...thanks for the update!
I have a watch box, with at least 8 mechanical watches. Every day I see the box, I get mad! My Apple Watch has taken over. Albeit, sometimes I can go a week without wearing any watch. Weird, I tell you.
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Do I ACTUALLY need an Apple Watch?
- Thread starter dawnrazor
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I have a watch box, with at least 8 mechanical watches. Every day I see the box, I get mad! My Apple Watch has taken over. Albeit, sometimes I can go a week without wearing any watch. Weird, I tell you.
An iPhone will do most of what an Apple Watch will do (by definition....the AW was conceived as an extension of the iPhone). So, no one really needs one. I could tell OP didn't really need one as he had more than one in the past, experienced all Apple Watch had to offer, and didn't think he needed it.
I like it for tracking workouts. It tracks weight training, but it doesn't really add a lot besides recording that I was there and taking a guess at caloric burn. It's way better for bike rides, where it tracks distance, heart rate, speed, and other stuff. It also now sends a full screen display of key metrics to the iPhone. There are plenty of other ways to accomplish that, but it's convenient all being in the same ecosystem. Apple Watch is good for other workouts where heart rate is good to know, of course.
It also tracks resting and average heart rate and some sleep metrics. These are nice-to-know and I check them daily on the iPhone Heath App, but that's no dealbreaker.
Others have mentioned the silent alarm, the notifications, and other features. I guess it tells time too.
So, yeah, it simply depended on what OP wanted and uses.
I like it for tracking workouts. It tracks weight training, but it doesn't really add a lot besides recording that I was there and taking a guess at caloric burn. It's way better for bike rides, where it tracks distance, heart rate, speed, and other stuff. It also now sends a full screen display of key metrics to the iPhone. There are plenty of other ways to accomplish that, but it's convenient all being in the same ecosystem. Apple Watch is good for other workouts where heart rate is good to know, of course.
It also tracks resting and average heart rate and some sleep metrics. These are nice-to-know and I check them daily on the iPhone Heath App, but that's no dealbreaker.
Others have mentioned the silent alarm, the notifications, and other features. I guess it tells time too.
So, yeah, it simply depended on what OP wanted and uses.
Probably correct of course… but to make an assumption without going through due process is to diminish the decision… better to go through that process and discover your answers for yourself with a degree of certainty that you have made the right decision and not just made an assumption based on a feeling… so sharing that decision making process is not to be disregarded so easily… just because the outcome was probably the most likely outcome… it wasn’t necessarily about the destination but the journey… now I KNOW for certain I don’t need an Apple Watch in my life. Probably…
My story: after 18 months without using an AW daily and using it only for sleep monitoring and running, I picked up the Ultra 2 in the first days of October. It is now still
running my wrist daily during working days, coming back to my Submariner in the evening and during weekends. I don’t know in the future, there’s a possibility that I will try again with double wristing to have both the tech advantages of AW and the beauty of my Sub. Hard to decide, for me, between the two.
running my wrist daily during working days, coming back to my Submariner in the evening and during weekends. I don’t know in the future, there’s a possibility that I will try again with double wristing to have both the tech advantages of AW and the beauty of my Sub. Hard to decide, for me, between the two.
My stock portfolio says you need 10 Apple Watches.
I doubt that anyone "Needs" their Apple Watch, heck I made it some 4-1/2 decades before getting one 😉
That said, I'd sure miss it if it were gone. I hadn't worn a watch at all for many years before getting an OG watch (which I wasn't even all that interested in, but I got a HECK of a deal on it so why not?)
Probably the feature I use more than any other, is the countdown timer. 15 minute break at work - set the timer for 13 minutes. Lunch hour - set the timer for 55 minutes. Put Spaghetti on boil - 10 minutes. SUPER handy.
I also love seeing text/email notifications with a quick summary, so I can glance at my watch & see if it's something that needs immediate attention or can wait. I like seeing the current weather, and my next upcoming event on my calendar. And yes, occasionally I get on a workout jag & use it to track my activity (not as often as I should, but there ya go).
Apple Pay with the watch is great! No need to dig out my wallet, no opportunity for my card to be skimmed. I purposely go to the local gas stations with NFT readers at the pump specifically to use Apple Pay for the security (the one & only time my credit card was compromised, was when the Apple Pay reader at the pump was broken and I was too lazy to pull around to a different pump so I used my credit card).
