Day 3 with AW3C and it’s been liberating

[Applenoob34]

I went with cellular with the idea that it’s a compliment to my phone, not a replacement. I still believe that. However, I’ve noticed something huge the last couple days.

I took my daughter to softball practice and only brought my jaybirds and Apple Watch. I went on a short run while listening to music and was able to reply to a text simultaneously. Here’s where it gets great. I sat down to watch the rest of her practice and actually watched it with undivided attention. I still answered some texts but I was not pulling my phone out to check mail, use internet, etc. I am so conditioned to pull out my phone even when there’s no need to. I don’t know how many times I’ve pulled my phone out only to swipe the screens a couple times then put it away.

For me, this has eliminated a huge distraction that I’m only really noticing now. I can’t leave my phone at home all the time, but I will be doing so whenever I can now.

 

[zhenya]

This was exactly what I realized early on with my S0 that is so hard to explain to people who want to be connected to their phone at all times. I can't wait for my Nike model to arrive so I can extend that freedom beyond the reaches of wifi networks!

 

[madgalaxy]

I am looking forward to mine for the very same reasons. How has your battery life been?

 

[jbizzybeetle]

Battery life is great! Use About 25-30% a day with an hour of exercise and/or LTE talk.
FREEDOM absolutely! Can walk the dog, garden, mow lawn without my ginormous 6splus flopping around in my pocket, dragging down my pants.
Of course, that means no on-the-spot photos, so hmmmmm Apple get those camera-ready eyeglass frames out already!
There is a 2-beat lag, callers say, between thinking I’m talking and hearing the words but that sounds like early-day cell phone use. That in mind, won’t be having long conversations, but I can answer or make any absolutely necessary short call unhampered.

 

[Farrellcollie]

My battery life has been fine - losing no more than 30-40% per full day even with me playing with it a lot more than I usually do (except when it somehow got stuck on searching for bluetooth when I tried to pair it with my car - spectacular fail there it dropped 45% in just 1 hour -because I could not get it to stop searching until I turned the watch off for a few hours).
Now that I am going back to work after the weekend of being mostly at home near phone/known wifi - it will be interesting to see how it does.

 

[Tdadlani]

Awesome !

 

[profets]

I'm on day two with the cellular working on my Series 3. Truly incredible (this is coming from using a Series 2 for past year and original since launch). Spent 2-3 hours outdoors and out shopping yesterday with just my watch and AirPods in my pocket.

What really blew my mind was just how fast Siri was. And dictation in messages is huge too - I was carrying on several iMessage conversations at one point and the dictation was just flying.

I had about 30% battery remaining at the end of the day.

 

[rayward]

Very happy to hear about the battery life. I'm due a phone upgrade (have done so every two years since Model 0), but I'm now thinking that an AW3 and airbuds is the upgrade I need this year. There's nothing in the iP7 or 8 that has me itching to upgrade my 6S anyway, and the watch/airbuds are less than the new phone.

My main worry is that I use my Fitbit as a silent alarm; something that my wife would not let me give up. I need to know that I can wear the watch overnight and it have enough battery for it to be there to wake me in the morning.

 

[Bryan Bowler]

Thanks for the feedback OP! This thread is getting me really excited to receive my Nike+ when it arrives. Liberating myself from the constant attention to my phone and getting more involved with what’s around me is exactly what I’m hoping for. The OP’s experiences confirm that this is one of the hidden benefits of the Series 3 LTE Watch. I can’t wait!

 

[Applenoob34]

I am looking forward to mine for the very same reasons. How has your battery life been?

It’s been good. I can’t really give you numbers because I typically throw it on the charger when I’m showering or sitting on the couch watching some tv. This allows me to wear it all night so I can use the alarm and see my HR values overnight. It takes the biggest hit when I’m running and listening to music. That’s to be expected though.

 

[redavis41]

I'm on day two with the cellular working on my Series 3. Truly incredible (this is coming from using a Series 2 for past year and original since launch). Spent 2-3 hours outdoors and out shopping yesterday with just my watch and AirPods in my pocket.

What really blew my mind was just how fast Siri was. And dictation in messages is huge too - I was carrying on several iMessage conversations at one point and the dictation was just flying.

I had about 30% battery remaining at the end of the day.

For those that experience battery drain initially, I advise a hard reset of the watch. My first day I went to my sons football practice with only the watch (like others said, quite liberating) but noticed upon getting home I had a 40% battery drain. I did a hard reset of the watch. Then two days later, same football practice time and location, only about 13% drain over a 2 hour span on LTE and this included music listening and text replies.

 

[Cnasty]

Great to hear as I am hoping this is one of my personal enhancements in getting the watch. That and my new wake up times at 530am for my run again which I have slacked on.

I do still bring my phone though on most occasions as I love taking pics way too much with the 8+ lens and with kids I don't want to miss a moment.

AW Series 4...with camera!

 

[edhchoe]

I have been sleep tracking with AW3 and it loses less than 10% overnight.
Pillow is the app i use.
I have screen wake set on wrist position with 15 sec so it comes on when i move at night occasionally but still the battery conservation has been great.

Very happy to hear about the battery life. I'm due a phone upgrade (have done so every two years since Model 0), but I'm now thinking that an AW3 and airbuds is the upgrade I need this year. There's nothing in the iP7 or 8 that has me itching to upgrade my 6S anyway, and the watch/airbuds are less than the new phone.

