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Well, obviously a faux pas, on my part. I presumed if a watch wasn't a 'smartwatch', it was a mechanical one. I suppose I have been doing and thinking about this all wrong. Which also means, I shouldn't be posting in the other watch thread I have been posting in.

Ah, the things you learn...
I only learned the distinction, because I was researching on what watch I wanted to buy a little over a year ago. Found out there are very different types.
 
As an aside if having an apple watch made you not free then you really are doing something wrong as mine instantly freed me from carrying my phone and wallet....
 
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I first got into the Apple Watch with the series 2 and almost exclusively used it for notifications and telling the time, date, weather etc. at a glance. After a few months I stopped using it because I got tired of charging it (at least) every day, not having always on display made it mediocre for telling information at a glance, and I didn’t really like getting notifications on my wrist. It was adding clutter/ distractions to my life rather than aiding me in being productive.

I got back into the Apple Watch with the series 7 because of the always on display and me wanting to track my steps and heart rate more closely (started taking my health a bit more seriously). I turned off almost all notifications which made it a lot more enjoyable. Unfortunately, I lost my series 7 a few years ago and honestly didn’t miss it all that much.

I recently bought the series 11 as I’ve gotten even more serious about health and fitness. I track my sleep most nights and always wear it during workouts. I use complications for timing cardio intervals, rest between lifting sets and monitoring heart rate (I target specific heart rates during my cardio). I also like tracking resting heart rate as an indicator of overall health. I only sometimes wear it during daily life if I feel like it. It’s useful for travel cards, telling the time/ weather at a glance, getting important notifications (I’ve turned most of them off), locating my iPhone when I can’t find it and I think it looks good with some outfits. The improved battery on the series 11 coupled with the fact that I don’t feel like I “have to” wear it every day have made the experience very enjoyable so far.

Over the years I’ve come to realize that the Apple Watch really isn’t for everyone, especially not if you don’t make much use of the health features. It’s not like an iPhone, AirPods, laptop etc. where almost anyone will benefit from owning them. The Apple Watch is a great device for working out and monitoring health, but if you’re not that into those things, it might not be worth it for you.
 
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