David Hanak On Tuesday evening, Apple presented with great fanfare the news for this fall and the coming year. In my opinion, the reactions to the keynote are rather lukewarm, as many people did not get the "wow" effect that they might have expected. Personally, I am one of them, as I was hoping that Apple with its new iPhone X would convince me to trade it in for a year-old iPhone 7. Unfortunately, it didn't happen for several reasons. We may discuss these reasons in one of the next articles, today I would like to focus on the second thing that occurred to me at the keynote, or on featured products, weird. It is about Apple Watch Series 3.
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Several months before the keynote, it was already known that the Series 3 would not be a major revolution, and that the biggest change would appear in the field of connectivity, when the watch would receive LTE support and thus be a bit more independent of its iPhone. As predicted, it happened. Apple really introduced the Series 3, and their most important innovation is the presence of LTE. However, as it turned out, this news is double-edged, as it is available (and will be for a long time) only for a few selected countries. For the LTE version of Series 3 to work as intended, operators in a given country must support the so-called eSIM. Thanks to it, it will be possible to transfer your phone number to your watch and use it much more independently than was possible until now. However, a problem arises for the Czech customer, as he would look in vain for eSIM support from domestic operators.
If the whole problem ended there, it wouldn't really be a problem at all. It would simply not be possible to make phone calls (via LTE) from the new Apple Watch, otherwise everything would be as it should be. However, the inconvenience occurs at the moment when Apple combines equipment elements (in this case LTE) with the design of the watch itself. Series 3 are sold in three variants, according to the material of the body in which everything is stored. The cheapest variant is aluminum, followed by steel and at the top of the list is ceramic. The whole stumbling block occurs here, because Apple does not offer an LTE watch model on our market (quite logically, if they don't work here), which of course means that there are no steel and ceramic body models for sale here. Which, among other things, also means that if you want a Series 3 with a sapphire crystal, you're just out of luck, because that's only available on steel and ceramic body models.
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A situation has arisen where only the aluminum version is officially available on our market, which will definitely not suit everyone. Personally, I see the biggest problem in the impossibility of choice. I wouldn't buy an aluminum Apple Watch just because aluminum is relatively soft and prone to damage. In addition, the aluminum Apple Watch comes only with ordinary mineral glass, the hardness and durability of which cannot be compared with sapphire. The customer thus pays 10 crowns for a watch that he will have to take care of like an eye in his head. This does not go well with the fact that this is a product that is primarily intended for all active users. Then explain, for example, to a mountain climber that he should be extra careful with his watch, because Apple simply won't offer him a more durable option.
On the one hand, I understand Apple, but on the other hand, I think they should have left the choice to the users. There are certainly those who would appreciate the presence of steel and ceramic Series 3, and the absence of LTE would not fundamentally bother them. It is possible that the offer will change in the coming months, but this looks very strange. Several countries in the world have a product available that is not sold in those other parts of the world. I don't remember Apple doing anything like this in recent history, all products (I don't mean services) were usually available globally…
Good day. As I already asked in one of the previous articles, is it possible to use a watch with an LTE module in the Czech Republic? I'm talking about the Sapphire glass and not LTE. I am afraid that the watch will not want to search for the network and thus drain the battery.
Nobody has them anywhere yet, so you're probably asking unnecessarily. ;-)
Why wouldn't it be possible to use them? They will work just as well without LTE. :)
"I don't recall Apple doing anything like this in recent history,
all products (not services I mean) were usually available globally…”
Well, this is not true - the first Apple Watch was only available in a few selected countries for a long time and not in the Czech Republic!
"I wouldn't buy an aluminum Apple Watch just because aluminum is relatively soft and prone to damage."
but it's not ordinary aluminum after all, but a special alloy apparently similar to the one used in the iPhone6s and iPhone7
I have the first Apple Watch Aluminum, I wear it every day and during various sports and they are still completely scratch-free, including the display! Yes, I'm not a climber ;-)
However, I would also like to know how AW3 LTE will work in the Czech Republic without eSIM?
There are and were quite a few of those restrictions on territories at Apple. Most in services.
