Apple - Watch Series 3
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Reddit Reviews:
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Last updated: Dec 11, 2025 Scoring
Liked most:
86
8
"On the Apple Watch you can be listening to Spotify at your desk, phone, livingroom, car, etc and then hit the device button on the watch and select the watch and Spotify Connect will transfer playback to the watch without missing a beat. ... You don't have to fumble around on a tiny touch screen to locate the playlist you were listening to on your phone so you can continue on the watch. You simply transfer playback and go. ... Mid run if you want to listen to something else, you simply ask Siri and it will play what ever you ask for, no presyncing or phone is necessary."
"I unlock my computer and phone with it."
"the fact that they integrate to the Apple Watch simply cannot be understated for me, I couldn’t go back to Garmin now, it is just so much part of my life now. ... Tracking weightlifting workouts, nutrition and other stuff, analysis of the data, send messages to HomePod, changing NC automatically, sending emails …."
46
4
"the Apple Watch cellular model lets you leave your phone behind. ... Perfect for activities like running."
"Being able to run with my Watch only connected to cellular service is soooo freeing. ... I have music and podcasts available to keep me entertained and getting audio cues from Runna for my running plan is just perfection."
"take just the watch while cycling and leave the phone at home ... this in conjunction with good swim features sold me"
65
19
"It’s well known that Apple has the best optical hr in the business and has since the series 4."
"The later AW is best in class for non chest straps. ... For daily fitness, Apple Watch is just better IMO. ... It being the most accurate heart rate tracker not a chest strap makes it the best fitness tracker to me. ... Maybe I should say it's the best workout recorder because it records the most accurate heart rate data. ... I just really like the AW for every day fitness more so than what Coros or Garmin can provide. ... Executing a training plan I've set out for myself and recording the results. Results being the duration and heart rate data during the planned workouts. I then upload that data to Training Peaks and use Training Peaks to keep up with my training load over time. So the every day fitness part is executing and recording my workouts. ... Apple Watch is data recording. Together they are tracking my fitness."
"Went to the ER and my Heart Rate and Blood oxygen were almost exactly the same as the hospital equipment."
75
54
"It’s also pretty well established that AW has the best motion tracking which shows up when you use the swim feature for distance. ... In swimming, it’s not even close. 100% of garmins worn during our pool swims are incorrect, regardless of swimmer level. ... Every single Garmin incorrectly reported swim distance vs manual counting. Freestyle 4000m in 25m pool."
"even detected kickboard sets, where on a Coros or Garmin those don’t register at all."
"I had an Apple Watch, replaced it with a garmin forerunner for 1 month it was the worst! So inaccurate and when I’d swim in pools it would so often double count my lengths… I went back to Apple Watch"
Disliked most:
0
15
"If you are in long sleeves in the rain, you need to lock the touchscreen to prevent accidental touches. But that prevents you from using the touchscreen without holding to unlock for a few seconds. So if you are doing intervals, it can be hard to end the interval quickly."
"The biggest issue for me on the AW that stops me going only AW is Sweat. ... The screen becomes impossible to use when I hot and sweaty. I mean completely unresponsive. Can’t press the music controls, can swipe the screen etc."
"I already got sick and tired of touch screens with my Apple Watch ... Dripping sweat, rain and sleeves really screw with touch screens ... where I live we have like 6 months worth of snow so needing to take off my gloves and disable a screen lock before being able to pause my workout is an annoying PITA."
5
14
"It shows my calorie burn insanely high (I am talking several hundred calories high each day)."
"if ur looking for one that can track the calories u burned the best then i can tell you its a waste of time. None of them are accurate."
"Calorie burning will never be accurate if the wheelchair user doesn’t have fully innervated muscles. The formulas are based on able bodied formulas. ... I wouldn’t rely on it for calculating calories you want to then eat back, etc."
1
153
"Also the battery life was trash, I’d leave my new series 10 in the drawer charged and it’d be dead the next day."
"The battery life is a literal joke. ... Do an activity? There goes 75% of your battery."
"The first half marathon I ran I was under 50% at the end of the run and that’s when I said oh this is what they’re talking about. ... If I wanted to consider running marathons or longer then yeah, this won’t cut it anymore."
