I want to want one, but I don't feel the same urge as with other Apple products. Anyone else think that the Apple watches lack that something special?
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
No Apple Watch X-factor
- Thread starter Galacticos
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I sort of agree with you. When I got mine on launch day, I was excited, but not terribly so. Then after 2 weeks of wearing it, I was left feeling rather underwhelmed. I guess the feeling simply wasn't the same I have had with other apple products. I still really liked it, but it wasn't the greatest thing ever or anything.
So I had an issue and I had to send it away to apple to get fixed. It was during the two week period without the watch that I really began to appreciate what it did for me. Having an always on fitness tracker was great, complaints about the battery life were overblown, and most importantly, I had to pick up my phone far less than before. That ended up being rather significant for me and I didn't even realize it. I am not a firm believer in the watch and I personally feel that anyone who owns an iphone would benefit pretty greatly from having the watch.
Its utility has only increased for me as I use it for workouts, unlock my mac with Mac ID, control music from my phone while I am at the gym, set timers and alarms, etc... I am also free to roam about my apartment knowing that I don't care where my phone is. Any calls or messages I get, I will know about right away.
So while I agree with you that it doesn't have any upfront magic factor, I find it to be a rather indispensable piece of technology at this point.
It doesn't help that I don't like the idea of responding to alerts on the tiny Watch face when the phone is in reaching distance. I saw a lady speaking into her watch at the shops the other day, and yes, she was holding her iPhone in her watch hand..
I'd love for the Watch to be tempting given I won't be using things the iPhone is clearly more practical for like phone, messages, music, calendar etc.
I'd love for the Watch to be tempting given I won't be using things the iPhone is clearly more practical for like phone, messages, music, calendar etc.
I think there are a lot of niceties it comes with. I've already used the timer and the alarm clock on it. I really only use my phone to make calls or to take pictures. With the watch, I can track my fitness activities, it has a setting to remind me to stand up if I've been sitting down too much (pretty important for an office worker although I realized how much I get up in the day as that doesn't go off too often), I can look at my FB messages without logging into my computer, etc. Also, when I rejoin a gym, I'm looking forward to it controlling my music.
I was in the same boat, but since I got it mine in march, I have worn it every day. I use it mainly to quickly check, if the notification is worth responding(which I then do on my phone) and for fitness tracking.
Now I'm thinking about upgrading to the series 2, mainly because I want a stainless steel version.
Now I'm thinking about upgrading to the series 2, mainly because I want a stainless steel version.
Watch S0 Sport for around $150 range and if you still don't like after a couple of months then resale it and it will probably only cost you less than $50. This way almost no buyers remorse.There are many advantages of having the Apple Watch for me that make it quite indispensable at this point. The two biggest things for me is that I use it as a fitness tracker and notification machine.
I love being able to go without my phone on hikes/jogs/walks and just pair my bluetooth headphones to the Watch. It's a great way to remind me of my progress throughout the day, and as a daily encouragement to be active to fill up the rings. I like the addition of the Breathe app so I am reminded to just relax from the stresses of the day, and take in some deep breaths for my well being.
Now of course, I could just get a Fitbit to track my fitness, but it would not have the huge benefits of being a notification machine from my phone. I always have my phone on silent at work so as to not disturb my coworkers, but often will forget that it's still on silent when it doesn't need to be. I have missed so many notifications (ex. urgent emails) until later in the day because I'll miss the vibration from my phone. It doesn't help that the iPhone doesn't have a notification light so it's not like there's a visual cue if you happen to miss the notification. Having the Apple Watch allows me to always be on top of the notifications, and check my phone less for any updates; even a few of my coworkers noticed how much faster I was responding to emails and texts.
There are other advantages as well such as being able to tell what time it is without having to pull out your phone, and not having to be constantly tied to your phone. I also love the Maps feature where if you do navigation on your phone, your Watch will notify you of upcoming turns by having a unique tap for left and unique tap for right.
But in the end, the Apple Watch is really what you make of it, much like the iPad. If you find yourself not using the iPad at all, then obviously there isn't much of an "X factor" there. But if you happen to find uses for the iPad which make it really valuable to you, then it becomes much more of a must have to make your everyday life better. I have found my "X factor" for the Apple Watch. Maybe you'll find yours in the future.
I love being able to go without my phone on hikes/jogs/walks and just pair my bluetooth headphones to the Watch. It's a great way to remind me of my progress throughout the day, and as a daily encouragement to be active to fill up the rings. I like the addition of the Breathe app so I am reminded to just relax from the stresses of the day, and take in some deep breaths for my well being.
Now of course, I could just get a Fitbit to track my fitness, but it would not have the huge benefits of being a notification machine from my phone. I always have my phone on silent at work so as to not disturb my coworkers, but often will forget that it's still on silent when it doesn't need to be. I have missed so many notifications (ex. urgent emails) until later in the day because I'll miss the vibration from my phone. It doesn't help that the iPhone doesn't have a notification light so it's not like there's a visual cue if you happen to miss the notification. Having the Apple Watch allows me to always be on top of the notifications, and check my phone less for any updates; even a few of my coworkers noticed how much faster I was responding to emails and texts.
There are other advantages as well such as being able to tell what time it is without having to pull out your phone, and not having to be constantly tied to your phone. I also love the Maps feature where if you do navigation on your phone, your Watch will notify you of upcoming turns by having a unique tap for left and unique tap for right.
But in the end, the Apple Watch is really what you make of it, much like the iPad. If you find yourself not using the iPad at all, then obviously there isn't much of an "X factor" there. But if you happen to find uses for the iPad which make it really valuable to you, then it becomes much more of a must have to make your everyday life better. I have found my "X factor" for the Apple Watch. Maybe you'll find yours in the future.
Last edited: