Apple Watch Series 4: Not as good as everyone says

[nepatriot]

All I am really saying is that in my experience, most Apple Watch owners are using them as a secondary way of receiving notifications. That is by far the primary use. The second most common seems to be the health features, although more as an activity tracker than workout device. When I couple those observations with the fact that developers are moving away from the watch, I think it is a logical conclusion that people use it for those two main purposes and that is about it.

Obviously as I said, I am not including people here or on iMore.

Include me! Notifications are what attracted me to the series 4. My hearing is not so good, and getting worse. I noticed I've been missing calls and other notifications on my iPhone X, either when in my pocket, or on my desk when I've stepped away.

I went to the Apple store before 2 weeks before xmas to get air pods, and ask what I can do to improve notifications. The guy I worked with checked out phone settings, and we made some adjustments that improved sound and vibrations. I had some things off, and some notification sounds were mild and short. Much better than when I walked in. Then he had me walk around the store, phone in pocket, while he got my receipt iPods.

Unbeknown to me, what he actually did is send me several texts and called a few times. I noticed the last call. The store was fairly noisy.

He had done all he could, so we said good bye. I stopped at the AW counter on the way out, just out of curiosity, and over heard several customers my age talking about the watch and notifications. One thing led to another, and I bought one to try out.

The enhancement of notifications via both wrist tap and the speaker up near your upper body vs in pants pocket does make a significant difference for some of us. For work, that benefit alone can be extremely valuable, and justify the GPS watch.

I'm finding myself wearing it more than I thought I would, beyond just work hours. The ability to simply talk has improved my response to texts, which I had always treated as distant second to emails or a phone call. My response rate to texts had been abysmal. Now I can keep up with my daughter and son, my sister, etc. So convenient!

I can see the possibilities, so much so that I decided to go all-in, and trade the GPS for a SS. Planning to activate the cellular as well.

 

[Pipper99]

You hands must be tiny!

Oddly, I just noticed that my Series 4 screen doesn't turn off when I cover it, either. There's got to be a setting that I'm missing.

 

[MisterSavage]

Just posting here to say I totally disagree. I love my S4 with ECG. I love the speed of the S4. It works so much more seamlessly in my world. I would not consider the S0 a contender. I wouldn’t recommend it at this point unless it was all someone could afford and they insisted on an Apple Watch.

Yeah I love my S4, especially because of the extra screen real estate.

 

[xDKP]

Disagree. First off, if you bought the original (S0) watch at launch, it would be 4 years old now ... would be incredibly slow and the battery life would be horrid. I got mine at launch and replaced it with the S2 at its launch - it was already significantly faster and had better battery life compared to the S0. I could not imagine trying to use a S0 watch with all of the new features Apple has added to watchOS.

Regarding the complications in the new watch faces, they would not work yet, regardless of which version of the watch you have... and can the S0 even do the new faces? I could be wrong, but I honestly don't think they can... but either way, the 3rd party complications will continue to function as before on pre watchOS 5.x watch faces.

I’m with you here. Went from S0 to S2 and already significantly better. The S4 blows them both out of the water though. Speed is amazing (way better than my S2 that was twice as fast as S0) and the screen is making it a completely different animal. Loving every day with mine

 

[Tenashus1]

I finally sold the Apple Watch 4 LTE that was pathetically sitting on my table. Couldn't wait to get rid of it. What a distraction. Wow. Life is much simpler now thank God.

 

[JWGold]

Me, I’m mad that Apple has a relentless product life cycle that forces me to shell out close to a thousand dollars every year or two. The Apple Watch was released only four years ago, and already, there have been four releases. I have wine that’s older and not even mature yet. What does it say when a useable product life cycle is anywhere from a year to 18 months before it become so slow as to be near useless? We’re all victim to it.

 

[Akrapovic]

Me, I’m mad that Apple has a relentless product life cycle that forces me to shell out close to a thousand dollars every year or two. The Apple Watch was released only four years ago, and already, there have been four releases. I have wine that’s older and not even mature yet. What does it say when a useable product life cycle is anywhere from a year to 18 months before it become so slow as to be near useless? We’re all victim to it.

"to be near useless" is a bit over dramatic. I'm on an S3, which is obviously approx 18 months into its life. It feels 100% useable. Also, whilst you can spend $1000, you can also spend less than that, and resell the old device to regain cost.

 

[JWGold]

"to be near useless" is a bit over dramatic. I'm on an S3, which is obviously approx 18 months into its life. It feels 100% useable. Also, whilst you can spend $1000, you can also spend less than that, and resell the old device to regain cost.

