No, this has nothing to do with Dickens, or the French Revolution. What it does have to do with is a recent discovery of mine as the proud (almost) owner of two new watches. The first watch is the ‘Apple Watch Series 6 (GPS) 44mm Space Gray Aluminum Case with Black Sport Band – Space Gray Model: M00H3LL/A SKU: 6215931′ (list price $429), and the second one is the ‘Wyze Watch SKU: WW3′ (list price $19.99). Here are some images of both watches:
Apple
Wyze
OK, I know what you’re all thinking! Why would Maxson (the original Cheapskate) part with $429 bucks for an Apple watch when he could get a perfectly good one for only 20 bucks. Here’s where I have to come clean. The fact is, I didn’t pay anything for my Apple watch. As an elderly gent, I qualify for a ‘hearth-health’ study called Heartline. This is a 3-year study, and participants can opt to either buy an Apple watch at a reduced price or borrow a watch for the duration of the study, with the understanding that the watch needs to be returned at the end of the study.
I opted for the loan since tech changes so quickly and I know in 3 years we won’t even be wearing watches anymore. Sensors will be embedded in our skin and my earbuds will tell me the time, weather, and anything else I want to know. Plus we all have smartphones. Who will need a watch? That’s my reasoning anyway.
So, on Monday (3/29/21) I receive my Wyze watch and the games will begin. I’m REALLY interested in seeing how the two watches compare and what kind of wrist tech one can get for a combined investment of $20.
IT’S ALIVE!
First impressions: the Wyze Watch is a little bit larger (47mm face vs 44mm), a bit thicker, a bit heavier, and a lot less refined than the Apple Watch. So there are two questions to be answered. First, is it worth $20. And second, is the Apple Watch worth $409 more. Having had the Apple Watch for almost a week now, and the Wyze Watch for 20 minutes, y’all are just going to have to wait a bit for the answer to these two important questions.
Update 5/25/2021 – I haven’t forgotten about you, I just got really busy and find that wearing two watches is a hassle. So you can probably guess which watch gets the most love these days. You guessed it – the Apple Watch. I really like it, it works great, looks great, and pretty much does everything a smart watch should do. So, for the moment, this is where I need to park this discussion.
The Apple Watch is a great watch. The Wyze Watch is a good watch. If faced with a choice in the real world (which this isn’t because the Apple Watch cost nothing), I would not spend $429 on an Apple Watch – even if I could afford it. This mindset applies to other Apple products as well. New iPhones are too expensive, as are MacBooks. Buying these products a few years after their introduction or refurbished is the way to go (for me). And I do buy them because they are good devices, just not a great value for the money in my mind.
PS – I’ll check back in sometime in the future, but that’s it for now. Ciao…
