One year later, I've come to the conclusion that apps are useless

[mavis]

I don't get this post. "Snap wrist with enough force to wake the screen up" what force are you taking about? Raise your wrist as slow as a 99 yo man and it wakes up. Raise it as fast as you can and it comes on.

Ok, maybe that was a poor choice of words. It was just easier than explaining the following: I often find myself in situations where the screen is visible yet off (when cycling, in meetings when my hand is on a conference table, when my arm is resting on an armrest, holding a handstrap on a crowded train, etc) and in those situations, if you want to check the time or to see if you have any missed notifications (because the Taptic Engine is often too weak, even with prominent tap) the only options are to 1) move wrist to position watch face away from you, then move wrist back into previous position or 2) press a button or tap the watch face with the other hand. In two of those usage scenarios, option two is out (when cycling it's too dangerous to cross over your body with the other hand, and on a crowded train it's often impossible because your other hand is holding a briefcase, etc) so really, the only option is moving the watch to face away from you, then snapping it back into position.

Hope this clarifies things.

Also, when I said the iPhone doesn't work in my pocket, I was referring to its inability to receive a cellular signal. Often I find that Siri doesn't work when using headphones with the iPhone in my own pocket - when I take the phone out of my pocket, it says "No Service." Every iPhone I've ever owned (and I've bought the newest model each year, like clockwork, since the 3G in 2008) has done this (although, admittedly, I didn't really notice it as much until Apple introduced Siri, which - quite annoyingly - continues to require a freaking network connection to function. Non-Siri voice commands did/do not). The fact that the iPhone doesn't work for s**t while in my (presumably normal) pocket is even more irritating now that the Apple Watch is dependent on it for two of the functions I care about - Siri and phone calls. I end up having to take the phone out of my pocket anyway to get things done half of the time, which kind of defeats the purpose of the watch. Of course, this is more of an iPhone problem than a watch one (not a network problem, as I've used iPhones with all three of the carriers here and they've all done this)

 

[PaladinGuy]

Are you taking the position that it's not doing that though?

Not consistently, in my opinion. Others might not feel the same way, but I've always worn a watch. It's something that I expect to work all the time. For me, that extends to smartwatches. By their nature, they're supposed to simplify and make things quicker. If Siri doesn't work at least 9/10 times or things take more than 3-5 seconds to load, it starts to defeat the point. My 6S just blows it out of the water. I guess I just think they should have simplified it down more, so that it would be more effective. This is in my personal opinion, before people start getting furious at me.

 

[Mad Mac Maniac]

It took you a year to come to this conclusion??

Actually I disagree with the sentiment of the thread title. "The traditional idea of apps on the Apple Watch is useless" is a better title. And I came to that conclusion within a week of getting my watch, and reaffirmed that conclusion within a week of watchOS 2.

That being said, there are many reason why 3rd party apps are great. Complications are a big reason why (you even admitted things on the watch face are useful). Whether it's sports, weather, calendar, or many other 3rd party apps. Then there are sleep tracking apps. By far my favorite watch app is HeartWatch which uses HR data, sleep data, and activity data. I've used an app to track my skiing (which granted doesn't require a Watch, but I can pause/resume easily from my Watch). I have this 3 minute meditation app that taps you on the wrist for each breath. I use the journaling app DayOne and it can be very easy in a pinch to do a short dictation or quickly log my location.

Yes the traditional idea of apps sucks, but there are many other uses. I hope Apple will make apps even more powerful with watchOS 3.

 

[Uofmtiger]

For me, the Siri function works just as good as on the iPhone, if not better. The one issue I have with Siri on the iPhone is that when I am listening to music and want to use Siri, it stops the music. On the watch, I can be listening to music on the phone, ask it a score of a game (for example) and I get an answer while the music plays. In my car, Siri on the phone is even more cumbersome. It does some sort of process that connects to my car's Bluetooth to listen and then hangs up and goes back to the music. With the watch, the process is seamless. To me, the biggest advantage is not needing to interrupt what the phone is doing to evoke Siri.

