Is Apple Watch Series 3 still a viable option?

[Rod]

I had a few problems upgrading my Apple Watch 3 to watchOS 7 due to insufficient storage. I had the same problem updating to watchOS 7.1 all due to storage. Since the I have read several articles on the same issues suffered by others users specifically with the non LTE, GPS only model because it only has 8GB of storage. The LTE version has 16GB.
When attempting to upgrade or even update this watchOS users are getting the message; "To instal your update Apple Watch needs to have at least 3.1GB of available storage. You can free up storage by deleting apps using the Apple Watch app on your iPhone." In many cases doing this still did not provide enough storage space but I discovered deleting Watch Faces will.
Because I did not know this at the time I resorted to unpairing the Watch and setting it up as a new watch. This worked but I had to resort to this method twice, once for the upgrade and again for the update to watchOS 7.1

I also became aware that "Capacity" shown in General > About this Watch on the iPhone Watch app is considerably less than actual storage. Mine currently shows 4.2GB Capacity and 2.3GB Available. So when the next update comes, and there are at least 3 more betas in the works, I would be faced with yet another storage juggling issue.

There is also another problem with the current version of watchOS, at least for me. Following the new instructions on how to edit the Complications on the watch face using the watch does not work. A long press of the face brings me to the Edit/Share screen and after tapping Edit I can change the colour of the display with the Crown but swipe to the right to access complication options simply does not work. I cannot swipe to the right. This may be fixed in coming updates, who knows but my point is, the series 3 GPS only is on the lowest end of the compatibility list for watchOS 7 and probably will not be able to advance any further without more problems or shortfalls. It surprises me that Apple are still selling this model, but it may be the LTE version with 16GB storage.

This series 3 has served me well and I use it constantly so I've "bitten the bullet" and ordered the Apple Watch SE (16GB) from Apple while our exchange rates are still high and been offered a AU$130.00 trade it on my current device. This brings to total to AU$299.00 with free delivery. May it last me another 3 years.

 

[Rod]

So, just to answer my own post, I received my Apple Watch SE 3 days ago. The first thing I noticed is how much clearer the display is. The Series 3 was a 38mm and the new SE is 40mm but the 2mm makes a significant difference. I increased the text size one step higher than I had on the S3 and now, combined with what appears to be a higher definition, text messages, notifications and written info is very easy to read. The performance is snappy, the storage is 32MB not 16MB as I had thought so I have ample room for the few apps I really want and any future upgrades/updates. Battery life appears to be about the same as the S3 which was fine; from 0900 to 0900 wearing the watch with a sleep monitor on o/night my battery had dropped to 43%. So, my routine is; I put it on charge when I wake, have breakfast, shower and so on and by the time I'm dressed It's fully charged and put it back on.
The new watch faces are beautiful and I have found 2 Infograph Modular faces accomodate all the complications I need with the most frequently used on the first one. The rest of the time I have the California face on as it is simple and highly visible.

After trying both ways I have come to the conclusion that it is better to pair and setup as a "New" Watch rather than restore from a backup but this may vary dependent on which model you are upgrading from. In my case I had to do it twice and setting up from new is really very easy.

I ran into just one problem, which is pretty good really. I could not get the new watch to unlock my MBP. This turns out to be a pretty common issue when upgrading to a new AW. After some searching I found the answer on Mac Rumors Forums, credit to russel_314. https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/mac-unlock-not-working-on-watchos-7.2256568/
His first solution worked for me after restarting both MBP and Watch. It has continued to work for 3 days now. In addition to the solution provided I had tried a few other things earlier. One of those things was deleting the MBP Bluetooth preferences file and ensuring there was a Bluetooth connection between the MBP and my iPhone but I doubt that the latter step made any difference.

So to sum up, I am very happy with my AW SE, it's clearer and easier to read, faster, has better faces, good battery life, significantly more storage, takes full advantage of watchOS 7.1 new features with the exception of the ECG and SpO2 readings which I don't really, it's very comfortable to wear and I think, looks great.