There are two kinds of tech consumers. Those who appreciate the cumulative "patina" of daily life and those who prefer the brand new look. I definitely fall into the latter group who desires perfection. Like the dazzling white of newly fallen snow, I love unblemished examples like new cars with their perfect paint or an iPhone screen without any scratches.
Where others may see a nick on their device as a fond souvenir of that time they went camping, I simply see an ugly scar that needs to be eliminated. If this describes you as well, then I highly recommend that you steer clear of Apple’s aluminum watch and stick with the stainless steel model. You’ll thank me later.
I’ve owned countless cheap watches, PDAs, phones, gaming devices, etc. but the stainless steel Apple Watch does something that I’ve never seen before. Like the comic book hero Wolverine, it can heal itself from all wounds. It’s amazing.
The sapphire screen is truly a marvel. I’ve literally rubbed it against brick walls on multiple occasions and gasped when I thought I saw a mark. But like one of Wolverine’s bullet holes disappearing before my eyes, the would-be scratch magically gets wiped away. It’s always residue from whatever it banged into that just looks like a scratch.
I’ve seen screens on the cheaper aluminum watch that just looked horrible after a few months. Why? Because they accumulate scratches and abrasions. And once they’re on there, there’s nothing you can do about it. They are there to stay. The Ion-X screen is like a phone screen. If you rub against it with a hard object, it’ll leave a mark that you’re going to see when the screen isn’t lit. This drives me up the wall on my iPhone, so I knew it would on the watch as well.
Think about what your iPhone looks like after a year, then ask yourself if you want your watch to look even worse. Because it’s a lot easier to prevent scratches to your iPhone. For starters, you can put screen protectors on your iPhone or keep it in a protective case. That’s a lot harder to do with a watch. Also, you generally don’t swing your iPhone wildly through the air as you walk through doorways. You can leave your iPhone in your pocket while you get dressed or wash your hands.. Your watch, not so much.
So if you’re the type of person who hates a scratched up screen, don’t buy the aluminum and get the stainless steel version. After seventeen months of ownership of my original Apple Watch the screen is unblemished perfection. It’s worth every penny to me look down at my screen after almost a year and a half and not see a single scratch. I wish my iPhone was like this. I can’t wait for iPhones to get sapphire screens or something just as scratch resistant.
Also, the shiny stainless steel body isn’t just attractive eye-candy. It also has the ability to be restored to its like-new, dazzling old self any time you feel like polishing it. As you go through your day, it’s inevitable that you’re going to bump against various objects with your watch. You may not think it was a significant blow because your watch absorbs the hit like a helmet for your wrist. But swinging your arms through a doorway or reaching into a desk drawer can leave a mark on that shiny surface if you bang it hard enough.
But here’s the good news. Any mark can be removed and the surface made as smooth as new. The only caveat is that the deeper the gash, the more work it’s going to take. I polish my watch about every three months. All I do is put some aluminum polish on a microfiber cloth and rub the surface down. Since I haven’t had any deep scratches, it never takes more than ten minutes to restore my watch to its original glory.
A lot of people will question the wisdom of purchasing the stainless steel version since you can get the exact same watch experience with the cheaper aluminum. That is true if you don’t care about appearance. Both watches have great looking screens in the beginning when you’re standing in the store trying to make up your mind which to purchase. The real question is how will they look six months later? Further, and this is a matter of personal taste, I find that the dull aluminum finish looks downright ugly in comparison the stainless steel. Plus, you’re limited to the number of watch bands that will match nicely with that finish.
Every time I polish my watch, I can’t help but smile at how awesome it is to restore it. You can’t do that with the aluminum version, and it’s why I’ll never buy one of those. I’m an accountant, so I sit at a desk all day long. As a consequence, I see my watch a lot during the day in passing when I’m not using it. My arms happen to be on the desk at a keyboard. The people around me will also see it, so I want my watch to look good.This is unlike an iPhone. If my iPhone is in front of me, it’s because I pulled it out to do something specific. Not just look at it.
