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I'm loving my Apple Watch. I wasn't entirely sure yet what to think of the watch as a form factor, given that a phone can do everything it can and more. But the

I'm loving my Apple Watch. I wasn't entirely sure yet what to think of the watch as a form factor, given that a phone can do everything it can and more. But there's three interesting aspects that have really added value for me. 1) is health data, in a way a computer or phone just can't do. It tracks things like heartrate that a phone + heartrate strap is too convoluted for, for non-athletes. Plus it's all-day and quite accurate. My phone counts my steps in my pocket for example, but not when I'm at home or in the office. My watch can differentiate when I'm cycling to work with my phone in my jacket and detect exercise, whereas my phone may think I'm in a tram or on a motorised scooter. 2) is gamification of exercise. Closing rings, notifications, nudges, vibrations, competitions. It all demands attention and lets you 'jump in' from the wrist much easier, than an app on a phone. It's been a great extrinsic motivational tool to jump-start a change in behaviour for a few months, that can then turn into a long-term intrinsic habit. 3) freedom from the phone. You can open digital locks with the watch, pay with the watch, listen to music or podcasts, get directions on maps, make calls, send (dictated) messages, keep an eye on your mail and calendar etc. I can reliable leave my phone at home, or just leave it in my jacket when I'm visiting friends. Notifications can be set to only allow priority ones in certain settings. It's the first time in 10 years that I'm moving away from having a phone available and in-vision all the time. The Watch doesn't induce mindless scrolling and consumption in a way a phone does, and can be configured to only demand your attention for things you want it to (e.g. certain notifications). It's definitely not quite where I'd like it to be. Things like battery life, looks, software etc, there's much to gain still. But as a form factor I'm pretty convinced I will be using this for many years to come, and getting upgrades when they become available. First time series 6 user by the way.