 

[kevinbeared]

It's funny... but I've actually "rediscovered" Apple Watch apps lately.

One of the big things I did that totally changed how I thought about Apps was setting the Watch to Wake to Previous Activity. Somehow that transformed my Watch from being a "time telling device that ran apps" into being an "app running device that tells time". It was only recently that I changed it (like a month ago) so for the first ~9 months or so of owning the Watch I did it the other way around.

NOW: I don't hesitate to open an app... because it's going to stay open. For instance, in the mornings I open up an App that tells me how long until my bus arrives at my bus stop. It actually refreshes itself every time I raise my wrist... so throughout the morning while I'm getting ready I can just glance at my Watch and see how much time I have left. Perfect!

The same goes for using "Reminders Nano" for my shopping list. It will stay open the whole time I'm shopping so I can bring it up just by raising my wrist and ticking items off.

Conversations in Messages are much better this way too... I can actually have some "back and forth" with someone.

Having the Music App stay open is also nice. The Glance is good... but if I'm listening to Music I really just want the Music app to stay front and center.

Weather Apps (I use _both_ Carrot and Dark Sky) are still my favorite thing to use on the Watch. I have _two_ complications on the Modular face dedicated to weather and I regularly open one or the other App to get a forecast for the day. They are both smooth and quick.

All of that said: I definitely think the thing that holds back the Apple Watch more than anything else is still shear speed. The main reason I don't run more apps is that many of them take too damn long to load. The guys doing Carrot and Dark Sky have worked _really_ hard to make their Apps launch quickly... and it shows. Everyone else just seemingly doesn't care.

I'll definitely be upgrading to the Apple Watch 2 when it comes out... I hope it brings some pretty significant increases in processor power...

You ARE RIGHT SIR !!

It tooks me 2 weeks to find out this but when i first bought it last year, it was really annoying to go for a run without the "show last app" activated...

I think they should remove the ability to NOT have this, people will rediscover their watch !!

 

[BarracksSi]

I have this 3 minute meditation app that taps you on the wrist for each breath.

Sounds cool. Which meditation app is it? I see a few in the store.

 

[Mad Mac Maniac]

Sounds cool. Which meditation app is it? I see a few in the store.

3 minute mindfulness. It's free and you can pay for additional techniques. The only issue is the screen needs to stay on to get the taps. The workaround I've used to keep the screen on is occasionally rotating the crown... but it's not ideal.

 

[Fanboylyfe]

I definitely agree that apps at times can seem useless other than 1 or 2 glances here and there... I personally believe apple should have sold the Apple Watch without apps and just ability to do notifications.. Then add apps to be downloaded when the processor and software can handle them quickly.. It was too early.. And some people gave up effort.. Due to "my phone does things better"

 

[donster28]

I've sold my AW a few days ago. Tried to give it a chance but annoyances outweighed the usefulness of the watch. These are the main reasons that did it for me:

1. From day one, I planned of using the watch with a favourite 'transit app'. It did work some days but most days the app gets stuck in retrieving information and then the darn screen turns off. Updates came and made it somehow work again, but I couldn't understand why the problems come back. As if the developers aren't doing any testing or they are aware of the AW's weaknesses and gave up solving their apps' problems. This happens with most of the apps I use with watch too.

2. Siri on the AW seems like the beta Siri on the iPhone. It works when it wants to and most of the time, it misses the mark. I rarely use it to respond to texts, and the last time I did was embarrassing. I dictated a short text response while walking, Siri mis-interpreted a word, I cancelled the message, tried again, Siri misses again, tried it again, this time Siri got all my words correctly. But little did I know, the previous wrong messages were all sent to the recipient...arrghh! My contact on the other end even guessed correctly that it was my Apple Watch acting up and asked me why I still haven't sold my watch yet. I gladly acknowledged that there are problems but the usefulness of the watch outweighs the benefits for me. Boy, was I in denial.

