My First Apple Watch and I am conflicted…

[clevins]

If you don't have a need/desire for the things it can do aside from tell time, it's not really the right device. for me it's useful because of Apple Pay, I like the health and fitness features and as the weather improves, I can take it and my AirPods out for a walk and listen to music or podcasts without having to take my phone with me. I can even get or make calls from it since it's a cellular version.

 

[ufgatorvet]

If you don't have a need/desire for the things it can do aside from tell time, it's not really the right device. for me it's useful because of Apple Pay, I like the health and fitness features and as the weather improves, I can take it and my AirPods out for a walk and listen to music or podcasts without having to take my phone with me. I can even get or make calls from it since it's a cellular version.

This.

 

[TracerAnalog]

tl;dr
I miss my old mechanical watch and the Apple Watch just doesn't thrill me as much as all the hype would lead me to believe.


For the record, I am 58 years old, so it might be an age thing.

After years of avoiding getting an Apple Watch — there have been some close calls where temptation was huge — I finally bought myself an Apple Watch SE.
Bog standard, 40mm, silver aluminium and blue band.

My daily watch for the past… 20 years have been my 1914 Trench watch, solid silver case.
It gains or loses a minute or so depending on the weather.
I have it serviced every couple years and it keeps on ticking.

It has a lovely comforting ticking sound, a mechanical heartbeat. It has character and history… 108 years old.

Even now as I sit here typing this with the new Apple gizmo on my wrist I can faintly hear the watch ticking away as it sits on my desk.

This is going to sound weird, but I miss it.

The Apple Watch is just I don't know… soulless.

Yes, I've used it to buy stuff… milk, wine, headache tablets.
Yes, I've closed my exercise and standing and what not rings…
Yes, it alerts me to messages — and I had fun (of a kind) trying to scribble a reply. What larks!
Yes, I know what my heartrate is…

Don't get me wrong, it is a lovely bit of kit. Apple do gorgeous things. But it does nothing for me more than my iPhone already does.

Anyway… I don't know. I am just left a bit empty.

My 1914 mechanical does one thing. It tells me the time… and I am very fond of it.

Anyway! Who knows maybe today it will all click in place and I will find that magical "How did I get along without my Apple Watch!"

But right now it seems to me I am desperately trying to find uses for it to justify having it.

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Watch collector and Apple Watch wearer here… for me the Apple Watch is a very functional little wrist computer. It’s not a jewel with which you can have a 20 year long history, and that’s OK for me. I wear my real watches on my off time, or when going out. Those watches age with me, the Apple Watch gets replaced every few years.

 

[ApplesAreSweet&Sour]

I have to agree that none of the Apple Watch watch faces look as good as a quality, mechanical wristwatch.

Some are much nicer than others. But I still just feel that it's still so clearly a display showing a watch face and not really "there".

I'd be much more impressed with some kind of very bright, coloured e-ink technology that doesn't need backlighting. I get that's not feasible or maybe possible to do with current tech. But just don't ever feel like I'm looking at a watch when looking at an Apple Watch irl, despite the always-on OLED looking really great.

I guess this is also due to all the watch faces looking very flat and digital, vectorized.

I always wondered if Apple could do a watch face that was based on real, high quality photographs of real time pieces designed and built by Apple just for these photographs, that maybe make use of 3d photogrammetry. I don't know.

But all we get are these very flat and two-dimensional watch faces. Which makes sense because they are probably the most legible. But they just look so digital.

A part of me thinks that Apple refuses to give us more real-looking watch faces as they don't want us thinking and wanting real watches and want to reinforce the Apple Watch branding in anyone who looks at an AW.

 

[DTphonehome]

When the series 2 came out I tried an experiment. I bought a nice stainless steel model and put my Rolex away. I wore the watch every day for two weeks, to see how it would change my day-to-day life. At the end of the period I realized that it really wasn’t doing much for me so I returned it and went back to the Rolex. Several generations later, I’m wearing a stainless series 5 every day and find it very useful for health tracking, keeping track of my schedule, and quick messaging. The series 2 was just too slow at that.

Bottom line is, if the watch isn’t doing much for you, there’s no reason to shoehorn it into your life.

Enjoy your beautiful mechanical watch. Flashier and more high-tech is not always better.

 

[Tdude96]

I completely understand, and there's nothing wrong with not having buy-in on a new device, the watches definitely aren't for everyone.

I got the Series 4, and to be blunt, I didn't like it. I wasn't used to wearing a watch at all. I didn't need to have the time, I could use my phone for everything I was using the watch for. It was nice to see notifications or heart rate at a glance, but unnecessary. It wasn't until after more than a week of use that it really "clicked" for me. The value to me isn't in the watch itself or how much I use it, but in how much less I have to touch or carry my phone.

Even though it's the GPS (no cellular) watch, I found that I wasn't touching my phone as much or sometimes at all. I could view emails & messages from my wrist, even respond after a fashion if needed. I could take calls, see the time, check on projects, set timers, listen to music or audio books, etc without needing to have my phone on me. I was able to just leave the phone on the nightstand or desk and go about my day around the house or the office freely, staying connected as-needed without feeling it as much as I did with my phone constantly in-hand.

