Am I the only one who doesn’t want both phone&watch?

[Vref]

So seems I’m swimming upstream

I got a ultra, the whole point was to be able to leave my iphone in the car or at home, but still have the necessities

Go to any cafe, restaurant or bar and you see tons of peeps heads down in their phones, as if they are playing battle ship with each other lol

I’m guilty of this too, plus on any given day I have my wallet, iPhone, keys on me, just lots of junk to carry around, like a pack mule

Figured the Apple watch (why isn’t it a iwatch BTW?) would allow me to not haul around my iPhone all the time, figured it can nav, text, email, call and a few other needed things on its own, solo

We’ll it does, but some stuff it needs it mommy, which I don’t get, I mean my iPhone can do pretty much everything the watch can do and much better, if I was worried about my health I could just get a cheap Fitbit or one of those rings, So I don’t get the watch + phone, if I’m going to wear a watch and have my phone, my omega and other mechanicals are far more sexy, guess they didn’t think folks would buy a cellular watch because they don’t want to have to have their ever growing in size smart phone on them?


I’m I the only one who doesn’t get the point of having a Apple Watch and carrying iPhone at the same time?

 

[GoofyCyborg]

My watch is primarily used for notification alerts. Sometimes it's not possible for me to take out my phone to read a notification, reply to a text etc. I wouldn't use a watch as a replacement for my phone, although it has come in handy once or twice to answer a call when my phone was 'upstairs' on charge. I should add although my watch has cellular capabilities, I don't have a dedicated plan to use along side it as a Bluetooth/WiFi connection suffices.

 

[Vref]

My watch is primarily used for notification alerts. Sometimes it's not possible for me to take out my phone to read a notification, reply to a text etc. I wouldn't use a watch as a replacement for my phone, although it has come in handy once or twice to answer a call when my phone was 'upstairs' on charge. I should add although my watch has cellular capabilities, I don't have a dedicated plan to use along side it as a Bluetooth/WiFi connection suffices.

Just curious why couldn’t you take your phone out to check a notification?

 

[MBAir2010]

I swore off both from well the phone in 2005
watch since 201?
now I have both
the watch is great for exercising which I am doing 6 day a week.
the iPhone is great for photos, music and remote controlling my MacBooks' music
I have not responded to my 6 last calls!

 

[GoofyCyborg]

Just curious why couldn’t you take your phone out to check a notification?

My employer would fire my ass! My watch allows me to read SMS messages, WhatsApp messages and emails discreetly without causing upset to others whilst I am at work.

 

[Vref]

My employer would fire my ass! My watch allows me to read SMS messages, WhatsApp messages and emails discreetly without causing upset to others whilst I am at work.

He can’t figure out what you’re doing when you look at your Apple Watch longer than the half a second it takes tell the time?

Cool if it works and all, but when I see someone staring a smart watch it’s obvious they are checking a email or text or something…..or worse they can’t tell time lol

 

[Warped9]

Nope, I don’t have, and never have had, an AW and I have zero interest in having one. It works for some people, but in my eyes it’s an expensive and needless toy.

I have my iPhone and on my wrist an old-fashioned analog watch.

 

[GoofyCyborg]

He can’t figure out what you’re doing when you look at your Apple Watch longer than the half a second it takes tell the time?

Cool if it works and all, but when I see someone staring a smart watch it’s obvious they are checking a email or text or something…..or worse they can’t tell time lol

I only glance at a notification the majority of the time, I don’t read them all fully, just the preview. It literally looks like I’m checking the time 95% of the time! So to answer your question, no he hasn’t figured out what I’m doing or if he knows, doesn’t care.

 

[GlenK]

It just depends on what I'm doing. If I'm out running errands my phone stays at home most of the time. If I have an appointment where I may need to check data of some sort I take the phone with me. I really like NOT having to have it for emergencies.

 

[Mr. Dee]

My watch is primarily used for notification alerts. Sometimes it's not possible for me to take out my phone to read a notification, reply to a text etc. I wouldn't use a watch as a replacement for my phone, although it has come in handy once or twice to answer a call when my phone was 'upstairs' on charge. I should add although my watch has cellular capabilities, I don't have a dedicated plan to use along side it as a Bluetooth/WiFi connection suffices.

I wish Apple would realize the dedicated plan for the Apple Watch is likely unpopular. It likely was only created to make carriers happy. It should have been setup to share the same plan that’s already on your iPhone. 9/10 every Apple Watch user has an iPhone.