3. Not being able to see the time because the screen is off when I flick my wrist is a major annoyance. This happens pretty regularly.

4. Swiping left to dismiss an email or text, right after reading the notification is an extra step that should be eliminated. I learned to hate seeing that red dot on the top because it's just like someone telling me to clean up after my mess. This problem is more of a software update fix and I was hopeful with 2.0. But alas, Apple seemed oblivious and never fixed it...I'm tired of waiting.

Just an FYI that I've tried resetting my watch numerous times in hopes of resolving these problems and some, but unfortunately, things still stayed the same.

Apple will have to convince me that the next AW is way better than this.

 

[sean000]

I've sold my AW a few days ago. Tried to give it a chance but annoyances outweighed the usefulness of the watch. These are the main reasons that did it for me:

1. From day one, I planned of using the watch with a favourite 'transit app'. It did work some days but most days the app gets stuck in retrieving information and then the darn screen turns off. Updates came and made it somehow work again, but I couldn't understand why the problems come back. As if the developers aren't doing any testing or they are aware of the AW's weaknesses and gave up solving their apps' problems. This happens with most of the apps I use with watch too.

I don't think the watch should be judged on a handful of apps. Some developers just don't prioritize the watch. There are plenty who do. I don't use a transit app, but the apps I do use are very good, responsive and reliable. I have certainly tried some apps that are not up to par, so it does take some review reading or trial and error. This is true of iPhone apps as well in my experience. I know it can be frustrating when you need an app that nobody seems to do well though. Fortunately I have my current needs met by existing apps.

2. Siri on the AW seems like the beta Siri on the iPhone. It works when it wants to and most of the time, it misses the mark. I rarely use it to respond to texts, and the last time I did was embarrassing. I dictated a short text response while walking, Siri mis-interpreted a word, I cancelled the message, tried again, Siri misses again, tried it again, this time Siri got all my words correctly. But little did I know, the previous wrong messages were all sent to the recipient...arrghh! My contact on the other end even guessed correctly that it was my Apple Watch acting up and asked me why I still haven't sold my watch yet. I gladly acknowledged that there are problems but the usefulness of the watch outweighs the benefits for me. Boy, was I in denial.

Siri has been hit or miss for me in the past, but since the most recent update Siri had been pretty solid for me. I used to find that Siri worked better when I paused after saying "Hey Siri!" Now Siri seems to work consistently if I simply say, "Hey Siri! Do this!" Without the pause. These days pausing seems to cause trouble.

3. Not being able to see the time because the screen is off when I flick my wrist is a major annoyance. This happens pretty regularly.

I almost never have this problem. The watch wakes up 95% of the time for me even with a subtle roll of the wrist.

4. Swiping left to dismiss an email or text, right after reading the notification is an extra step that should be eliminated. I learned to hate seeing that red dot on the top because it's just like someone telling me to clean up after my mess. This problem is more of a software update fix and I was hopeful with 2.0. But alas, Apple seemed oblivious and never fixed it...I'm tired of waiting.

You know about Force Press to clear all notifications, right? That's what I always do when I need to clear more than one notification. Personally I wouldn't change a thing about how notifications are handled. I love that the red dot is there to let me know that I have notification I might have missed.

I certainly welcome continued improvements, but even back in July I felt like the conveniences far outweighed any frustrations. Of course that may very depending on one's expectations and needs.

Sean

 

[PaladinGuy]

I had a ton of lag and just poor performance on my watch for several months. I'm not sure on this, but I think some apps hurt the performance of the device. I erased my watch and paired it as a new watch, and it now seems to be running much better.

 

[Uofmtiger]

I had a ton of lag and just poor performance on my watch for several months. I'm not sure on this, but I think some apps hurt the performance of the device. I erased my watch and paired it as a new watch, and it now seems to be running much better.