LordKelv 6y ago
Do you find the calorie tracking accurate?
2sk21 6y ago
The Apple Watch has been a really amazing gadget and is well worth the expense. I would add the ease of using Apple Pay from the Watch as a very useful feature to your list.
manuelflara 6y ago
I agree, as a proud owner of a latest gen Apple Watch, but I can see how its benefits are not enough for its price for most people (i.e. its very convenient, but also expensive)
- IkmoIkmo 6y ago
  I got mine through my insurance's cashback program, pretty cool. As long as you workout enough, you get 1/24th paid back monthly. The workout requirement isn't too crazy, commensurate with 2 weekly workouts and some daily activity (like a walk), and based on heartrate (so effort-based, instead of performance based. if you're out of shape and your heart rate goes up a lot from a simple walk, it'll get recognised as a serious workout for you, because in a way, it is). Not sure I'd have gotten it otherwise. But at the same time, it's pretty easy to rationalise any cost when looking at it as a monthly payment haha. A 3-year usage and a 20% resale value on the SE ($280) will get you a $6 a month price. If that improves your daily activity by just 5 or 10%, that's probably the cheapest medical intervention in your life, ever. That's probably why the insurance companies offer cashbacks, it's a cool model. They can give me a watch for free every few years and get in return a person who, on average, spends >1x the apple watch less on healthcare costs, every year.
fsflover 6y ago
“Full day, 18 hours” battery life ruined it all for me. Too much trouble to charge so often.
- a254613e 6y ago
  While 18 hours is what apple says, their scenario for 18 hour usage is probably very uncommon. At least for me it is. And thus I get around 2 days battery life with a 4 year old series 2 watch. Their official test includes "45 minutes of app use, and a 60-minute workout with music playback from Apple Watch via Bluetooth"[0] - so unless you plan on doing that you can easily expect double the battery time. [0] - https://www.apple.com/watch/battery/ https://www.apple.com/watch/battery/
  - wincy 6y ago
    It does feel really good to go on a jog without bringing my phone. That’s my favorite part of my Apple Watch, upgrading from the series 0 to the Series 6 cellular. I barely wore my series 0 and got bored of it, but the 6 feels indispensable.
- wincy 6y ago
  I have the series 6 and also wish the battery life was just a little bit longer. It feels like I have very little wiggle room, and have to charge it once a day around the same time or it’ll die. I’m writing this from an iPhone 12 Pro Max that hasn’t been on a charger since yesterday morning when I got out of bed.
  - selykg 6y ago
    I charge mine while I’m in the shower usually. Or if I’ve hit all my goals for the day I’ll toss it on the charger before bed. It doesn’t take long to get a reasonable charge on it. I usually keep it around 80% at most anyway. It gets me through the day at 80% and through the night since I use it for sleep tracking and alarm.
- hu3 6y ago
  It depends on how many apps you pair with the watch. My colleague gets 24 hours battery life on her series 6. Still uncomfortable compared to the usual week+ battery life Garmins. On the cheaper side, another colleague has an Amazfit Blip Lite which lasts 30 days on a 2 hour charge and can withstand up to 30 meters underwater.
boringg 6y ago
Agree on this. I thought I would hate the watch but it has been very unobtrusive nice add on. I don’t use email or texting on there and all notifications have been turned off. Great for quick checks in Heath, weather, workouts etc. and mine seems to be bomb proof!
bloopernova 6y ago
Possibly a silly question, but does the Apple Watch work with Android? Or at least with a Mac?
- neogodless 6y ago
  https://old.reddit.com/r/GooglePixel/comments/iqg81v/what_functionality_if_any_would_an_apple_watch/ https://old.reddit.com/r/GooglePixel/comments/iqg81v/what_fu... This plus the first few Google search results tell me it's not going to work without an iPhone. This is why I do not buy into the Apple ecosystem, even if individual elements are superior to competitors. I do not want to be completely constricted to one ecosystem. My world involves Microsoft, Google, Steam, Epic, Blizzard, Logitech, Fossil, Asus, HP, Lenovo, etc. and I will continue to swap in and out components as desired. But I am sad that WearOS options are generally so terrible (at least in performance and features, though some of the physical designs are much better than anything else). And a little jealous of the happy M1-based Macbook users with their battery life! Ah to dream of having your cake and eating it, too. But we each must choose our own collection of compromises!
  - fsflover 6y ago
    Have a look at PineTime, the open-source smart watch.
- baxtr 6y ago
  Nope. You need an iPhone...
- wadkar 6y ago
  Nope, Apple Watch requires an iPhone
- izacus 6y ago
  No it doesn't. But check out Samsung Galaxy Watch series, they are a very decent competitor and they offer superior battery life.
- emcq 6y ago
  You can get all this functionality and more working beautifully with Android with Garmin watches. Mine lasts for many days on a charge (perhaps a week without activity tracking), has better sport tracking features, but the screen isn't quite as good. There are currently a few good deals on the Vivoactive 3, but also many higher end models available too.
pkrotich 6y ago
I never knew how bad my breathing (stress) was until I got an Apple Watch. Beside health data... the reminders to breath has literally changed my life.
gregd 6y ago
I have the Series 4 and it's fundamentally changed the way I interact with my iPhone when I'm out and about. * I can answer calls while driving and not have to fumble around for my phone while driving my truck (The wife's SUV has fancy bluetooth integration) * I can open and close my garage from my watch. * I can voice message my family through Messages. I only wish that the battery life were much longer than it is and that Apple could settle on one method of charging their devices, especially in vehicles with limited room.
csa 6y ago
