Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Has your health has improved since buying the Apple Watch?

  • Yes - it subjectively feels like my health has improved

    Votes: 38 28.4%
  • Yes - some quantifiable metric (i.e. blood pressure, cholesterol) has improved

    Votes: 50 37.3%
  • No - it doesn't feel like my health has changed

    Votes: 23 17.2%
  • No - no quantifiable metric has improved

    Votes: 10 7.5%
  • Neither - I wear the watch, but don't utilize any health-related apps/features

    Votes: 7 5.2%
  • Neither - I own a watch, but don't typically wear/use it

    Votes: 2 1.5%
  • Null vote - don't own watch, haven't used it long enough, etc.

    Votes: 4 3.0%

  • Total voters
    134
  • Poll closed .
I think those who were already in to fitness would not get the motivational benefit. Those who were not, would do so more. I am in the latter category. I went from never doing exercise ever, to now being in the best shape I’ve ever been in (I’m now in my early 40’s, waaaah). It’s all thanks to the watch, tracking various metrics and those pesky rings.

Good to hear!
 
  • Like
Reactions: RPhoto
I would say I run more than I would if I didn’t have the watch.
I do find apps showing me a visual indication really helps motivate me. For example Strava has a graph which shows how far you’ve run the past 12 weeks. Last week I ran 30km I’ve now started night shift for a month and decided I don’t want that graph to drop below 10km. Do I need the watch to run, of course not but I think without a visible metric I would have found excuses to not run whilst on nights.
 
  • Like
Reactions: bricktop_at
I will say the Apple Watch motivates me far more than any other (especially with special awards which no one else does). It's also more fun to use it over the rest. Although in March 2020 not only did all our parks close but so did our town, and if you left for 'non-essential' activity a neighbor or police officer could snitch or fine or take you in, so during much of 2020 I stopped using both my iPhone and Apple Watch and drifted back to an HTC Thunderbolt and dumb ol'e Casio digital watch. Since everything now is pretty much open I'm back to my iPhone/Watch combo again.
 
no change since buying the watch actually gain weight and on meds now. Hopefully things will change
 
I used to exercise regularly but I stopped exercising last year. My weight has not changed and bmi is still around 19.
 
Yes because I’m more active than ever. I would earn every awards I can get and I close my rings daily. I absolutely cannot image my life without it now!
 
  • Like
Reactions: bricktop_at
I started running last year but didn't manage to keep doing it consistently. This January I bought a series 6 to measure my heartbeat, track my runs, etc. .. Since it costed so much I don't dare not to run anymore (because then it would become a waste of money) so I've ran every other day since I bought it.

My maximum distance went from 10K to a half marathon in 3 months, so I'm definitely more fit than before I bought it.
 
I would say no it hasn’t made me any healthier but only because I had been eating right and working out hard before I got my first Apple Watch. I was already in a healthy routine.
Me too. Already very health conscientious about what I eat and how much I work out. The AW is nice to have, but not necessary.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Runs For Fun
Yes. Without question. I’m wired to accomplish things against a quantifiable measure. For me, the watch is as important at a bathroom scale.
 
The  Watch and Fitness + together has made a huge difference to my health. A couple of years ago I used my S3 Apple Watch and a sleep tracking app to identify that my snoring was having an adverse impact on my health and led me to getting a special anti-snoring mouthguard that I could then see a visible improvement in my sleep tracking app (and felt much better as well). I did some occasional swimming and walking, but never went to the gym. When Apple launched Apple fitness for the first time in my life I started doing regular daily exercise, bought a yoga mat and some dumbbells and since December have been doing at least 30 mins of exercise a day, every day. I feel much fitter, I have developed muscle tone in my legs, arms, and my core strength, sense of balance has improved. I have seen improvements in my Blood Oxygen levels (I upgraded my watch last year) and my Blood Pressure has improved from 158/99 to 133/83.

Both my daughters have Apple Watches as well and we all share our ring data, so it keeps me motivated to close my rings every day, and we all support each other through positive messages as we complete workouts.

I guess if you are already doing regular keep fit activities then the Watch may not make much for difference, but it has helped motivate and transform mine.
 
Last edited:
Like others here, I think Apple Watch has provided the additional motivational kick to help me exercise more. I only really walk, with the occasional home workout, but having got to 85kg at one stage before I bought the watch about 4 years ago, I’m now down to about 78 (with a blip or two during lockdowns).