If I need to add something to the grocery list, I just press the crown and say "Add XYZ to the grocery list." Simple!
Apple Watch will DO about a gazillion other things that I hardly ever touch, but once in a while come in handy. If I misplace my phone it lets me ping it... if I forget to take my phone out of the house it lets me make & receive calls if necessary. And, yeah, I can switch bands & faces if I want to make a fashion statement but my go-to is the red watch and the yellow Solo Loop, with the Modular face.
Frankly, I could do without my iPhone easier than without my Apple Watch!
That said, I'd sure miss it if it were gone. I hadn't worn a watch at all for many years before getting an OG watch (which I wasn't even all that interested in, but I got a HECK of a deal on it so why not?)
Probably the feature I use more than any other, is the countdown timer. 15 minute break at work - set the timer for 13 minutes. Lunch hour - set the timer for 55 minutes. Put Spaghetti on boil - 10 minutes. SUPER handy.
I also love seeing text/email notifications with a quick summary, so I can glance at my watch & see if it's something that needs immediate attention or can wait. I like seeing the current weather, and my next upcoming event on my calendar. And yes, occasionally I get on a workout jag & use it to track my activity (not as often as I should, but there ya go).
Apple Pay with the watch is great! No need to dig out my wallet, no opportunity for my card to be skimmed. I purposely go to the local gas stations with NFT readers at the pump specifically to use Apple Pay for the security (the one & only time my credit card was compromised, was when the Apple Pay reader at the pump was broken and I was too lazy to pull around to a different pump so I used my credit card).
If I need to add something to the grocery list, I just press the crown and say "Add XYZ to the grocery list." Simple!
Apple Watch will DO about a gazillion other things that I hardly ever touch, but once in a while come in handy. If I misplace my phone it lets me ping it... if I forget to take my phone out of the house it lets me make & receive calls if necessary. And, yeah, I can switch bands & faces if I want to make a fashion statement but my go-to is the red watch and the yellow Solo Loop, with the Modular face.
Frankly, I could do without my iPhone easier than without my Apple Watch!
Honestly, after reading this, if I continue to wear my Apple Watch, I really need to start using its features.
Based on some of the things you use it for, clearly I am missing out...
No doubt. I was just saying that, as you've had multiple Apple Watches and weren't sure you even needed one, it was more likely than not that you in fact don't. I found the process of your decision to be an interesting read.
Yes. You need it like you need air. (Of course this is MY relationship with my AW - you may have a different perspective)
For me it wasn’t a pre-conceived outcome, I wasn’t surprised necessarily with the outcome but I was surprised by how many ‘instances of use’ I had identified that I hadn’t factored beforehand, so without going through the process I wouldn’t have confronted those. To be honest I made the decision making out to be cut and dried but had my wife’s AW not died then none of this would have happened and I’d still be rocking my AW or I would have bought a AWU… I may yet buy an AWU in the future especially if Apple update the design language of AWs in general…
I should really change the title of the thread and replace the word need as people seem to have really drilled down on it more than was ever intended, funny what people obsess about - of course no one needs an AW… that is obviously not what I meant, but anyway thats arguing semantics with strangers…
My take away from this is that an Apple Watch is not a Watch… it’s a wearable that your wear on your wrist that covers many of the functions of a watch but that is not it’s primary goal… I saw a guy the other day who had an AW on one wrist and a regular watch on the other and I thought, ”now that’s a good idea… except you look like a massive bellend”.
The journey continues who knows what tomorrow will bring…
The idea behind the AW is its an extension of your phone, without having to have your phone on you at all times.
Mostly I use the watch as very expensive health tracker, but I do answer calls, text messages or play music on it also..
What held me back for a long time was battery life, growing up we would change watch batteries every 10 years or so, having to charge my watch feels like winding a pocket watch from back in the 30s.. But the Ultra has resolve most of these issues.
My recommendation, buy your wife a new one, and use her old one to see if you can make use of it. Never go wrong buying your wife new tech right
FYI apple watches carry good $$$ on second hand market, I was able to sell my 7 series nike watch for only 100$ less then what I paid for it just this summer after upgrading to a AWU.
