Smart watches, what's the point?

[musicpenguy]

The iPhone required the Mac initially and until iOS 4 or 5 you really needed to do a lot through iTunes. Over time it gained independence. The watch is the same way - we are only at watchOS 5 (which 1 was kind of a beta that was only around a few months) - I see a future where there is an App Store on the watch itself and it becomes fully independent. We are getting closer and closer with LTE and super fast WiFi.
[doublepost=1544217935][/doublepost]I will also say - I don’t care about my iPhone anymore and really would just live on the iPad and Watch if that was possible - the watch is the form factor I want when I’m away from my iPad and more often than not leave the phone at home.

 

[eyoungren]

I disagree. "Prior jonesing" isn't required for a invention to be useful and valuable after the fact.

In any case, for anyone making a purchase today, health related functions are an established feature with value.

You are trying to prove the watch was valuable before release by using present examples that were only made possible after and because of the release. No one knew whether it would be valuable or not - although they could guess and speculate.

It has since proven to be so and I do not deny that. I just think a better statement would be that the Apple watch became valuable because of these features.

 

[44267547]

The reality is, smart watches aren’t for everyone, but it’s makes it very difficult to judge a product if the OP doesn’t have experience with it. If you experience the Apple Watch/other smart watches and then express your views on why or why not you don’t like it, that would be more logical versus just saying ‘What’s the point’. Otherwise, there is really no logical basis for someone’s argument claiming smart watches are rather useless if they never have used one themself.

It’s the same basis if I said “What’s the point of using owning a tablet, when I can do everything on my laptop”, but then I never have used a tablet to say otherwise. It’s a non-sensical argument.

 

[omihek]

Here's how I justified buying one. Many nice watches cost much more than an Apple Watch. The Apple Watch does what those other watches do (tell time) plus a few extra features that aren't daily needs but are nice to have when I need them. I use mine to track sleep, track workouts, and receive and deal with notifications without getting lost in my phone for hours. Oh, and I also use it to tell time, a feature I could have paid much more for if I bought a non-smart watch.

 

[Lankyman]

Spoken like somebody who has no desire to try an Apple Watch, so lambasts the idea.

Firstly my post wasn't aimed at the Apple watch in particular - I did say whoever makes them, so perhaps in your eagerness to feel offended you missed that?

Secondly I've no desire to be slapped across the face as I'm pretty sure I won't like that either.
[doublepost=1544222523][/doublepost]

It also encourages me to be more active throughout the day, and helps me monitor my activity from day to day and week to week.

I have got an app on my phone that provides just the same encouragement. As for actually encouraging people to monitor their health and be more active, well I remain to be convinced. I don't know about the U.S. but here in the U.K. we're less fit as a nation than we have ever been. Morbid obesity and Type 2 diabetes cases are at historic levels.

People may start off with good intentions but it invariably doesn't last. I think it will take more than a smartwatch and a few health apps to turn this health epidemic around.

 

[ActionableMango]

You are trying to prove the watch was valuable before release

I'm definitely not trying to do that. I personally had little or no interest in AW until series 4.

 

[Newtons Apple]

Firstly my post wasn't aimed at the Apple watch in particular - I did say whoever makes them, so perhaps in your eagerness to feel offended you missed that?

Secondly I've no desire to be slapped across the face as I'm pretty sure I won't like that either.

sorry but your original post was rediculous and borderline trolling.

 

[Lankyman]

It is not for me, either, but I cannot begin to comprehend the excess of emotion that the OP's initial post seemed to call for when discussing this topic.

Don't try to reinvent the wheel with an inferior device would be my reply. The analogue watch is a beautiful crafted piece of design that performs its function to perfection. The so called 'smart watch' does not take us any further forward, mainly because the ordinary wristwatch can't really be improved upon.
[doublepost=1544223261][/doublepost]

sorry but your original post was rediculous and borderline trolling.

In your opinion maybe. Do you dismiss everything that doesn't chime with your narrative?
[doublepost=1544223390][/doublepost]

Here's how I justified buying one. Many nice watches cost much more than an Apple Watch. The Apple Watch does what those other watches do (tell time) plus a few extra features that aren't daily needs but are nice to have when I need them. I use mine to track sleep, track workouts, and receive and deal with notifications without getting lost in my phone for hours. Oh, and I also use it to tell time, a feature I could have paid much more for if I bought a non-smart watch.

Doesn't your phone already do all those things and more besides?