All of my friends told me something similar, so I got one. It just collects dust now. - The health tracking and gamification of exercise was somewhere between meh and useless for me. I don’t have exercise issues. - The freedom from the phone has potential, but the ostensible ease of use just isn’t worth the hassle of wearing a watch. I’m ok just pulling out my phone. - The deep breathing option was probably the app i liked most. Now I just do deep breathing exercises at regular times during the day for, what I assume, are similar effects. I can certainly imagine that it can improve the quality of life for some (many?) people, but I don’t find myself to be one of these people. That said, I really wish I did have a profound experience with it. I’m always down for good quality of life improvements. If anyone has ideas for using the Apple Watch that some people seem to miss, please let me know. I’m willing to give it another go.
- extrapickles 6y ago
  I haven’t come across anything profound with it, it mainly reduces friction from not needing to be taken out of a pocket and unlocked. Contactless payments are fairly nice as you can double tap the button, and hold the watchface over a reader, no need to get out your wallet and find the card you want to pay with. Back when going out with others was a thing, it’s calculator has features for tips and splitting checks.
- andreilys 6y ago
  My biggest value-add is being able to leave my phone at home. Being able to listen to podcasts and audio-books on my watch while going for walks and running errands has been great. With Apple Pay I don't even need to take my wallet with me and can just tap with my watch. Also the reminder to "close my rings" and being able to enter "competitions" with friends has been a great motivator for me to exercise.
  - matsemann 6y ago
    As for exercising, if one's into that one might as well buy a proper watch for that. My Garmin can play music via BT and pay without my phone present. In addition it's tracking and fitness functions are way better than a normal smart watch. And the battery lasts longer than a day. More than a week even though I use the gps for an hour a day.
skohan 6y ago
Same - I resisted getting one for a long time, in general because I like to live minimally, but I finally caved in because I was interested in tracking biometrics, and it seems like the best option in terms of simplicity/performance for now. I thought I might only wear it when I was training, but it turns out having information on my heart rate all day long is super interesting, and I'm really happy I have it. Also I have turned off most of the notifications, but having the ones I want on my wrist without taking out my phone is actually super nice.
nova22033 6y ago
You should try the new Fitness+ app on the apple TV. Really good integration with the apple watch.
- IkmoIkmo 6y ago
  I'd like to, but the fact they required the TV was pretty crazy, to me. They've captured a huge portion of the smartphone market, but apple tv is only 1-2% of the market, and in many countries much less than that. They don't allow your phone to show Fitness+ on the TV through HDMI, nor through airplay. The phone screen is just way too small. So what's left are iPads, which can be a really great experience, particularly on the 12 inch pro, but it's a shame they don't allow Macbooks... I'm okay with the buy-in to some extent but man... A watch, phone and an apple tv is necessary, all from the same company, plus a subscription just to do a video-assisted workout that shows your heartrate on the screen? That's a pretty insane proposition. Would've been great if they allowed more options or third-party stuff. Just casting from my iPhone would've been a good start, or casting on my macbook... Honestly it's pretty ridiculous. Happy Macbook, iPhone, Apple Watch and Airpod Pro user, otherwise.
  - wrboyce 6y ago
    I don’t know where you got your information about fitness+ playback via airplay but it is incorrect. I just tried it and it works fine.
    - IkmoIkmo 6y ago
      From where to where? It's been all over the forums and news the past few weeks, e.g.: https://www.macrumors.com/2020/12/14/apple-fitness-plus-no-airplay/ https://www.macrumors.com/2020/12/14/apple-fitness-plus-no-a...
greggman3 6y ago
hmmm, I had bad experiences. 1) activity tracking is fake. Turn over on sofa, get told "congrats! you finished your activity" 2) sleep tracking is fake. Forget to wear it, get told "You slept great! 3) water proof is useless. I bought it because I was going to be surfing and wanted to know if it was close to time to meet up with others. But, while it is water proof you can't use it if the screen is wet 4) Not good for telling time - because often I'd twist my wrist and the face would not light up, try again fail, try again fail, RAGE! get out other hand to manually wake it up Sold it 2 months after I got it.
trianglem 6y ago
I agree wholeheartedly. The Apple Watch got me running 3 miles a day for the last six months or so. I’m wholly invested in closing the rings and I up the the difficulty every month or so. The biggest revelation was my resting heart rate was somewhere between 70-90 and that scared me. Doing the daily runs has reduced that to 65 so I really feel like I’m making progress.
- IkmoIkmo 6y ago
  Tell me your Vo2 max trend! That's been the one to watch for me, happy to say I'm making quite a bit of progress there!
  - trianglem 6y ago
    It’s relatively new, I started low at 36 but I’m up to 40 now!
    - IkmoIkmo 6y ago
      Awesome :D same story here, but up to 42 now! Hope to hit and then keep it at least above 45 for many years to come, but I'll see if I can't reach 50...
corytheboyd 6y ago
I got one for free, handed down to me by my partner after she upgraded, the stakes were pretty low for what I expected out of it. It’s great! I silence the hell out of my phone (on top of having almost all notifications off) so the watch vibrations are useful to me for not missing messages I care about. Super easy to read 2FA codes through SMS without digging up the phone. The LastPass Authenticator has a watch integration but it’s never worked for me. I’m sure there are other authenticator apps that work for the watch though. Logging workouts is easy, it’s fun to compare rings with my partner but we’re not serious about it and don’t really need the watch to get motivated about being active. Hands down my favorite feature is surprisingly the maps integration. If you just ignore the baseless memes about “Apple Maps bad” (works fine for me these days, but I saw how bad it was at its inception back in the day too) and just use it, you get the watch integration for free too. The vibrations for left/right turn are a very nice feature that don’t require averting attention at all, but you have the option of viewing the watch for a quick preview of the maps route (distance to next event and a visual, i.e. right three lanes to exit right). Just some feedback from a guy without strong opinions for or against the thing.