For me, that freedom from the phone was valuable enough to keep the watch, and over time it's become an indispensable item for me.

 

[Danfango]

Interesting thread.

I spent from 1993 until 2018 without a watch. They have been functionally dead to me thanks to the ubiquity of the time on a computer or cell phone.

Then along comes an Apple Watch which I grabbed because of the things it does other than tell the time.

Ergo I suspect if you buy it solely as a timepiece it will be disappointing.

On the subject of watches, and this will attract flames I’m sure, the functional peak is the Casio F91W. I will happily that against any fancy watch.

 

[throAU]

But right now it seems to me I am desperately trying to find uses for it to justify having it.

Well, sounds like your big issue is lack of soul, nothing we list here will fix that.

but for the record the biggest uses I have for mine over the past 6 years are

• exercise/move/stand rings
• navigation - load up a destination in maps and it will tap for left/right as you approach a turn. no need to look at a display
• weather
• calendar appointments/reminders
• vitals tracking - heart rate - you'd be surprised at the trends you can identify with it over time and how what you eat and how much weight you carry affects it
• ApplePay
• notifications from messages and other apps - e.g., bushfire alerts, ride-share service arrivals, etc.
• listening to music while doing housework, working out, etc. without my phone

Now, if you carry your phone everywhere with you constantly its not going to do much for you. But if you look it as a device to free you from carrying your phone everywhere at all times, it does definitely help with that.

And by carrying my phone around less, I'm less distracted by it.


edit:
and yeah try some faces - I recommend modular digital as it can present a lot of info clearly. don't try and make it look like a traditional watch and expect it to look like one. that's not really what it is and no amount of trying to force it to be that will work. as above, embrace it for what it is - if you're wanting to use something as an accessory for fashion reasons, keep your old watch for those occasions. For anything other than looking at, the Apple Watch will be far more useful day to day.

 

[mjs916]

I forget I’m wearing it most of the time and even though I’d like to play with it more for what I spent on it, I’m fine with what it does for me: augments the usage of my phone for messaging/walkie-talkie/music, allows me to listen/control music/podcasts while working out/cycling or walking the dog, pay for things without unlocking my phone, ride transit and ID songs without having to take phone out of my pocket.

It also works well as a viewfinder for the camera. That’s nice when you want a certain photo and you don’t want to bother a stranger or just don’t trust their artistic eye.

 

[skveezer]

I'm 73 and currently wear the Watch 4. Prime reason for me? the Emergency Notification feature(s) as well as other associated health functions. No battery issues etc - it just keeps working and working well for my needs.

 

[tridley68]

Time to get into the new melenium stick with the Apple Watch it has so much more to offer

 

[GrandeLatte]

It takes a little getting used to. When I first got my AW series 6 aluminum I wasn't so sure either. But with the pandemic and then a family member in the hospital, it turned out to be a very useful gadget to stay connected, never miss a call, make sure my blood oxygen level is normal, make sure I wash my hands thoroughly after hospital visits, I get my daily exercise in, emergency calling in case I needed it,....etc.

The AW will never replace any sentimental watch or any luxury mechanical watch. Period. An AW, is just an AW. But it is very useful.

 

[Pilot Jones]

WatchOS really needs to add complete customizability for the watch faces. I want to pick every single color, background, needle, etc. Sure there's a handful of watch faces, but in the end, they're all quite similar and limiting.

As much as I'd love this, I don't see Apple giving in anytime soon.

It leaves the door open for people with not-so-good design sensibility to make the Apple Watch look "ugly". Apple cares too much about how other people look at your device for them to accept that. You own the device but they control how it is perceived.

Why do you think the notch is still lingering around like a malignant tumor? it's "iconic" apparently ?

 

[cash2phone]

Do more things with the AW to experience more stuffs. There is no comparison b/w emotion and technology, Mechanical watch would not do all those things which AW could definitely.

 

[stanza.richi]

In the spring of 2021 I left my AW 4 after 4 years of only AW because my grandfather gave to me an old Longines with manual charge. 8 months later I have bought 3 mechanical PMW and, just arrived, a wonderful Rolex Submariner 124060. I’m using my AW now only for fitness and sometimes at work when I don’t want to miss a notification.

 

[Danfango]

Ah yes the Rolex. Pay too dollar for something that doesn’t do much, turns you into a target and attracts the wrong kind of of the opposite gender. Good investment ?

I speak from experience here with my brother in law who managed to end up in debt, divorced from a gold digger and was kicked in for it.

AW doesn’t cost much, attracts fit and healthy folk of the opposite gender and the dude mugging you already has one anyway so doesn’t want it ?

 

[arkitect]

Ah yes the Rolex. Pay too dollar for something that doesn’t do much, turns you into a target and attracts the wrong kind of of the opposite gender. Good investment ?

I speak from experience here with my brother in law who managed to end up in debt, divorced from a gold digger and was kicked in for it.

AW doesn’t cost much, attracts fit and healthy folk of the opposite gender and the dude mugging you already has one anyway so doesn’t want it ?

What are you talking about?
I don't own a Rolex.
?

