Anyone order?
I ordered an iPhone XS Max (gold 256) which will be delivered on 9/21. This was a year where I think a lot of people will skip upgrading as it is a more incremental year. Next year is probably a "better" year to upgrade.
I upgraded for 2 reasons. First I do the Apple upgrade program. I have to pay the sales tax on an upgrade but otherwise the monthly amount doesn't change much. Of course, I was halfway through paying for the Apple X and now I have a new 2 year agreement so I understand that I am paying for it.
If Apple had only offered the iPhone XS for this year I don't think the upgrade would have been worth even using the upgrade program.
But, I did decide to go for the bigger screen of the XS Max. It was a bit debatable because I did like the X being smaller in width/length than my 7 Plus had been. That said -- the extra screen real estate on the Max is attractive. I particularly was swayed by the option of a split screen in horizontal mode for some apps. That is very, very attractive to me.
Still - if I hadn't been on the upgrade program I might have waited for next year's model.
I also today decided to order an Apple Watch 4. I have been on the fence about the Apple Watch ever since it came out. I have long used a Fitbit and been happy with it. In fact, I have the Fitbit Versa smartwatch which is only a few months old. (DH will likely inherit it from me).
I felt that the Apple Watch fitness stuff wasn't as good as on Fitbit and I didn't like that it didn't measure heart rate continuously.
Also, battery life isn't as good and many people have to charge the Apple Watch overnight. I would want to use it at night with sleep tracking apps.
But -- I finally decided this was the year to switch. The big draw for me was couping the Apple Watch with cellular with the iPhone Max.
Currently with my Fitbit, it doesn't measure calorie burn/heart rate very well when I am at the Y doing strength training. So I use a chest strap heart rate monitor. Fitbit won't allow the chest strap to directly attach to it. Instead the chest strap has to talk to an app on my phone and then that app sends the heart rate data to Fitbit and I get better calorie burn data.
The negative is that I have to have my phone with me while exercising. That is tolerable with the iPhone X but I don't look forward to it with the iPhone Max.
The Apple Watch 4 solves this problem. No -- it isn't any better at measuring calorie burn and heart rate during weight lifting. But -- it will let you directly sync a chest strap monitor with it. So, I don't have to have my phone there. Now -- I like having a phone available however.
That is why I am getting the cellular version of the Apple Watch. It will act as a phone in the absence of my actual phone. That way when I am places where a large iPhone would be inconvenient to use I can just use the Apple Watch.
I think the battery life will be OK. I can charge it when I am getting dressed, showering in the morning and then charge again in the evening when getting ready for bed. That should be enough to get me through most days.
The Watch isn't scheduled to be delivered until 10/12 to 10/19 but maybe it will arrive earlier....