![Apple Watch Series 3 [GPS 38mm] Smart Watch w/Silver Aluminum Case & White Sport Band. Fitness & Activity Tracker, Heart Rate Monitor, Retina Display, Water Resistant](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71vCuRn4CkL.__AC_SY445_SX342_QL70_ML2_.jpg)
I love this machine. I work a demanding job in management and it is so nice having my Apple Watch alert me of texts, calls, notifications, etc. I'm always on call and it's very important to keep a pulse on messages from staff and my company. When clients are nearby it looks so much more professional to glance at my watch instead of drag out my phone. It synched many of my apps, all contacts, calendar, etc. I feel like a spy when I ask Siri from my watch to remind me of an engagement or to look something up, spell something out, etc. I do not have a data plan with it, but the extra $10 on my phone bill would be well worth it. Right now my phone needs to be within 30-40ft from my watch to get notifications, but it still functions perfectly as a watch without the phone with many, many apps and features most tailored toward health and exercise. Even though it is comfortable, I do not currently sleep with it on, but I can't deny how handy it is to have your wake-up alarm on your wrist especially if the wake-up is a vibration instead of a jarring noise right away in the morning.
I did a lot of research to what smart watch to buy. I decided to go with Apple because they have quality products built to last. I went with the smaller size watch because I have small wrists and don't need the larger screen. I love that you can change the display screen to whatever you want and the weather is handy to me with a flick of my wrist. I decided to go with the Series 3 because it had everything I needed and I'm very glad I went with the 3 instead of the 5. I thought I would like some of the 5's features but the 3 has everything I need at a reasonable cost! It is also very easy to change out bands and protective cases. You can have any color out there to match any outfit!
Only downside so far is that it only keeps a charge for about 2 days, but charging it is very easy and fast. It has just become routine to charge my watch overnight just like my phone.
This is a must-have in this virtual world!
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| Price | From: - | From: - | From: $279.99 |
| Ratings | (9,187) | (5,167) | (5,469) |
| Case Size | 38mm, 42mm | 40mm, 44mm | 41mm, 45mm |
| Case Thickness | 11.4mm | 10.4mm | 10.7mm |
| Display | Retina display | Retina display, 30% larger than Series 3 | Always-On Retina display Nearly 20% more screen area than Apple Watch SE and over 50% more screen area than Series 3 |
| Processor | Dual-core S3 processor | 64-bit dual-core S5 processor; Up to 2x faster than S3 | S7 with 64-bit dual-core processor; up to 20% faster than SE |
| Optical Heart Sensor | Optical heart sensor | Second-generation optical heart sensor | Third-generation optical heart sensor |
| Digital Crown | Digital Crown | Digital Crown with haptic feedback | Digital Crown with haptic feedback |
| Altimeter | Altimeter | Always-on Altimeter | Always-on Altimeter |
| Speaker | 50% louder than Series 3 | 50% louder than Series 3 | |
| Fall Detection |
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| Compass |
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| Noise Monitoring |
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| Blood oxygen sensor (Blood Oxygen app) |
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| Electrical heart sensor (ECG app) |
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| Capacity | 8GB | 32GB | 32GB |
| Power | USB-A magnetic charging cable | USB-C magnetic charging cable | USB-C magnetic fast charging cable |
| Bluetooth | BT 4.2 | BT 5.0 | BT 5.0 |
Reviews with images
The many faces of Apple...Love it!
I LOVE LOVE LOVE this watch. I hate to say that about anything but I have to be truthful.My husband bought me what I asked for, a Fitbit for MD. It worked fine, user friendly and all but the flimsy ratchet band is its weak link; I broke it easily the first day. That and the pins to fiddle with and be lost when replacing the band, smh—stupid design. So he returned it and I order a Huawei watch3 which, if I’m honest, I liked better than the Fitbit in looks and and strength in the band—but again that awful ratchet thing. It’s biggest problem was the screen wouldn’t swipe easily which I dont know if it was a defect or what, and the app is no bueno. Returned it and guess what? The Apple Watch 3 was on sale, only a few dollars more than the original Fitbit I had received. Now I am a long time Apple user—iMacs, iPads, iPhones, MacAir, etc, kind of sickening really—so I shouldn’t have been surprised they are up on their game. (Though I still use iPhone 7+ and don’t see I’m missing anything in my dtrs Xr.)I haven’t swam with it which was my prime motivation for a fitness watch but will update when I do. You have to download a sleep app and that worked great I’m sad to say—sleepless night last night. I hiked with it this morning and it seemed accurate, easy to use. I return texted my dtr on it all last night just to do so—you can speak your text or write it with your finger, both work great.I actually haven’t used the music or radio functions which require a Bluetooth headset but mine downloaded 11 minutes of my favorite music. It has a camera function which I find it misleading to say it has a camera—it is essentially a remote for the camera which is on your phone. Of course I couldn’t imagine a real camera being this tiny but I couldn’t figure out how it worked either until I heard my phone snapping pictures of the counter from across the room.I quite like the Breathe app which sounds ridiculous but