From a fringe accessory, smartwatches have become the must-have tech of 2021. They are loved for their convenience and cool aesthetics, but most of them come with fitness functions. Despite being the rage right now, the truth is that getting one is a significant expense. You can try and justify that they improve the quality of life besides telling time, but there is no running from the fact that they are costly. So, if you are want to buy a refurbished Apple watch, consider getting one from an industry expert like Phonebot. This way, you will experience the quality and all the benefit of an Apple watch at a fraction of the price of a new one.
However, before you settle on the smartwatch for you, here is a lowdown of the best refurbished Apple smartwatches to buy in 2021.
Apple Watch Series 6 40mm GPS
Apple has finessed the art of refining its products, and if you are looking for a great smartwatch to buy in 2021, you cannot go wrong with the Apple Watch Series 6. Coming in two versions, a GPS only and a cellular option, it is the Apple Watch Series 6 40mm GPS version that interests us. You can choose between Aluminium, stainless steel, or brushed titanium for the case with many color options, including some for the digital crown. Since the first Apple Watch was released, Apple has gone to work on its later versions to make it lighter, more elegant, and with more firepower. The Apple watch series 6 is a sensor fest in contrast to the first Apple Watch, but that just means more functionality for you.
The Apple Watch Series 6 comes with an always-on display with thin bezels and edges that flow over its square face; therefore, it still retains Apple Watches’ stylish appeal. Its OLED display means that colors are brighter, which improves readability in the sun, and Apple has tweaked the display so that it is now 2.5% brighter with wrists down. This means the views of the face from angles are great—something you will notice if you want to catch a glance of the time or activity.
The functionality of the Apple watch series 6 relies on the S6 chip, which is based on iPhone 11’s A13 Bionic chips. This makes it 20% faster than the Apple Watch Series 5 and miles ahead of any competition—android or other in raw performance. Thanks to this impressive chipset, this series 6 watch now comes with a blood oxygen sensor on top of its EKG monitoring ability. Sleep tracking also features alongside other features like step count, menstrual tracking, calorie counter, noise monitoring, etc. You can access all this data on Apple’s health app anywhere. It takes 1.5 hours to charge the Apple Watch Series 6 fully, and a full charge lasts for 18 hours. This may not be much, but considering the always-on display and with all the features running, it has reasonable battery life.
The GPS feature is a treat as it gives you directions on your wrist, but it’s the improved Siri performance you should look up to. Now you can activate Siri without having to say ‘Hey Siri,’ just lift your wrist to your lips, speak, and Siri will be on hand to help—literally. Speaking of wrists, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, you get a handwashing countdown timer—a gimmick at first, but once you use it, it becomes intuitive. Water-resistance is upto 50 meters, and you can remove any water by twisting the crown—how satisfying is that.
That said, the Apple Watch is undeniably the best smartwatch out there, and the Apple Watch Series 6 40mm GPS makes a strong case for itself. It is one of the best smartwatches you can buy in 2021, and if you buy a refurbished one, it’s even better as it offers better value for money. It gets everything right and takes it a notch higher, and if you are looking for seamless performance, great designs, fast charging, and seamless integration as an iPhone user, you can’t wrong with the Watch Series 6 40 mm GPS.
Apple Watch SE 44mm GPS
The Apple Watch SE 44mm GPS was released at the same time as the Apple Watch Series 6 series. It’s the cheaper of the two, but it’s still an Apple Watch thanks to the large screen, aluminum chassis, and digital crown poking on the sides.
As the cheaper option, the Apple Watch SE comes with the S5 chip from the Series 5 watch, unlike the updated S6 chip of the Series 6. This accounts for most of the differences between it and the series 6 watches. To make it a low-cost option, Apple also removed the always-on display option and blood oxygen sensors. It retains the heart rate monitor with glowing lights to monitor your heart rate. This watch still uses the same OLED screen that is synonymous with the Apple Watch range. At 44mm, it is big enough to give a compelling reason to switch from a smaller display. The big miss is the always-on display, but this comes with battery-saving properties for this model.
Apple has not skimped in making the Apple Watch SE 44mm GPS a staple for fitness and wellness enthusiasts. It comes with advanced location features using Glonass satellites and GPS to improve accuracy. It’s water-resistant for up to 50 meters and now adds sleep tracking. WatchOS 7 brings with its better ways to track fitness activities on the watch. It can still track your performance in over 40 activities and keeps up with other exclusively made fitness watches.
