Current users, would you say that etiquette and notifications alone are worth the Apple Watch?

[kylera]

I don't really mess around a lot with my iPhone (5C, about 17 months since initial activation); despite having about 20 different third-party apps installed, the things I do most with my phone are: chatting on messaging apps, surfing the Net, checking and conversing in forums, adding to MyFitnessPal, syncing my running watch.

Now, I work freelance and there are times I may get work at a moment's notice, or a client wants to get in touch with me ASAP to talk about something. However, I don't really have the habit of holding onto my phone or keeping it on the desk when I'm seated; the times I play around with my phone are usually in public transit. So the phone tends to stay in my pants pocket, or a phone compartment on my backpack. As a result, there were times I've responded to a text or a missed call a bit too late. I also have never enabled sound mode; it's always vibration because I don't want to be a bother to others with a shrill ringtone.

So to combat this, I've taken to carrying my phone around physically on my hand. In the cold, I just tuck my hands into my jacket while having a death grip on the phone, and these days, I just swing my hands while having a death grip on the phone. Just today, however, I found this to be a problem; due to years of bad posture, my neutral stance is a bit skewed to the right. My doctor told me that one thing I should do right away is to always walk (or run) while holding nothing in either hand. Not even anything lightweight.

So that leaves me in a bit of a quandary. I'd still like to be able to receive calls and texts in a timely manner, but I can't hold onto my phone, and while I'm walking, there's no way I can feel vibrations. Yet, enabling sound makes me uncomfortable.

Should I put up with this discomfort and just turn on all sound, or do you feel that etiquette and notifications alone are worth the Watch?

 

[JayLenochiniMac]

Sounds like you've answered your own question by getting the AW.

 

[BlueMoon63]

Agree with Jay. The watch has real value if you need to stay on top of alerts and not miss messages or phone calls. It has saved me on several occasions and one was serious when my wife got sick at work and I was on a conf call. I responded with 5 seconds because of th watch. Before the watch, I had a tendency to miss calls and texts for hours because of meetings and absorbed into a project.

 

[GrumpyMom]

I mostly use it for notifications, keeping moving, and weather. That's barely scratching the surface. When I was on medications it also reminded me to take them. Anyway, even using so few of its functions daily, those few I use are such a convenience to have on my wrist that I didn't hesitate to buy a second Apple Watch on sale to get a different color.

I don't think I would ever spend $400 on an Apple Watch again, but I think the $226 I spent on my second watch, a sport model from Best Buy, was a good price. (We used rewards points to get it that cheap past the sale price).

 

[BarracksSi]

I can put my phone in my backpack and not miss anything.

I've turned my phone's vibrations off, too. Vibrating phones are almost as noticeable in quiet meeting rooms as ringtones.

 

[Oohara]

Back after a day of touristy shopping, carrying bags and getting on/off public transport for hours, doing a lot of syncing with travel mates...and all the while my phone stays tucked away in my bag, safe from pickpockets and being dropped - days like this remind me how much I love my AW, even for the notifications alone.

 

[sean000]

So that leaves me in a bit of a quandary. I'd still like to be able to receive calls and texts in a timely manner, but I can't hold onto my phone, and while I'm walking, there's no way I can feel vibrations. Yet, enabling sound makes me uncomfortable.

Should I put up with this discomfort and just turn on all sound, or do you feel that etiquette and notifications alone are worth the Watch?

This sums up the primary reason many of us bought the Apple Watch: Silent notifications. Of course there are other good reasons to own the watch, but for me much of the value is because it solves the very problem you describe. You don't want your iPhone making noise, but you also don't want to miss an important message or call.

Speaking of etiquette, it does present its own challenges. When I am in a meeting and my watch starts tapping me on the wrist... do I glance at my watch? In some situations that sends the nonverbal queue that I am bored or not engaged. Of course in many of those same situations it would be no more acceptable to get my iPhone out (unless I am using it to take notes). Sometimes I am using my iPad, so I will see a text there. Even if I can't glance at my watch for a few minutes, the tap-tap at least makes me aware that I might need to see what's up as soon as I can do so discretely.

Sean

 

[jonnysods]

I don't have one, but part of the reason I want one is because I work in a place where we aren't allowed to check our phones during meetings, but I end up missing important stuff. I'd love to get the taptic feedback on my wrist and a notification of a message of call.

 

[cerberusss]

I might need to see what's up as soon as I can do so discretely.

