If you’ve upgraded to a new Apple Watch, you may be wondering what to do with your old one. You can sell your Apple Watch or give it away to family members. Trading in your Apple Watch at Apple is also an option, but sometimes you find it hard to part with it. You bought a special edition or you just want to keep a spare one. However, that old Apple Watch doesn’t have to sit idle in a drawer: it can still be useful in all sorts of situations.
You can pair multiple Apple Watches with the same iPhone. And that’s handy, because it means you can easily switch between the two models. If they have a different color or material, you can match the Apple Watch to your outfit: for example, a luxury steel smartwatch for a dinner outside and a bright red aluminum smartwatch while working out.
#1 Apple Watch for Dangerous Activities
If you have an Apple Watch with a few scratches and dents, it may be a bit ugly for everyday use. But it can still be used perfectly well in all kinds of other situations. For example, wear the old Apple Watch when you go to the beach, when you go on holiday to an area where it is better not to walk around with expensive jewellery, or when practicing rough sports. An Apple Watch Ultra is also very robust, but is of course a lot more expensive, while you are probably prepared to take a few more risks with an old Apple Watch. Additional damage is not so bad. And if you lose the Apple Watch, the damage is still manageable. Whether you go golfing, skiing or skateboarding: you do not have to be as careful with an old Apple Watch.
You could also buy an Apple Watch case to protect your older Apple Watch a bit better. It doesn’t look as nice, but you don’t have to worry about that with an old Apple Watch. An Apple Watch screen protector is also possible and is less noticeable.
#2 Wearing Apple Watch to Bed
You can use the extra Apple Watch for sleep tracking. This is possible from watchOS 7 and is therefore also suitable for an Apple Watch Series 3 that you can no longer update. You also do not have to worry about charging, because as soon as you go to bed you put your ‘daytime’ Apple Watch on the charger. The next morning the battery is completely full again.
You can also use the Apple Watch in bed as an alarm clock, waking you up with a buzz on your wrist. Your partner can continue to sleep. Wearing the Apple Watch in bed has the advantage that you can continue to measure your body values ​​such as heart rate and saturation during the night. It is also necessary if you want to use the new Vitals app.
Choose a comfortable band for sleeping, such as a woven sports band. It may also be helpful to wear your Apple Watch on the other wrist at night, so that the skin on your other wrist gets some fresh air.
#3 Apple Watch for Betas
Installing watchOS betas is risky: if there are still bugs, you can no longer downgrade to an earlier stable version. You run less risk if you use your old Apple Watch for this, provided it is still compatible. For example, watchOS 11 requires a second-generation Apple Watch SE, an Apple Watch Series 6 or later.
Also keep in mind that you will also need to install the corresponding iOS beta on your iPhone in order to run betas on the Apple Watch. Another thing to keep in mind is that new beta updates come out every few weeks and it does take some time to install them each time.
#4 Use as a music player
Apple no longer makes iPods, but the Apple Watch can be a good alternative. Put some music locally on the Apple Watch and you can listen to music via the AirPods. This is especially useful when exercising, because it means you no longer need to have an iPhone with you. Worried about getting bored if you don’t have an iPhone with you? No problem: there are plenty of fun Apple Watch games to keep you entertained.
#5 Luxury Apple Watch for Special Occasions
Let’s say you once bought the Apple Watch Edition in ceramic or went all out and bought an Apple Watch Hermès. It might be wise to sell them as a second-hand Apple Watch, because they still fetch quite a bit of money. However, if you are attached to your luxury Apple Watch, you can still use it for special occasions. For everyday use, an Apple Watch Series 2 is a bit outdated, but during a dinner with family, the time and notifications are enough. You are not going to play a game on your Apple Watch at Christmas dinner (right?).
Also check out our tips on what to do with an old iPhone. Another factor is that you want to continue using your old iPhone safely, even if it no longer receives updates. This is much less of an issue with the Apple Watch, because virtually no malware is developed for it. You can therefore continue to use an old Apple Watch perfectly well, even without updating it. Of course, you will miss out on new functions.
