Early Adopters of Apple Watch Series 3 Share First Impressions and Unboxing Photos

As customers around the world begin to unbox their new Apple Watch Series 3 models, some early adopters have started to share their first impressions and unboxings of the device in the MacRumors discussion forums.

apple watch series 3 up close

Apple Watch Series 3 with LTE shared by MacRumors reader gatorknight904

We've already seen Apple Watch Series 3 reviews from the media, but opinions shared by regular customers can provide additional insight. We've rounded up some of the comments below, which we've edited very slightly for clarity.

While there appear to be some early activation issues, particularly for AT&T and Verizon customers, those who have been able to set up their Apple Watch Series 3 are generally impressed with LTE connectivity and call quality.

"LTE seems to be working great here in Dallas-Fort Worth On AT&T," said MacRumors forum member gatorknight904.

"Agreed," replied MacRumors forum member 3goldens. "I've had no issues whatsoever."

In the Apple Watch Series 3 pre-order thread, several MacRumors readers have shared unboxing photos of their new Apple Watch Series 3 models. Others are still patiently waiting for couriers like UPS or FedEx to arrive.

There is a general sense of excitement throughout the entire discussion topic, with many customers upgrading from an original Apple Watch.

apple watch series 3 gold vs new gold

Rose gold colored Series 1 (left) vs. gold Series 3 (right) shared by MacRumors reader sinerized

"I have to say, this thing is super fast," said MacRumors forum member roncito. "Way faster than I thought, even coming from my first-generation Apple Watch. And the screen is bright too. I love my Apple Watch all over again!"

"Just picked mine up from my local Apple Store," wrote MacRumors forum member virginblue4. "I haven't done much with it, but there is a definite noticeable speed improvement. Also loving the red crown!"

Unsurprisingly, the red Digital Crown that differentiates the Apple Watch Series 3 with built-in cellular is a subjective matter.

"I must say that the red dot on the Digital Crown sure sticks out like a sore thumb," opined MacRumors forum member largefarrva. "Was hoping it would be a little more subdued in person, but it doesn't appear to be the case."

apple watch series 3 unbox

Apple Watch Series 3 unboxed by MacRumors forum member puckhead193

MacRumors forum member rstark18 said he recently purchased an Apple Watch Series 2, but he plans to return it now, as he purchased an Apple Watch Series 3 and found it better delivers the watch experience he was expecting.

I picked up an aluminum Apple Watch Series 2 last week when they went on sale because I didn't want an LTE watch and I liked the idea of the sapphire back. It was my first Apple Watch, and honestly I wasn't that impressed. I liked it, but everything seemed a little slow to me. I guess I'm used to the iPhone 7 being nice and snappy. I decided to place an order for an Apple Watch Series 3 and compare the two. If they seemed similar then I'd just keep the Series 2 and return the Series 3. […]

The Series 3 is noticeably much faster. On the Series 2, when I would swipe watch faces, it seemed to lag and sometimes take a few swipes to move to the next face. With the Series 3, it is super fast and smooth. Opening any app is almost instantaneous.

This is the watch experience I was expecting. I will be returning the Series 2.

Keep an eye on the Apple Watch forum section and a new first impressions topic over the weekend for more customer opinions.

Related Roundup: Apple Watch Series 9
Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch (Neutral)

Top Rated Comments

hotsauce Avatar
86 months ago
I’m sitting here with the Watch 3 LTE on my wrist, AirPods in my ears all while holding my phone. I get a call and I’m so ****ING CONFUSED!
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
wilderkun Avatar
86 months ago
TheApple watch edition series 3 (white ceramic). Love it.

Attachment Image

Attachment Image

Attachment Image
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Pakaku Avatar
86 months ago
the cable news networks are calling this, "The Rotten Apple" saying the Apple Watch 3's LTE doesn't work and criticizing the 1 hour battery life on phone calls.
Ah, the humble cable news, looking for any scandal they can make headlines for.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
44267547 Avatar
86 months ago
That red dot though is off putting somewhat. But regardless, easily a nice upgrade from the first Generation Apple Watch owners.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ScottNWDW Avatar
86 months ago
That red dot though is off putting somewhat. But regardless, easily a nice upgrade from the first Generation Apple Watch owners.
I really don't understand what is so bad about the red dot. I like it.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Nozuka Avatar
86 months ago
This is the product i want apple to redesign the most, to be honest...
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

maxresdefault

Apple Announces 'Let Loose' Event on May 7 Amid Rumors of New iPads

Tuesday April 23, 2024 7:11 am PDT by
Apple has announced it will be holding a special event on Tuesday, May 7 at 7 a.m. Pacific Time (10 a.m. Eastern Time), with a live stream to be available on Apple.com and on YouTube as usual. The event invitation has a tagline of "Let Loose" and shows an artistic render of an Apple Pencil, suggesting that iPads will be a focus of the event. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more ...
Apple Vision Pro Dual Loop Band Orange Feature 2

Apple Cuts Vision Pro Shipments as Demand Falls 'Sharply Beyond Expectations'

Tuesday April 23, 2024 9:44 am PDT by
Apple has dropped the number of Vision Pro units that it plans to ship in 2024, going from an expected 700 to 800k units to just 400k to 450k units, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Orders have been scaled back before the Vision Pro has launched in markets outside of the United States, which Kuo says is a sign that demand in the U.S. has "fallen sharply beyond expectations." As a...
iPad And Calculator App Feature

Apple Finally Plans to Release a Calculator App for iPad Later This Year

Tuesday April 23, 2024 9:08 am PDT by
Apple is finally planning a Calculator app for the iPad, over 14 years after launching the device, according to a source familiar with the matter. iPadOS 18 will include a built-in Calculator app for all iPad models that are compatible with the software update, which is expected to be unveiled during the opening keynote of Apple's annual developers conference WWDC on June 10. AppleInsider...
iOS 17 All New Features Thumb

iOS 17.5 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Sunday April 21, 2024 3:00 am PDT by
The upcoming iOS 17.5 update for the iPhone includes only a few new user-facing features, but hidden code changes reveal some additional possibilities. Below, we have recapped everything new in the iOS 17.5 and iPadOS 17.5 beta so far. Web Distribution Starting with the second beta of iOS 17.5, eligible developers are able to distribute their iOS apps to iPhone users located in the EU...
Apple Silicon AI Optimized Feature Siri

Apple Releases Open Source AI Models That Run On-Device

Wednesday April 24, 2024 3:39 pm PDT by
Apple today released several open source large language models (LLMs) that are designed to run on-device rather than through cloud servers. Called OpenELM (Open-source Efficient Language Models), the LLMs are available on the Hugging Face Hub, a community for sharing AI code. As outlined in a white paper [PDF], there are eight total OpenELM models, four of which were pre-trained using the...