Jimmy T Tran

March 18, 2021

New Old Apple Watch

I spent a lot of time (about an hour and a half) trying to buy a new OLD Apple Watch. Not one of the snazzy new ones, but the years old Series 5 Aluminum. It has the always-on display (nice to have when talking to people, without being rude). The Streaks app (sooo good!) I just downloaded has a watch face for it (Series 4 and up). My Series 2 is generally slow too, which is annoying. It was on sale on Best Buy (and Apple), they're trying to clear inventory. 

I don't need the latest health features, probably when I'm older, and they have non-invasive glucose monitoring (knock on wood).

I was considering the Apple Watch SE because the pricing was close to the year old Series 5, but the SE doesn't have always on-display, hell naw.

I spent a lot of time deliberating whether I should get the Cellular version or not. On top of the extra hundred bucks or so I would have to pay to get Cellular, I would have to pay an activation fee (of $40 I think) and $10 a month ($120 a year). I'd rather just load music/audiobooks onto the Series 5 GPS - no need to stream the latest album. Also, when I go for a run/walk, I don't need the latest album in my ears, just anything to drown out the doldrums. So yeah, not worth the $120 a year. Thankfully, Apple Pay works without cellular (NFC is stored on the phone). 

I was going to buy it off Amazon Renewed, but the first review sounded like a customer service troubleshooting experience I would have gladly paid the premium to avoid. Best Buy also has the option to ship it to my nearest CVS or UPS Store, more peace of mind, rather than shipping it to my house address, worried if someone was going to steal it.

Lastly, I wanted to commemorate the career changes in my life, as well as the near-ending of this pandemic. For most of my watches, I have a story.

I was thinking about giving my Series 2 to one of my students, but lately I've been thinking about money a lot (as I get older). Most likely, I'll sell it back to Apple for $60, hopefully.

This Best Buy deal came with 6 free months of Apple Fitness+, which is nice. I've been buying a lot of my tech from Best Buy lately, because of their deals, and shipping/delivery convenience. So this is how they stay in business, in an Amazon world.