Un-pairing and re-pairing the watch is the solution for a lot of problems. I have had to go through the process twice since I got the watch and it fixed my issues (Siri not working properly with Reminders lists and the watch burning too much battery power).

 

[0388279]

Hi All,

I am a Realtor and purchased the AW for two reasons: 1) Triage messages and 2) Directions to homes.

In the past when taking clients to homes I had to enter the address into the GPS on my vehicle. This was time consuming. Additionally, I found the announcements from the GPS to intrude on the conversation.

With AW, I plan routes using the Maps on my rMBP or MBA. Any addresses I enter into Maps are now favorites to be found on my iPhone 6s or AW. Using the Map App in AW i can scroll through my list of favorites to find the next property and set it as the destination. From here I never have to look at the AW again as the haptic will tell when to turn and which way to turn. Right is 12 quick taps, Left is 3 sets of 2 taps.

AW had been a big help for me.

Donald Barar

 

[donster28]

I don't think the watch should be judged on a handful of apps. Some developers just don't prioritize the watch. There are plenty who do. I don't use a transit app, but the apps I do use are very good, responsive and reliable. I have certainly tried some apps that are not up to par, so it does take some review reading or trial and error. This is true of iPhone apps as well in my experience. I know it can be frustrating when you need an app that nobody seems to do well though. Fortunately I have my current needs met by existing apps.

Siri has been hit or miss for me in the past, but since the most recent update Siri had been pretty solid for me. I used to find that Siri worked better when I paused after saying "Hey Siri!" Now Siri seems to work consistently if I simply say, "Hey Siri! Do this!" Without the pause. These days pausing seems to cause trouble.

I almost never have this problem. The watch wakes up 95% of the time for me even with a subtle roll of the wrist.

You know about Force Press to clear all notifications, right? That's what I always do when I need to clear more than one notification. Personally I wouldn't change a thing about how notifications are handled. I love that the red dot is there to let me know that I have notification I might have missed.

I certainly welcome continued improvements, but even back in July I felt like the conveniences far outweighed any frustrations. Of course that may very depending on one's expectations and needs.

Sean

1. Those handful of apps happened to be important apps for me and they are for a lot a people too. I'm happy that yours are doing well..let me ask though, what percentage do you think they're working right now?

2. I've tried pausing, and it's another thing that annoys me. Sometimes, you have to pause longer than other times, and it's this inconsistency that makes it frustrating. Admit it, Siri on the AW is still not baked.

3. 95% is still not 100%. A watch should always show you the time, period.

4. Yes, I've used that before. This is still an extra step, even though you do it once. An email should be dismissed after it's shown. The AW should know that it already showed it to you, just like in the iPhone.

 

[Carl Sagan]

I don't find the apps that slow but they do feel a little more than what I need. The watch works best a physical widget/ Notification Center and filter of incoming information. The health stuff is superb and got me exercising more, and short burst of info via glances is brilliant and Apple Pay is mind blowing in how fast it is.

I do need to use full on apps other than delve a little deeper on things like health or news alerts from the BBC.

 

[sean000]

1. Those handful of apps happened to be important apps for me and they are for a lot a people too. I'm happy that yours are doing well..let me ask though, what percentage do you think they're working right now?

Your experiences and my experiences or anecdotal unless you have systematically tested dozens of apps (I probably haven't tried more than 30 apps). I'm just saying that it is not difficult at all to find a good app for the things most people want on a watch. The more specialized your need is, the less that may be true. Competition has certainly made some of the calendar and weather app offerings the best examples of what is possible. I also use some excellent list apps, communication apps, etc. That said I know there are some apps out there that are truly awful, and it's hard when that is the only app that tries to deliver what you want. Perhaps Apple's new requirement that all future apps run native will mean the percentage of good to bad apps goes up (whatever that percentage currently is), but it could also mean that some developers skip developing a watch app all-together.

