The metal G's are really nice! I have one, too. They offer a lot of functionality for a traditional watch!
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From smartwatch to mechanical or battery watch
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I went from not wearing a watch at all to wearing an Apple Watch from launch day until sometime during the pandemic when bought a mechanical watch. Haven't put an Apple Watch on once in the almost five years since that day.
I now have four mechanical watches, a bunch more I want, and don't see myself ever wearing an Apple Watch again. I do miss the health tracking (my kingdom for an Apple Ring/Band) and Apple Pay, but I am not a "dual-wrister" or "ankle watch" guy. I just think there's just something special about a mechanical watch that's missing with the Apple Watch (despite all the amazing things the Apple Watch can do).
But wear what you want!
I now have four mechanical watches, a bunch more I want, and don't see myself ever wearing an Apple Watch again. I do miss the health tracking (my kingdom for an Apple Ring/Band) and Apple Pay, but I am not a "dual-wrister" or "ankle watch" guy. I just think there's just something special about a mechanical watch that's missing with the Apple Watch (despite all the amazing things the Apple Watch can do).
But wear what you want!
Just got back from Germany, and during my trip, visited the Outlet. Went to the Breitling shop, and a few other watch shops. In addition, when in Amsterdam, checked the duty free, and in all that, didn't find anything that was a must have.
For now, I think I will give my Apple Watch a rest, and simply go without a watch...
For now, I think I will give my Apple Watch a rest, and simply go without a watch...
… and vice versa. These are just two very different types of devices.
The alarm beep won't wake anyone up, only fault I have with it. Besides the all stainless "bling" edition the GWMB5000 adds a display that's much more readable at extreme angles, and bluetooth time sync through the phone.
I started with a more traditional GWM5610 but black just didn't do it for me. Also the area I live in doesn't receive the atomic time sync really well OTA.
I also got my son a GW-S5600 carbon fiber edition of the classic square. All solid watches that make lots of people happy.
Last time I stopped wearing my Apple Watch for roughly a month, I had my eyes on a Nordgreen Philosopher. I’m currently taking an indefinite break from my AW again now, and right back at wanting this Nordgreen again. It's not expensive and I think it looks pretty and minimal; exactly what I’d want with a watch.
As I’d be wearing this full time, I figured I’d give myself a month without wearing my AW to make sure I don’t relapse with it. Last thing I want is to get this watch I’ve been wanting just for it to sit in a drawer for the next ten years (like my old mechanical watch!).
As I’d be wearing this full time, I figured I’d give myself a month without wearing my AW to make sure I don’t relapse with it. Last thing I want is to get this watch I’ve been wanting just for it to sit in a drawer for the next ten years (like my old mechanical watch!).
This is a funny thing to say. Everything’s “just a gadget” when you dismiss all the functionality.
I’ve been wearing Apple Watches for around six years now and recently got the itch to ditch it and go back to the traditional watches I used to wear - I’ve always worn something, and have a small collection of digitals and a nice mechanical Seiko with an automatic movement.
I absolutely love the Seiko as an object and a piece of jewellery. The fact that it’s self sustaining, obviously never needs charging, I never need to take it off, and it keeps reasonably accurate time without any electronics involved whatsoever. In all likelihood it will outlast me let alone my series 7. I don’t have to worry about its battery health, and an EMP blast could take out of all civilisation and it would still be ticking.
BUT, when it came to it, and when I tried to switch back recently, I remembered… it’s just a watch. It tells me the time and date and… that’s it. All it gives me is information that in all likelihood, I already know in that moment, because we live in a world full of clocks and screens full of that same information.
What my mechanical watch doesn’t give me is my wallet on my wrist so i can tap to pay or flash my loyalty card without going near my pockets. It also doesn’t tap me on the wrist to privately share a message from my son in the middle of a boring work meeting. The Seiko doesn’t keep an eye on my heart (I’m in my fifties, I might not know about any health problems before my watch does) or nudge me to move or go for a run. It doesn’t allow me to leave my phone in another room without worrying I’m going to miss something important. It doesn’t tap me to remind me about that other boring work meeting I need to be at in fifteen minutes, or tell me about a call that’s happening right now for that matter. It doesn’t remind me to take a hayfever tablet.