Not only does the watch push me a bit further (to close the rings) but it helps me with walking pace so that it’s more beneficial and gives my heart a bit more work to do. The monthly challenges are probably more important to push me that but further. I don’t always manage them, but I’ll give them a good try.

The other main use is for Apple Pay (I still get the occasional comment about not seeing someone use their watch)

I dare say I could have used a Fitbit or something to achieve similar results but I do seem to have been drawn deeper into the Apple ecosystem!
 
Apple Watch has helped me be healthier. I used to exercise occasionally and for random amounts of time. I use the prompts from the Watch as inspiration to get moving every day. I close all three rings virtually every day. I haven’t tried to measure any changes, but when I get my yearly physical all of the tested items in my blood test are in the normal range.
 
I even do the 'breathing' exercises...not always ...but when I can. Breathing is so 'In'....
 
I've had mixed success with Apple Pay depending on where I use it. I caution folks to avoid using it in rural areas. I have been once accused of 'hacking' their system and asked to leave, to another system at a Family Dollar up and crashing in the attempt.

There's a lot of technophobes that don't take too kindly to using any watch to make a payment, many surprised such a feature even exists in the store terminals. In the city, it's alright. But not in redneck towns! A common accusation is that while the purchase succeeds, the clerks or their boss claims they 'never receive the money'.
 
I've had mixed success with Apple Pay depending on where I use it. I caution folks to avoid using it in rural areas.

I guess it which country you live in. In the UK and Europe as a whole we have been using electronic payment methods (chip and pin, contactless) for a lot longer than the US. In the early days of Apple Pay, it occasionally did not work. However these days, it works just about everywhere. it’s got to the point that I almost never bother to take my wallet with me and just pay for everything using the watch. I don’t even use cash anymore. COVID has accelerated cashless payments as many places now don’t like to accept cash.
 
I guess it which country you live in. In the UK and Europe as a whole we have been using electronic payment methods (chip and pin, contactless) for a lot longer than the US. In the early days of Apple Pay, it occasionally did not work. However these days, it works just about everywhere. it’s got to the point that I almost never bother to take my wallet with me and just pay for everything using the watch. I don’t even use cash anymore. COVID has accelerated cashless payments as many places now don’t like to accept cash.
Same here, it’s rare I have a wallet on me these days - unless I know I’m going to be making a purchase over the contactless limit.
 
I even do the 'breathing' exercises...not always ...but when I can. Breathing is so 'In'....
If you think "breathing exercises" help. You gotta try meditation.
It's a step up from breathing exercises. Give it a try. I use CALM app. It offers a 7 day free trial. :)
 
I guess it which country you live in. In the UK and Europe as a whole we have been using electronic payment methods (chip and pin, contactless) for a lot longer than the US. In the early days of Apple Pay, it occasionally did not work. However these days, it works just about everywhere. it’s got to the point that I almost never bother to take my wallet with me and just pay for everything using the watch. I don’t even use cash anymore. COVID has accelerated cashless payments as many places now don’t like to accept cash.

Same. I live in the USA and before the pandemic I was using Apple Pay almost every day. Many times it was multiple times a day. It was extremely rare for it not to work.
 
Well yes I'm healthier since buying the apple watch.
(vo2max went from les then average to above avarage and is still climbing)
But I do not think it is because of the apple watch.
I decided I had to live healthier and wanted an activity tracker te help me out with that.
After looking around for possible contenders (fitbit, garmin, suunto) I ended up with an apple watch.
So basically my mindset (and actions) caused a healthier body and the apple watch was a tool to accomplish that.
 
  • Like
Reactions: akash.nu
My recent Apple Watch purchase coincided with some changes in my fitness routine where I am exercising more frequently, and I'm trying to get back to where I was before I had an injury a few years ago. I can't say the watch specifically motivates me, but it's certainly a great tool for my fitness related activities.

I don't find the rings all that useful, and have turned off notifications for them. I'm more interested in the output of my workouts, not just time spent -- e.g. how many reps of a particular weight I lifted, how many miles I walked, how many laps I swam and in what time, how many calories burned, my weight trends, etc. I'm planning to try some apps for lifting, as I don't track the specifics currently.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.