 

[StrollerEd]

It's like I shouldn't even be reading this thread ...

I realise that not having tried a (i)Watch, you probably don't want to hear from me. Please pardon the intrusion.

However, ...

"If I'm out running errands my phone stays at home most of the time."

I haven't worn a watch [clockwork, electronic or i] since I've had an iPhone. Without a watch I generally know the approximate time and only have to reach into my pocket when needing the exact time or for all the other clever things my iPhone does. I keep my wallet and keys in other pockets.

"My watch allows me to read SMS messages, WhatsApp messages and emails discreetly without causing upset to others whilst I am at work."

And is this a universal sentiment?

 

[dsusanj]

Figured the Apple watch (why isn’t it a iwatch BTW?)

From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Watch

The device was not branded as "iWatch", which would have put it in line with its product lines such as iPod, iPhone, and iPad. In the United States, the "iWatch" trademark is owned by OMG Electronics – who was crowdfunding a device under the same name; it is owned in the European Union by Irish firm Probendi. In July 2015, Probendi sued Apple Inc. for trademark infringement, arguing that through keyword advertising on the Google search engine, it caused advertising for the Apple Watch to appear on search results pages when users searched for the trademarked term "iWatch".

 

[Eggtastic]

I think the apple watch, especially the ultra is very cool looking and feature packed. However, to this day I haven't been able to justify the price for an extension of my phone. I do workout regularly and am in situations where it would just be easier to have an apple watch. However, it just takes a a little extra time to take my phone and out if needed (14 pro max, which despite the size I am used to in any situation).

I remember having the Jawbone fitness band back in the day which was great for fitness and had a couple of little LED's for notifications. If something like that existed today I would probably get it. I also considered the Fitbit charge 5 as its much cheaper, smaller display, etc. but again not sure I actually need it.

Only watch I use is a nice a poor man's Rolex (Nixon) for going out. It is big and heavy so can double as a defense mechanism (joking, but seriously is solid).

 

[Vref]

It's like I shouldn't even be reading this thread ...

I realise that not having tried a (i)Watch, you probably don't want to hear from me. Please pardon the intrusion.

However, ...

"If I'm out running errands my phone stays at home most of the time."

I haven't worn a watch [clockwork, electronic or i] since I've had an iPhone. Without a watch I generally know the approximate time and only have to reach into my pocket when needing the exact time or for all the other clever things my iPhone does. I keep my wallet and keys in other pockets.

"on any given day I have my wallet, gun, iPhone, keys on me" ...

I live in a country where only police and the odd bad guy carries a gun. Not carrying one certainly lessens the pack mule look.

"My watch allows me to read SMS messages, WhatsApp messages and emails discreetly without causing upset to others whilst I am at work."

And is this a universal sentiment?

For me I feel odd not having a watch on, it also shows a respect for time, I very rarely see anyone in my industry who doesn’t wear a watch 🤷‍♂️

When I check a message on the watch I’m 90% sure most everyone knows I’m checking a message or email or something, if I’m in a meeting I don’t check the Apple Watch, but that’s not a Apple Watch thing, if I’m in a meeting with someone I dont look at my very non electronic omega to see the time ether, IMHO it’s disrespectful

 

[Vref]

It just depends on what I'm doing. If I'm out running errands my phone stays at home most of the time. If I have an appointment where I may need to check data of some sort I take the phone with me. I really like NOT having to have it for emergencies.

That’s what I was going for, how’s it working out so far for you?

 

[Howard2k]

, if I’m in a meeting with someone I dont look at my very non electronic omega to see the time ether, IMHO it’s disrespectful

I only ever get that impression from this forum. Never from real life. In real life in real meetings there are often time constraints and people need to be cognizant of their time and contributions.

Being unaware of the time is not “respectful” in my opinion. It’s exactly the opposite.

But only on this forum have I read about people being concerned about being fired for twisting their wrist to check the time too.

 

[ApplesAreSweet&Sour]

I see it as a really great health tracker and a “dumb phone” replacement when I can’t or don’t want to carry my iPhone around.
But I totally get that it’s not very interesting if you don’t care about health tracking.

Also, seeing how Apple is pouring millions into better AW health trackers, I’m overall convinced that AW’s main purpose is to be the “World’s best smart Watch + health tracker combo, but only for iPhone users” bait and not ever a standalone device that lets you leave your iPhone at home.

