Falling Out Of Love

[NastyMatt]

I have non cellular (S6) and see it as a companion to my phone - not a replacement. When I go 'phone free' to disconnect for a while is when I take just my watch and Beats Powerbeats Pro i.e. running. Not fully disconnected but no one will ring me or message me and I really like that.

A 30min run, using 2 fitness trackers and podcast will hit the battery for about 10%, but the S6 is good for battery and I charge every night - so as long as it can make to the end of the day I am happy. Worst it has been is 50%.

What I really like is AOD, lots of info at a glance, count down timer for kids football and calendar reminders. I average 45-55 meetings a week at work and this keeps me honest

 

[jeremiah256]

The Apple Watch is the device most likely to make me finally give up and accept I’m staying the Apple garden.

 

[guinnessduck]

I’m starting to get tired and annoyed with my Series 3 watch. The pain of updating it, the speed, the lack of modern looking watch faces, and battery life have all made me get frustrated with it from time to time and I really regret not waiting for the SE. I still find it useful and certainly can’t see myself going a day without it, but I probably will upgrade it once it loses software support (which is looking to be watchOS 8).

After one of the updates a month or two ago, my wife finally couldn't take having to unpair, reset, and restore her S3 watch just to get an update to work. Sometimes even after a reset it would complain that there wasn't enough space for the update. So she broke down and ordered a S6. I can't say she loves it any better than her S3 (other than the whole update debacle), because she hasn't really mentioned the new watch much at all. I have a feeling if it weren't for the issue with updates she wouldn't replace it until it no longer received updates.

 

[Feyl]

I owned the first one and the second one and now I have Series 5. I had the first one for over a year and sold it. The second one I sold after about 2 months. Now I have Series 5 and thinking about selling it too. The main reason is that it does nothing much and it kinda annoys me to have it on my wrist. Also I'd like to have much better design more closer to the traditional watch. Or at least make it much thinner Apple. Another reason why I don't like Apple Watch is that it makes me addicted to another technology gadget and I have to constantly checking time or the temperature. Maybe after 5 or 10 years I'll keep mine for a longer time if the health features will be dependable and worth it.

 

[sahni130]

I don't know how I feel about my S5....I mean it is nice to have the cellular functionality when I forget or cannot have my phone, such as walking the dog, or floating down the river in a raft or tube. But other than that.. it has not changed my life, but admittedly I had unrealistic expectations. I think it's one of those items that's supposed to stay in the background and track and offer health benefits, but does not make my day any better or more productive like the phone or computer do so I am making my peace with that. It is nice though to not have to have my phone with me all the time. I wish they would just make a Fitbit style band or something to that effect.

I've been wearing my mechanical Tag Heur this week and honestly, it is nice to feel the weight of it on my wrist and not have notifications bugging me (yes, I know...turn them off, etc but then you really lose the benefits also). But THE biggest thing is not having to charge a traditional watch.

But still, I'll probably keep having an Apple watch as my firm gives us free health insurance and our health provider wants us to walk more and gives us discounts and what not the more we exercise. If there is one thing I love about the Apple Watch though is the calendar notifications- certainly helps keep track of work meetings and calls.

I am all over the place with this, I know.

 

[HappyDude20]

I’m starting to get tired and annoyed with my Series 3 watch. The pain of updating it, the speed, the lack of modern looking watch faces, and battery life have all made me get frustrated with it from time to time and I really regret not waiting for the SE. I still find it useful and certainly can’t see myself going a day without it, but I probably will upgrade it once it loses software support (which is looking to be watchOS 8).

I have an S3 and I love it, I'm not complaining at all. I wear it ALL the time. I mainly purchased it to track my sleep and it works well. The only time I don't wear it is when I'm showering and that's when I charge it. I'm sure if I directly compared it to an S5 or S6 I'd see how lame my S3 is but I do love my S3.

I'm thinking about upgrading come S7, especially if the rumors are true and they do introduce the blood glucose sensor. I admire the ECG function on the new Apple Watches and the improved Altimeter, as someone who does stairs every day.

 

[DontGetTheCheese]

I have a love hate with it. Between the battery and it not being quite as good as the Fenix for running it falls out of favor. Also, I've noticed I don't really use it that much beyond a fitness device.

Then I go for a run with the Fenix, the headphones cut out, my heart rate is 10 beats too high, because I have to use a strap and it dropped connection, I get pissed and I'm back to the Apple Watch.

I've started using both now.

 

[bricktop_at]

Since I finally gave in and pulled the trigger on an S4 Aluminum Silver a couple of years ago after waiting quite long because „Smartwatches have no soul“ (I always was a fan of mechanical watches and still am)… the Sub sits in its box and collects dust

I absolutely love the health features it offers and after getting myself an S6 SS in gold I enjoy wearing it even more. The SS version has that certain feeling of quality I always enjoyed in watches.

