It’s that time of year when many longtime Apple product users like myself weigh their options. I will preorder one of the iPhone 16 models in a few days.
I still haven’t decided which of the four new iPhones to get. But regardless of which one I’ll pick, it’ll be a great upgrade from my iPhone 14 Pro. It’s not just about Apple Intelligence, which won’t be available in Europe for quite a while.
But the iPhone 16 will not be my main priority when it comes to preorders. I’m actually more excited about buying a new Apple Watch this fall, of which Apple will have three models. The situation is urgent, too, as my current Apple Watch SE 2 shows signs of battery degradation.
My Apple Watch SE 2 is almost two years old, during which time I’ve used it extensively to train for long-distance running. I’ve completed hundreds of miles wearing it, and that includes running several half-marathons and a full marathon race.
Yes, the Apple Watch SE 2 was good enough to last for an entire marathon race which I ran slower than I wanted. The wearable had to track my heart rate and other running parameters for much longer than anticipated. It did it without dying in the process, and I was grateful for that.
At the time, battery health was under 90%. Several months later, I’ve reached 80% and can tell the difference. I now have to charge it a couple of times a day, maybe more than that if I have long runs scheduled.
This is where I tell you that I wear the Watch during the night so it can track my sleep. Therefore, I won’t be charging it overnight. I have to put it on the charger in the morning and then again at some point during the afternoon to make sure it has enough battery to last me through my evening runs.
I’ve realized how bad the battery problem was during a recent 10K run. The Watch died about 500 yards before my run was over. I had not paid attention to the battery charge earlier that evening.
Since I’m training for upcoming races, I’ll have to upgrade the Apple Watch to a new model. I don’t want to be stressed about the Apple Watch SE 2 battery degrading even more than 80%, and there’s no point replacing it. I also want better hardware features.
Apple should unveil three Apple Watch models during the iPhone 16 event. That’s the Apple Watch SE 3, Apple Watch Series 10, and Apple Watch Ultra. The latter would give me the best possible battery life, but I still think it’s too bulky for my needs.
I’d still get the 41mm equivalent of my Apple Watch SE 3. I want the wearable to be as small as possible, as I hardly use it for anything beyond health and fitness tracking.
The Apple Watch SE 3 could be a great upgrade, assuming it gets better health-tracking features. But I think I’ve settled on the smaller Apple Watch Series 10. That’s probably the model I’ll preorder come September.
The Series 10 will reportedly be thinner while featuring an enlarged display. It should also pack a new chip that should be more efficient, battery charging speed at least on par with the Series 9, and, hopefully, blood pressure sensing. I want to start keeping track of my blood pressure, and I’d love it if Apple’s tech were ready for this year’s main Apple Watch models.
Once I’ve fixed my Apple Watch problem, I’ll go on and preorder an iPhone 16 flavor as well.