LordKelv 6y ago

Do you find the calorie tracking accurate?

2sk21 6y ago

The Apple Watch has been a really amazing gadget and is well worth the expense. I would add the ease of using Apple Pay from the Watch as a very useful feature to your list.

manuelflara 6y ago

I agree, as a proud owner of a latest gen Apple Watch, but I can see how its benefits are not enough for its price for most people (i.e. its very convenient, but also expensive)

IkmoIkmo 6y ago
I got mine through my insurance's cashback program, pretty cool. As long as you workout enough, you get 1/24th paid back monthly. The workout requirement isn't too crazy, commensurate with 2 weekly workouts and some daily activity (like a walk), and based on heartrate (so effort-based, instead of performance based. if you're out of shape and your heart rate goes up a lot from a simple walk, it'll get recognised as a serious workout for you, because in a way, it is). Not sure I'd have gotten it otherwise. But at the same time, it's pretty easy to rationalise any cost when looking at it as a monthly payment haha. A 3-year usage and a 20% resale value on the SE ($280) will get you a $6 a month price. If that improves your daily activity by just 5 or 10%, that's probably the cheapest medical intervention in your life, ever. That's probably why the insurance companies offer cashbacks, it's a cool model. They can give me a watch for free every few years and get in return a person who, on average, spends >1x the apple watch less on healthcare costs, every year.

fsflover 6y ago

“Full day, 18 hours” battery life ruined it all for me. Too much trouble to charge so often.

a254613e 6y ago
While 18 hours is what apple says, their scenario for 18 hour usage is probably very uncommon. At least for me it is. And thus I get around 2 days battery life with a 4 year old series 2 watch. Their official test includes "45 minutes of app use, and a 60-minute workout with music playback from Apple Watch via Bluetooth"[0] - so unless you plan on doing that you can easily expect double the battery time. [0] - https://www.apple.com/watch/battery/ https://www.apple.com/watch/battery/
- wincy 6y ago
  It does feel really good to go on a jog without bringing my phone. That’s my favorite part of my Apple Watch, upgrading from the series 0 to the Series 6 cellular. I barely wore my series 0 and got bored of it, but the 6 feels indispensable.
wincy 6y ago
I have the series 6 and also wish the battery life was just a little bit longer. It feels like I have very little wiggle room, and have to charge it once a day around the same time or it’ll die. I’m writing this from an iPhone 12 Pro Max that hasn’t been on a charger since yesterday morning when I got out of bed.
- selykg 6y ago
  I charge mine while I’m in the shower usually. Or if I’ve hit all my goals for the day I’ll toss it on the charger before bed. It doesn’t take long to get a reasonable charge on it. I usually keep it around 80% at most anyway. It gets me through the day at 80% and through the night since I use it for sleep tracking and alarm.
hu3 6y ago
It depends on how many apps you pair with the watch. My colleague gets 24 hours battery life on her series 6. Still uncomfortable compared to the usual week+ battery life Garmins. On the cheaper side, another colleague has an Amazfit Blip Lite which lasts 30 days on a 2 hour charge and can withstand up to 30 meters underwater.