What would be cool is if you wouldn't be discreet at all, instead just boot up your Sino-logic 16, pull on those Sogo 7 Data Gloves and make really exaggerated gestures during an otherwise extremely boring meeting:

http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/11/movie-gadget-friday-johnny-mnemonic/

[Johnny and Jane have just broken into the computer warehouse]

Johnny Mnemonic: [swipes a pile of circuit boards and components off the desk and says to no one in particular] I need a Sino-logic 16.

Jane: [runs around the computer warehouse finding everything he calls for]

Johnny Mnemonic: Sogo 7 Data Gloves, a GPL stealth module, one Burdine intelligent translator... Thompson iPhone.

 

[JayLenochiniMac]

Speaking of etiquette, it does present its own challenges. When I am in a meeting and my watch starts tapping me on the wrist... do I glance at my watch? In some situations that sends the nonverbal queue that I am bored or not engaged. Of course in many of those same situations it would be no more acceptable to get my iPhone out (unless I am using it to take notes). Sometimes I am using my iPad, so I will see a text there. Even if I can't glance at my watch for a few minutes, the tap-tap at least makes me aware that I might need to see what's up as soon as I can do so discretely.

That's what Do Not Disturb is for. Just as people silence their phones when in a group meeting, at the dinner table, etc., simply put the AW in DND (which gets mirrored to the iPhone).

 

[daijholt]

Notifications are exactly what you SHOULD get Apple Watch for. I hardly use the apps themselves on the watch; they honestly don't load fast enough to be useful, compared to speed I can get something done on my 6s.

However, filtering through notifications throughout the day and using glances to glean my latest email on the move is exactly what justifies the purchase for me. The ability to use Siri to set reminders is also a deal breaking feature, because it means you can read a notification and quickly set a reminder to deal with it later without getting your phone out.

 

[xraydoc]

Notifications that are not easily missed, but not advertised to all around you, are - for me - the Watch's killer app.

Sounds silly, but I feel like a bit of a cyborg in that I can "sense" when I'm summoned via the Internet.

I have a VIP list for email notifications, specific apps set to notify on the watch (others that are unimportant, like Facebook and the like, are excluded from the watch's notifications), etc., text/iMessage is set to also make a sound (quiet enough that other nearby won't notice or at least it's not terribly disturbing).

I'm a physician, so this is the modern equivalent of a beeper for me.

Love the watch so much, I own two.

 

[sean000]

That's what Do Not Disturb is for. Just as people silence their phones when in a group meeting, at the dinner table, etc., simply put the AW in DND (which gets mirrored to the iPhone).

Good point, and I do this sometimes... especially for one-on-one meetings or when I'm doing something special with my family. In fact the Apple Watch makes it super easy to toggle Do Not Disturb on or off. Quite often when I go home I will switch from a high-information watch face to a low-information one, and I may enable Do Not Disturb occasionally as well (although after 5:00pm I don't get many notifications anyway). I'm also very good at simply ignoring notifications until I am available. However I have small children, and I manage a technical support group at a large university, so I have to be available for emergencies much of the time. I tell my wife, kid's teachers, and my staff to call my cell in a true emergency because that will make my watch buzz continuously. Texting me multiple times also helps.

Since I do work at a university, I must attend an inhumane number of meetings . Many of these meetings are the kind where most attendees are actively checking email on their laptop, tablet or phone. I prefer to be more actively engaged while in a meeting, but at least I can feel like I'm not out of touch with my staff by leaving my notifications enabled but silenced.

Sean

 

[Newtons Apple]

Not so sure. I have had my 42mm SS Aw from day one and remember how excited I was at first.

The problem is I LIKE my iPhone and even bought the 6S+ for that nice screen. I do not mind looking at it as needed and after using the watch for a week or two, when I get tired of it and put it back in the drawer and it is nice to hear my notifications again!

It is good we have choice but the AW novelty wore off on me.

 

[nburwell]

My AW definitely has saved me from missing some calls when my phone is on the kitchen counter and I'm watching TV in another room. I also like being able to screen texts to see if they warrant an immediate response, or if I can wait to get back to the person. To the OP, it looks like you'd find the AW pretty useful simply for the notification piece.

 

[Laserducky]

My AW definitely has saved me from missing some calls when my phone is on the kitchen counter and I'm watching TV in another room. I also like being able to screen texts to see if they warrant an immediate response, or if I can wait to get back to the person. To the OP, it looks like you'd find the AW pretty useful simply for the notification piece.

The AW is quite useful to me because now I never miss a call and by just glancing at my wrist I can see who's calling and then either silence the call or take my phone out and take the call : I rarely take calls on the watch : zero privacy even though the call quality is surprisingly clear.

Plus while driving, its super helpful to dictate messages etc even though Siri can be a tad slow at times or get my words wrong.

Cheers !