I agree. I have eWatch 1 for almost a year, I don't take them off my hand: glass without a scratch, aluminum has a few scratches on the upper left corner, otherwise nothing.
This is good news. I'm still thinking of going to Germany for the Watch 3 because of the sapphire. I currently have a Watch 1 with stainless steel and sapphire.
..yeah, that's right, the author is out, what about Apple Pay? What about a physical Apple store? How long did the iTunes store not work in the Czech Republic... etc etc... Let the reviews be written by someone who understands things... for God's sake.
I would say that here it was meant to be that while in the past we could have all variants of watches in our country, now suddenly due to the LTE version the offer is considerably limited. I understand what the author meant by that and I agree that Apple could have made the other materials available without LTE.
And that's a nice advertisement for my own magazine, which I don't even publish yet...
And in half a year it will be bought by Text factory and a new name will be sought :) I don't like the idea of a paid rabbit in a bag without ads at all.
They will be sold here when there is an operator who can meet Apple's conditions, which will not be within a year and a day.
So go to Germany and buy what you want there. Problem solved.
That probably won't help you much without a data plan in CR ;-).
So I wouldn't curse the Czech Republic so vehemently. For example, T-mobile has eSim basically after testing and almost ready to use, it just complained that there are no devices, which is a chicken-and-egg problem. Ireland, where Apple (doesn't) pay taxes and where every other person has an iPhone, won't see AW3 with LTE in the next 6 months either. The situation is the same as in the Czech Republic. And Irish telecommunications operators are essentially copies of UK know-how. It's a fact that it's stupid from Apple. I understand the article. On the other hand, the LTE watch is said to drain in an hour. Bottom line: The quality of the articles on Jablíčkář has (of course subjectively) declined rapidly in recent months. Two people already write here that they don't even have a scratch on the aluminum, all my acquaintances with aluminum AW complain that the watch gets scratched easily with just a little active all-day use. So I don't know where the truth is.
Hi, I'll drop it here, sorry for offtopic.
Yesterday I repaired my keyboard (thin aluminum, wide with numlock, wired).
I wanted to buy a new one, but they are no longer available???
As a replacement is wireless for 4500??? What "nerd" buys this?
This is unacceptable to me.
Even the original one was quite expensive. But the 1500 still managed to defend its price.
Does anyone have a tip on where to buy an older wired version?
Or any alternative for mac?
Thanks.
Did they really stop making normal wired keyboards? That's probably not possible. I was told by an Apple salesperson the other day that no one wants the Bluetooth ones... Here are the keyboards for Mac: http://matias.ca/products/
Cool! Thanks for the link.
I also got a Slovak one (about three keys are different, maybe I'll change them, but it doesn't bother me yet).
Otherwise, yes, they can no longer be found normally.
Typical for Apple lately: if they don't buy us overpriced nonsense, we discard what makes sense.
I dealt with it at the former agency where I worked (they have about 50 macs): it's a problem for them too, and the wired keyboards hold as much as they can.
Well, I would be interested in why Apple didn't start AW 2 in the offer then, when it is so limited by operators.
The fact that the alloy/aluminum used is durable, light and the glass is more flexible than sapphire and suitable for sports has less chance of cracking. That's why the aluminum version is marketed as a sports…
Is it intended for active users? I can already see climbers with AW :-D. That's funny... I don't think I know any athletes who would do sports with AW :). That's what non-athletes think
No, gentlemen, this is bullshit. Everyone in my family has a basic apple watch, and when I look at them from an angle, they are so devastated, a million micro-scratches, even the body is charged. And they are lazy people without activities. I have the first generation apple watch with sapphire, with them I built a fence around the barracks, I made a lot of lost formwork - those situations when I drove the glass through the roxor (I don't protect the watch in any way),... So many hours of work in the dust, when I cut bricks with a flexo and he turned out like a snowman - and my watch is absolutely like new, without the slightest scratch. I learned to ignore their protection - they are unscratchable. I will be buying the third series, and yes, it will be with sapphire, the next women's watch will also have sapphire. And one last thing for Martin Prose - I'm an athlete, I run with AW, his post offends me.