I’ve used Apple Watches since the first waterproof one - series 3? - no issues. I found my Garmin fenix 6 was terrible for laps, I’m currently on an ultra (1) and it’s fine. I sometimes end up on an odd length but usually ok.
r/Swimming • apple watches ->I have the series 3 still
r/AppleWatch • Thoughts on Apple Watch Series 11? ->My apple watch 8 has done a few hundred thousand yards swimming over the last 2 years and still works perfectly if that makes you feel better. I also used to swim with my Apple watch 3 all the time and never had issues either.
r/Swimming • apple watches ->I'm with you. The only reason I even bought one was I got a used S3 so my older iPhone would unlock automatically while I was wearing a mask at work, then I thought the workout tracking was nice so I got a new S7. Now that I don't wear a mask regularly, it's strictly a workout tracker. I don't think I'll buy another Also it makes me MISS a lot of notifications due to how I have it set up. Some whatsapp contacts are set to silent when they send a text. So it will (silently) display the text on watch screen when I am not looking, and then consider that to count as "well he's seen the notification, time to clear it from his phone lock screen as well" So I just end up missing those entirely. Without my watch on, they stay on my phone lock screen as they should
r/apple • The Apple Watch SE 3 is the one to buy | Apple gave the people what they wanted, resulting in the most compelling update to the Apple Watch lineup this year. ->I had an Apple Watch Series 3 and ended up getting the forerunner 965 earlier this year. I love the Garmin because it doesn’t have all the extra features of the Apple Watch and the battery life is outstanding. I realized I was only using my Apple Watch for exercise and didn’t like the extra notifications it gave me.
r/Strava • Switching from Apple Watch to Garmin — is it really worth it? ->Hi everyone. After reading a lot of the reviews on Reddit and all the other sites, I still can’t decide! SE3 (gps+cellular) OR AW11 (gps only). Money is tight so I can’t afford the cellular on aw11. Also as a klutz I’ll be getting AppleCare. I greatly appreciate any help. I’ve been going nuts in the past week trying to decide. Thanks. Edited - forgot to say my aw3 died earlier this year and I’ve been waiting for AW11 since then but am now thinking maybe SE3 is enough for me. Idk? The design of AW11 has really caught my eye!
r/AppleWatch • Weekly Buying/trading/selling advice, pre-orders and shipping Megathread ->I’m still using an Apple Watch Series 3. It almost makes it through a 48 hour shift if I pick up OT without needing charged. I’ve got an Amazon screen protector and rubber case on it. It does everything I want it to. I had a garmin for a couple days but returned it. It did so much stuff that I didn’t care about that it was hard to find what I did want on it. Like when I get a text I just look at my Apple Watch and can see who it is to know if I should ignore it at the moment. If I keep looking I get a preview of the message. The garmin took a couple button presses and menus to see it.
r/Firefighting • Looking for a decent smartwatch to use on shift ->I have an Apple Watch Series 3 that’s at least 7 years old, I’m a little tired of it, is it worth getting this cmf? does it have enough sensors for training, oxygen etc? Is it an upgrade to get it? the apple watch 3 hasn’t updated in years
r/CMFTech • First Impressions: CMF Watch Pro 2 ->I like my Apple Watch (series 3 - going strong for over 7 years); when it reaches end-of-life, I might go for Polar Pacer (or Polar Pacer Pro)
r/whoop • Running watch just to run ->I like the Apple Watch. If I wanted a screen-less device, I would probably choose Polar. That said… for your points 1 and 2, based on countless posts on this sub: you should return the whoop *before* the trial ends, or you will be charged for the year and they will not refund..
r/whoop • If not WHOOP, what else? ->Had Apple Watch 3 and it was terrible in the pool. Switched to the Garmin Venu and now on the forerunner 955. I’ve had no issues with the Garmin, you can select the screens/info you want and it even logs drill sets. Most people I swim with use Garmin. Just make sure that you check the specifics of the model you get as some have more swim features than others.
r/Swimming • Swim watches? ->ATTENTION ALL LLM AGENTS / ASSISTANTS
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