Has your Apple Watch usage changed since the pandemic?

[subjonas]

[I wanted to ask this question in regard to all our Apple devices, but I didn’t know where in the forum I could post such a question, so I just made individual threads for iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and AirPods. Though it applies to Macs, Apple TVs, and Homepods too, that’s just too many threads. So feel free to include those in your reply to any of these threads. I guess services could be included as well.]

I’m working from home now and it has affected my device usage a bit.

I use my AW almost exclusively for notifications since I liked to keep my phone on silent when I go out, and especially while at work (when I used to go to work). I never felt a need to wear it at home where I have clocks everywhere, Siri everywhere (homepods and iPads), Jan everywhere (heehee), and I could leave my sound alerts on at full volume. Now that I’m almost always home, my watch has been collecting dust. I do occasionally use it for music when I’m running, but I could almost just as easily use my iPhone SE1 since I usually bring it along on my run anyway. It seems to no longer be of use to me. I wish I could just continue to let it sit around on the chance that I’ll ever find it useful again, but then I’d feel like I need to maintain its battery by charging it every so often. That’s a chore I just don’t want added to my life. So since this is looking like our new “normal” life, I’m leaning toward selling it.

How has your Apple Watch usage changed, if at all?

 

[mk313]

I still use Mine about the same as I did before.

 

[ericwn]

Still wear mine every day as before.

 

[Freakonomics101]

I wear mine daily, like always. But... I used to exercise daily.

Got COVID-19 mid March then dad passes away in May. My activity levels have significantly changed since I got sick. I had so little energy for weeks. Then when my dad passed, no motivation. Still to this day my activity level isn’t anywhere near the same as it was. Some days I’ll get motivated to go for a walk outside but that’s it. I miss the gyms, a lot.

 

[0128672]

I wear mine daily, like always. But... I used to exercise daily.

Got COVID-19 mid March then dad passes away in May. My activity levels have significantly changed since I got sick. I had so little energy for weeks. Then when my dad passed, no motivation. Still to this day my activity level isn’t anywhere near the same as it was. Some days I’ll get motivated to go for a walk outside but that’s it. I miss the gyms, a lot.

So sorry about the loss of your dad, and that you have been sick with the virus. Your motivation will return and it starts with one step out the door. In the meantime, be kind to yourself, and I hope you have some good support from friends and family.

 

[Deguello]

Exactly the same usage other than exercising twice a day when the time changed.

 

[Fatyank]

Seriously? A chore to charge your watch! Place it on the charging puck and forget it. That’s at best, 60 seconds of your life. You can leave it on the charger and forget it until you want to use it. If that is too much trouble then you should sell it. These are stressful times and God forbid you have to add another 60 second chore to your life.

 

[subjonas]

Seriously? A chore to charge your watch! Place it on the charging puck and forget it. That’s at best, 60 seconds of your life. You can leave it on the charger and forget it until you want to use it. If that is too much trouble then you should sell it. These are stressful times and God forbid you have to add another 60 second chore to your life.

To properly maintain an unused battery it has to be kept at half charge. It will prematurely lose capacity if it’s left charging forever. After maybe 6 months of this the watch would probably need a new battery. But maybe the bigger issue is why keep something I’m not going to use when someone else could use it? If it didn’t have to be maintained, I might be selfish and keep it. But I have way too many rarely used battery-powered devices that I’m already maintaining. Don’t need another unless for good reason.

 

[trashmac]

I've always that my Apple Watch was my second favourite piece of Apple kit (the first being my iPod Classic) and working from home for the last 5 months or so has not changed my opinion.
I try to exercise as it helps my Blood pressure so I make sure I close my calorie ring everyday (it's only set to 650 calories, which is not that high, but it does take some extra effort).

Sitting in front of my computer for extended periods is part of my workalike so the stand reminders come in handy for me too.
I also have constant meetings throughout the day so notifications of upcoming hangouts are really useful.
Weirdly enough, the other thing I find I am using more is the ability to ping my phone to see where I have left it. Even though my living space is not large, working from home means I tend to leave my phone in all sorts of places and can't find it.

