Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
I still like mine a lot, but I doubt I'll upgrade at the next release. It pretty much fits into my lifestyle as just a notification device -- which is fine -- but the various other potentials didn't pan out. I use the watch face itself, the glances, and the notifications... I don't think I've opened an app on the watch on purpose in... months.
 
I'm a homecare nurse - every 2 hours i need to be aware of certain things for charting.

I have alarms set, and getting that buzz and being able to see the screen light up even with gloves on, is very nice.

I can leave my phone on mute when with patients, and still get the notifications. Breaking news alerts are great as well.

I gave up on apps, and really just use it for those purposes.

Ive considered selling it, yet always stop because it does those features very well..
 
I bought the Sport one on the launch day and have been using it intensively. Now I am thinking about upgrading to a Stainless Steel version. It is great to read notifications and reply them through the watch on the go.
 
I keep wondering why I see so many experiences like this... lag, slow, crap, etc., and yet my experience is quite different. Likewise, I see a huge thread in the iPhone forum about how slow and laggy the 6s Plus is, yet mine is blazing fast. Is this a difference in expectations, a difference in how we've set them up, or are there some defective units? Maybe some of each?

With the watch, the variation in experiences may depend on the user's perception. I am very happy with my watch but don't use third party apps all that often because of slow load times. Some people may be fine with a five second load time for, say, the CNN app. After all, you would have waited about as long on an iPhone from 2009. But on my wrist, I find that kind of wait time highly irritating. I'm holding my arm up. After two seconds I'm kinda done. Also, I'm rocking a 6s Plus which has spoiled me with super fast load times.

As for those reporting lag on the 6s and 6s Plus, those are software issues with those phones (maybe a bad backup restore... who knows). My 6s Plus is a screamer. It doesn't even know what lag means. I do get an occasional graphic stutter but nothing serious.
 
But nobody needs that. We are already on our phones 24/7. It doesn't bring anything new to the table.

I'm not on my phone 24/7. It's often in my pocket, or on the charger, or on my desk. The watch allows me to be on my phone even less, but still take full advantage of its usefulness. Rather than the phone constantly buzzing with new texts, alerts, etc., I get a gentle and silent tap on the wrist and can quickly glance at it to see what it is and whether it requires my immediate response. I can now walk to another room without my phone with the confidence that I will still get important notifications. I struggle to see how some folks see no value in that.
 
  • Like
Reactions: BarracksSi
I'm a homecare nurse - every 2 hours i need to be aware of certain things for charting.

I have alarms set, and getting that buzz and being able to see the screen light up even with gloves on, is very nice.

I can leave my phone on mute when with patients, and still get the notifications. Breaking news alerts are great as well.

I gave up on apps, and really just use it for those purposes.

Ive considered selling it, yet always stop because it does those features very well..

That's a great use case. Not sure why you have considered selling it. In my experience, the ability to handle notifications is one of the top benefits of the watch, and what it's best at.
 
I'm not on my phone 24/7. It's often in my pocket, or on the charger, or on my desk. The watch allows me to be on my phone even less, but still take full advantage of its usefulness. Rather than the phone constantly buzzing with new texts, alerts, etc., I get a gentle and silent tap on the wrist and can quickly glance at it to see what it is and whether it requires my immediate response. I can now walk to another room without my phone with the confidence that I will still get important notifications. I struggle to see how some folks see no value in that.

The problem for me was that the interface of the watch was slower than the phone. so it's useless if my phone does things faster.
 
The problem for me was that the interface of the watch was slower than the phone. so it's useless if my phone does things faster.

This is certainly true for third party apps. But when it comes to receiving a notification, seeing what it is, and making a quick response; or asking Siri to set a cooking timer or a quick reminder, the Watch is faster than pulling out the phone.
 
This is certainly true for third party apps. But when it comes to receiving a notification, seeing what it is, and making a quick response; or asking Siri to set a cooking timer or a quick reminder, the Watch is faster than pulling out the phone.
Mine lagged. It was a very small amount, but when on the move, any lag at all is unacceptable. I sold it. Waiting for Gen 2.
 
This is certainly true for third party apps. But when it comes to receiving a notification, seeing what it is, and making a quick response; or asking Siri to set a cooking timer or a quick reminder, the Watch is faster than pulling out the phone.

Yeah, my Watch is instantaneous when it comes to notifications and responses. I rarely take my phone out of my pocket for texts, in particular. I don't use any 3rd party apps.
 
  • Like
Reactions: redman042
When Watch OS 2 came out I feel it definitely fixed a lot of that lag, I think I have 2 apps that lag. For something this small, it's really impressive, particularly getting the Retina display in it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: sean000
Notifications come in quick which is great but I don't use any apps other than the stock apps. Timer, messages, and quick weather glances are most useful to me, but after a while, I missed wearing my other time pieces. I've since gone back to wearing a simple time piece on an everyday basis and only use my apple watch for my side by side riding when the going gets tough.
 
Overall, I'm still finding the AW to be very useful and helpful. Its also been "aging" quite well and its holding up to the demands I place on it.
 
Had it for a little over a month now and still LOVE it! Not a day goes by where I don't make full use of it (and I mean more than just tell time). Can it be made better? Sure! Next gens will certainly improve the speed, app choices, styles, etc... But still doesn't prevent me from using the 1st gen to its full extent and improve my daily routine. I'm using my phone way less which is a good thing.
 
