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Watches and wearables · Apple Watch

Apple Watch Series 6

11owners with an opinion
44%of verdicts positive
4/5positive/negative since 2024
5 yrslongest happy owner
3happy after 3+ years

Praised for software and battery; criticized for reliability and display.

What owners wrote

Likes itOwned 5 yearsStill going
I’ve got an Apple Watch Series 6 that has had an always on clock face for 5 years. In the flashlight mode in the lowest brightness I can see burn in, but nowhere else can I see any sign of burnin. So oled burn in is not a totally solved issue but it’s not a big enough deal for me to care when the literal worst case scenario of an always on clock face does not cause real issues after years.
NeutralOwned 5 years
I had an Apple Watch Series 6 for about five years and the battery degraded to the point it needed just about two charges a day. Then I found out about the new Fitbit Air in June and picked one up. Advertised battery life is 7 days; I tend to get closer to 6. It does the sleep/activity tracking I want (though not quite as good as the AW if I'm honest). The extra benefit is I've cut out smartwatch features from my wrist. I got tired of having notifications on a watch and rarely needed special apps or anything either. I really only used the AW for telling time, date, temp/weather conditions, and payments; but most of the time I have my phone or I'm near a computer anyway.
Likes itOwned 3 yearsStill going
I have been using Autosleep now with an apple watch 6 - for 3 years daily. The learnings and the gamification are huge for me. I got my deep sleep up from 1.5h to consistently over 2h. Learnings: - early to bed makes more deep sleep. Huge difference from 10pm or 12am - magnesium doesn’t help at all - sauna before does help, but hard to do daily - deep sleep less than 1.5h makes for an awful day with angry mood - cold room: biggest lever. Haven’t pulled the trigger on an 8sleep yet. But that wouldn’t be my next thing if sleep wouldn’t be so great. - also, as weird as it sounds: having something exciting to work on improves sleep by a lot. YMMV
Doesn’t like it
Mine got slow with the latest update. I stopped wearing it mostly and I don’t think I will get another smart watch. I’m more tempted by those screen less fitness tracker pucks. The Apple Watch is just too expensive for something that goes obsolete far faster than a normal watch. The watches I owned before the Apple Watch 6 are still in perfect condition and as good as the day I got them while the AW is bordering on ewaste.
Doesn’t like it
Incidentally, just replaced batteries in my Apple Watch S6, MBP M1 2020, and iPhone 12 Pro Max during a one-day visit to Shenzhen. A dude in Huaqiangbei did everything in two hours for a small fraction of what Apple would charge. ECG stopped working reliably after the battery replacement, but otherwise the watch should be good for another few years (stuck on watchOS 26.x)
Likes it
As an iPhone+AW (S6) user, I consider the two devices married, perhaps even sharing the same mind. Almost everything that I can do with one is instantly and transparently mirrored on the other. I can still leave my phone at home, and since I don't have a mobile connection on the watch (intentionally), it means I'm truly and fully offline - but I get to keep many features. I can listen to music (direct connection to BT headphones), tick items off the shopping list, pay for stuff, look up my schedule, etc. Some things could work offline where they currently don't (e.g. weather, maps/public transport), but the caching/syncing is overall surprisingly decent. Unfortunately, it's all using private APIs, no third party watch has the same access, and you can't e.g. pair the AW with an iPad. But otherwise I think it should be the golden standard (perhaps DMA could get Apple to open up the APIs).
Likes it
My Series 6 Apple Watch lasts from about 8am to midnight every day. If I wanted to sleep while wearing it I'd just take it off around 11pm and it'd be done charging almost every time by midnight, sometimes even sooner. I used to religiously wear Pebble watches because they lasted forever between charges. But in all honesty I just don't find the one day battery life of AW to be that bad considering how quickly they charge. IMO they do have all-day battery.
Likes it
There are cases, but credit where its due, I think they are generally very generous in bringing new features to older devices, compared to plenty other companies that basically forget about they ever released another device the moment a new one drops. E.g. the apple watches really “inherited” a good chunk of all the new features to the point that there are several versions that are basically identical. Like, I have the 6, and besides the on-screen keyboard (for which I guess the screen was too small based on their testings) and temperature-sensor reliant features, it does almost everything the new 10 will be able to do.
Doesn’t like it
My series 6 consistently said I had 4 minutes more sleep time than in bed time, and neither really noticeably tracked anything. Our a and Fitbit sleep tracking might not be truly accurate, but at least they’re semi plausible.
Doesn’t like it
Huh, just yesterday I started setting up and getting used to my new (to me) Apple Watch Series 6, after having used a Pixel Watch 2 for several months. I'm surprised to find myself somewhat disappointed, and preferring my Pixel Watch, though I'm still giving myself some time in case it's just familiarity. But a few things: * The available watch faces are pretty underwhelming, particularly digital ones. There's only a single one that actually includes the seconds, as far as I can tell. And the only one with lots of complications is Modular, which sticks the time in the corner, and has a big unwieldy complication in the center. My kingdom for Pixel Watch's Utility. * No watch face store!? * I can't seem to set up a minimal all-red face for night time, like I had on the Pixel Watch. * The heart rate complication is just a picture of a heart that I click and it takes me to a widget that measures my heart rate. I had a real time glance on Pixel Watch, right in the complication, always up to date. * The sleep tracking is weird and confusing. I need to set up schedules and such? On the Pixel Watch, it just tracks my sleep automatically. * Subjective, but I still like the size and shape (round) of the Pixel Watch more than this Apple Watch, for now.
Doesn’t like it
I've had an iPad since the month they came out, and over that time 3 full sized and one mini. The mini was by far the best for me. Small enough to be one-hand able without strain, and bigger than a phone for browsing, reading, and mail. It's dead, replaced by a mostly unused series 6 full sized one, but it's too big. Screen is to big for typing without strain, unless it's down on a table. Split keyboard is ok, but then tapping on the url bar is a strain. Phones are too small for my eyes without glasses, and I don't like mobile browsing. Mobile sites have decided that because there's no physical space, all the margins need to be super huge so nothing fits on screen. (though, that's also an issue with some mobile apps, like @ my bank) Maybe on a Pro/Plus it would be ok, and I'll probably go for one next time. Either that or I'll go low end for the phone and try to put all my mobile stuff on the next mini. If I could just get the phone hardware/software on the mini. Even if an iPad could run MacOS, it's just more comfortable to do it on an Air. On the lap, the keyboard holds up the display.
Neutral
I had a Fitbit Sense pre-ordered prior to today. The timing of Apple's release is pretty smart (and likely intended), considering the Sense doesn't ship for another 2 weeks. I ended up cancelling my Sense pre-order and bought the Apple Watch Series 6 today.