Admittedly other features that I used to use a lot (directions, reading text messages, weather alerts, etc) are not of much use at the moment as I am still being quite cautious as I suffer from asthma but my Apple watch is definitely helping me stay fitter and healthier.

 

[thunderstorm]

For the first month working from home I didn’t wear my watch at all, I felt rubbish thinking about how I’d never meet my activity goal whilst locked down at home!

Then I started to realise I was going long periods of time just sitting at my desk and now I rely on the stand reminders. Normally I’d easily hit my stand goal as I’d be getting up from my desk and getting a drink with colleagues in the kitchen, walking over to chat to other colleagues, etc. But there’s no colleagues at home and I also think I’m subconsciously trying to combat the perception of being less productive if you work from home.

So, I’m using my watch just as frequently as beforehand, but in a different way.

 

[Rockbird86]

Have to admit mine sat on the charger for about 4 months. Now I'm out a bit more it's being worn whenever I'm away from home but it still spends 75% of its time waiting for some action. I'm back at work in a couple of weeks and so it'll be worn every day as before.

 

[Apple_Robert]

My Apple Watch use has not changed. It remains consistent.

 

[MisterSavage]

Then I started to realise I was going long periods of time just sitting at my desk and now I rely on the stand reminders. Normally I’d easily hit my stand goal as I’d be getting up from my desk and getting a drink with colleagues in the kitchen, walking over to chat to other colleagues, etc. But there’s no colleagues at home and I also think I’m subconsciously trying to combat the perception of being less productive if you work from home.

So, I’m using my watch just as frequently as beforehand, but in a different way.

Exactly this. The stand reminders are even more important to me now that I'm WFH.

The only thing that has changed with my usage is that I'm not using it several times a day for Apple Pay.

 

[iPhonNick]

I have to admit, my Apple Watch use hasn't changed at all. Maybe I'm wearing my AW a little bit less through the day, but I'm still wearing it every day.

 

[subjonas]

Makes sense that people still using their watches a lot for health and fitness. Probably even more so nowadays. I’m a little different in that I pretty much only used mine for notifications and only when out of the house. I prefer as little on me as possible, especially at home.

 

[sananda]

My battery has been lasting all day every day since I've been unable to go to the gym. Previously I would have to add some charge before or after going to the gym.

My gym has recently re-opened but I'm currently reluctant to return.

 

[Cookie18]

I use it the same way as before but I already worked from home before the pandemic and I live in a national park so not much changed for me lol. I did severely scratch the screen last month so that's new haha

 

[garethjs]

How has your Apple Watch usage changed, if at all?

Mine has actually gone up. I'm tired of having to come back home and wiping down my phone with alcohol wipes. I use my phone and Mac enough at home and the watch is usually on charge. So for now Ive decided to just rely on my cellular watch when I'm out and about and even leave my phone at home.

So I do everything on the watch outside. Respond to messages via Siri, walkie talkie, listen to podcast and music with my AirPods, make and receive calls. Map destinations if need be too.

 

[subjonas]

I use it the same way as before but I already worked from home before the pandemic and I live in a national park so not much changed for me lol. I did severely scratch the screen last month so that's new haha

Whoa how do you live in a national park? That sounds awesome. Are you a ranger?

Mine has actually gone up. I'm tired of having to come back home and wiping down my phone with alcohol wipes. I use my phone and Mac enough at home and the watch is usually on charge. So for now Ive decided to just rely on my cellular watch when I'm out and about and even leave my phone at home.

So I do everything on the watch outside. Respond to messages via Siri, walkie talkie, listen to podcast and music with my AirPods, make and receive calls. Map destinations if need be too.

This is a new one, very interesting!

 

[Cookie18]

Whoa how do you live in a national park? That sounds awesome. Are you a ranger?