boringg 6y ago

Agree on this. I thought I would hate the watch but it has been very unobtrusive nice add on. I don’t use email or texting on there and all notifications have been turned off. Great for quick checks in Heath, weather, workouts etc. and mine seems to be bomb proof!

bloopernova 6y ago

Possibly a silly question, but does the Apple Watch work with Android? Or at least with a Mac?

neogodless 6y ago
https://old.reddit.com/r/GooglePixel/comments/iqg81v/what_functionality_if_any_would_an_apple_watch/ https://old.reddit.com/r/GooglePixel/comments/iqg81v/what_fu... This plus the first few Google search results tell me it's not going to work without an iPhone. This is why I do not buy into the Apple ecosystem, even if individual elements are superior to competitors. I do not want to be completely constricted to one ecosystem. My world involves Microsoft, Google, Steam, Epic, Blizzard, Logitech, Fossil, Asus, HP, Lenovo, etc. and I will continue to swap in and out components as desired. But I am sad that WearOS options are generally so terrible (at least in performance and features, though some of the physical designs are much better than anything else). And a little jealous of the happy M1-based Macbook users with their battery life! Ah to dream of having your cake and eating it, too. But we each must choose our own collection of compromises!
- fsflover 6y ago
  Have a look at PineTime, the open-source smart watch.
baxtr 6y ago
Nope. You need an iPhone...
wadkar 6y ago
Nope, Apple Watch requires an iPhone
izacus 6y ago
No it doesn't. But check out Samsung Galaxy Watch series, they are a very decent competitor and they offer superior battery life.
emcq 6y ago
You can get all this functionality and more working beautifully with Android with Garmin watches. Mine lasts for many days on a charge (perhaps a week without activity tracking), has better sport tracking features, but the screen isn't quite as good. There are currently a few good deals on the Vivoactive 3, but also many higher end models available too.

pkrotich 6y ago

I never knew how bad my breathing (stress) was until I got an Apple Watch. Beside health data... the reminders to breath has literally changed my life.

gregd 6y ago

I have the Series 4 and it's fundamentally changed the way I interact with my iPhone when I'm out and about. * I can answer calls while driving and not have to fumble around for my phone while driving my truck (The wife's SUV has fancy bluetooth integration) * I can open and close my garage from my watch. * I can voice message my family through Messages. I only wish that the battery life were much longer than it is and that Apple could settle on one method of charging their devices, especially in vehicles with limited room.

csa 6y ago

All of my friends told me something similar, so I got one. It just collects dust now. - The health tracking and gamification of exercise was somewhere between meh and useless for me. I don’t have exercise issues. - The freedom from the phone has potential, but the ostensible ease of use just isn’t worth the hassle of wearing a watch. I’m ok just pulling out my phone. - The deep breathing option was probably the app i liked most. Now I just do deep breathing exercises at regular times during the day for, what I assume, are similar effects. I can certainly imagine that it can improve the quality of life for some (many?) people, but I don’t find myself to be one of these people. That said, I really wish I did have a profound experience with it. I’m always down for good quality of life improvements. If anyone has ideas for using the Apple Watch that some people seem to miss, please let me know. I’m willing to give it another go.

extrapickles 6y ago
I haven’t come across anything profound with it, it mainly reduces friction from not needing to be taken out of a pocket and unlocked. Contactless payments are fairly nice as you can double tap the button, and hold the watchface over a reader, no need to get out your wallet and find the card you want to pay with. Back when going out with others was a thing, it’s calculator has features for tips and splitting checks.
andreilys 6y ago
My biggest value-add is being able to leave my phone at home. Being able to listen to podcasts and audio-books on my watch while going for walks and running errands has been great. With Apple Pay I don't even need to take my wallet with me and can just tap with my watch. Also the reminder to "close my rings" and being able to enter "competitions" with friends has been a great motivator for me to exercise.
- matsemann 6y ago
  As for exercising, if one's into that one might as well buy a proper watch for that. My Garmin can play music via BT and pay without my phone present. In addition it's tracking and fitness functions are way better than a normal smart watch. And the battery lasts longer than a day. More than a week even though I use the gps for an hour a day.

skohan 6y ago

Same - I resisted getting one for a long time, in general because I like to live minimally, but I finally caved in because I was interested in tracking biometrics, and it seems like the best option in terms of simplicity/performance for now. I thought I might only wear it when I was training, but it turns out having information on my heart rate all day long is super interesting, and I'm really happy I have it. Also I have turned off most of the notifications, but having the ones I want on my wrist without taking out my phone is actually super nice.

nova22033 6y ago

You should try the new Fitness+ app on the apple TV. Really good integration with the apple watch.

