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The silent tapping alarm. Sleep tracking. Notifications on my wrist (when I want them).

What I wouldn't miss most: apps that send repeated notifications (e.g., messaging apps that send a notification for every message that comes in in rapid succession).
 
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I'd probably lose motivation from not seeing the rings close etc, I've been slowly working on my fitness ever since getting my SE.
 
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I'd miss the work out features, the notifications, the haptic feedback for alerts such as unusual heart rate increases (unfortunately had some life changing moments wearing it and the alert helped me take a breath), and texting features.
 
I stopped wearing mine a few weeks ago and it's been liberating. Don't have to worry about another thing to charge, and I can enjoy having a watch that has a traditional style to it.

The only thing I miss is knowing my step count throughout the day and generally knowing how my fitness level has been throughout the day.
 
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Apple Pay. It's ridiculously convenient to pay with something that's always on your wrist.

Stand alerts. I can go way too long without getting up if I'm engrossed in my work.
 
Pretty much everything that has been mentioned here already… yep me too for that. If I had to pick 5-10 at random or most obvious:
——-
Time
Weather
Screen texts and phone calls silently
Timers
Silent alarm
2 factor authentication
…lots more
 
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Controlling media from my phone (like skipping ahead in a podcast), timers, notifications, who is calling me, even occasionally replying to short texts. Workouts, heart rate monitor, etc.

I use the thing way more than I thought I would.
 
Good grief….. What a lot of things I am missing out on!

I have not worn a watch at all for more than forty years, and have never owned a smart phone. If I did I would miss being off-line when I leave the Mac Mini that graces my desk.
 
Good grief….. What a lot of things I am missing out on!

I have not worn a watch at all for more than forty years, and have never owned a smart phone. If I did I would miss being off-line when I leave the Mac Mini that graces my desk.
Tech changes, but we also live in a time when it’s still possible to have drastically different lifestyle technology choices. Ironically, my watch, with heavily curated notifications, allows me to be [feel] even more “off-line” than without it.
 
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Apple pay and sometimes notification are the things that I’m missing since Easter 2021, when I switched to mechanical watches. Still using AW during physical activity.
 
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I sent mine in for battery replacement, went without it for a week. It was a good test of this question, putting it into real-time practice to see what features were missed most.

Convenience of notifications, workout tracking, and some of the smaller digital Swiss army-type features that I use in select moments (compass, dB meter, Shazam, timers, heart monitoring). So, basically the things an Apple Watch does well.
 
Good grief….. What a lot of things I am missing out on!

I have not worn a watch at all for more than forty years, and have never owned a smart phone. If I did I would miss being off-line when I leave the Mac Mini that graces my desk.

Sorry to hear that.

I have the ability to configure notifications and ignore devices when I feel like it. I can use the watch just like a regular watch for telling the time, or I can use the advanced features. Ditto the phone. In fact when my phone rings I sometimes don’t answer it and just ignore it. I know, crazy right :D

Smart devices are as intrusive as you allow them to be. If you allow them to dominate your attention then you’re allowing them to dominate your attention. That’s not the fault of the devices it is the fault of the user.
 
Sold my AW a couple of months ago after having used it for about 6 months, I’m just using my phone again for like 90% of the lost functionality.

Found myself turning off a lot of Watch features one by one before finally selling it. First was the standing alert, then most other notifications and sounds. Then sleep tracking. I would leave the Watch at home sometimes and after a while it just remained in a drawer.

Health features like heart rate are really the only things I can think of that I don’t have anymore. But that’s fine, that sort of tracking is way more advanced than whatever my workout was.

Just my personal experience, I get that the Watch is nice to have and essential to some. I might try again someday.
Same here. Haven’t really used mine in a year and don’t miss much of the functionality, if any.
 
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I stopped 4 years ago and haven't looked back. I don't miss the personal overhead of extra devices (purchase, setup, firmware maintenance, usage, tech support, even more chargers) or the cost of their eventual obligatory replacement.

I did miss mechanical watches.

gear_train_GIF.gif
 
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Apple Pay, Siri functions (HomeKit, adding items to Reminders and Calendar, Timer), weather, seeing & replying to texts, seeing emails, HomeKit camera notifications, Apple Pay (yes again, it’s one of my favorite functions). Plenty of other things too, that’s just the high points.

The only thing I really wouldn’t miss, is the time on my wrist. There are clocks everywhere.
 
My watch is my alarm clock. I haven't had audible alarms to wake me up since the AW 3 (2017). There is something relaxing, far less jarring by having a slight motion on your wrist to wake you up in the morning vs a blaring alarm. It has never failed me.

I haven't turned on my iPhone's audio for calls since I've worn a watch. All my notifications (90% of them are turned off) go to my watch. I have DND hours in the evening to early morning.

Glancing at my watch gives me a quick weather status for the day. I love knowing when sunset/sunrise happen.

Workouts have become afar more secure/interesting with the Apple Watch. Not only are my health stats tracked but I've used my watch to call 911 several times while out and about running when the situation required it. Having access to my 6GB workout playlist via AirPods while I jog has been extremely liberating - I jog just with my keys, watch, and AirPods.

Again, the way I have things set up, only those important to me can contact me instantly (favorites list, etc). Knowing my wife can contact me instantly no matter where I am is comforting to both of us.

I've been saved by using my watch as a flashlight several times in situations where power went out (and I didn't have my phone near me).

I use my watch as a voice activated timer for when I try to cook once/twice a week. Extremely handy to set a timer while having an oven mitt on. Setting reminders when I instantly think of them is handy too.

And the nice to haves: I use my watch all the time to log into my Mac OS, to answer administrative prompts all day long. Maybe just me but I love the vibrating notifications to turn when using Apple Maps while driving.

I like my Apple Watch. Could I live without it? Sure. But it is, in my opinion, a big plus to my life.
 
p.s., I’m older, live alone, go biking alone, and long walks alone, so I would miss the peace of mind of having fall detection, health monitoring, and a backup communication device on my wrist.

I saw my mom take a hard fall during a walk outside. It was horrifying, but it did make me feel some relief to see that it triggered the fall detection on her watch and she could have received help if she was alone.
 
The ability to unlock any of my Macs automatically when I'm wearing it and double-pressing the side button to approve software installs and unlock password-protected system settings. Using it for Apple Pay. All integration with Siri (e.g. creating reminders and adding things to lists, setting timers, etc.). Using it to check notifications and delete emails on the spot. All sorts of things that are much more convenient on the Watch then pulling out my iPhone or typing a long password.
 
I this got my iPhone SE 3 gen back on wed this past week I pick up the apple watch SE 2nd gen on Swappa for 197 and went me tell you I could not live with out it the apple watch is one of the most advanced apple watch on the market right now I all so love the tight integration that the apple watch brings with your iPhone
 
I stopped wearing mine as iOS 16 broke most of the functionality of the watch that requires data from an iPhone. I miss using Messages the most and also the Fitness app.

Edit: I have a Series 2
 
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