At this point I’m happy to live my life without an AW in it, that may change in the future, I’m open to that possibility, but right now I want to just get by without it and use my phone in ways I haven’t previously… I am enjoying having a proper watch on my wrist, a proper rugged watch too… I doubt I could inflict any damage on it at all yet I managed to scratch the AW several times and still have no idea how… as for resale, well S5 are getting pretty old now and both have batteries that are either just above or below 80% and throwing up battery replacement warnings… so I either find a third party place to replace the batteries inexpensively and then try and recoup that investment and make a bit on top or just let them sit in a drawer and forget about them… time will tell, for now my old S5 is serving my wife okay, but it struggles to last the day, so it’s not long for the world… we shall run it into the ground and if she wants a new one then we’ll get a S9 for her….The idea behind the AW is its an extension of your phone, without having to have your phone on you at all times.
Mostly I use the watch as very expensive health tracker, but I do answer calls, text messages or play music on it also..
What held me back for a long time was battery life, growing up we would change watch batteries every 10 years or so, having to charge my watch feels like winding a pocket watch from back in the 30s.. But the Ultra has resolve most of these issues.
My recommendation, buy your wife a new one, and use her old one to see if you can make use of it. Never go wrong buying your wife new tech right
FYI apple watches carry good $$$ on second hand market, I was able to sell my 7 series nike watch for only 100$ less then what I paid for it just this summer after upgrading to a AWU.
I primarily used it to track workouts (and honestly) I know the workouts I do so it doesn’t really matter - I am nowhere near elite athlete level lol. I don’t need it so I have been wearing my mechanical watch. Only thing I miss is streaming from my wrist so I use it when I run.
Not sure if anyone else has this use case, but I often have to give my phone to our kid when out to eat. I’m easily able to pause/stop/adjust the volume on Disney+ content on the phone from the watch.
We are all different. However, even I would say I don't need an Apple Watch. I have one because I want one and it makes things more convenient. However, need no. I might tell my husband I need one lol but if I'm honest I don't need one. The only thing I think I need tech wise it a smart phone (doesn't even need to be an iPhone) and possible a laptop but could easily be a £99 Chromebook. The laptop is a bit of push considering most things can be done on a smart phone.
I bought one a couple of years ago as a little 'treat'; I had no 'need' for it, and had until then thought it an unnecessary trinket. But then Apple introduced the 7 with swimming activity functions, so as a regular swimmer, I felt it might be fun.
I LOVE it. Quite possibly the best 'non-essential' bit of tech I've ever bought. It has helped me take stock of my actual fitness, which is very positive, and has a load of other features I'd never considered useful, but are; particularly the Apple Pay contactless system for travelling on public transport and paying for stuff. My iPhone has now been silent for over two years;I just get notifications on my watch, which is far more discrete. It's alerted me tot he fact I've left my 'phone behind a couple of times, which has proven to be very useful indeed. All sorts of other things.
Could I live without it? Of course. It's really not vital. Do I want to? No.
I LOVE it. Quite possibly the best 'non-essential' bit of tech I've ever bought. It has helped me take stock of my actual fitness, which is very positive, and has a load of other features I'd never considered useful, but are; particularly the Apple Pay contactless system for travelling on public transport and paying for stuff. My iPhone has now been silent for over two years;I just get notifications on my watch, which is far more discrete. It's alerted me tot he fact I've left my 'phone behind a couple of times, which has proven to be very useful indeed. All sorts of other things.
Could I live without it? Of course. It's really not vital. Do I want to? No.
I find it used for me. Working out is great to track my consistency. I get insight on my sleep habits with ultra great battery and sleep tracking. I like how it keep an eye on my heart inferring stress and fitness. And the timers are great. I can live with it but why would I choose to do without.
IMO, no, the Apple watch is a distraction in many ways. Another thing to charge. Battery anxiety. Pestering you with information you never needed before and don't need now. Another way to spend money...bands, accessories, etc.
Apple Watch contributes to lower sense of wellbeing. There are so many ways that it's just wrong that I can't but scratch the surface with my little list.
Are you an employee of Rolex?
The Apple Watch has made me more active. I look at the phone less and I only charge it once every 3 days. I never buy extra bands. I’m lost without it in my wrist.