IkmoIkmo 6y ago
I'd like to, but the fact they required the TV was pretty crazy, to me. They've captured a huge portion of the smartphone market, but apple tv is only 1-2% of the market, and in many countries much less than that. They don't allow your phone to show Fitness+ on the TV through HDMI, nor through airplay. The phone screen is just way too small. So what's left are iPads, which can be a really great experience, particularly on the 12 inch pro, but it's a shame they don't allow Macbooks... I'm okay with the buy-in to some extent but man... A watch, phone and an apple tv is necessary, all from the same company, plus a subscription just to do a video-assisted workout that shows your heartrate on the screen? That's a pretty insane proposition. Would've been great if they allowed more options or third-party stuff. Just casting from my iPhone would've been a good start, or casting on my macbook... Honestly it's pretty ridiculous. Happy Macbook, iPhone, Apple Watch and Airpod Pro user, otherwise.
- wrboyce 6y ago
  I don’t know where you got your information about fitness+ playback via airplay but it is incorrect. I just tried it and it works fine.
  - IkmoIkmo 6y ago
    From where to where? It's been all over the forums and news the past few weeks, e.g.: https://www.macrumors.com/2020/12/14/apple-fitness-plus-no-airplay/ https://www.macrumors.com/2020/12/14/apple-fitness-plus-no-a...

greggman3 6y ago

hmmm, I had bad experiences. 1) activity tracking is fake. Turn over on sofa, get told "congrats! you finished your activity" 2) sleep tracking is fake. Forget to wear it, get told "You slept great! 3) water proof is useless. I bought it because I was going to be surfing and wanted to know if it was close to time to meet up with others. But, while it is water proof you can't use it if the screen is wet 4) Not good for telling time - because often I'd twist my wrist and the face would not light up, try again fail, try again fail, RAGE! get out other hand to manually wake it up Sold it 2 months after I got it.

trianglem 6y ago

I agree wholeheartedly. The Apple Watch got me running 3 miles a day for the last six months or so. I’m wholly invested in closing the rings and I up the the difficulty every month or so. The biggest revelation was my resting heart rate was somewhere between 70-90 and that scared me. Doing the daily runs has reduced that to 65 so I really feel like I’m making progress.

IkmoIkmo 6y ago
Tell me your Vo2 max trend! That's been the one to watch for me, happy to say I'm making quite a bit of progress there!
- trianglem 6y ago
  It’s relatively new, I started low at 36 but I’m up to 40 now!
  - IkmoIkmo 6y ago
    Awesome :D same story here, but up to 42 now! Hope to hit and then keep it at least above 45 for many years to come, but I'll see if I can't reach 50...

corytheboyd 6y ago

I got one for free, handed down to me by my partner after she upgraded, the stakes were pretty low for what I expected out of it. It’s great! I silence the hell out of my phone (on top of having almost all notifications off) so the watch vibrations are useful to me for not missing messages I care about. Super easy to read 2FA codes through SMS without digging up the phone. The LastPass Authenticator has a watch integration but it’s never worked for me. I’m sure there are other authenticator apps that work for the watch though. Logging workouts is easy, it’s fun to compare rings with my partner but we’re not serious about it and don’t really need the watch to get motivated about being active. Hands down my favorite feature is surprisingly the maps integration. If you just ignore the baseless memes about “Apple Maps bad” (works fine for me these days, but I saw how bad it was at its inception back in the day too) and just use it, you get the watch integration for free too. The vibrations for left/right turn are a very nice feature that don’t require averting attention at all, but you have the option of viewing the watch for a quick preview of the maps route (distance to next event and a visual, i.e. right three lanes to exit right). Just some feedback from a guy without strong opinions for or against the thing.