David Hanak We wrote a short one on Tuesday report about how the newly introduced iPhone 8 and 8 Plus fares in the reviews of major foreign editors who have tested the phone since its launch last week. The reviews sounded quite positive, and according to many, the iPhone 8 (and 8 Plus) is a really top-notch phone, which is somewhat unfairly overshadowed by the hugely anticipated iPhone X. However, in addition to the new phones, foreign editors tested one more important product that Apple presented at the keynote. That's what they are Apple Watch Series 3 and as it turns out from the first reviews, it does not arouse such enthusiasm as the new iPhones.
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The main currency of the new Series 3 is the presence of LTE. Apple Watch with this equipment should be essentially a separate device, no longer dependent on whether its owner has an iPhone in his pocket. However, as it turned out in many reviews (we wrote about it a few hours ago), LTE is definitely not working as it should and Apple is already working on some software patch.
One of those who registered the problem with LTE were the editors of the server The Verge. And it was the connectivity issues that ran through their entire review. The author was definitely not enthusiastic about the new watch, as he said it definitely did not meet expectations (and Apple's promises). It's still not that "magical" seamless device. During the review, there were stutters when using Handoff and switching between Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and LTE (when it happened to work). Music streaming is also not completely seamless, just like the Siri implementation is definitely not 100%. The author's conclusion was that he definitely cannot recommend the purchase of the Apple Watch Series 3 yet.
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Another affected by the LTE issue was The Wall Street Journal. Here, too, there was a certain aftertaste from the text, which stemmed from the fact that Apple did not quite fulfill what it promised with the new Apple Watch. Battery life is said to be dismal (esp when using LTE) and only a very limited number of apps work if you don't have your phone with you (e.g. Instagram, Twitter, Uber don't work). However, the biggest problem is connectivity. LTE outages were noted by both editors, on three different models that were used in two different countries and on two different carriers. Something is clearly not right.
On the contrary, they were more positive about the review on the server Wired. According to them, this is the first truly smart watch that can actually be used. According to the author, the first two generations were more of an iPod Touch. However, the Series 3 is "almost an iPhone". Lots of great stuff for AW3. Cooperation with AirPods makes this pair a great solution for listening to music, the newly solved notifications are great (once you play around with their settings a bit), and for the first time ever, the watch frees the user from having to have his phone with him all the time.
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Reviews on other websites are in a similar spirit. How 9to5mac, So CNET a Daring Fireball they appreciate the newly available connectivity, improved Siri and tweaked fitness apps. However, there are again complaints about battery life, which really suffers during more active use. Reviewers also don't like the charges the Apple Watch has in the US. This is usually an extra $10 on top of the already expensive monthly plan.
In general, it seems that the Apple Watch has a good foothold, but it would still need another month for "fine-tuning". Problems with LTE and the activation of some features that are not yet activated are only a matter of time. However, hardware limitations, such as limited battery life, cannot be adjusted too much. It will be very interesting to see what the reactions will be in the domestic scene, where the LTE model is not available. It was hardly tested in foreign reviews.
If we don't deal with esim in the Czech Republic - is it a better alternative than watch 2???
if you have a Watch 2 and would like to switch to the 3 without LTE, it is definitely not worth it...
And if I don't have one and I'm thinking about buying one, which one? Is it possible that AW3 are cheaper than AW2?
Thanks for the opinions.
AW2 is being withdrawn from the market and will be replaced only by AW3 and + zustavaj AW1. If you don't have a back then number 3
I don't have it - it would be the first watch...
Which should I buy AW3 or AW1? Another question: aluminum scratches a lot, is that true?
Ad scratches aluminum - I wouldn't even say, I have the very first AW for a long time and they are practically untouched.
Ad AW1/AW3 – I think that the difference here is not negligible even in the classic version (LTE does not make sense to solve in the Czech Republic yet).
A quick summary of the first days with AW https://toastmaker.wordpress.com/2017/09/30/apple-watch-series-3-hlinikove-non-lte/ Maybe it will help someone in making a decision. Comments welcome.