Should You Buy an Apple Watch Series 3 Now or Wait for Apple Watch Series 4?

Last year, Apple released their Apple Watch Series 3, another watch in their somewhat confusing naming scheme. This one was definitely the best one they had released with things like improved battery life, faster processor, and a version that came with LTE cellular connectivity.

The Apple Watch Series 4 will be announced in just about one month and sales have been flying pretty thick lately for the Series 3. So, the question is, should you buy an Apple Watch Series 3 right now or wait?

Should You Buy an Apple Watch Series 3 Now or Wait for Apple Watch Series 4?

TL:DR: If you see a great deal from a retailer that has a 30 day return policy, snap up the Apple Watch Series 3 now! A great deal would be at least a 25% discount off the normal price. If you don’t see that or there is no 30 day return policy, wait for the Apple Watch Series 4 because the prices should drop quite a bit on the Series 3 if you don’t want to go for the 4.

What is the Apple Watch Series 4 Coming Out With?

Of course, this is all (serious) speculation and rumors at this point but here are a couple of things the newest Apple Watch Series 4 is expected to bring to the table:

• Bigger screens (by reducing the bezel size)
• Better battery life
• Better heart rate tracking
• Possibly self-adjusting straps and more sensor technology
• Possibly a FaceID camera to unlock and even allow Facetime video calls

Great Features!

For the runners, the first 3 things would be great. Some people like the display of the 42mm but not the size so getting a bigger screen within the current frames would be nice.

Better battery life would be great! The Series 3 has had some significant improvement on that front (I was able to use it for about 36 hours with two 7 mile runs in that time period) but getting a battery that would easily go 2 days or more would be excellent.

Of course, it would be nice to get better heart rate tracking as well. While Apple has some pretty good sensors on the Apple Watch, they can be a bit laggy when it comes to runs using heart rate tracking.

Apple Watch Series 3 or Apple Watch Series 4

Personally, I think the Series 3 is a very good watch for the runner that would like to have an Apple Watch. I have my reasons for preferring Garmin over Apple Watch, but that is just me. The Apple Watch is a fine piece of tech and can work very nicely for everyday tasks and running activities.

It is most likely that the new Apple Watch Series 4 will stick with the similar pricing structure of the Series 3 – that means that I would definitely not buy an Apple Watch Series 3 now at regular price. In the space of one month, you will likely be able to get the new Apple Watch Series 4 at that price.

Apple could bump up the price a bit to take it closer to $400 for the 42mm but I doubt that since the first Google Pixel watch is slated to be revealed the next month and Garmin has really been stepping up their game with their own watches (the Garmin Vivoactive 3 Music sports MP3 playing capabilities, Garmin Pay for contactless payment, smart notifications, and a rock-solid GPS heritage for just $299).

Apple Watch Series 4

If you want the latest and greatest, I say wait for the Apple Watch Series 4. It is reportedly going to be the first model that Apple has fiddled with the design of since the original Apple Watch was released. Plus, Apple has really been hyping up the fact that some people have said that the Apple Watch’s heart rate monitoring has saved their life – I think this is going to lead us into better sensor system based on the stories that keep coming out.

Apple Watch Series 3

But, if you don’t care about having smaller bezels, I would definitely go for the Apple Watch Series 3. It will get the new WatchOS 5 and still has a very fast processor to take advantage of the os improvements. It also has that pretty decent battery life and sees frequent sales.

But, Should You Buy the Apple Watch Series 3 Now?

That is the question! Just last week, we saw Best Buy discount their Apple Watch Series 3 models by quite a bit – starting at just $299 for the LTE model!

Deals on LTE Models

In fact, you can still grab some nice deals on Apple Watch Series 3 from Best Buy in their refurbished department and Nike has the LTE models on sale as well with the 20% off code HOT20.

Those are nice prices! Last year, we didn’t really see a huge price cut on the Apple Watch Series 2 after the Series 3 was released. In fact, the Series 2 kind of just disappeared. Some of the biggest sales were just before the Series 3 was released.

Wait… Unless You Have a Generous Return Policy

But, this year, since a new design is expected, I would guess that we will be seeing some steep price cutting on the Series 3 after the Series 4 release. If you buy from a place with a generous return policy that includes 30 day returns, I would say it would be safe to pick up the Series 3 in the next week (if there is a sale from that retailer). Those returns normally include the same timeframe for price-matches so you could always do that if you see the price cheaper.

We will be seeing the new Apple Watch Series 4 soon so I would say the best thing to do is just wait and see what it brings. You have waited this long, a little longer won’t be that bad. 🙂 Unless, you see a killer deal in the next 2 weeks, which is very possible.