For me it really clicked when 1) I sold my sport watch and bought the SS and 2) when I realized it's first and foremost a watch. I find it great for notifications and fitness tracking. It's great having an all in one device. Yes, most apps are very slow but I have a couple that I use quite a bit like Transit for bus and train schedules and 2) ZonePlay which controls my home Sonos system (app is very quick and responsive). But the main reason I still wear it is because in my opinion (and my wife's) I find the SS watch elegant enough where I can wear it, with the right band, to work with a suit but at the same time casual enough that I can wear it while working out. If this thing looked like the other smart watches out there, I would have never bought it. I'm glad Apple actually considered design and fashion when making the watch. It's definitely part of my daily routine. Also, Apple Pay is great and traveling with the watch is awesome. Makes dealing with time zones a breeze.
 
bought mine a little over a week ago...just returned it today. Wasn't doing it for me and im a hardcore apple fan...i think the two killer issues for me were slow load times and the auto turn on of the watch face when turning my wrist to look at it worked sub par at best and that was annoying
 
I've had my AW for a week now and I'm happy so far. I like the activity app and use one third party app so far. The notifications are nice. I don't have to pull my phone out of my pocket as much.
 
  • Like
Reactions: convergent
Oh yes - sorry for never get back on this. I decided not to get the Watch. I came super close - but never close enough (tried it on now like four times, had the money saved up for months without getting anything). Most people here seem to be either very careful to recommend or not entirely won over. I think I wanted an iPhone replacement - and it seems conclusively that's not what this is.

Instead, I got a new Fjällraven winter coat which hopefully should last quite a long time ...

Thank you everyone for all your help and chiming in! There were some really great responses here and this was really helpful
 
  • Like
Reactions: Aniseedvan
My uses for the watch are:
Keeping phone in DND all day and only getting through Messages and Whatsapp notifications to my wrist so I don't constantly look at my phone lol.

Also I enjoy taking and making calls on it while at home.

To be honest though I find apps load too slow, siri is slow and it's a bit slow in general to do things (compared to my 6S).
 
I love mine.

I used to not respond to texts or calls a lot because I would have my phone across the house or whatever. Problem solved.

It's also very convenient at work when I'm coding and CBA to pull out my phone to check a text.

I also love the vibration during turn-by-turn directions whilst driving. Answering calls during driving is also really nice. I never use my Jawbone anymore.

I use Shazam and Siri way more on it than I ever did on my phone.

However I avoid the UI of the Apple watch as much as possible. I find the app view infuriating. I never press on the correct app, they're too small. They need to have a bigger zoom setting.

I also don't like how slow it is. It's just frustrating to do much of anything with the apps.. it responds too slow to button pushes, UI element interaction, etc. I haven't found a single app that I use regularly besides Shazam on it. The weather apps are all stupid and laggy. The calendar can't view next month or the previous month. Etc.

The timer is useful.

I get two days of battery life usually. Maybe runs out on the third.
 
Had it for a number of months now and still enjoy owning it. Now that winter is here, I find that I like to use my Modular watch face more so I can see the temperature and all the other complications I have programmed for it in once glance. But I do still switch faces occasionally when I switch bands or feel the mood to do so or for more of a traditional watch face look.

Still make and receive calls on it and still enjoy the notifications, etc. I like getting the tap for incoming calls, etc. Battery life for me has never been a problem. Charging at night when I'm getting ready for bed never been a problem.

I've picked up a few more bands since buying it and do switch off occasionally. Not as often as I did when I first got them, so that's been an interesting observation I've had. Kind of rotate mostly between a few so probably could have bought fewer third party ones. But it's nice having them all the same. I'd say my white SB and Black classic leather are my go to bands I get the most use out of. I do like the flexibility to go dressy or casual at a whim and coordinating with what I have on.

I don't travel right now so don't use many of the third party apps out there which I think would be most usefull if I did. I think I have 3-4 third party apps installed and for me my main function is satisfied by what the watch comes with and delay isn't really an issue for me with them.

Still a happy camper.
 
Last edited:
I hadn't worn a watch in years but find I like it a lot more than I'd expected. Just in terms of checking the time, it's easier than using the not very clear digital clock that's replaced the very clear analogue on in the studio I teach in so it saves getting my phone out as much. Having the timer as a complication is great too; timing crits and drawing sessions is now so much simpler. But clearly even a cheap digital watch would have given me those things.

Notifications on my wrist are also invaluable when I'm teaching; it means I can see when messages that need a speedy response come in. An external project became very difficult to manage last year because I kept missing calls; now I can dip out of the studio quickly to take calls that are important in work terms.

I make good use of the fitness stuff (I find the rings incredibly motivating but still wear a Fitbit because I like the challenges). I make lists in Wunderlist and check things off on my watch. I find Departure Board useful for my commute and I really like getting news notifications from the Guardian and BBC News.

When I'm travelling I find having directions on my wrist so much more convenient than having to walk around with my phone in my hand (always a worry in an unknown city) though directions haven't been completely foolproof especially in Venice which, in all fairness, isn't the easiest city to navigate.

Finally, I like how it looks. I have the silver aluminium version which looks great with different coloured sport straps. For smarter occasions, I have the Milanese loop which looks fantastic with it. I've recently bough the Hoco Hermes style cuff and like that a lot.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.