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Apple Watch vs iphone in pocket (Which will you choose?)


  • Total voters
    73
  • Poll closed .

ianfann

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Oct 12, 2014
261
151
After one year with the watch. I personally find it easier, faster and more natural to reach for my iPhone in the pocket than to raise my wrist to use the watch instead. What do you guys think?
 

PaladinGuy

macrumors 68000
Sep 22, 2014
1,644
1,059
Depends on what the notification or action is. Also, the times I reach for my phone, it's often times because my watch was acting glitchy and/or slow. Once they get software/hardware to be slightly more reliable and consistent, I'd almost always be more likely to look at notifications and texts on my watch.

I should say that I'm still not really comfortable dictating messages on the watch around other people. In those cases, I definitely use my phone.
 

WarHeadz

macrumors 6502a
Aug 30, 2015
904
5,192
Long Beach, California
I always raise my wrist. I just wish Apple would figure out some sort of typing solution on the watch. Dictation isn't always accurate and I don't like doing it around people and the canned responses don't always do the trick either.
 

bambooshots

Suspended
Jul 25, 2013
1,414
2,891
Depends on the action.

I just want the time? Raise wrist.

I need to reply to an email or text? Out comes the phone.

Even stuff like weather and delivery tracking is easier for me to check on the watch than dragging out the phone.

Apple Pay? No contest, the Apple Watch is much quicker and a more fluid experience.

The Apple Watch is just another tool in the toolbox. If you can't justify it for what it costs, it's not necessary then.
 
Last edited:

IphoneIssues

macrumors 65816
Dec 30, 2010
1,028
617
Depends on the action.

I just want the time? Raise wrist.

I need to reply to an email or text? Out comes the phone.

Even stuff like weather and delivery tracking is easier for me to check on the watch than dragging out the phone.

Apple Pay? No contest, the Apple Watch is much quicker and a more fluid experience.

The Apple Watch is just another tool in the toolbox. If you can't justify it for what it costs, it's not necessary then.

Yes. I tried to be specific with my answer too. It's not so simple as doing something on the watch or doing something on the phone.
 

serialtoon

macrumors 6502a
Jul 1, 2009
646
141
1 of 8 bits
After one year with the watch. I personally find it easier, faster and more natural to reach for my iPhone in the pocket than to raise my wrist to use the watch instead. What do you guys think?
I find the watch annoying but only because unless it's an iMessage it makes the same damn tone and vibration for every notification. I wish I was able to choose what makes what sound. Other than that I like the watch.
 

sean000

macrumors 68000
Jul 16, 2015
1,628
2,346
Bellingham, WA
After one year with the watch. I personally find it easier, faster and more natural to reach for my iPhone in the pocket than to raise my wrist to use the watch instead. What do you guys think?

I find it is more convenient to use the watch, and usually faster as well since most of the information I need is either on the watch face, in one of the glances, or in the notification area.

One issue with this poll is that not everyone carries their iPhone in an easily accessible pocket. My iPhone 6 is often in the pocket of my bag or backpack. When I wear a jacket it is usually zipped in my jacket pocket. At home it is often docked to speakers, and at work I sometimes put it out of sight to avoid distractions. That's one of the points of the watch: You never have to hunt for it because it's on your wrist, and it provides information (not distraction) when you need it.

Sean
 

Rok73

macrumors 65816
Apr 21, 2015
1,161
518
Planet Earth
Raise wrist all day.

I LOVE my Apple Watch because of:

-instant notifications
-Siri activated tasks like timer, alarm clock etc.
-the possibility to receive and make calls and send messages hands-free (!) e.g. when I am busy chopping vegetables in the kitchen, playing games on my PS4 etc. etc. (still awesome feature)
-the activity rings and the data the activity app spits out (steps made, kilometers walked etc.), awesome!
-boarding pass on the watch face, so handy, so useful when carrying hand luggage, magazines, clothes at the airport
-checking my bank account balance quickly on the watch
-maps/navigation
-football ("soccer") results on the go
-remote for iPod on iPhone
-setting up & turning on/off my Avea Elgato LED ambience light in the living room

All these aforementioned opportunities are quickly and easily accessible and I don't see ANY reason to pull out my phone for it.
 

maflynn

macrumors Haswell
May 3, 2009
73,682
43,734
I tend to use my watch for notifications over reaching for my phone. I love the quick and easy way to hang up on a phone call if I can't (or don't want) to take a call.
 
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AlliFlowers

macrumors 601
Jan 1, 2011
4,542
15,756
L.A. (Lower Alabama)
Exactly what they said. There is no need to immediately reach for the phone. You get a notification, you look at your watch. You decide if it's something that needs to be addressed immediately or can wait. Even phone calls can be quickly declined right from your wrist without taking out your phone.

Exactly this. I screen my notifications on my watch then decide if I want to take my phone out or not.

I tend to use my watch for notifications over reaching for my phone. I love the quick and easy way to hang up on a phone call if I can't (or don't want) to take a call.
 
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PaladinGuy

macrumors 68000
Sep 22, 2014
1,644
1,059
Depends on the action.

I just want the time? Raise wrist.

I need to reply to an email or text? Out comes the phone.

Even stuff like weather and delivery tracking is easier for me to check on the watch than dragging out the phone.

Apple Pay? No contest, the Apple Watch is much quicker and a more fluid experience.

The Apple Watch is just another tool in the toolbox. If you can't justify it for what it costs, it's not necessary then.
I agree with everything except Apple Pay. I still find my phone way faster to use for this function. It also doesn't have to touch the payment terminal, which bothers me on my Apple Watch. I guess being a watch guy, it's like nails on a chalkboard for me to bump my watch face up to something intentionally!
 