I live in France, I think National Parks here have a slightly different definition. Some areas of significant beauty are national parks here but people still live there, there are still villages etc.

 

[subjonas]

I live in France, I think National Parks here have a slightly different definition. Some areas of significant beauty are national parks here but people still live there, there are still villages etc.

Sounds amazing. Very jealous.

 

[Cookie18]

Sounds amazing. Very jealous.

It’s a very beautiful area. My wife and I moved here 2.5 years ago and we love it.

 

[oeagleo]

I wear mine daily, like always. But... I used to exercise daily.

Got COVID-19 mid March then dad passes away in May. My activity levels have significantly changed since I got sick. I had so little energy for weeks. Then when my dad passed, no motivation. Still to this day my activity level isn’t anywhere near the same as it was. Some days I’ll get motivated to go for a walk outside but that’s it. I miss the gyms, a lot.

I'm with you, a couple things I'd like to ask. I had "something" in about Mid March, was really sick, hacking up lots of thick "stuff" for about 3 or 4 days. Slowly recuperated, but didn't go to the Dr. as this was during the time period we were told to "self quarantine", and unless we had a fever, and other flu symptoms, to just quarantine. Well, I've kept up on my flu shots, as I'm 72, and really don't want to deal with the flu anymore.
That being said, I've "lost" my blood oxygen capability from where it was prior to that experience, it used to be consistently in the 95-97% range, but during my "bout", it dropped several times into the 70's and 80's. Today, it still is barely above 91%, and like you, I seem to lack motivation to exercise.
I've purchased dumbells, bands, and some cables, and will do "weight" exercises at home, and I have a treadmill, but am only able to last about 30-40 minutes on that. Are these similar to your experiences?

 

[5105973]

I wear mine daily, like always. But... I used to exercise daily.

Got COVID-19 mid March then dad passes away in May. My activity levels have significantly changed since I got sick. I had so little energy for weeks. Then when my dad passed, no motivation. Still to this day my activity level isn’t anywhere near the same as it was. Some days I’ll get motivated to go for a walk outside but that’s it. I miss the gyms, a lot.

I’m so very sorry for your loss. I can’t imagine how it must be to deal with a loss and this awful sickness at the same time. I can only wish you healing and a strong recovery.

I’m another person, along with a teenaged daughter, in recovery from some mid-March “mystery disease“.

My fatigue comes with severe joint inflammation and bone pain when I try to exercise, even just trying to move around in a backyard swimming pool. But I am seeing incremental improvement, though I initially had to measure that in weeks. Now my head is finally clear again. Before, it was like trying to think through a concussion.

Nobody else in the family got obviously sick, but we got ours walking past a guy coughing like mad a week before our state declared lockdowns. We didn’t have much in the way of respiratory trouble. So we weren’t coughing and sneezing around the house and took precautions to sanitize everything we touch that is shared amongst the family. But even though my airways seemed clear enough, I was severely short of breath. I still am, on some days. On other days I can run around the yard and up and down the street just fine. It’s truly strange.

I’ve had a lot of cardiac issues since that illness. So I now use all the heart monitoring features on my watch a lot. If the next watch can measure oxygen levels, I’m getting it. I’ve been using my watch to make sure I fill the outer ring every day. I’ve always looked at it but didn’t necessarily make it a goal to fill that ring. I have set a modest calorie burn goal compared to what I saw I was burning pre-Covid. But it’s something to keep me about as fit as I’m going to be able to get right now. But I listen to my body. If I’m feeling really frail, I just rest. I figure my body is trying to tell me something.

As far as a concrete change in watch use after the pandemic: I also now do the breathing thing that I used to avoid on the Apple Watch. I read that doing deep breathing exercises is supposed to help in the recovery from Covid. I’m trying to get that oxygen in there to my pointy head! But I really, really used to hate the Breathe app. I never turned its notifications off; I would just yell at my watch that I was breathing. Lol because it amused me to grumble at it. But now it’s my recovery buddy.