Year after year I talk myself out of buying an Apple Watch because I think its going to be just another gadget. I need a watch and am again considering an AW. I will not be using it to keep track of exercise and that seems to be one of the most used functions. I'm 70 and in good shape, so possibly the heart stuff might be useful, but I'm not sure. How useful is the AW when exercise/fitness isn't a consideration ?
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On the fence for AW again
- Thread starter mintakax
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If you’re at home a lot, not very. At least for me. I don’t use my watch at home and since a lot of us are forced to spend more time at home it’s barely off my charging dock. My phone is generally near me and visible so no need.
When I am out and about and my phone is pocketed most of the time it’s useful for immediate notifications and of course time. I use it for Apple Pay constantly and, before, for show passes and membership card scans. I have a lot of complications so seeing my next appointment at a quick glance and weather is nice. I do quick message replies on it.
When driving and the directions are in Apple maps the Taptic feedback for when a turn in coming is useful for me.
I hike a lot so I have a watch face dedicated to that which is really useful. Being able to switch watch faces in seconds to fit your current activity is extremely nice.
But as I said if I’m at home most of the time I never use it. It all depends on your use cases and expectations. The SE is a good deal if you want to jump into wearables without a large financial commitment.
When I am out and about and my phone is pocketed most of the time it’s useful for immediate notifications and of course time. I use it for Apple Pay constantly and, before, for show passes and membership card scans. I have a lot of complications so seeing my next appointment at a quick glance and weather is nice. I do quick message replies on it.
When driving and the directions are in Apple maps the Taptic feedback for when a turn in coming is useful for me.
I hike a lot so I have a watch face dedicated to that which is really useful. Being able to switch watch faces in seconds to fit your current activity is extremely nice.
But as I said if I’m at home most of the time I never use it. It all depends on your use cases and expectations. The SE is a good deal if you want to jump into wearables without a large financial commitment.
I had the same doubts as you, for some years.
last year I almost bought the series 3, but at the last second decided that I don’t need it.
Then I started going to the gym, and took my phone for music, and noticed I was distracted by my phone too much.
Few months later Apple announced the SE, and the rest is history.
I live on a budget for 1,5 years now, (buying a home in the Netherlands is HARD) so I can not spend money like I could before on gadgets and cool things.
I use the watch for gym, music in combination with Apple Music and podcasts. Apple Pay is wonderful, and read notifications quick and reply is cool and useful.
I use the health app, and I absolutely love the alarm when you sleep with the watch.
after my Phillips wake up light needed to go, after complaints from my girlfriend, I woke up every morning with my phone alarm. It works, but for me it’s hell to wake up.
The watch taps my arm gently and softly plays an alarm sound, and I absolutely wake up a lot calmer with this method.
the SE is a great deal! But personally I regret not buying a series 6 🙄.
last year I almost bought the series 3, but at the last second decided that I don’t need it.
Then I started going to the gym, and took my phone for music, and noticed I was distracted by my phone too much.
Few months later Apple announced the SE, and the rest is history.
I live on a budget for 1,5 years now, (buying a home in the Netherlands is HARD) so I can not spend money like I could before on gadgets and cool things.
I use the watch for gym, music in combination with Apple Music and podcasts. Apple Pay is wonderful, and read notifications quick and reply is cool and useful.
I use the health app, and I absolutely love the alarm when you sleep with the watch.
after my Phillips wake up light needed to go, after complaints from my girlfriend, I woke up every morning with my phone alarm. It works, but for me it’s hell to wake up.
The watch taps my arm gently and softly plays an alarm sound, and I absolutely wake up a lot calmer with this method.
the SE is a great deal! But personally I regret not buying a series 6 🙄.
If your not going to use it for exercise/health reasons, a good mechanical or quartz watch would be much cheaper and serve the same purpose...
I don't haul my iphone all over the house or garage. Therefore I rely on my apple watch for any incoming calls or text messages. It's handy for alerts and alarms.
If you buy the cellular model, you can always place a call to 911 for health or safety without an iphone having to be nearby.
With the SE watch, the time is now if you have a few dollars to spend.
Good luck.
Del
I think the main uses are, in no particular order:
- exercise/fitness
- general health and wellness tracking/alerts (heart rate, noise, fall detection, etc)
- notifications/calls
- being able to leave phone at home and stay in touch (LTE models)
- and, of course, telling the time.
Thanks ! The last three and perhaps the second bullet might be helpful, but not really compelling at this point.
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Do you live in the US or somewhere else where Apple offers a 14 day return period? I think if you get one, you’ll know pretty quickly if it’s for you.
The only thing that changed with my watch usage is that I'm not using it a few times a day to pay with Apple Pay. The stand alerts alone would be worth it to me because I lose track of how long I'm sitting working on something.