So instead of flipping mechanical watches, I‘m flipping straps now - still a watch nerd😁

 

[kyte]

I hd a Series 1, and now have a series 5. I’m a bit different to the rest of you in that I am old and decrepit so my uses are quite different... I don’t work out because I can’t. I use sleep tracking (Autosleep) and the falls detection. I’m also awaiting the BGL detection but really not sure how they can do that just with sensors... then again... if they can, I will be all over it, because keeping track in the traditional way, either with sensors a la Freestyle Libre or Dexcom or finger stabbing, gets expensive. ECG when finally activated over here in Oz will be interesting, but I don’t have AF and I suspect that like most other devices, it will ignore other arrhythmias, which is a shame.

Falls detection has already worked for me when I had a fall recently. And I *love* being able to use Apple Pay with it, and not have to futz about with wallet, purse, cards, phone...

 

[QCassidy352]

I bought my first Apple watch (series 5) a year ago and really liked it at once. In September I upgraded to the series 6 and sold my series 5 for a really good amount of money. For the series 6 I also found a very good deal on Amazon. So the upgrade turned out to be quite inexpensive. I like the 6 so much more than the 5. My husband kept his series 5 and it's so much slower than my series 6. Also the wifi works better on the 6 and the battery lasts significantly longer. What I really like the most is how quick it gets charged again. On paper these seem like minor improvements but on a daily basis they make life with the watch so much smoother.

Yes to all of that. I don't care about the blood ox at all, but the faster processor, better wifi, and better battery life are all quite a bit more noticeable than I thought they would be.

 

[mj_]

Is anyone else in the same boat?

I feel ya. I purchased an S3 in mint condition for cheap in November (or December? I forgot) to see what the fuss was all about and while it felt exciting and great at first the novelty factor wore off after a few weeks. I don't really know what to use it for other than reading texts when I'm too lazy get grab my phone (although more often than not if the message is longer than a "thumbs up" emoji or two lines of text I will get frustrated and get my phone out of my pocket instead), check the time, or most frequently the weather forecast to find out whether or not I am going to need a jacket before I walk out the door. Initially I was hoping to to benefit from the podcast app while walking the dog but the sync is so incredibly unreliable and hit-or-miss that I never end up with the right podcast on my watch and have to take my iPhone either way so I stopped bothering a long time ago.

I dare say that for me personally, the Apple Watch is the most useless and pointless gadget I've ever owned. Even though I get two days of battery life out of it I am constantly annoyed by having to charge it all the time. At this point I'm not sure I'd ever get another one should this one die, and even so I find myself forgetting it on the charger more and more often.

 

[shakopeemn]

I've never felt my S3 was slow. Guess I'll be blown away with the performance when I upgrade

As for this thread's question, the Apple watch has become the center of ecosystem. It unlocks the Mac and I've heard it will unlock the iPhone soon. It is a very capable fitness watch. Actually, every time I am tempted by a Galaxy phone, it is the Apple watch that stops me!

After moving from S3 to S5, I've noticed that when I say "Hey Siri set a timer", it's much faster in responding.

 

[hatchettjack]

I don't know how I feel about my S5....I mean it is nice to have the cellular functionality when I forget or cannot have my phone, such as walking the dog, or floating down the river in a raft or tube. But other than that.. it has not changed my life, but admittedly I had unrealistic expectations. I think it's one of those items that's supposed to stay in the background and track and offer health benefits, but does not make my day any better or more productive like the phone or computer do so I am making my peace with that. It is nice though to not have to have my phone with me all the time. I wish they would just make a Fitbit style band or something to that effect.

I've been wearing my mechanical Tag Heur this week and honestly, it is nice to feel the weight of it on my wrist and not have notifications bugging me (yes, I know...turn them off, etc but then you really lose the benefits also). But THE biggest thing is not having to charge a traditional watch.

But still, I'll probably keep having an Apple watch as my firm gives us free health insurance and our health provider wants us to walk more and gives us discounts and what not the more we exercise. If there is one thing I love about the Apple Watch though is the calendar notifications- certainly helps keep track of work meetings and calls.

I am all over the place with this, I know.

I wear my aquaracer GMT on the left and my aw5 on the right

 

[cics]

I am on the same boat. AW owner since Series 0, now own a Series 5... after the honeymoon period I started to get annoyed by all those notifications. I tried to use apps and Siri more, but again they are too cramped for my usage (can't send whatsapp message, can't check-create-modify my Apple Notes and on and on).

Then I started to realise that iPhone (in my pocket) + AirPods is much better combo for Siri interaction while on-the-go. I also realised that, after turning off almost all notifications, I did use my AW just for passive health tracking.
Few days ago my AW battery died as always, instead of charging it I've put it in a drawer and it's sitting there since then and I'm not feeling I am missing anything.

I'm not into sports apart from weight lifting so I'm gonna get a Garmin Hybrid watch just for fitness/health tracking, that would be more than enough for me.

Don't get me wrong I believe AW is an amazing piece of technology, but after few years I realised I just use it for passive health tracking.

 

[artfossil]

I just feel the marketing of the Apple Watch and the reality are detached. As a remote control for your phone it’s great. As a ‘ditch your phone while you’re out because you have the cellular one’ its a disappointment.