Ok, not useless. It still tells the time and gives you your messages... but my Series 3 had gotten laggy to the point that I was reluctant to use Siri and performed other functions slowly enough that it became annoying.

 

[xDKP]

Ok, not useless. It still tells the time and gives you your messages... but my Series 3 had gotten laggy to the point that I was reluctant to use Siri and performed other functions slowly enough that it became annoying.

I had my S2 for two years and skipped the S3 - felt completely good at the end. Obviously the S4 a massive speed gain etc. but the old wasn’t exactly unusable and if I’m honest it could have lived good for a year or two more. The S4 just had enough new features I felt compelling

 

[itsmemuffins]

I have bought the space grey 4 in December. I love it and wear it everyday. My only regret is not being able to get the stainless steel version because Apple doesn’t sell it in Ireland.

I’m currently looking at a series 2 space black on eBay. It’s €180. Thinking of getting that and selling the 4. I think I’m mad?

 

[Apple_Robert]

Me, I’m mad that Apple has a relentless product life cycle that forces me to shell out close to a thousand dollars every year or two. The Apple Watch was released only four years ago, and already, there have been four releases. I have wine that’s older and not even mature yet. What does it say when a useable product life cycle is anywhere from a year to 18 months before it become so slow as to be near useless? We’re all victim to it.

Apple doesn't force you to upgrade every cycle. That is your own doing. If you want to be mad, look to the person spending the money.
[doublepost=1550421327][/doublepost]

I have bought the space grey 4 in December. I love it and wear it everyday. My only regret is not being able to get the stainless steel version because Apple doesn’t sell it in Ireland.

I’m currently looking at a series 2 space black on eBay. It’s €180. Thinking of getting that and selling the 4. I think I’m mad?

I wouldn't go down two cycles backwards just get space gray, especially on eBay. Not logical. What does make sense, is finding a retailer who sells the series 4 in space gray.

 

[44267547]

I had my S2 for two years and skipped the S3 - felt completely good at the end. Obviously the S4 a massive speed gain etc. but the old wasn’t exactly unusable and if I’m honest it could have lived good for a year or two more. The S4 just had enough new features I felt compelling

The performance gains with the Series 4 really is a huge advantage, that’s really been a struggle for the Apple Watch in the past, it was that it lagged with software updates, application stutters, even powering on the Apple Watch is so much more efficient and quicker now. And with the 64-bit dual core processor, the tangible benefits for the Series 4 will be more long-term than the other Apple Watch models, especially (Hopefully) with longer watchOS support.

 

[itsmemuffins]

Apple doesn't force you to upgrade every cycle. That is your own doing. If you want to be mad, look to the person spending the money.
[doublepost=1550421327][/doublepost]
I wouldn't go down two cycles backwards just get space gray, especially on eBay. Not logical. What does make sense, is finding a retailer who sells the series 4 in space gray.

I have the space grey but I wanted the space black. Which isn’t sold here. Prices on eBay are just to damn high. Even for series 3.

 

[MacNut]

I finally sold the Apple Watch 4 LTE that was pathetically sitting on my table. Couldn't wait to get rid of it. What a distraction. Wow. Life is much simpler now thank God.

Did you also sell your iPhone?

 

[Apple_Robert]

I have the space grey but I wanted the space black. Which isn’t sold here. Prices on eBay are just to damn high. Even for series 3.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1434909-REG/apple_mtv62ll_a_watch_series_4_gps.html

They will ship to Ireland and they are a Authorized Apple Seller.

 

[The Game 161]

Got to be joking surely...hard to take this seriously

 

[millerj123]

Got to be joking surely...hard to take this seriously

Yeah, my wife and I both have series 2. We have them on all the time.

 

[xDKP]

The performance gains with the Series 4 really is a huge advantage, that’s really been a struggle for the Apple Watch in the past, it was that it lagged with software updates, application stutters, even powering on the Apple Watch is so much more efficient and quicker now. And with the 64-bit dual core processor, the tangible benefits for the Series 4 will be more long-term than the other Apple Watch models, especially (Hopefully) with longer watchOS support.

Fully agree - just mentioned it to say that it’s not like they die after two years

 

[Tenashus1]

Did you also sell your iPhone?

Love the phone. All I need. Xr is great.

 

[MacNut]

Love the phone. All I need. Xr is great.

Isn't the iPhone a bigger distraction than the watch?

 

[Tenashus1]

No, not really. It just sits in my pocket until I need it. The watch would feel as if it was moving on my wrist. I would always have to charge it, like something else to take care of. I would ask Siri something, and she would tell me to look on my phone. I would get a phone call, and have to hold my arm up to talk, and everyone could hear my phone call. It was like a pet that needed extra attention. Unnecessary for me. Superfluous. Apple stretching and reaching to find another iPhone like phenomenon.

