Hey guys. A little about me. I flip homes for a living. When I'm not out buying homes and doing all the business stuff, I'm doing hands on work which can be a little messy (caulking for instance). while working I listen to music on my bluetooth headphones hours on end. The only inconveniences are when I have to take my phone out to look at the screen to change artists and songs & when I have to see who's calling or while I'm busy or in a bad position like on a tall ladder or under a sink doing plumbing. Having to take the phone out to talk while I'm drilling or cutting sheetrock is also a likely scenario for me. So I guess my question is if I want the Apple Watch almost entirely for the music controls and the ability of talking through the watch during calls (which I have no problem doing) will I be satisfied purchasing the $400 black Sport version? I really only ask that those 2 functions work flawlessly since they're native. All the other functions would be nice added perks for me which I'm positive I'd come to use more often. I have no problem spending $400 for a watch that might get a little dirty at work but I would be be bothered if it didn't work efficiently most of the time for those two basic tasks. Thanks for your replies.
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Current Watch owners, can the Watch efficiently deliver for my very basic needs?
- Thread starter DelMac
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Your music use case is a yes. If you're in your library or selected play list - pausing, going back are going forward work great.
Seeing who is calling and declining is awesome. Answering and talking is ok, as long as you understand it's basically a small BT speaker phone.
And you didn't ask, but text messages and texting is awesome as well.
Mark
Seeing who is calling and declining is awesome. Answering and talking is ok, as long as you understand it's basically a small BT speaker phone.
And you didn't ask, but text messages and texting is awesome as well.
Mark
Yes.
The music remote is great - you can see the song, change songs, pause, adjust the volume, etc. I use Siri to change albums or playlists, but I think you can do that through the interface too if you want (I'm usually driving when I'm using it, so Siri is easier).
Calls, emails, etc., will all ping your watch, so you won't need to get your phone out for those. BUT, the speaker volume on the phone is fairly low, so you might have some trouble if you're trying to take a call while in a loud environment (plus your caller will hear everything in the background, just like with any other speakerphone setup). Also, as the microphone is on your wrist, you might have some trouble with the caller hearing what you're doing more than hearing you.
The music remote is great - you can see the song, change songs, pause, adjust the volume, etc. I use Siri to change albums or playlists, but I think you can do that through the interface too if you want (I'm usually driving when I'm using it, so Siri is easier).
Calls, emails, etc., will all ping your watch, so you won't need to get your phone out for those. BUT, the speaker volume on the phone is fairly low, so you might have some trouble if you're trying to take a call while in a loud environment (plus your caller will hear everything in the background, just like with any other speakerphone setup). Also, as the microphone is on your wrist, you might have some trouble with the caller hearing what you're doing more than hearing you.
Honestly. For your level of use a Pebble will do that.
It can advance track, pause music, though a good pair of BT headphones usually has pause, volume, and track controls as well. The Pebble will display the song.
Pebble will also display incoming texts, emails, and incoming caller and a good pair of BT headphones should include a mic allowing you to answer calls right on the headphones. Pebble should also allow you to answer the call, routing it through the phone or headphones, whichever is currently in use.
Plus the Pebble will probably stand up to the abuse of getting caulk and whatever else on it, and at $100 or less, you won't care as much when it does get beat up.
On the flip side if you don't care about the $400 price tag and I would think you would want a Spigen Rugged cover or something based on your hands on work, the Apple Watch will fill all those needs as well, just at a higher price and obviously with added functionality.
It can advance track, pause music, though a good pair of BT headphones usually has pause, volume, and track controls as well. The Pebble will display the song.
Pebble will also display incoming texts, emails, and incoming caller and a good pair of BT headphones should include a mic allowing you to answer calls right on the headphones. Pebble should also allow you to answer the call, routing it through the phone or headphones, whichever is currently in use.
Plus the Pebble will probably stand up to the abuse of getting caulk and whatever else on it, and at $100 or less, you won't care as much when it does get beat up.
On the flip side if you don't care about the $400 price tag and I would think you would want a Spigen Rugged cover or something based on your hands on work, the Apple Watch will fill all those needs as well, just at a higher price and obviously with added functionality.
Can the Watch be used strictly as a remote to control the music on your iPhone? My concern about playing music off the Apple watch would be the 6 hour battery life, combined with using the watch for anything else (especially a lot of calls, which has a 3 hour sustained battery life).
That way, the iPhone could stay in your pocket, be paired with BT headphones and the watch would control it.
I have to add that the camera remote seems like it would be really handy for a house flipper, being able to put the iPhone camera where your head won't fit to see something via the watch display.
Yep. That's the only way I use the music function - I don't have any songs stored to the watch. And it's a glance, so it's really easy, just drag your finger up the watch face to bring up the glance and pause, skip, etc.
ETA:
The only issue I can see here for the OP is if he wants to use a BT headset to take the calls. If his headset is paired with the phone for music, if he answers a call on his watch, the only way to get the call in his headset is to hand the call off to his phone, which means he has to pull out the phone.
Drywall dust is pretty bad so it may get in the speaker and mic ports. They are toward your elbow so it might not be a huge issue. I'm not sure I'd wear a watch while doing that at all but you can probably just rinse it off after.
The mic is good enough to not have to walk around looking like Buzz Lightyear if you take a call on it. Most people I've seen act like they have to hold it up to their mouth just so the other person can hear but my friend only said "you sound like you're outside" when I took the call at arms length. I asked if he could hear me and he said "Yeah, I can hear you perfectly fine. You just sound like you're outside." I can live with that from arms length. You might need to lift it to your ear to hear though. It's not easy to hear with other noises going on and there is no way you could hear them talk if you're actually running any power tool. Granted that is about the same for all phones and devices. Tools are loud.
The mic is good enough to not have to walk around looking like Buzz Lightyear if you take a call on it. Most people I've seen act like they have to hold it up to their mouth just so the other person can hear but my friend only said "you sound like you're outside" when I took the call at arms length. I asked if he could hear me and he said "Yeah, I can hear you perfectly fine. You just sound like you're outside." I can live with that from arms length. You might need to lift it to your ear to hear though. It's not easy to hear with other noises going on and there is no way you could hear them talk if you're actually running any power tool. Granted that is about the same for all phones and devices. Tools are loud.