The ability to use Siri to start timers, interact with (some) apps and take calls, etc. when I can’t use my hands or push a button is also one of the reasons I love it.

Assistive Touch is also really useful for me when Siri won’t do and I can’t use my right hand.

 

[GoofyCyborg]

My Gran thinks none of us need a mobile phone because she doesn’t need one. After all, we managed perfectly fine for decades without one (her words).

I have a disabled son, my wife works full time, I work full time, my son has carers and we need to be reachable at all times. My watch allows me to be just that. I glance at my watch and most people think I’m simply checking the time. If it’s anything to do with my son, I respond. If not, I ignore it. Sadly, not every employer forwards a message when left via official methods!

We all use these things for different reasons. For me, it’s the notifications. For others, it might be health features. Just because something isn’t useful to you, doesn’t make it useless to everyone else!

 

[MrMojo1]

I use my iWatch 5 more as a health tracker than anything else. It didn't help me much when and after I caught CoV or the flu afterwards. Also use the sleep tracker to help with light apnea and a cpap but otherwise it's not really needed/required for use along with the cpap.
May just get a battery replacement later but don't see myself getting an updated iWatch.
The reward badges is an incentive to help keep using the iWatch.
Don't know why Apple doesn't officially called it the iWatch when many people unofficially call it that. It's fitting to call it that to fit into Apple's ecosystem with its other products... iMac, iPhone, iPad, etc...

 

[StrollerEd]

I see it as a really great health tracker and a “dumb phone” replacement when I can’t or don’t want to carry my iPhone around.
But I totally get that it’s not very interesting if you don’t care about health tracking.

Also, seeing how Apple is pouring millions into better AW health trackers, I’m overall convinced that AW’s main purpose is to be the “World’s best smart Watch + health tracker combo, but only for iPhone users” bait and not ever a standalone device that lets you leave your iPhone at home.

The ability to use Siri to start timers, interact with (some) apps and take calls, etc. when I can’t use my hands or push a button is also one of the reasons I love it.

Assistive Touch is also really useful for me when Siri won’t do and I can’t use my right hand.

I did once try a Fitbit when in an exercise for health but it broke before I did.

tbh, I have been prompted by this discussion to look again at the value of the AW. Short of buying the best/latest, I might give a s/h or refurb a whirl. Would the 6 be a fair test and would I have to go for the cellular?

I would have my iPhone in my pocket.

 

[StrollerEd]

My Gran thinks none of us need a mobile phone because she doesn’t need one. After all, we managed perfectly fine for decades without one (her words).

Touché

We all use these things for different reasons. For me, it’s the notifications. For others, it might be health features. Just because something isn’t useful to you, doesn’t make it useless to everyone else!

Yes, I agree. I recall debates about the value, or not, of the iPad as an in-between device. As for present discussion, I find the iPhone in the pocket (with sound and vibration) does sufficient btw of notification.

I have a disabled son, my wife works full time, I work full time, my son has carers and we need to be reachable at all times. My watch allows me to be just that. I glance at my watch and most people think I’m simply checking the time. If it’s anything to do with my son, I respond. If not, I ignore it. Sadly, not every employer forwards a message when left via official methods!

Clearly you have special requirements. My apologies if I have inadvertently offended.

 

[Night Spring]

If you Google "Apple Watch ultra without iPhone" you get lots of YouTube videos with people trying what happens if they leave their iPhone and go about their day with just the Ultra. There's always been people interested in using the Apple watch more as an replacement to their phone, rather than a supplement. I think the Ultra took a huge step in that direction, and I suspect this trend will continue with subsequent watch releases.

 

[pcmike]

So seems I’m swimming upstream

I got a ultra, the whole point was to be able to leave my iphone in the car or at home, but still have the necessities

Go to any cafe, restaurant or bar and you see tons of peeps heads down in their phones, as if they are playing battle ship with each other lol

I’m guilty of this too, plus on any given day I have my wallet, iPhone, keys on me, just lots of junk to carry around, like a pack mule

Figured the Apple watch (why isn’t it a iwatch BTW?) would allow me to not haul around my iPhone all the time, figured it can nav, text, email, call and a few other needed things on its own, solo

We’ll it does, but some stuff it needs it mommy, which I don’t get, I mean my iPhone can do pretty much everything the watch can do and much better, if I was worried about my health I could just get a cheap Fitbit or one of those rings, So I don’t get the watch + phone, if I’m going to wear a watch and have my phone, my omega and other mechanicals are far more sexy, guess they didn’t think folks would buy a cellular watch because they don’t want to have to have their ever growing in size smart phone on them?