we are a nation of shallow breathers because we don’t exercise enough (well I swim three hours a week and hike two but most people don’t.) Yet I like being reminded to focus on breathing and I set it at the longest intervals so I will deep breathe—good to lower blood pressure.I love the many faces of this watch and after playing around with them, even using a recent picture looking down into my Betta fish tank and the mandala made of its colors decided on the traditional look ( all above) with my monogram.I will eventually get more bands and a cover but for now the white matches my iPhone so I’m happy. Someone said you’ll never need another watch and I’d say that’s correct—until series 6 or 7 maybe.Oh one thing more, I don’t know about the battery life yet and some people complained you can’t wear it to sleep because you’re charging it every night; my question is why? Do you not sit and watch tv before bed when it could be charging, or are you going to rate that too somehow? Or charge it in your car on the way to or from work. Time management people is all I can say—no pun intended but it’s a good one huh?Update June 12, 2019: I have swam with this watch multiple times and love it. It not only tracks your laps but tells you which ones you did—even an ‘unknown’ lap when I was dolphin kicking but making nonsense arm motions just to get it to track bc it won’t track when you’re arms aren’t in motion. It gives calories burned as well as split and auto sets. I keep my heart rate on that screen too because that’s most important to me as I do intermittent cardio while swimming. (I do see now that the step counter is quite off for me. I do not believe I often walk 15,000 steps a day just around the house or even shopping. )Sadly I did find the battery has a very short life if you use it as it is factory set. I was having to charge it twice daily but then I found how to adjust settings for battery conservation on the Apple site. Now it lasts a good 27 hours or so without charging. I have to tap to get the time but the constant glowing face in the dark when flicking the wrist was annoying anyway so that works well for me.I really like the flashlight on the watch as I often go to bed after my husband so I can see and still use my hands unlike a phone or handheld flashlight. One more thing, the alarm on the wrist is particularly handy so you don’t have to wake the whole household when it’s only yourself getting up. (Well I only need a wrist shaking to wake up; if you need four alarms this won’t work for you, lol.)
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Reviewed in the United States on September 26, 2020
Reviewed in the United States on November 25, 2018
Reviewed in the United States on May 24, 2019
I LOVE LOVE LOVE this watch. I hate to say that about anything but I have to be truthful.
My husband bought me what I asked for, a Fitbit for MD. It worked fine, user friendly and all but the flimsy ratchet band is its weak link; I broke it easily the first day. That and the pins to fiddle with and be lost when replacing the band, smh—stupid design. So he returned it and I order a Huawei watch3 which, if I’m honest, I liked better than the Fitbit in looks and and strength in the band—but again that awful ratchet thing. It’s biggest problem was the screen wouldn’t swipe easily which I dont know if it was a defect or what, and the app is no bueno. Returned it and guess what? The Apple Watch 3 was on sale, only a few dollars more than the original Fitbit I had received. Now I am a long time Apple user—iMacs, iPads, iPhones, MacAir, etc, kind of sickening really—so I shouldn’t have been surprised they are up on their game. (Though I still use iPhone 7+ and don’t see I’m missing anything in my dtrs Xr.)
I haven’t swam with it which was my prime motivation for a fitness watch but will update when I do. You have to download a sleep app and that worked great I’m sad to say—sleepless night last night. I hiked with it this morning and it seemed accurate, easy to use. I return texted my dtr on it all last night just to do so—you can speak your text or write it with your finger, both work great.
I actually haven’t used the music or radio functions which require a Bluetooth headset but mine downloaded 11 minutes of my favorite music. It has a camera function which I find it misleading to say it has a camera—it is essentially a remote for the camera which is on your phone. Of course I couldn’t imagine a real camera being this tiny but I couldn’t figure out how it worked either until I heard my phone snapping pictures of the counter from across the room.
I quite like the Breathe app which sounds ridiculous but we are a nation of shallow breathers because we don’t exercise enough (well I swim three hours a week and hike two but most people don’t.) Yet I like being reminded to focus on breathing and I set it at the longest intervals so I will deep breathe—good to lower blood pressure.
I love the many faces of this watch and after playing around with them, even using a recent picture looking down into my Betta fish tank and the mandala made of its colors decided on the traditional look ( all above) with my monogram.
I will eventually get more bands and a cover but for now the white matches my iPhone so I’m happy. Someone said you’ll never need another watch and I’d say that’s correct—until series 6 or 7 maybe.
Oh one thing more, I don’t know about the battery life yet and some people complained you can’t wear it to sleep because you’re charging it every night; my question is why? Do you not sit and watch tv before bed when it could be charging, or are you going to rate that too somehow? Or charge it in your car on the way to or from work. Time management people is all I can say—no pun intended but it’s a good one huh?