I'm sorry you are dissappointed. For me, my cellular Watch has changed my life for the better and the Watch is still my favorite piece of tech. I especially love knowing I can receive a vital phone call and that I can call for help if I need to. I only take my phone out and about if I know I might have to wait a long time and will need to use Safari.

 

[utzelu]

Not really in the same boat because I have other mechanical watches in rotation. When I get bored off, I just switch to another watch for 1-2 days and then I start missing the AW and switch back. The thing is, after wearing my AW for a couple of years, I found all the other watches being too heavy and uncomfortable, especially on metal bracelets. So I wear the AW much more than the others. Having a diverse collection of higher quality straps and bracelets could help keep the AW interesting over a longer period.

 

[xraydoc]

I just feel the marketing of the Apple Watch and the reality are detached. As a remote control for your phone it’s great. As a ‘ditch your phone while you’re out because you have the cellular one’ its a disappointment.

There's only so much power available in a small square battery that fits on your wrist, but I've made trips to the market or gone on runs without my phone and it's always worked out great for me. Text messages come in fine. Email... Even access to HomeKit to set and disarm the burglar alarms, unlock the door, etc.

It'll be a long time before a device as small as this can run off LTE or wifi all day long while tracking workouts and streaming music -- hell, even some phones can't make it the whole day doing that -- but for the 'leave the phone at home while I make this quick trip', it's always worked out fine. I probably do something like this once a week.

Yes, for longer periods on LTE it'll need to go back on the charger sooner, but again, physics prevents much longer battery life while providing the same level of functionality and features. And let's be honest, I doubt a watch with its <2" screen will ever replace something like a smartphone (pocket computer).

 

[Monkswhiskers]

When I read the thread title I thought it was going to be about how your fondness for your partner has slowly faded since you bought an AW and everyday the watch consumes your thoughts more and more...

 

[Captain Trips]

Prior to working from home due to Covid-19 (March 2020 for me), I wore regular watches (regular as in not a smart watch) to work, took them off when I got home, and rarely wore them on my days off.

Then I starting working from home and I never wore a watch.

Then in early February of this year I bought an non-cellular AW6. There are enough things I like about it that I wear it all the time, except when it is charging or I am taking a shower.

I like the non-smart watches I have, but I don't see myself wearing them anytime soon, if ever.

 

[Captain Trips]

So instead of flipping mechanical watches, I‘m flipping straps now - still a watch nerd😁

I won't say I was a watch nerd before (only ever had 2 -3 Timex watches at a time), but within 2 weeks I=of buying my AW6 I had bought 13 bands for it. They are the less expensive silicon bands, because at around $50 a band for the premium brands I don't think I could have justified $650 on watch bands.

 

[Thirio2]

My wife and I bought a S0 when they went on sale at Christmas and Discover was giving 10% cash back for using Apple Pay. That brought it down in price enough that if we didn’t like it we didn’t lose much. Bottom line is we both liked them. We both quit wearing standard watches and haven’t looked back. We upgraded to S4 (aluminum, since they don‘t last forever) when they came out. I like workout tracking and being able to quickly see notifications, and of course ease of using Apple Pay. Before I retired, the “stand” feature prompted me to take a short break. That being said, I’m not a slave to closing rings. The watch is a tool to be used, not a master to be obeyed. I also disabled the falls feature since it was way too sensitive and I didn’t want to call 911 when working in the yard and not noticing my watch questioning if I had fallen.

 

[honglong1976]

I went from the following:

S0 Alu> S0 SS > S3 Alu >S2 SS

I really like it, but I find it annoying that podcasts don't play through the built-in speaker, perfect when going to sleep.

I wish the battery life was better and sleep tracking, although it took a while, was pretty useless on the S3, so I have a Mi Band.

 

[bevsb2]

I have the series 6 LTE and love it. I have it on from the time I get up until bedtime and usually have 50% charge left at night. I use it for the health and fitness apps and like having the time, weather, date and fitness progress just a glance away. It is useful when I walk my dog to be free of the phone and take calls I may get. Also convenient for messages and calls when I forget my phone which happens at my age. Updates on the series 6 have been quick and uneventful. I use the solar face which I find beautiful and amazing.

 

[rdavis41]

This is an interesting topic. I find people’s opinions align with how much they use it. A majority of people I know that have one don’t even utilize secondary apps, which are what truly helps customize everyone’s experience with Apple Watch. It isn’t for everyone, but there is a lot to like in the Apple Watch.

 

[nickdalzell1]

I find my Series 5 still useful to quick-reply to texts hands-free when someone texts me while I'm busy working or for some good 80's hits from the radio app and my AirPods, but lately aside that it's just there telling me time.

When I first got it I'd do everything I could on the watch and leave my phone in my pocket (I don't want to be one of those folks who has their face buried into their smartphone in public) but I just stopped doing as much on it after awhle. I just started using it again and I just don't do as much on the phone or watch lately as I did. A few quick texts to my girlfriend, and some radio, that's pretty much the use lately.

I never understood the complaints about battery life on the 5. I got AOD and Wifi all on and I can make 2 days easy. That's on par with my Series 3 (which lacked AOD)