BarracksSi

Suspended
Jul 14, 2015
3,902
2,664
When I don't wear my AW, and if I'm expecting to get some sort of message, I usually end up carrying my phone in my hand. Quick, but certainly not secure.

With the AW, my phone spends much more time on the table, in my pocket, or in my backpack. What this demonstrates is, the AW is useful enough to let me step away from the phone.
 
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imhereareyou

macrumors regular
Aug 28, 2013
245
95
I've got a nice watch, I don't care for my apple too much, it's too "hipster" for me, was cool for the first few days, first few bands but now give me my reg watch that has some weight to it and feels better on the wrist.
 

JayLenochiniMac

macrumors G5
Nov 7, 2007
12,819
2,390
New Sanfrakota
I agree with everything except Apple Pay. I still find my phone way faster to use for this function. It also doesn't have to touch the payment terminal, which bothers me on my Apple Watch. I guess being a watch guy, it's like nails on a chalkboard for me to bump my watch face up to something intentionally!

But you don't actually touch it. You hover over where the symbol is without touching.
 

bigmanofds

macrumors newbie
Dec 18, 2015
20
15
For me when it comes to answering a call, it’s easier and quicker for me to answer on the watch than reaching into my pocket to answer with my phone. Before I got the watch, I’d miss a lot of calls because I couldn’t pull my phone out quick enough to answer them. I’d always have to call back and in the process the caller is trying to call me back which causes dialing 2 to 3 more times because both parties are getting a busy signals or getting each other’s voice mail. Now with the watch especially when my wife calls, I’ll answer the call on my watch saying “hold on until I get my phone out.” No calling back and dialing multiple times.

Also, I’m almost totally silent with the watch. A phone vibrating on a desk is just as noisy as a ring or vibrating when keys and phone is in the same pocket. With the watch, I get calls, notifications, alarms, and reminders without making a sound….just taps on the wrist.
 

sean000

macrumors 68000
Jul 16, 2015
1,628
2,346
Bellingham, WA
For me when it comes to answering a call, it’s easier and quicker for me to answer on the watch than reaching into my pocket to answer with my phone. Before I got the watch, I’d miss a lot of calls because I couldn’t pull my phone out quick enough to answer them. I’d always have to call back and in the process the caller is trying to call me back which causes dialing 2 to 3 more times because both parties are getting a busy signals or getting each other’s voice mail.

I agree with both points. Silence was my primary reason for purchasing the watch, but it had also prevented me from missing a call because I couldn't get to my iPhone fast enough. I think the only times I have dropped my iPhone have been while I was trying to get it out of a bag or pocket quickly to answer a call. It's also handy to answer a call when your iPhone is somewhere else in the house. We don't have a landline, so it's fairly common for me to get a call while my iPhone is on the floor opposite me.

Sean
 

Dino F

Suspended
Sep 16, 2010
4,515
3,404
Croydon, South London, UK
I always raise my wrist. I just wish Apple would figure out some sort of typing solution on the watch. Dictation isn't always accurate and I don't like doing it around people and the canned responses don't always do the trick either.

100% THIS^^^

I will always raise my wrist but because of the above reasons, I still have to pull out my phone to actually respond.
:rolleyes:
 

bigmanofds

macrumors newbie
Dec 18, 2015
20
15
I agree with both points. Silence was my primary reason for purchasing the watch, but it had also prevented me from missing a call because I couldn't get to my iPhone fast enough. I think the only times I have dropped my iPhone have been while I was trying to get it out of a bag or pocket quickly to answer a call. It's also handy to answer a call when your iPhone is somewhere else in the house. We don't have a landline, so it's fairly common for me to get a call while my iPhone is on the floor opposite me.

Sean

I have Vonage as my main number or if you live in the South, the “house phone.” lol. With the Vonage extension app installed on my iPhone, I can answer the house phone from the watch without getting up. Before the watch, the Vonage phone which is a cordless phone would be upstairs or in another room because we hardly ever used it. When it rings, my wife and I would just look at each other to see who is going to answer it especially when phone is upstairs. lol Other times the phone would be dead because somebody didn’t put it back on the base for it to charge. Now, I just answer on my watch even when I am not at home or the cordless phone is dead because of not being on the base. I got so used to answering the phone on my watch and not listening for a ring we actually went 24 days before we realized the cordless phone was not on the base.
 

maxsix

Suspended
Jun 28, 2015
3,100
3,731
Western Hemisphere
Returned my SS Apple Watch, just too much of a time waster for my preferences. Reaching into my pocket to retrieve my phone isn't a problem for me, it's automatic.

That Apple's followers even suggest that's an issue is just pathetic... :eek:
 

bigmanofds

macrumors newbie
Dec 18, 2015
20
15
Returned my SS Apple Watch, just too much of a time waster for my preferences. Reaching into my pocket to retrieve my phone isn't a problem for me, it's automatic.

That Apple's followers even suggest that's an issue is just pathetic... :eek:

For me I would not call it an “issue.” Being able to interact with my phone less is just a convenience. The purpose of a luxury device like this is convenience and not a need. Now is it worth several hundred dollars for that? Well, that depends on the individual. Some people buy expense cars just to ride somewhere they easily could walk too.

If I can keep the same experience with the watch as it has been for the last six months for about the next four years then it’s worth it to me. I have a gold sports model now. I might spring for the stainless steel the next time I buy one….hopefully in about 3 or 4 years.
 
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