Give a new Apple Watch Series 5 to dad for just $300 – CNET [CNET]

This story is part of Father’s Day Gift Guide 2020, featuring our top picks for dads who love tech.

For the last few months of the pandemic, time seems to have stopped moving, but I can assure you that Father’s Day is approaching rapidly. And this might be the year that I give my dad an Apple Watch. That’s because Amazon has currently lowered the Apple Watch Series 5 back to its all-time low price — $300. That’s $84 off Amazon’s usual pricing and $100 less than what you can get it for at Apple’s own store.

This deal is for the 40mm aluminum case version of the Series 5 in Space Gray with a black sports band. There’s no coupon box to check on the product page or discount code to enter at checkout (though you should see “Save $84.01 at checkout” on the product page). The $84 discount will be automatically applied when you get to checkout, lowering the price to $300. 

I know that opinions vary wildly on this subject, but I personally wouldn’t consider buying any Apple Watch model other than the Series 5. I owned a Series 1 — briefly — five years ago before it died in a tragic skateboarding accident. Frankly, I thank the pavement for putting it out of its misery; it was not a good watch. Since that time, I’d been biding my time, waiting for a model that actually had an always-on display, and the Series 5 is the first model to do so. I’ve been loving my Series 5 since I bought it at launch. Sure, that’s about all that’s new, so if you already have a Series 4, there’s not a lot of incentive to upgrade. But if you’re buying a first Apple Watch for dad, it’ll all be new to him, including GPS, the compass app, heart rate monitor and ECG monitor, fitness features, watch faces with complications, interactive notifications and on-the-wrist Apple Pay.

What changes will the Apple Watch Series 6 bring? Right now, it’s anyone’s guess. If Apple stays on its usual release schedule (and this year, who knows?), we should see it in the fall, and it could include sleep tracking and better battery life, among other things. If you’re intrigued, be sure to read CNET’s roundup of all the Apple Watch 6 rumors. But I wouldn’t let any of that stop you from pulling the trigger on a $300 Apple Watch Series 5 — the price is right and the Series 6 is still pretty far away.

Can’t swing that model? Amazon also has the Apple Watch Series 38mm on sale for $179, which is $20 off the regular price. That’s for the Space Gray version with black band; you can get Silver Aluminum with a white band for the same price, but it’s currently showing an in-stock date of June 5.

If you don’t care about fall-detection or an always-on display, the Series 3 is a very capable smartwatch for iPhone owners, and definitely a solid deal at this price.

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