Reply # 1879592 9-Oct-2017 08:16

adida101:

Its been a pleasure to use for the most part so far but one of the gripes I'm having with it is apparently with WatchOS 4 you can no longer browse your iPhone's music library on your watch. You can only browse music that's been synced to the watch or use the simple pause/next/back controls for songs that are already playing on the iPhone. I don't understand why they removed this feature. I'm hoping they reintroduce some version of it with OS 4.1.

Yeah, I find this annoying. Not being able to change albums or playlists without getting your phone out.

My thoughts are my own and are in no way representative of my employer.

Lumenz

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Reply # 1884696 17-Oct-2017 01:09

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Siri is much faster. We have Philips Hue lights all over the house, so they respond to Siri voice commands a lot quicker than on the Series 2. It's still not "instant", but the difference in lag is noticeable and appreciated.

It's great that Siri now talks back to you, but Apple really need to put some work into the information value of her responses. For example, if I set a timer for 3 minutes, it would be helpful if she responded with something like "3 minutes and counting", rather than just "OK". "Ok" means I still have to check the screen to make sure Siri didn't balls up the instruction (again).

I still find it annoying that we don't have the LTE version (thanks, Vodafone). Watch any YouTube video about the Series 3, and there it is, the shiny red dot that reminds us that we got the lame version. I would have been happy to pay the extra for an LTE model, even if it meant waiting for an undisclosed period of time before Vodafone sort through their revenue-stream fears and thuggery (I am starting to doubt that it's a technical issue). Loving the Explorer watch-face too (LTE only).

Someone said they noticed the difference in weight. Kinda scratching my head a bit there. I've been wearing Apple Watches ever since Series 0 launched, and I can tell you, the difference is undetectable.

I like the new Sport Loop bands. You wouldn't describe them as dressy, but they are a tad more dressed up than the standard Sports Band. They are lighter too. Just be aware that the colours don't look anything like they do on the website. The black Sports Loop looks more like a golden brown, and the Olive looks pale in person (looks black in the photo). Despite the difference, both these straps look very good up close.

adida101

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Reply # 1885928 18-Oct-2017 19:46

Speaking of bands, does anyone know a good place to buy decent third party bands in NZ? Most of the genuine apple ones seem to expensive to justify.. Not too many options on trademe either. I ordered a black leather one from Aliexpress which was decent but would be good to know if anyone's aware of a local retailer.

And also - which ones have you got/are your favourites? So far I've got the original nike one that the watch came with, and I've picked up third party milanese loop and black leather ones which are both good depending on the occasion. Eyeing out a nice brown leather one now..

Lumenz

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Reply # 1885942 18-Oct-2017 20:15

Not local, but they deliver to NZ (from US), Monowear have gained a fairly solid following judging by the YouTube reviews. The classic leather in brown is my favourite. One important detail to note, they will match the clips and buckles to the colour of your watch. Finally, Space Grey is getting some band love! They usually provide a 10% discount code when ordering direct.

https://www.monoweardesign.com

Lumenz

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Reply # 1885957 18-Oct-2017 21:01

If anyone needed another reason to wait for the LTE version, it has twice the memory of the non-LTE version. I didn't think anything of that, until just now... "Your Apple Watch is out of space for music. To make room, remove other albums and playlists from your Apple Watch.".

I have synced my workout playlist, and my favourites (about 4 hours music in total). I have also turned on auto sync for four of the curated playlists from Beats One... and that's it! I can not think of any good reason that the Non-LTE version should only have half the memory of the LTE version, in fact, shouldn't it be the other way around given that the LTE model can stream music?

dickytim

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Reply # 1886012 19-Oct-2017 06:11

Lumenz:

If anyone needed another reason to wait for the LTE version, it has twice the memory of the non-LTE version. I didn't think anything of that, until just now... "Your Apple Watch is out of space for music. To make room, remove other albums and playlists from your Apple Watch.".

I have synced my workout playlist, and my favourites (about 4 hours music in total). I have also turned on auto sync for four of the curated playlists from Beats One... and that's it! I can not think of any good reason that the Non-LTE version should only have half the memory of the LTE version, in fact, shouldn't it be the other way around given that the LTE model can stream music?

My guess would be that the LTE version is more likely to be used with out an iPhone present therefore more music on the watch would make sense.

There is also the higher buy price that may come into it.

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