I’m I the only one who doesn’t get the point of having an Apple Watch and carrying iPhone at the same time?

I use to think like you, in fact… I’ve purchased every Apple Watch (regular cellular series or better) and ALWAYS returned it within the return window because I just could not justify the ~$600. My biggest use case for a watch initially and partly still to this day, is fitness.. and I found a Garmin Vue a few years ago to be just perfect for that. It could track my heart rate, it had a GPS, I could load music onto it and pair my EarPods with it so I didn’t have to take my phone with me on a run, hell it even has “Garmin Pay” if I needed to buy something on a run or cycling trip in a pinch….. and it was half the price of an Apple Watch. However, it was only practical if I ran in the neighborhood if I was running somewhere else or even cycling at all… I still needed a way to reach assistance in an emergency, so I basically only wore the watch in those specific use case (just fitness).

Fast forward to literally about two weeks ago. I haven’t been exercising regularly for awhile and back in the day my buddies and me use to have Nike Fuelbands to compete on fitness goals. I don’t even know if it still exists or not, but all my buddies have moved on to Apple Watches. So, me wanting to get back into fitness and needing some competition… I bought a series 8 cellular, again for $600, and set about my business. I was determined to just bite the bullet and not return it despite the, what I felt was completely ridiculous, price. However, someone mentioned that the series 7 was essentially the same Watch minus the temperature sensor for ovulation tracking and that Walmart had the 45mm green series 7 cellular on sale for $279. I immediately ordered one and in two days when it came I returned the series 8. So now I have an Apple Watch for what I feel is an “appropriate price” that is feature parity with the current generation and now I’m actively finding ways to use it. Turns out, with Watchla, I can use the Watch to get into my Tesla and drive without even needing a cellular connection or my phone (or any other key for that matter). This is huge for me as now it truly means I can absolutely leave my phone at home or in the car if I go somewhere else for a run or cycling. Plus with the cellular connection I can literally do all the basics (make a call, text, get security notifications, etc) without anything else with me.

In short, the reason WHY I always felt I didn’t need an Apple Watch is because the price (initially) is obscenely expensive for a device in which the phone your use to carrying with you everyday can do everything (plus much more) 1,000x better. However, when the price was cut in half and *I* felt I was getting some useful value out of the Watch I now can truly appreciate it for what it is… just another tool.

 

[tridley68]

So seems I’m swimming upstream

I got a ultra, the whole point was to be able to leave my iphone in the car or at home, but still have the necessities

Go to any cafe, restaurant or bar and you see tons of peeps heads down in their phones, as if they are playing battle ship with each other lol

I’m guilty of this too, plus on any given day I have my wallet, iPhone, keys on me, just lots of junk to carry around, like a pack mule

Figured the Apple watch (why isn’t it a iwatch BTW?) would allow me to not haul around my iPhone all the time, figured it can nav, text, email, call and a few other needed things on its own, solo

We’ll it does, but some stuff it needs it mommy, which I don’t get, I mean my iPhone can do pretty much everything the watch can do and much better, if I was worried about my health I could just get a cheap Fitbit or one of those rings, So I don’t get the watch + phone, if I’m going to wear a watch and have my phone, my omega and other mechanicals are far more sexy, guess they didn’t think folks would buy a cellular watch because they don’t want to have to have their ever growing in size smart phone on them?


I’m I the only one who doesn’t get the point of having a Apple Watch and carrying iPhone at the same time?

Love having both my I phone 14 pro max and My Apple watch ultra

 

[BB1970]

It sound like you haven’t “retrained” your mind yet to not need the phone… yet. I recently picked up a watch with cellular. Theres definitely a hump to get over releasing oneself from the tether of the phone, but lately I’ve been making conscious decisions to leave it in the car or at home when doing things. It’s taking me back to the 80s and 90s when one can sort of feel autonomous, and yet have the knowledge that I can be reached if needed, or call someone in case there’s an emergency. Of course the phone will display more information and such, but the whole idea is to declutter your head. And that takes time.