2. I've tried pausing, and it's another thing that annoys me. Sometimes, you have to pause longer than other times, and it's this inconsistency that makes it frustrating. Admit it, Siri on the AW is still not baked.

Pausing only confuses Siri. Do not pause and wait for Siri to appear. Raise your wrist and say, "Hey Siri, remind me to charge my watch at 11:00pm" and lower your wrist. This technique has been working consistently for me since the most recent update. Every day I use Siri to set reminders, set timers, text my wife, initiate a phone call, etc. Prior to this recent update Siri worked for me most of the time... but Siri was slower and would sometimes tell me she couldn't do what I had asked. That was really frustrating. Maybe I have been lucky since the update, but Siri has been working well for me lately.

3. 95% is still not 100%. A watch should always show you the time, period.

My watch does show me the time 100% of the time. It's just that 5% of the time I might need to tap the watch face to see the time instead of roll or raise my wrist. By the way, the 5% of the time that rotating my wrist does not work is when I am lying down. I can't remember the last time rotating my wrist did not work while sitting or standing.

4. Yes, I've used that before. This is still an extra step, even though you do it once. An email should be dismissed after it's shown. The AW should know that it already showed it to you, just like in the iPhone.

I don't use notifications for email (only for instant messages, mentions of my name on Slack, etc.) so I can't speak to that. I have a reminder app called Due that used to frustrate me sometimes because the auto-snooze feature would stack up notifications. When I tapped on a notification to open the app and mark the reminder as Done, some of the notifications would still be there. That was not Apple's fault. The developer fixed it in an update, so now when I mark a reminder done, or reschedule it, all the notifications clear automatically. But if I do not acknowledge the notification, I want it to stay where it is until I decide whether to dismiss it or act on it.

Sean

 

[donster28]

Your experiences and my experiences or anecdotal unless you have systematically tested dozens of apps (I probably haven't tried more than 30 apps). I'm just saying that it is not difficult at all to find a good app for the things most people want on a watch. The more specialized your need is, the less that may be true. Competition has certainly made some of the calendar and weather app offerings the best examples of what is possible. I also use some excellent list apps, communication apps, etc. That said I know there are some apps out there that are truly awful, and it's hard when that is the only app that tries to deliver what you want. Perhaps Apple's new requirement that all future apps run native will mean the percentage of good to bad apps goes up (whatever that percentage currently is), but it could also mean that some developers skip developing a watch app all-together.



Pausing only confuses Siri. Do not pause and wait for Siri to appear. Raise your wrist and say, "Hey Siri, remind me to charge my watch at 11:00pm" and lower your wrist. This technique has been working consistently for me since the most recent update. Every day I use Siri to set reminders, set timers, text my wife, initiate a phone call, etc. Prior to this recent update Siri worked for me most of the time... but Siri was slower and would sometimes tell me she couldn't do what I had asked. That was really frustrating. Maybe I have been lucky since the update, but Siri has been working well for me lately.



My watch does show me the time 100% of the time. It's just that 5% of the time I might need to tap the watch face to see the time instead of roll or raise my wrist. By the way, the 5% of the time that rotating my wrist does not work is when I am lying down. I can't remember the last time rotating my wrist did not work while sitting or standing.



I don't use notifications for email (only for instant messages, mentions of my name on Slack, etc.) so I can't speak to that. I have a reminder app called Due that used to frustrate me sometimes because the auto-snooze feature would stack up notifications. When I tapped on a notification to open the app and mark the reminder as Done, some of the notifications would still be there. That was not Apple's fault. The developer fixed it in an update, so now when I mark a reminder done, or reschedule it, all the notifications clear automatically. But if I do not acknowledge the notification, I want it to stay where it is until I decide whether to dismiss it or act on it.

Sean

I am glad it's working out for you. Anyway, I don't have the AW anymore and will wait for the next iteration. I'm glad I was able to sell mine at a good value...its resale value should start plunging as soon as the next one is announced.