 

[mrex]

My biggest, and pretty much only issue with my S4 is the battery life, which, in my experience, is dramatically WORSE than my S2 or S3.

I think the battery life is okay. I charge it daily and i have no issue with it - however im not a heavy user...

My biggest issue with the watch is useless watchfaces and fetures and i still cannot control to make them more useful. There are things like sun rises/settle, moon phase etc. but why an earth i need them on my watch face? There are lots of things i want to see, but cant. And it is the biggest issue because i was able to make my own watch faces already years ago with my older smartwatch (android) and today years later, i can only add some useless features to some watchfaces but not on all - of course. Thank god, mickey mouse tells the time - that is the thing i need! Phuh!?

 

[sean000]

No, not really. It just sits in my pocket until I need it. The watch would feel as if it was moving on my wrist. I would always have to charge it, like something else to take care of. I would ask Siri something, and she would tell me to look on my phone. I would get a phone call, and have to hold my arm up to talk, and everyone could hear my phone call. It was like a pet that needed extra attention. Unnecessary for me. Superfluous. Apple stretching and reaching to find another iPhone like phenomenon.

The watch was always moving on your wrist? Like vibrating or was it a fit issue?

I rarely use the watch to have a phone conversation, and that’s something I would never do in public. We all make choices in how we use our technology, and people who choose to have conversations in public using the external speaker on their phones or smart watches are demonstrating poor etiquette in my opinion. There are times when such features are appropriate and useful though, and every now and then I find it useful to be able to answer and talk with the watch.

As for battery, my S4 outlasts my iPhone X and recharges back to full in less time. Most people have routines that involve charging their device(s). Some simply charge the watch overnight. I use mine for sleep tracking so I charge it for a short period of time before I go to bed.

Siri is no smarter on the iPhone. You ask Siri a question and get a response like, “let me look that up that for you.” Where Siri shines on the watch is when you use commands to set reminders, add appointments, set timers, send text messages, turn the lights on or off, etc.

Personally I think the watch adds a lot of convenience and is less obtrusive than a phone that rings or beeps to let everyone around you know that you have a phone call or a notification. It lets me see who is calling or texting me without the need to get my phone out. Most of the time I can see that it’s a call I don’t want to take right then, or that its a notification I can act on later. I love the fact that my iPhone is always muted and that none of my technology is ever bothering me or others around me with intrusive sounds. I have edited my notifications down to just the essentials, so my watch doesn’t even tap me on the wrist unless it’s something I actually want or need to know about. It allows me to keep my iPhone out of sight more often (it’s the far more distracting device).

All said though, it’s not for everyone and it’s not as essential for most as a smartphone is, and that’s okay. If you don’t care about fitness tracking then it’s really just an accessory for silent notifications, information at a glance, and other little conveniences. Personally the little conveniences are enough for me. I do use the fitness tracking features, but I would own an Apple
Watch even if it didn’t offer those features. Not everyone is going to feel the same. My wife has no interest in an Apple Watch, Fitbit, or any other wearable. Her iPhone’s notification sounds annoy the heck out of me, but I still love her.

 

[unclemax]

No, not really. It just sits in my pocket until I need it. The watch would feel as if it was moving on my wrist. I would always have to charge it, like something else to take care of. I would ask Siri something, and she would tell me to look on my phone. I would get a phone call, and have to hold my arm up to talk, and everyone could hear my phone call. It was like a pet that needed extra attention. Unnecessary for me. Superfluous. Apple stretching and reaching to find another iPhone like phenomenon.

What you describe is literally what I imagined owning an Apple Watch would be like. I have mostly decided against buying one unless there’s a dramatic update in battery life / always on screen tech. The upside is that I started wearing my other nice watches which are robust (6 years old, 7 years old...) and much nicer looking.

 

[MacNut]

No, not really. It just sits in my pocket until I need it. The watch would feel as if it was moving on my wrist. I would always have to charge it, like something else to take care of. I would ask Siri something, and she would tell me to look on my phone. I would get a phone call, and have to hold my arm up to talk, and everyone could hear my phone call. It was like a pet that needed extra attention. Unnecessary for me. Superfluous. Apple stretching and reaching to find another iPhone like phenomenon.

You can change the settings to make the watch do as much or as little as you want. I haven't had any issues with the watch going crazy on my wrist. I use my watch as a companion to the phone, it might give me an alert but I will look at the phone to do the heavy lifting. I would never use the watch to answer a phone call or text. I don't use Siri at all and haven't since the first week after it was announced.