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Fav is having music on my AW, means I don't have the problem of my brick of a phone smashing into my legs every 0.5seconds when I'm out running. In the gym it's even better, means I'm not distracted by iMessage or any of the other hundred apps that seek my attention.

When I'm working I can leave my phone in another room, if a call comes I can answer using my watch/APM.

Basically the watch has helped me use my phone less... basically more productive.
 
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I’m not falling out of love for it, but I sure am using it less in quarantine. I don’t normally wear a watch around the house.

I also think the series 5 and 6 were very minor upgrades, and I don’t see enough reason to replace the series 4 I’m barely using.

But I’m still very interested in the possibilities for series 7.
 
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.
I also have quite a lot of those, unfortunately they may look almost like the Apple bands but there is a reason why they are that much cheaper. The look kinda greasy after a short period (even the more expensive cheap ones) and then I don’t wear them anymore because that ruins the experience for me - especially since I finally went stainless with my second S6 (should have done that much earlier).

So - being a watch nerd 😬 - I now will get myself those Apple bands because they hold up way way better and in fact even my oldest one still looks practically like new.
 
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So - being a watch nerd 😬 - I now will get myself those Apple bands because they hold up way way better and in fact even my oldest one still looks practically like new.

I will to, eventually. My desire to try the cheaper bands was to see if I would like the Nike-style sports bands with the 3 rows of holes - and I do find that style of band more comfortable then the sport bands with fewer holes when I exercise..
 
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I will to, eventually. My desire to try the cheaper bands was to see if I would like the Nike-style sports bands with the 3 rows of holes - and I do find that style of band more comfortable then the sport bands with fewer holes when I exercise..
Yeah I tried those too... but I don't like the look of them, kinda remind me of those "racing straps" which i absolutely despise... ruins the look of any watch for me (pic copied from https://monstraps.com/ - they actually sell really nice straps as well).
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So for running and exercising I use sport loops which are really comfortable as well, plus I like being able to adjust them freely.

PS: Sorry for hijacking this thread ;-)
 
S0->S1(free under warranty)->S4->S5.
As a fitness tracker it has been pretty good, I like being able to unlock my Macs and my iPhone with it, for everything else it still is very meh... I still can't believe how bad it is at some basic things, like activating. It seems to work maybe 70% of the time when I lift and say Hey Siri (I've tried all settings). Works 20% when I'm riding my bike. Then maybe 70% of the time it understands what I'm asking and does what I want. I'd probably only upgrade again if it broke (like my S4 screen did dropping it on the tile when putting it on) or if they significantly improve battery life. I don't come close to getting a full 24 hours/day - I want 3 days!
 
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I decided to F Apple and there drip feed tech. Got a Huawei watch with over a week battery never again Apple.
 
If you had asked me a year go, I would probably have said that the AW is my favorite Apple device. But it really has kind of Fallen Out Of Love for me.

A couple of (subjective!) things that have "added up":

  • The absence of great watch faces. Most watch faces are either awkward skeumorphic adoptions of traditional watch designs (GMT), garish, cheap looking dashboards (Infograph Modular) or faces that try to maximize the use of "screen real estate" at the expense of doing anything useful other than showing the time (Numerals Duo, Fire, Water, etc.) ... Solar Dial is a notable exception here, but unfortunately isn't exactly the most legible face: The time is small and has too little contrast with the background shading of the inner dial.
  • Better widgets on the iPhone. iPhone widgets (especially since iOS 14) provide essentially the same information as complications. They are of course not as instantaneously available as the complication on an AOD watch face, but do I really need to have split-second acccess to the current air temperature throughout the day? In addition, widgets are shortcuts to full iPhone apps, which in the case of Calendar means that I won't be limited to seeing the appointments of only the next 7 days and the calendar of the current month (which is absolutely annoying, and no, I don't want to use a third-party app for that).
  • Shape and form factor. I still feel that the AW is much bulkier than it should be. It's hard to compare to a mechanical watch (and admittedly slimmer than many of those), but it still feels like a small but thick screen strapped to my wrist ... which is what it essentially is, so I get why that's maybe an unfair criticism. (Also the bump of the optical sensors underneath doesn't help with a snug fit, at least for me.)
  • Less use of haptic notifications. I've dramatically pruned the number of notifications I get throughout the day and so don't mind reading them on the iPhone.
  • Better look of analog watches. I've come to appreciate traditional watch design much more. Relatedly, the AW now comes in really interesting materials, such as titanium, but it's weird to pay the premium for a device that I will realistically not keep for more than 3-4 years.
  • No need for its health monitoring features. I don't see how I could benefit from sleep tracking and I'm active enough to not need calory tracking or stand reminders.
  • While I've bought the cellular version, I've very rarely used it. I almost always prefer having access to my iPhone when on the go, if only to quickly look up connections for public transport or take photos while on a walk.
  • Some smaller typographical aspects, such as the use of SF Rounded (which I hate) for watch faces and apps and some very shoddy glyph placement in complications with a curved baseline, which I cannot unsee ...
So yeah, 4.5 years after I bought the AW2 and 1.5 years after I bought the AW5, tracking runs and having access to music during those is pretty much the only thing I need or keep it for.
 
Can't relate at all. Still love my Apple Watch. Actually had loved it more being stuck at home because I don't have to have my iPhone on me to answer texts and calls. I even approve changes to my Instacart order on it sometimes. Ironically my favorite thing about the watch was the convenience of Apple Pay and I'm rarely using that now because I'm home so much. Even with a little over an hour of workouts I still have plenty of battery at the end of the day. I'm not playing podcasts or music though.
The absence of great watch faces. Most watch faces are either awkward skeumorphic adoptions of traditional watch designs (GMT), garish, cheap looking dashboards (Infograph Modular) or faces that try to maximize the use of "screen real estate" at the expense of doing anything useful other than showing the time (Numerals Duo, Fire, Water, etc.) ...
I agree 100% and this drives me crazy. Why can't I have an Infograph Modular with a large time in the center?
 