I quit using a watch for some years due to dermatitis and found my phone to be a suitable replacement. Decided to give the watch a try. Started with a S1 and now on a S4. I occasionally check the activity rings but it’s all the other features that make it a winner for me. I use it as a timer all the time when cooking or need to check on something after a certain amount of time. It shows me the temperature outside so I know if I need a coat to take the dogs out. I use Buy me a Pie as a shopping list on the phone but I can access it via the watch easier when wearing a mask in the store. When driving and using Maps for navigation, the watch vibrates when a turn is coming up. I don’t like Nav systems talking to me. I use the inforgraphic face for all the information displayed.
Go for it and you won’t regret it. I have a few different bands for casual or dressy attire. My wife has over 20 different bands.
Go for it and you won’t regret it. I have a few different bands for casual or dressy attire. My wife has over 20 different bands.
Funny you should mention that because I had a reaction to the silicone bands. I had to switch to a metal one!
Even if you’re not using the exercise functions, it can still be quite helpful to quantify daily activities.
I’ve been holding off since when series 0 came out. 6 years later, and I’m very impressed with how useful this thing has become.
Generally using it for
-watch
-notifications
-alarm
-timer
-health tracker/exercise motivator
-smarthome remote
-weather checker
-sleep monitor
-messaging
I’ve been holding off since when series 0 came out. 6 years later, and I’m very impressed with how useful this thing has become.
Generally using it for
-watch
-notifications
-alarm
-timer
-health tracker/exercise motivator
-smarthome remote
-weather checker
-sleep monitor
-messaging
I’ve found since lockdown my watch has been very useful. The only thing I’m not doing with it so often is paying for things in shops. I use it to tracks jogs, weather alerts, texts, reminders (constantly), timers when cooking, news headline updates. The loud detection app is very useful when I am in louder areas at work too. On the whole I find the watch very useful.
Heh, stand alerts are the first thing I turned off. The nag features of the watch are my least favorite aspect - fortunately, they can all be disabled.
I'm 71 and in good shape and keeping track of exercise is a real bonus. I cycle a lot but still find days when the rings aren't closed and so go for a good walk or do more gardening to close them. It's also amazing how quickly time passes and you need to stand for a bit! I close all my rings every day. Like you I couldn't understand why anyone would want an Apple Watch but, on seeing the publicity for the 4, I bought one (still got the same one) and I wear it all day long. I normally leave my iPhone at home as I've got cellular. I don't wear it at night though and so it charges then. I use it for : Apple Pay, all store cards, messages, shopping list, phone, maps (far more intuitive walking round a town with a buzz on your wrist to change direction), Lumy for photography, reminders ........
Sitting for too long is bad for your health and the alert is an easy way to realize you're doing it. It's the feature that initially sold me on the watch.
Why Sitting Too Much Is Bad for Your Health
Sit all day at the office? You might want to rethink that. Long hours in the chair are bad for your health. WebMD explains why it’s time to get up and stretch your legs.
www.webmd.com
Well, the AW would confirm just how good physical shape you're in since it tracks resting HR, HR recovery, HR variability, VO2 max, walking distance, amount of daily exercise, standing time, etc. Of particular importance is the fall detection, especially as one ages. The AW6 can measure blood oxygen but rather than move up from my AW5, it was cheaper to buy a pulse oximeter. An essential tool in these Covid-19 times.
I set up my schedule for balance training and strength training in reminders, as well as other mundane tasks, like charging batteries for some of my tools that aren't used often. Apple Pay is very handy as is carrying my shopping list on my wrist.
I see it as a personal assistant on my wrist. Only thing I don't use it for is sleep monitoring.
I set up my schedule for balance training and strength training in reminders, as well as other mundane tasks, like charging batteries for some of my tools that aren't used often. Apple Pay is very handy as is carrying my shopping list on my wrist.
I see it as a personal assistant on my wrist. Only thing I don't use it for is sleep monitoring.
I’m 72 and fo etc me, fall detection is a critical use.
I have a question that perhaps someone can help with.
If you set the timer on your iPhone for cooking, does it also go off on the watch? I think it used to, but with WatchOS 7.2, it does not. Has this been the case for others?
I have a question that perhaps someone can help with.
If you set the timer on your iPhone for cooking, does it also go off on the watch? I think it used to, but with WatchOS 7.2, it does not. Has this been the case for others?
I always set the timer on the watch. I set it on my phone, but the watch didn't alert.
I just experimented with setting a one-minute timer on my iPhone. It went off on my watch first, then my phone. My watch updated last night to watchOS 7.2.
I just tried also and a timer set on the phone does make my watch alert.
Are you getting other alerts, such as text messaging? If you pull up control center on your watch what is on? Maybe it's do not disturb or wifi is off?