But I recognize that not everyone cares whether their devices have scratches or nicks. I’ve seen some people who didn’t seem to mind using iPhones that even had cracked screens. These people are actually the lucky ones amongst us. They possess a freedom which I can only imagine. For the rest of us, we pony up and purchase devices that are either scratch resistant or able to be repaired.
I’ve owned countless cheap watches, PDAs, phones, gaming devices, etc. but the stainless steel Apple Watch does something that I’ve never seen before. Like the comic book hero Wolverine, it can heal itself from all wounds. It’s amazing.
The sapphire screen is truly a marvel. I’ve literally rubbed it against brick walls on multiple occasions and gasped when I thought I saw a mark. But like one of Wolverine’s bullet holes disappearing before my eyes, the would-be scratch magically gets wiped away. It’s always residue from whatever it banged into that just looks like a scratch.
I’ve seen screens on the cheaper aluminum watch that just looked horrible after a few months. Why? Because they accumulate scratches and abrasions. And once they’re on there, there’s nothing you can do about it. They are there to stay. The Ion-X screen is like a phone screen. If you rub against it with a hard object, it’ll leave a mark that you’re going to see when the screen isn’t lit. This drives me up the wall on my iPhone, so I knew it would on the watch as well.
Think about what your iPhone looks like after a year, then ask yourself if you want your watch to look even worse. Because it’s a lot easier to prevent scratches to your iPhone. For starters, you can put screen protectors on your iPhone or keep it in a protective case. That’s a lot harder to do with a watch. Also, you generally don’t swing your iPhone wildly through the air as you walk through doorways. You can leave your iPhone in your pocket while you get dressed or wash your hands.. Your watch, not so much.
So if you’re the type of person who hates a scratched up screen, don’t buy the aluminum and get the stainless steel version. After seventeen months of ownership of my original Apple Watch the screen is unblemished perfection. It’s worth every penny to me look down at my screen after almost a year and a half and not see a single scratch. I wish my iPhone was like this. I can’t wait for iPhones to get sapphire screens or something just as scratch resistant.
Also, the shiny stainless steel body isn’t just attractive eye-candy. It also has the ability to be restored to its like-new, dazzling old self any time you feel like polishing it. As you go through your day, it’s inevitable that you’re going to bump against various objects with your watch. You may not think it was a significant blow because your watch absorbs the hit like a helmet for your wrist. But swinging your arms through a doorway or reaching into a desk drawer can leave a mark on that shiny surface if you bang it hard enough.
But here’s the good news. Any mark can be removed and the surface made as smooth as new. The only caveat is that the deeper the gash, the more work it’s going to take. I polish my watch about every three months. All I do is put some aluminum polish on a microfiber cloth and rub the surface down. Since I haven’t had any deep scratches, it never takes more than ten minutes to restore my watch to its original glory.
A lot of people will question the wisdom of purchasing the stainless steel version since you can get the exact same watch experience with the cheaper aluminum. That is true if you don’t care about appearance. Both watches have great looking screens in the beginning when you’re standing in the store trying to make up your mind which to purchase. The real question is how will they look six months later? Further, and this is a matter of personal taste, I find that the dull aluminum finish looks downright ugly in comparison the stainless steel. Plus, you’re limited to the number of watch bands that will match nicely with that finish.
Every time I polish my watch, I can’t help but smile at how awesome it is to restore it. You can’t do that with the aluminum version, and it’s why I’ll never buy one of those. I’m an accountant, so I sit at a desk all day long. As a consequence, I see my watch a lot during the day in passing when I’m not using it. My arms happen to be on the desk at a keyboard. The people around me will also see it, so I want my watch to look good.This is unlike an iPhone. If my iPhone is in front of me, it’s because I pulled it out to do something specific. Not just look at it.
But I recognize that not everyone cares whether their devices have scratches or nicks. I’ve seen some people who didn’t seem to mind using iPhones that even had cracked screens. These people are actually the lucky ones amongst us. They possess a freedom which I can only imagine. For the rest of us, we pony up and purchase devices that are either scratch resistant or able to be repaired.
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