Update June 12, 2019: I have swam with this watch multiple times and love it. It not only tracks your laps but tells you which ones you did—even an ‘unknown’ lap when I was dolphin kicking but making nonsense arm motions just to get it to track bc it won’t track when you’re arms aren’t in motion. It gives calories burned as well as split and auto sets. I keep my heart rate on that screen too because that’s most important to me as I do intermittent cardio while swimming. (I do see now that the step counter is quite off for me. I do not believe I often walk 15,000 steps a day just around the house or even shopping. )
Sadly I did find the battery has a very short life if you use it as it is factory set. I was having to charge it twice daily but then I found how to adjust settings for battery conservation on the Apple site. Now it lasts a good 27 hours or so without charging. I have to tap to get the time but the constant glowing face in the dark when flicking the wrist was annoying anyway so that works well for me.
I really like the flashlight on the watch as I often go to bed after my husband so I can see and still use my hands unlike a phone or handheld flashlight. One more thing, the alarm on the wrist is particularly handy so you don’t have to wake the whole household when it’s only yourself getting up. (Well I only need a wrist shaking to wake up; if you need four alarms this won’t work for you, lol.)
My husband bought me what I asked for, a Fitbit for MD. It worked fine, user friendly and all but the flimsy ratchet band is its weak link; I broke it easily the first day. That and the pins to fiddle with and be lost when replacing the band, smh—stupid design. So he returned it and I order a Huawei watch3 which, if I’m honest, I liked better than the Fitbit in looks and and strength in the band—but again that awful ratchet thing. It’s biggest problem was the screen wouldn’t swipe easily which I dont know if it was a defect or what, and the app is no bueno. Returned it and guess what? The Apple Watch 3 was on sale, only a few dollars more than the original Fitbit I had received. Now I am a long time Apple user—iMacs, iPads, iPhones, MacAir, etc, kind of sickening really—so I shouldn’t have been surprised they are up on their game. (Though I still use iPhone 7+ and don’t see I’m missing anything in my dtrs Xr.)
I haven’t swam with it which was my prime motivation for a fitness watch but will update when I do. You have to download a sleep app and that worked great I’m sad to say—sleepless night last night. I hiked with it this morning and it seemed accurate, easy to use. I return texted my dtr on it all last night just to do so—you can speak your text or write it with your finger, both work great.
I actually haven’t used the music or radio functions which require a Bluetooth headset but mine downloaded 11 minutes of my favorite music. It has a camera function which I find it misleading to say it has a camera—it is essentially a remote for the camera which is on your phone. Of course I couldn’t imagine a real camera being this tiny but I couldn’t figure out how it worked either until I heard my phone snapping pictures of the counter from across the room.
I quite like the Breathe app which sounds ridiculous but we are a nation of shallow breathers because we don’t exercise enough (well I swim three hours a week and hike two but most people don’t.) Yet I like being reminded to focus on breathing and I set it at the longest intervals so I will deep breathe—good to lower blood pressure.
I love the many faces of this watch and after playing around with them, even using a recent picture looking down into my Betta fish tank and the mandala made of its colors decided on the traditional look ( all above) with my monogram.
I will eventually get more bands and a cover but for now the white matches my iPhone so I’m happy. Someone said you’ll never need another watch and I’d say that’s correct—until series 6 or 7 maybe.
Oh one thing more, I don’t know about the battery life yet and some people complained you can’t wear it to sleep because you’re charging it every night; my question is why? Do you not sit and watch tv before bed when it could be charging, or are you going to rate that too somehow? Or charge it in your car on the way to or from work. Time management people is all I can say—no pun intended but it’s a good one huh?
Update June 12, 2019: I have swam with this watch multiple times and love it. It not only tracks your laps but tells you which ones you did—even an ‘unknown’ lap when I was dolphin kicking but making nonsense arm motions just to get it to track bc it won’t track when you’re arms aren’t in motion. It gives calories burned as well as split and auto sets. I keep my heart rate on that screen too because that’s most important to me as I do intermittent cardio while swimming. (I do see now that the step counter is quite off for me. I do not believe I often walk 15,000 steps a day just around the house or even shopping. )
Sadly I did find the battery has a very short life if you use it as it is factory set. I was having to charge it twice daily but then I found how to adjust settings for battery conservation on the Apple site. Now it lasts a good 27 hours or so without charging. I have to tap to get the time but the constant glowing face in the dark when flicking the wrist was annoying anyway so that works well for me.
I really like the flashlight on the watch as I often go to bed after my husband so I can see and still use my hands unlike a phone or handheld flashlight. One more thing, the alarm on the wrist is particularly handy so you don’t have to wake the whole household when it’s only yourself getting up. (Well I only need a wrist shaking to wake up; if you need four alarms this won’t work for you, lol.)
Images in this review
