My mom completely doesn’t care and dismisses this as “natural wear and tear”. I’m concerned though because I’m worried they are a sign I am doing something to my watch that I shouldn’t be doing, which could manifest in ways that would be much more serious. I have my brand new shiny Series 8 now and I want to keep it in good shape because I plan to use it for a long time.
In particular, I’m worried what I’m looking at here is a sign of water damage. These watches have for several iterations now been rated as safe to swim in and even have software features that are only useful in the water. So I felt it was okay to take my watch with me swimming in our pool. But when I tell people the watch is safe for swimming, I am almost universally met with severe skepticism – occasionally even outright laughter at what a fool I am to think that. They say that no computer can be water resistant enough to actually swim with, that Apple is lying about what the watch can handle to sell more watches, and that I am going to ruin my watch. I thought they were being silly but this makes me wonder if maybe I should be listening to them after all. It would be extremely inconvenient to be without my Apple Watch in the pool, but if it really isn’t actually safe to swim with then I shouldn’t be doing it.
The old Series 4 my mom has been using until now, which was also previously mine, also has these stains, but they are not nearly as severe (maybe 10% as bad) even though even though it has been used a great deal more frequently for swimming over its life than the Series 6. It was also bumped and dinged a lot more than the Series 6 was. The rainbow effect suggests some kind of oil to me rather than water. But I really don’t know what’s going on and maybe I was just luckier with that watch somehow.
Anyone else notice these markings on their own watch? I’d be particularly curious if anyone with an older watch who has never swam with it still manages to have markings like this. Any insight/advice/comments about this are appreciated.