 

[arkitect]

Thank you for everyone who responded. ?

I appreciate it.

My post was more a musing about things than an actual search for an answer, because as most pointed out, the answer lies within ourselves. What we want from "things".

Anyway!

I am taking my Apple Watch on my trip to Rome next week… see how handy it is. If I still remain unconvinced I think I'll flog it on eBay or hand it to my dad — who is 83 and might have more use for it. ?

Thanks again!

 

[Night Spring]

What are you talking about?
I don't own a Rolex.
?

Another poster had mentioned that they have just bought a Rolex.

 

[Ifti]

I literally only use my AW as an extension of my phone - to make/receive calls when my phone is not to hand, and to receive notifications and respond to messages etc. Oh and at times to control my home heating or check the weather. That's literally it.
I dont use any of the fitness related gizmo's - so I dont feel I'm getting true value from it - but I still like to have it even if just for the above! - each to their own!

 

[jlwarlow]

Thanks for sharing how you feel—your feelings make sense.

I personally double-wrist (left: mechanical, right: apple watch) and absolutely love it. It's definitely a statement—so I understand it's not for everyone—but I've noticed that other watch hobbyists really respect it, and if you fully own it / wear it confidently, when people talk with me about it I can crack some funny jokes: "Yeah, this is just a proactive measure, in-case I lose an arm or something."

I've even been inside an Apple Store and had a retail rep comment on how he immediately takes his Apple Watch off when he gets home to put his mechanical one on, and that he noticed I like watches by my double-wristing, and maybe he'll start doing it because it doesn't look as crazy as he thought it would.

Sadly Apple doesn't make an Apple Band or Apple Fitness Band that provides the same features as their watch. If that exists, I wouldn't double-wrist.

It's helped me to think of my Apple Watch as more of a fitness accessory than a timepiece.

When I had a FitBit I double wristed for a while - I used the FitBit for fitness to track steps/heart rate and my watch for time. When I replaced the FitBit with my Apple Watch I only wear my Apple Watch. Most of the time the watch face just tells the time. Nothing else. The fitness tracking happens in the background.
Another reason I always wear it is I got it through my life insurance and I get rewards for steps/workouts etc so a big incentive to keep it on. My wife also has an Apple Watch but she frequently takes it off to disconnect and not have to check every notification that comes through (i disable a lot on my watch or just ignore them)

 

[cheesygrin]

It depends what you want from your watch. Day to day, I use an Apple Watch for its health and productivity features. I am not emotionally attached to it in any way. I have an old watch that belonged to my great grandfather in a drawer. It probably isn’t worth much, but if I wore it and broke it I’d be much more upset than if I broke my very replaceable but practical Apple watch.

 

[Charlesrfinal]

For your first, I’d have gone series 7 45mm instead of SE. You may have had a different opinion.

Also, I agree with some others and perhaps a stainless steel version with a different band would bring some character back.

Personally I’ve had aluminum series 2, 4, 6, and now 7. Made the change to 7 since I’m giving the 6 to someone special that wants it lol.

 

[MisterSavage]

Even though it's the GPS (no cellular) watch, I found that I wasn't touching my phone as much or sometimes at all. I could view emails & messages from my wrist, even respond after a fashion if needed. I could take calls, see the time, check on projects, set timers, listen to music or audio books, etc without needing to have my phone on me. I was able to just leave the phone on the nightstand or desk and go about my day around the house or the office freely, staying connected as-needed without feeling it as much as I did with my phone constantly in-hand.

For me, that freedom from the phone was valuable enough to keep the watch, and over time it's become an indispensable item for me.

This right here. I can glance at my watch and decide in a split second if it's important and can be ignored instead of fishing out my phone. I use my phone drastically less after getting my watch.

I am taking my Apple Watch on my trip to Rome next week… see how handy it is. If I still remain unconvinced I think I'll flog it on eBay or hand it to my dad — who is 83 and might have more use for it. ?

I loved having the watch on my last trip overseas. When many people were fishing through their pockets for coins to pay to use the restroom I was able to pay with my watch several times.

 

[pianostar9]

I have to agree that none of the Apple Watch watch faces look as good as a quality, mechanical wristwatch.

Some are much nicer than others. But I still just feel that it's still so clearly a display showing a watch face and not really "there".

I'd be much more impressed with some kind of very bright, coloured e-ink technology that doesn't need backlighting. I get that's not feasible or maybe possible to do with current tech. But just don't ever feel like I'm looking at a watch when looking at an Apple Watch irl, despite the always-on OLED looking really great.

I guess this is also due to all the watch faces looking very flat and digital, vectorized.

I always wondered if Apple could do a watch face that was based on real, high quality photographs of real time pieces designed and built by Apple just for these photographs, that maybe make use of 3d photogrammetry. I don't know.

But all we get are these very flat and two-dimensional watch faces. Which makes sense because they are probably the most legible. But they just look so digital.

A part of me thinks that Apple refuses to give us more real-looking watch faces as they don't want us thinking and wanting real watches and want to reinforce the Apple Watch branding in anyone who looks at an AW.

I wonder what an Apple Watch would have looked like in the skeuomorphism era