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Here's why you should get a refurbished Apple Watch this Cyber Monday
Save cash (and the environment) without compromising on quality by snapping up a refurbished Apple Watch
There have been some great Apple Watch Cyber Monday deals so far and, if you've been following our deals round up, then you may well have already snapped one up. One of the best has been an Apple Watch Series 7 at Target for $120 less than the usual $309.99 price. Trouble is, it’s limited to red. What if you want something else? Is there another way to save cash?
As it happens, yes, there is. You can explore the refurbished market and buy models that have recently been released or, in some cases, came out long ago.
Refurbished models are typically cheaper than new watches anyway – but at the moment they have additional discounts applied, thanks to the Cyber Monday sales. You don't have to compromise on quality, either, as plenty of retailers offer guarantees to ensure that you're completely happy with your purchase.
All of the below will offer Apple's excellent health-tracking metrics, along with access to a wide range of apps. As an added bonus, you can pretty much pick any color that you like.
- Amazon: See all refurbished and renewed Apple Watches
- Best Buy: Discounts of up to $200 on refurbished Apple tech
- Apple store: Get $200 reductions on refurbished tech directly from Apple
Best refurbished Apple Watch deals
Refurbished Apple Watch Series 7 | Was $349, now $299 from Apple
If you don't mind wearing last year's Apple Watch, this model is a steal. It comes in a blue aluminum case and sports a 41mm screen. It run like lightning thanks to its S7 with 64-bit dual-core processor and it's water resistant to 50 metres which mean you can take it for a swim. With a capacity of 32GB, it's got lots of storage too.
Refurbished Apple Watch Series 6 | Was $245.97, now $233 from Amazon
If you don't mind going a little older, this model is in excellent condition (but it could still have some aesthetic defects). It has a good sized 44mm screen, GPS, and black sport band and it promises to have a battery that exceeds 80% capacity relative to new model. It also comes with a charger and charging cable and it's updatable to watchOS 9.
Refurbished Apple Watch Series 3 | Was $369, now £230 from Apple
This particular Apple Watch Series 3 model dates back to 2017 and while it won't run the latest version of watchOS (9), you can take it up to watchOS 8.7.1. It comes with GPS and cellular connectivity and you'll have few problems looking at the 42mm screen. It also comes with a cool-looking Fog Sport band. And look at that saving!
Geek Squad Certified Apple Watch SE | Was $279, now $251.99 from Best Buy
The Apple Watch SE is the entry level wearable from Apple but you can pick up this refurbished model at a great price. It has a faster processor than the Apple Watch Series 3 and you can make use of the Fitness app to track your daily activities. It also has heart rate notifications and will check for irregular rhythms.
Why buy a refurbished watch?
Depending on what you want from your Apple Watch (and all of them will offer plenty of fitness options including heart-rate monitoring and syncing with the Fitness app on iPhone) there is a real potential for a bargain. What's more, you won't necessarily compromise on quality.
Apple, for example, will go to great lengths to ensure that any refurbished Apple Watch you buy has been tested and cleaned. In the majority of cases, you will either be getting a customer return with any defects fixed or a simple unwanted return that has barely been touched. Apple will also refurbish traded-in Apple Watch wearables, again ensuring faulty parts are replaced.
For the finishing professional touch, Apple will then pop the Apple Watch into a brand new box while giving you entirely new accessories and cables and offering a one-year warranty should anything go wrong. You are, of course, also free to immediately return a refurbished Apple Watch for free if you're not entirely happy with it. In that sense, there is little to no risk.
Other stores offer refurbished products too and they work in much the same way. Best Buy offers Geek Squad Certified Refurbished products that it says are painstakingly and lovingly tested, with products are repaired and restored to a like-new state (again with a return and exchange promise). In this case, you will get original or comparable substituted accessories and a 90-day warranty.
Then there is Amazon Renewed, a program that ensures products are professionally inspected and tested to ensure they work. Here, you need to pay attention to the condition, however. Amazon grades refurbished products as being in excellent condition (where there are no signs of cosmetic damage) to good and acceptable, where cosmetic defects are going to be more noticeable. Again, if you're not entirely happy, you can simply send them back.
So let's take a look at some of the most notable refurbished Apple Watch deals this Cyber Monday. Be quick because models don't hang around for long.
Not found what you're looking for? Have a browse through our round-up of the best Cyber Monday fitness tracker deals – or look at the latest Cyber Monday discounts on new Apple models.
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David Crookes is a UK-based science and technology journalist who has been writing professionally for more than two decades. Having studied at the University of Durham in England, he has written for dozens of newspapers, magazines and websites including The Independent, The i Paper, London Evening Standard, BBC Earth, How It Works and LiveScience. He has been a regular contributor to Space.com's sister publication, All About Space magazine since 2014.