Even on the most basic and fundamental issues of timekeeping, my Seiko isn’t anywhere near as accurate or reliable. It doesn’t have an alarm, or timer, or stopwatch at all, and even if it did (and my digitals do), I couldn’t start them or set them just by raising my wrist and asking.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m sad in a way that I can’t go back to my old watch, but it’s the same sadness you might feel for not still having a Sony Walkman and a pile of cassette tapes, in a world of smartphones and limitless streaming. The Apple Watch might be “just a gadget” but it’s a fundamentally better and more capable gadget than all the older gadgets it has replaced, for me. Sure you can argue that it just duplicates some iPhone functionality that you already have, but equally you can make the argument that the iPhone just duplicates some functionality you already had on your computer. The point is how much more convenient and effective much of that functionality becomes.
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It doesn't replace any other device, it's just an additional gadget to your phone, which is quite funny because everyone wants big phones, but then they use a tiny screen on their wrist as a replacement for their daily/basic use.
I think the biggest factor is whether you're actually a watch enjoyer or not. I'd guess most wear the Apple Watch for the health/fitness side and some will go slightly further and change the band out or possibly build a band collection.
Where as if you own a mechanical watch, you likely already enjoy them as jewelry.
Where as if you own a mechanical watch, you likely already enjoy them as jewelry.
It does replace the phone for many tasks, the same way that a smartphone replaces the computer for many tasks, without actually replacing it entirely. For instance I Apple Pay on my watch exclusively and have done for years, despite the fact that my iphone can Apple Pay too (obviously) and is just there in my pocket - the watch is so much more convenient for this so that’s what I use.
I also find I take a lot of calls on my watch, depending on situation, as it’s often easier. I’ll do quick responses to messages, like a thumbs up or heart on the watch as again it’s easier than reaching for the phone. There are dozens of other small interactions like that. In some ways it’s a natural reaction to having a bigger phone - yes we want that big screen for video, and surfing, and gaming etc - but it’s makes the phone bigger, more cumbersome, and less convenient to use for other things - so that’s where the watch comes in.
You can argue whether the watch is really replacing anything, but that’s the same with so many other gadgets - my iphone, ipad, and computer are all used daily for email and surfing for example, neither replaces the other outright, they all have their use case and I wouldn’t choose to get rid of any of them. The Apple Watch obviously does replace one gadget - the conventional watch - while also adding a whole lot of health and fitness functionality that most of us didn’t have on any other gadget beforehand.
Calling gadget to a conventional/mechanical watch is a bit of a joke because it exists and been used way before AW/Smartwatch, mobile phones or other devices was invented.
As for the rest, you seem to agree with me that your Apple Watch is a more convenient gadget for use for your daily basic things instead of your big phone…
It’s still a gadget, obviously. It’s been around a long time sure, but it’s still just a device that does a job, some people love them and wear them all the time, some people had long since given up wearing them before the Apple Watch even came along.
It’s not such a simple divide between smartwatch and “conventional” watches either. That latter category covers anything from the most simple mechanical watch to quartz, to digital, it might just tell the time or also be a stopwatch/timer/calculator etc. It could be a $10 Casio or a $10,000 (or more) Rolex. Not every type of watch has existed forever and can trace its lineage all the way back to the sun dial.
Back when Quartz watches were new, a lot of people had trouble accepting that they were not only “proper” watches, but actually better in many ways than the mechanical watches people were used to at the time. The same thing happened a little later when Digital watches first hit the scene. Now here we are scoffing at the idea of smartwatches…
It’s just different tools for different jobs, like always. For most of the things I use the screen of my iPhone for, a bigger phone is better. For a subset of tasks the Watch is better and more convenient than any size smartphone.