 

[sean000]

I am glad it's working out for you. Anyway, I don't have the AW anymore and will wait for the next iteration. I'm glad I was able to sell mine at a good value...its resale value should start plunging as soon as the next one is announced.

I hope the next version works better for you. I bought the Sport figuring I'd probably want to upgrade to the next version as soon as it comes out. Even if I can't sell my current watch for a dime, it will have been worth it to me. Then again whether I upgrade right away will depend on what the next version offers. I'm not in any hurry.

Sean

 

[OneMike]

I love my Apple Watch but besides notifications and whatever info is on the face, that is where the usefulness ends

I agree to an extent. I do think some are useful. The speed issue just hinders the practicality.

 

[Aluminum213]

I agree to an extent. I do think some are useful. The speed issue just hinders the practicality.

The speed is my entire point why apps are useless

 

[OneMike]

The speed is my entire point why apps are useless

That's like saying the Internet is useless because you have a slow connection.

For me, I don't use certain apps as much since they're slow. They still have a place though. I guess I just define useless different than you.

 

[mattopotamus]

Totally agree with the OP. I love my watch, but the apps are useless IMO. The time, activity rings, and notifications is all it needs. Even if the apps loaded lightning fast, that's not what I use a smart watch for.

 

[Aluminum213]

That's like saying the Internet is useless because you have a slow connection.

For me, I don't use certain apps as much since they're slow. They still have a place though. I guess I just define useless different than you.

The internet would be useless if the max speed was 1KBPS, which is why the slow speed of the Apple Watch makes apps unless

pretty simple to understand

Totally agree with the OP. I love my watch, but the apps are useless IMO. The time, activity rings, and notifications is all it needs. Even if the apps loaded lightning fast, that's not what I use a smart watch for.

exactly, time, activity ring, on screen weather and notifications is all I use

 

[sean000]

The speed is my entire point why apps are useless

You are generalizing because you haven't found apps that are convenient enough for you on the watch. That is not the case for many of us. Not only do many of my apps load just as quickly on the watch (or at least as quickly as it takes me to find my iPhone and load the app), but you are dismissing a very real convenience factor. Here is but one example:

I go to the grocery store three or four times a week and use a grocery shopping watch app called Bring. I don't have it as a complication or a glance, because I only need to open it when I am at the store. I launch it from the app screen when I arrive and I tap my watch to cross items off as I shop. I don't need to walk around the store looking at my iPhone over and over. The iPhone stays in my pocket freeing my hands to push the cart, wrangle my kids and do the shopping. I simply glance at my wrist and the app shows me what's next (I have my watch set to show last app on wake). I get all the shopping done, and use Apple Pay at the register, without getting out my iPhone or my wallet. That may or may not be a convenience you need in your life, but it definitely makes trips to the grocery store much better for me.

Sean

 

[bambooshots]

You are generalizing because you haven't found apps that are convenient enough for you on the watch. That is not the case for many of us. Not only do many of my apps load just as quickly on the watch (or at least as quickly as it takes me to find my iPhone and load the app), but you are dismissing a very real convenience factor. Here is but one example:

I go to the grocery store three or four times a week and use a grocery shopping watch app called Bring. I don't have it as a complication or a glance, because I only need to open it when I am at the store. I launch it from the app screen when I arrive and I tap my watch to cross items off as I shop. I don't need to walk around the store looking at my iPhone over and over. The iPhone stays in my pocket freeing my hands to push the cart, wrangle my kids and do the shopping. I simply glance at my wrist and the app shows me what's next (I have my watch set to show last app on wake). I get all the shopping done, and use Apple Pay at the register, without getting out my iPhone or my wallet. That may or may not be a convenience you need in your life, but it definitely makes trips to the grocery store much better for me.

Sean

This.

I hate typing up lists and managing them on a phone in the store. I'd sooner use old fashioned pen and paper for a shopping list before using a phone again.

However, using the Apple Watch while shopping makes the experience a whole lot smoother and easier.