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infiniteentropy

macrumors regular
Original poster
Sep 9, 2009
233
1,001
I have had my Apple Watch since June, and last week I had a line of pixels, vertically, just go out. So, as of Friday, it's in for repairs. Now, without it, I am realizing all the things I miss!

First thing I miss is workout tracking. This was huge. I could see my circles fill up and I felt a sense of satisfaction watching that. I'm less motivated to go workout without it; I know that sounds silly perhaps, but it's true.

Second, I hate getting my phone out of my pocket for basic stuff. Basic Siri commands, checking the weather, looking at my messages or notifications, all of that is now way more involved than it was last week.

Third, if I get up to run to somewhere else in the house, if I forget my iPhone, I now won’t get notifications and calls. The Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO) is real!

Finally, Pay with the iPhone is clunky in comparison. This one is self-explanatory. Now I have to get my iPhone out and pay with that rather than a double-tap and swipe the watch near the sensor.

Just some thoughts. #FirstWorldProblems ... yes, yes, I know. So, that's it from me. Thought I'd share.
 

BarracksSi

Suspended
Jul 14, 2015
3,902
2,664
Had the same thoughts today when I wore one of my mechanicals and left my AW at home.

I tried it as an experiment, hoping to see if I could go without the AW for a week. Not sure if I could make it.
 

infiniteentropy

macrumors regular
Original poster
Sep 9, 2009
233
1,001
Just a follow-up: Got a replacement Watch yesterday afternoon. Brand new center section, and re-attached my old bands. Good on Apple for giving me a brand new one as my old one had scratches on it from a fieldstone fireplace that I got a little too close too often.

It's terrific. Last night was one free of worries about forgetting my phone, and today will be one including working out and checking my messages as they happen, easily, rather than getting my iPhone out of my pocket and worrying about it.

The shortcuts the Watch offers are small, but it's really a "death by a thousand cuts" kind of small. They all add up to one big difference every single day. I will not forget this lesson and really hope others can learn it eventually. Unrelated: My usage of my Watch have inspired those on Android to get smartwatches that comply with their Android phones, sometimes even after a few hours of seeing how it helps me. So there is a "there" there.
 
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metsjetsfan

macrumors 65816
Feb 2, 2011
1,389
238
I have had my Apple Watch since June, and last week I had a line of pixels, vertically, just go out. So, as of Friday, it's in for repairs. Now, without it, I am realizing all the things I miss!

First thing I miss is workout tracking. This was huge. I could see my circles fill up and I felt a sense of satisfaction watching that. I'm less motivated to go workout without it; I know that sounds silly perhaps, but it's true.

Second, I hate getting my phone out of my pocket for basic stuff. Basic Siri commands, checking the weather, looking at my messages or notifications, all of that is now way more involved than it was last week.

Third, if I get up to run to somewhere else in the house, if I forget my iPhone, I now won’t get notifications and calls. The Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO) is real!

Finally, Pay with the iPhone is clunky in comparison. This one is self-explanatory. Now I have to get my iPhone out and pay with that rather than a double-tap and swipe the watch near the sensor.

Just some thoughts. #FirstWorldProblems ... yes, yes, I know. So, that's it from me. Thought I'd share.
On your second point did you find your battery life to be worse on the iphone as a result since you had to use your phone and light up the screen and launch?
 
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BarracksSi

Suspended
Jul 14, 2015
3,902
2,664
Had the same thoughts today when I wore one of my mechanicals and left my AW at home.

I tried it as an experiment, hoping to see if I could go without the AW for a week. Not sure if I could make it.
Continuing --

First full workday this week and I didn't wear my AW. I had a bunch of messages come through during lunch, too. I forgot -- no, I had tried to forget -- what it's like to pull the phone out for every little buzz. I finally left it on the table, didn't get any messages for a while, got tired of looking at it, put it back in my pocket, then immediately got another message.

Most of the texts are simple "Got it"-type replies. I don't need to wake up my phone for them. When I have my AW, I don't need to grab the phone, either.

Other little things that are nicer with the always-present nature of the AW:

In the morning, with my phone still plugged in at the computer, I wanted to see the weather forecast while I stood there in my closet trying to decide which jacket to wear.

I did our laundry last night and set the timing bezel on my dive watch like I used to do. I missed the end of the dryer cycle by at least half an hour; important to me because I like to be considerate of the other residents in the building who are also using the laundry room.

I was flat-out nervous about whether I would wake up promptly to my phone alarm. It succeeded, but as before, it was noisier than the silent taps of my AW on my wrist. I'm pretty sure my wife was more agitated than I was, though.

My phone's battery is lower than it usually has been at the end of my workday.

----
I'll try going without it for one more day. I'm a little surprised by how much, and how quietly, the AW has worked its way into my routine.
 

WarHeadz

macrumors 6502a
Aug 30, 2015
904
5,192
Long Beach, California
I think Apple needs to do a better marketing job with these things. Trying on at the store is as good as useless to convince people how useful it is. People seem to get inspired to buy one when they're around someone else who has one for a few hours and see it in constant use. The in-store try ons and all the commercials i've seen to date don't do the watch justice and really fail to get the point across. It's understandable that so many people don't see the point of it.
 

jasie02

macrumors 6502a
Sep 18, 2014
777
245
My deployant on my leather band broke early this Monday at work, and I forgot to carry my backup band with me, so I had to shutdown AW and use iPhone exlcusively.

I could tell you I missed perfectly on-time message/phone/email/IM/app notification the most. And have to reverse back to constantly look for my iPhone 6 plus (no, it does not fit inside my pant packet when I sit down), and check at notification periodically for notification already passed, not good compared with I always get my notification right at that time ever since I got my AW, and able to response the needed at that exactly moment, all the time.

On-time notification without have to touch iPhone at all is such a power thing to have, anyone have not able to live with a device capable of it does not know what he is missing.
 

chasonstone

macrumors 6502
Dec 24, 2010
269
287
Kentucky
I was running super late one day and in the hurry I left the house without putting my watch on and I felt naked the whole day. I noticed as I was pulling out of my driveway but I was so behind I didn't have time to run back in and grab it. It adds a layer of convenience that I honestly have a hard time even explaining to people. The best thing about it is it's always there and it's always telling me just what I need to know right when I need to know it.

Off-topic but I'm super excited with where wearable tech will go now that the Apple Watch has sort of broke it into the mainstream.
 

itbeme

macrumors member
Nov 12, 2011
56
50
Going though this today. I've only had this damned thing for a week. Thought I wouldn't need it, useless. Now, going through withdrawal already. Scary ...
 
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