Apple often works in mysterious ways when it comes to releasing new products and keeping older ones alive or deciding to kill them off, so while the company’s 2020 Series 6 smartwatch, for instance, was officially discontinued the very next year, the ancient 2017 Series 3 is somehow still around and available from many major US retailers.
Of course, that doesn’t make the S3-powered Apple Watch Series 3 a smarter buy than any of its successors… as long as you can find said successors at reasonable enough prices.
Released in 2018 and 2019 with faster S4 and S5 processors under their hood, the Apple Watch Series 4 and Series 5 are currently up for grabs for as little as $139.99 and $159.99 respectively. Seasoned bargain hunters will probably not be shocked to hear these are refurbished Woot deals we’re talking about here, with all “scratch & dent” units on sale for a limited time shipping alongside the e-tailer’s own 90-day warranty and solemn promise of flawless functionality.
Your “fully working” iPhone-compatible wearable devices may exhibit a “moderate level of wear & tear”, mind you, while packing a battery guaranteed to function at “minimum 85% capacity” and either supporting just GPS connectivity or also adding standalone 4G LTE technology to the equation.
Naturally, a cellular-enabled unit will cost extra, but at $149.99 and $179.99 respectively, the Apple Watch Series 4 and Series 5 are pretty hard to turn down in these versions as well.
That LTE-capable 44mm Apple Watch Series 5 with an Always-On Retina display and a built-in compass feels like a particularly great bargain right now, undercutting a GPS-only Series 3 in brand-new condition at its regular price.
If for some reason you actually prefer the Apple Watch Series 3 over the Series 4 and 5 or simply want to spend as little money as possible, Woot can also hook you up with that oldie starting at a measly $95.99 for a limited time in refurbished condition. You’re essentially looking at the textbook definition of an unbeatable price there, but we really can’t stress how much better the Series 5 will be… if you can afford it.
