By Joshua Boyles
Copyright manchestereveningnews
Apple spent over an hour last night showing off its brand new tech products for the tail end of 2025. iPhone 17 took centre stage, with brand new AirPods Pro 3 and the Apple Watch Series 11 also featuring early on in the presentation. The Series 11 brings some great new innovations, including a sensor that’s capable of detecting hypertension, a longer battery life and a 5G cellular connection. However, it doesn’t take a tech-head to see that the improvements over the Series 10 are minimal. That’s been the case for a while now with each new Apple Watch only iterating slightly over the model that came before it – great for those upgrading from much older models, but less so for those who bought one in the last few years. That said, it also means that some of the older Apple Watch models are still pretty viable today, with one such device at Wowcher dropping under £100 amid the Series 11 launch. Shoppers who head on over to Wowcher can find the Apple Watch Series 5 on offer for £99. That’s £270 cheaper than the brand new Series 11. The models on offer are refurbished, meaning they’ve had a previous owner. However, they’ve been restored to their former glory and should still function as intended, albeit with a few cosmetic marks here and there. The Apple Watch Series 5 launched in 2019 with it being the first Apple Watch to have an always-on display. As such, this means the wearer can always read the time on the display without having to do that awkward wrist gesture to wake the screen. It also retains many of the same health tracking features you’d expect from a smart watch, including heart rate and workout tracking. A GPS sensor is also built in, perfect for those who record their workouts and upload them to Strava. Those who aren’t bothered about pairing an Apple smart watch with their Apple phone can get a brand new smart watch for less by shopping at Amazon. The Amazfit Bip 6 offers a similar design to the Apple Watch, plus free offline maps and a 14-day battery life for £68.99. Decathlon also has a more sports-focused watch that can provide deep insights into things like running and cycling. The Garmin Forerunner 55 is currently on sale for £139.99, down from £179.99. Shoppers who bought a refurbished Apple Watch Series 5 from Amazon were impressed, writing: “Bought this for my partner and he thinks it’s a brand new watch. It came in the packaged box like a new one and does everything a new Apple Watch would.” A second shopper adds: “Excellent condition and exactly what If hoped to receive as a refurbished product. Very pleased.” Meanwhile, a third reviewer writes: “My Apple Watch Series 5 was in excellent condition, with only 2 tiny very minor scratches, basically as good as new. The only downside is that the strap provided isn’t an original apple strap and is quite flimsy in comparison, so this may have to be changed in the future.” It’s worth noting that the Wowcher refurbished devices are fulfilled by Renew Electronics, which has some dubious reviews on Trustpilot . There are some five star write-ups, like this review from Chris: “Can’t really fault them.. ordered a “good” Apple Watch Series 4, arrived a few days later than it advised but I think that was a Royal Mail issue, customer service good and helpful, quite a small deep scratch on the screen which you can’t see when lit. Overall pretty good.” However, there are a few unfavourable reviews that warn shoppers that not every refurbished device has the same level of quality: “Received watch nice and quick battery life is ok but watch has a deep scratch on face and also no charger cable. For the money it’s ok.”