I wouldn't even say sapphire is that important, thanks for the info, I'll keep that in mind.
My previous watches were so narrow that I didn't scratch them even with a normal glass without sapphire :-). I have new sapphire ones (Not AW, Garmin), but because they are wide, something can get scratched on them, so besides the sapphire glass :-D. See my more detailed comment above ;-).
I will attach my experience with AW durability. I've had the AW Nike edition (series 2) since Christmas, I consider myself an athlete, but I'm thinking I'm done with AW for now. And that for two reasons: 1. Durability - it seemed OK to me until, as I noticed, I slightly hit a corner while walking. A light blow, but the display cracked all around and was only holding on to the connector. Absolutely devastating to me, mainly because I didn't do any risky shit. 2) I am missing a sensor for a stopwatch, intermediate time, etc. for accurate measurement of sections. The touch display is unusable for this type of training.
I taped the watch and I'm waiting to try the new OS4. Then I will probably definitely decide on some really sporty alternative. I am truly sorry…
I'm glad for these real observations, thanks. To be honest, I currently have a Fenix 5 and then the thing that bothered me the most was the price ;-).
Otherwise, good luck choosing a competitor and I'll send you a couple of tips :-).
MINUS:
1. I call them a tank and I understand why. No one cares about scratches on the tank ;-).
So after a month of use, I have 3 scratches on the metal parts. It's not much to see, but it still bothers me with such expensive things. There is nothing on the glass, it is completely clean, but it is actually embedded under the metal part, which is really quite prone to scratches. (my older watches were made of synthetic material, just like glass, but because they were super tight, even after a year I didn't manage to get a scratch on the display or the watch. Surprisingly, that synthetic material is not as prone to scratches as metal.
2. Metal straps can only be shortened/enlarged by a watchmaker, and if they don't fit -+1,5 cm, you're screwed, because that's the smallest piece that can be removed :-). So an interesting add-on for 4k. In addition, it seems to me that the strap does not suit the watch so much, because on the side of the watch it is made of synthetic material.
(The only advantage is that if you have a narrow hand, the strap can have half the weight.)
3. When going out on the snow, my watch got stuck, I had to do a reset, turn off the activity and then turn the activity on again. Combining activities was not possible.
My verdict is that I would not buy this watch again, the price is excessive due to this and other problems.
4. Measuring a night of activity is very indicative in the following cases:
You lie in front of the telly and watch (don't sleep :-) ) the TV, but you don't move much.
If you don't get up immediately after the alarm in the morning, but you're still rolling around.
– in the current version, it is not even possible to manually set when you go to sleep or when you wake up
5. Measuring heart rate through optics is worth the old backour if you have cold hands. I often have cold hands in badminton when I reach a weaker teammate and I don't have to throw much on the court. Then the heart rate is completely off (place 130-140 shows around 100-110). But the problem is in the technology itself, because with cold hands the blood really doesn't flow as much, so logically the competition will also suffer.
PROS:
1. To give a plus rating, you need to evaluate the activities immediately after completion, that is very interesting.
2. Compared to the competition, absolutely brilliant battery life.
3. Absolutely bomb battery life.
It might seem that points 2 and 3 are the same, but they seemed so important to me that I rather wrote them twice :-D.
4. Compared to some competitors, it is possible to receive notifications or receive calls when the activity is on (it can be optionally set, I want it or I don't want it).
5. A pile of accessories for absolutely everything (but the price....).
6. Measuring everything you can think of, swimming, running, etc. with the chest TRI waist
I ordered the watch, it will be clear in 10 days. After trying it, I will write a shorter review so that others can make up their own minds.
@martintopinka:disqus Hello, can I ask how it looks with the review, or where can i find her then? Thanks a lot for the info!
I'm going to pick them up today. The whole thing was delayed, I was in the hospital for 7 days. On the toastmaker.wordpress.com blog, but not until next week.
Done! Sepsilon I really rushed it, but hopefully it will help someone in making a decision toastmaker.wordpress.com
Which one should I buy? AW1 or AW3? Do they scratch a lot of aluminum? And do you prefer black aluminum or silver aluminum? Thanks