One of the most impressive aspects of the Apple Watch SE is the intuitive watchOS. You can access onboard music if you have an Apple Music subscription and save your favorites for offline listening. Spotify is also available but without the option to download music for offline listening. Since it doesn’t have an always-on display, battery life is better than the quoted 18 hours. Reliable users have gotten constant usage of 24-36 hours on a single charge even when running power-heavy features like GPS.
The Apple Watch SE 44mm GPS is the watch to get if you want an Apple watch on a budget, you should buy a refurbished one as it offers much better value than a new one. If it is the upgrade you need if you are still on an older Apple watch or if you want a cheaper watch with updated features.
Apple Watch Series 4 GPS 40mm Aluminium
It’s with the Apple Watch Series 4 that Apple found the winning formula for their Apple watches—everything after it has mostly been an update of its features. This watch debuted the slim bezels associated with Apple watches, and the large display also had some trick features up its sleeve. For example, it introduced the low-temperature polycrystalline oxide (LTPO) OLED screen, which uses less power. The rounded-edged display on an aluminum chassis gives it a premium look.
Since the display was no longer cramped, icons became larger and friendlier to use. It also meant more and larger watch faces. The performance of the Apple Watch Series 4 is powered by Apple’s 64-bit S4 chip, which almost doubled performance from the previous generation S3 chips. It allows the watch to launch apps much faster and makes all the other functions faster than previously possible. The Apple Watch Series 4 benefited from increased range and bandwidth with the introduction of Bluetooth 5.
On the fitness features, heart monitoring got an improvement to detect low heart rates and an ECG came with a later update to watchOS 5.1. The haptic engine was given a major revamp to give better physical feedback. The digital crown benefitted most from this upgrade because it could simulate scrolling by imitating the physical notches on the crown, making it easier for wearers to scroll without looking. This theatre is what made the Apple watch series 4 an instant hit and Apple doubled down to make the experience of using the watch equally as exquisite. For example, internal storage increased to 16GB and the speakers also got an overhaul. This improved the quality of calls, device volume and practical uses like using walkie talkie.
All of these were hot features at the time, but since the Apple Watch Series 4 still receives regular updates, they still perform as well with new software. This is what makes the Apple Watch Series 4 GPS 40mm Aluminium a serious contender for the best Apple Watch to buy in 2021. Despite Apple still selling them, you can get value for money with a refurbished Apple Watch Series 4 GPS 40mm Aluminium. With the large crisp display, thin bezels, crazy fast speeds, and great fitness features, it will blend in perfectly even with the more recent devices.
Apple Watch Series 2
The Apple Watch Series 2 was a big leap from the first series of Apple Watch. As is typical with most Apple products, the second generation worked out the shortcomings of the initial release. This do-over includes adding things like water resistance, GPS, a better OLED screen, and even a new processor. The Apple Watch Series 2 has a bright OLED display and it was the first Apple watch to have water resistance, but this is just one in a slew of features that make it relevant to date. While waterproofing made it a darling for swimmers, it is the inclusion of GPS that was the more exciting news. You could now track all your runs and cycling, measure distances, and get navigation instructions from the phone. It is an intelligent setup that allowed the phone to use data from other features like the accelerometer if the GPS signal is lost.
“If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it” is the overarching theme on the Apple Watch Series 2. Besides retaining the fundamental design of the watch, the heart rate monitor stayed the same as the one on the Series 1 Apple watch. Featuring a new dual-core processor, all of these worked with relative ease, and the new watchOS 3 gained the most from the added performance. Gestures became smoother and snappier, and in general, the watch got rid of the latency and lag from the first Apple watch.
The Apple Watch Series 2 is a great all-rounder that has stood the test of time. It works well for basic fitness tracking and still works well as a watch. The timeless design gives it the cool factor, and on the GPS version, you can listen to music straight from your iTunes.
That said, if you want the Apple Watch Series 2 as an affordable Apple watch, there are plenty of them available as refurbished watches. They still receive regular updates, and you will enjoy most of its features in the foreseeable future.
Based on this selection, it is clear that you can have a quality Apple watch without breaking the bank. A refurbished smartwatch doesn’t necessarily mean an old device. You can find your refurbished Apple Watch in mint condition or slightly used if you get them from a reputed refurbishing expert. Besides value for money, you will get your smartwatch after depreciation, and the hype around a device has died down—this is the time to get the best deals.