My main worry is that I use my Fitbit as a silent alarm; something that my wife would not let me give up. I need to know that I can wear the watch overnight and it have enough battery for it to be there to wake me in the morning.

 

[Cnasty]

My main worry is that I use my Fitbit as a silent alarm; something that my wife would not let me give up. I need to know that I can wear the watch overnight and it have enough battery for it to be there to wake me in the morning.

Not to derail but I can't seem to figure out how to make my alarm sound/vibrate only on my watch. It woke up the whole house this morning for my workout and I swore in owning an Apple watch before it only went to the watch. Need to research this.

 

[redavis41]

Not to derail but I can't seem to figure out how to make my alarm sound/vibrate only on my watch. It woke up the whole house this morning for my workout and I swore in owning an Apple watch before it only went to the watch. Need to research this.

Only set the alarm on your watch via the apple watch itself. If you set on the phone it will utilize the alarm on both your phone and watch.

I'm impressed with the Haptic Alarm. After both S0 and S2 it wakes me up everytime it goes off with vibrate only.

 

[rayward]

I have been sleep tracking with AW3 and it loses less than 10% overnight.
Pillow is the app i use.
I have screen wake set on wrist position with 15 sec so it comes on when i move at night occasionally but still the battery conservation has been great.

Good to know, thanks! I have turned off the "raise to wake" on my Fitbit as otherwise it lights up the room every time I roll over. I imagine I'll turn that off on the AW too, at least overnight.

 

[Cnasty]

Only set the alarm on your watch via the apple watch itself. If you set on the phone it will utilize the alarm on both your phone and watch.

I'm impressed with the Haptic Alarm. After both S0 and S2 it wakes me up everytime it goes off with vibrate only.

You are awesome and such an easy fix escaped me.

Thanks!

 

[Rayban]

Great thread. Makes me conciser getting the series 3 after I get the iPhone X.

 

[ohsnaphappy]

It's incredible!! So nice to jog without a huge phone. PS - I removed my battery complication from my watch face. Battery life for me is that good. But I live in a rural area, that may be why.

 

[redavis41]

Good to know, thanks! I have turned off the "raise to wake" on my Fitbit as otherwise it lights up the room every time I roll over. I imagine I'll turn that off on the AW too, at least overnight.

You can set your watch to Theatre Mode at night before you sleep and this should solve the wake on movement issue. I'm a mover when I sleep and enjoy the sleep tracking and this has solved quite a few issues of a light flickering in my face upon awake from a deep sleep. I like it to because if I want I can turn the digital crown to get the time and then turn it down to turn the screen off.
[doublepost=1506372097][/doublepost]

You are awesome and such an easy fix escaped me.

Thanks!

Sure thing. Be sure to turn sound off (red bell icon) on your watch before going to sleep though or else you'll hear the watch chime for your alarm.

 

[BarracksSi]

For me, this has eliminated a huge distraction that I’m only really noticing now. I can’t leave my phone at home all the time, but I will be doing so whenever I can now.

Same for me, even if I noticed it with my first-gen AW.

My wife and I were out Christmas shopping, and for some reason, I decided to put my phone in her purse.

I answered three or four texts (one from my sister, the others from my job), but didn’t start poking around Facebook or play games like I’ve seen so many husbands do on their phones. I became engaged in my wife’s shopping for once, helping her find dress sizes and offering my opinions.

These days — two years later, now that I think of it — it’s typical for us to have both phones in her purse. I’m enjoying having “us time” again.

 

[Bazooka-joe]

People have really worried about the battery life but I think that since series 0, Apple have always been very conservative about battery life expectations. My Siri to always read 70% after 15 hours so I had no concerns about going to LTE for series 3

 

[musicpenguy]

I have been sleep tracking with AW3 and it loses less than 10% overnight.
Pillow is the app i use.
I have screen wake set on wrist position with 15 sec so it comes on when i move at night occasionally but still the battery conservation has been great.

Why not try theater mode so the screen only wakes on taps?

 

[richard371]

Different scenarios for different people. I simply cannot be without my phone for more then say a walk, run, grocery store, quick errands etc. There are just too many apps I constantly use that are not doable on the watch. Also I reply to messages and emails often and siri is great but I'm often around people when Im out and about and hate talking out loud like that. The few times I've tested the LTE its worked as advertised and is great as a backup when you need to leave your phone for a bit. My only complaint is I feel $5 a month would be the perfect price based on this usage.

 

[edhchoe]

Why not try theater mode so the screen only wakes on taps?

I did try it but during the day I use the raise to wake. So switching back and forth is a hassle for me. if the light bothers me, I will have to switch but I never notice the watch light coming on when I am asleep.

Different scenarios for different people. I simply cannot be without my phone for more then say a walk, run, grocery store, quick errands etc. There are just too many apps I constantly use that are not doable on the watch. Also I reply to messages and emails often and siri is great but I'm often around people when Im out and about and hate talking out loud like that. The few times I've tested the LTE its worked as advertised and is great as a backup when you need to leave your phone for a bit. My only complaint is I feel $5 a month would be the perfect price based on this usage.

For the rare occasions it is quite costly. For someone who runs everyday, it is worth $10/mo. For me, I decided to just accept it like I have accepted $100/mo on Comcast internet is just the way it is.