I keep trying to love them, but I always find before long that there is nothing of value that the watch does for me that the phone cannot. I know it can make some things more convenient, but I guess I just don't care about convenience anywhere near as much as utility. I like tools that enable me to do more things, that empower me, and not just shave a second or two off the things I already do, or generate pointless data that doesn't translate into insight or action. The Apple Watch is not particularly good looking, it requires a lot more maintenance than a regular watch (or no watch), and I really dislike accidentally activating its screen or pressing its crown when I put my hand in my pocket. I find a small phone is every bit as unobtrusive.
 
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  • The absence of great watch faces. Most watch faces are either awkward skeumorphic adoptions of traditional watch designs (GMT), garish, cheap looking dashboards (Infograph Modular) or faces that try to maximize the use of "screen real estate" at the expense of doing anything useful other than showing the time (Numerals Duo, Fire, Water, etc.) ... Solar Dial is a notable exception here, but unfortunately isn't exactly the most legible face: The time is small and has too little contrast with the background shading of the inner dial.

I actually find the watch faces very tastefully and smartly designed. Maybe the best smartwatch faces out there. For instance the Solar Dial is my favorite, and there's no such dial in the traditional watch world. The Mikey dial is another favorite of mine, especially fun when it tells me the time with the character's voice.

I also created few Shortcuts to change the watch faces depending on the day (working day vs. weekend) or time of day (working hours vs. after work). This is an amazing feature which morphs the watch according to my moods. You cannot do that with traditional watches, and you'd need to spend a fortune on having an eclectic collection to cover the same basis. Coupled with the easy way of changing straps and the enormous availability of different strap designs.

But you're right that the faces don't have the same depth of a real watch dial, with the 3d aspect and textures.
 
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After moving from S3 to S5, I've noticed that when I say "Hey Siri set a timer", it's much faster in responding.
now that you mention it, yes it is indeed a bit slow to set a timer/alarm compared to the iphone.. somehow I thought that was normal and didn't think it was the watch being slow
 
The way I got my Watch's faces lined up it's a replacement for Glances--a now gone feature (the dock sucks--can't see the entire app in the list or the whole UI of an app)

I watched the Watch S0 keynote right after I got a Series 3 (late, I know) and I remember them mentioning Glances and I wondered why that gesture did nothing short of swapping between faces on mine. Turns out they removed it. The Dock, or as I title it, the 'recent apps rolodex' is supposed to replace them. Funnily enough, the Now Playing Glance is still there.

So missing out, I just made the layout of multiple faces do a better job of replacing Glances. One is there for just the time, in a dim font that keeps the AOD from waking me in my sleep, another is the California dial with a Remote complication that I use for quickly controlling my Apple TV, and a third is my "Work Watch Face" with a complication for Messages (with unread badge), shortcuts to Music, Radio, and the time. I save the dazzling Infograph face for my nature hikes or just general doing nothing time since it has a ton of info right in front.

I don't understand the gripe about 'skeuomorphic faces'. Unlike the Galaxy Watch, the Apple Watch's entire face selection is pretty much Flat UI design. Closest to Skeuomorphic are the Earth and Moon complications. I'd love to see some skeuomorphic faces though!
 
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.

Ive never had that impression from their marketing. Maybe it’s because I’ve read otherwise here, but I never got the feeling that the watch was meant to replace the iPhone. I totally view it as a companion device. Maybe I’m wrong and Apple does present it as a standalone device, I wish it had more autonomy, but I don’t get the impression it’s meant to be viewed that way.
 
S1(38) > S3(38) >S3 Nike(42) > S4 LTE(44). Still using the S4 and it works great. Would love a S6 for the new sensor but I still love my S4 and see no real reason to upgrade. Really wish they would get better faces or allow 3rd party. The stock ones are getting long in the tooth and the last few new ones are lame.
 
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).
The struggle with updating the S3 these days is ridiculous and very real.
 
The struggle with updating the S3 these days is ridiculous and very real.
I really wish Apple would find a way to make the S3 easier to update. I understand hardware can only go so far, but if you’re going to fully support a product with software updates, it shouldn’t take an unpair, re-pair, and 2+ hours to update.
 
I really wish Apple would find a way to make the S3 easier to update. I understand hardware can only go so far, but if you’re going to fully support a product with software updates, it shouldn’t take an unpair, re-pair, and 2+ hours to update.

If they’d said “Minimal security fixes from Watch OS6 only” would thqt be better or worse?
 
If they’d said “Minimal security fixes from Watch OS6 only” would thqt be better or worse?
No it wouldn't, its effing absurd that the S3 has to be updated like this regardless of what they call it. Imagine if you had to wipe your iPhone or Mac and restore it from scratch at literally every .x update.
 
I have a Series 4, and I think the only thing I don't like about the watch is the feeling like I'm a slave to it. I know it sounds really corny, but every day I think of ending my ring streak (Which is more than 500 days), I get this feeling like I have to keep it going. Also, I think the stand goal is impacting my sleeping habits, mainly because I feel like I need to get all the rings closed (especially the 12 hour stand goal, even though I know I can change it, I don't know if I should) so I can just take it off and enjoy the evening without it.

Like I said, this sounds really stupid and I do ask myself if there is anything wrong with me.

In terms of updates, the watch is the device I don't like updating the most. It just feels slow. I wish the Watch can update as the phone is updating and you don't need to put it on the charger.

There are things I love with it though. Apple Pay is amazing with the watch, especially going through Banks. I also like how it tells time, but then it is a watch and it would be really weird if it didn't.
 
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