 

[44267547]

The so called 'smart watch' does not take us any further forward

And this is where you’re completely mistaken, because you don’t have experience with smart watches in general, but look where the Apple Watch is leading in terms of being more health oriented with heart rate monitoring, activity tracking, now EKG, and possibly glucose monitoring in the future. And you’re trying to tell the majority in this thread that a smart watch doesn’t take us any further forward? That’s a fairly large oversight on your behalf, Health advancements are now where we can monitor our daily activities and perhaps help us be more mindful of heart conditions, I would say that is definitely ‘moving forward’, and the Apple Watch is the one device that seems to be leading in that direction.

 

[Lankyman]

And this is where you’re completely mistaken, because you don’t have experience with smart watches in general, but look where the Apple Watch is leading in terms of being more health oriented with heart rate monitoring, activity tracking, now EKG, and possibly glucose monitoring in the future. And you’re trying to tell the majority in this thread that a smart watch doesn’t take us any further forward? That’s a fairly large oversight on your behalf, Health advancements are now where we can monitor our daily activities and perhaps help us be more mindful of heart conditions, I would say that is definitely ‘moving forward’, and the Apple Watch is the one device that seems to be leading in that direction.

Again as I commented to another poster - doesn't your phone offer the same functionality. This just appears to be a duplication of what your phone can offer you. Sounds very much like an iPhone 'lite'.

 

[omihek]

Doesn't your phone already do all those things and more besides?

Yes, but then I'd have to bring my phone along. For someone who bikes and runs as much as I do my phone was getting to be a serious annoyance. Just another small convenience that comes along with the watch for the same price as a lot of other watches out there that only tell time.

 

[44267547]

This just appears to be a duplication of what your phone can offer you. This to me sound like an iPhone 'lite'.

My phone can’t take an EKG reading, my Apple Watch can though. And there are plenty of situations were not everybody wants to carry their phone with them, I for one do not when weightlifting and running.

 

[tromboneaholic]

I have got an app on my phone that provides just the same encouragement.

As someone who owns both a smartphone and a smartwatch, I know you're wrong about that too.

How does your smartphone measure your heart rate to know when you're actually burning calories? Apple Watch, for example, can tell if I'm working hard enough to elevate my heart rate so that my effort goes from simple movement and progresses to exercise.

Also, you carry your phone around with you all the time?

In essence, your rant is equivalent to someone complaining about smartphones because their landline is good enough.

 

[LeeW]

Don't try to reinvent the wheel with an inferior device would be my reply. The analogue watch is a beautifully crafted piece of design that performs its function to perfection.

The benefits for me.

Control music
Make and reply to texts
Make and take calls
Get important news headlines
Pay for things
Use it to track workouts and runs both in and outdoors

All of the above I do often enough to list them as useful, there are many more benefits though.

The term smart watch should really be changed to smart device. That it is worn on your wrist in place of a conventional timepiece makes it convenient to have the word 'watch' in there somewhere. Ultimately though, telling the time is a single, largely unimportant feature of the overall purpose of the device but allows the user to retain the most accepted and principle reason for having something on your wrist.

I agree with your comments above, however, it is not about trying to reinvent the wheel, the analogue watch has a single purpose. Having said that, time is everywhere these days. I would argue as a result there is no need for the majority of people to have one. They serve largely aesthetic purposes now.

That a watch (let's call it that for now) can both encourage and provide the results of physical activity as well as alert to potential health issues is a positive step forward, especially in the western world where taking more notice of your health is to be encouraged.

Just last week I was reading in the news a young girl who fell off a ladder at home whilst alone and could not move, but her SOS feature alerted emergency services who had said that had she fought through the pain and got to her phone rather than lying still and waiting it could have left her in a wheelchair.

The possibilities are endless and the features are growing. I even gave one to my mother in law in case she gets into any trouble at home such as a fall we can be alerted.

I am all for them, and I am looking proudly up at a shelf with 12 automatic watches that I have collected over the years.

 

[Jessica08]

I find my watch makes notifications less annoying. When I get a phone call, I don't have to dig into my pocket and dig out my phone or go across the house to find my phone on the charger to see who is calling (and can be ignored). The other day, I was loading my car and my hands were full when I got a call. Normally I would have ignored it, but I looked at my wrist and noticed it was an important call, so I answered it from the watch.

It also encourages me to be more active throughout the day, and helps me monitor my activity from day to day and week to week.

Health is a huge area where these will benefit people in a way a traditional watch can't. There are already numerous stories about Apple Watch alerting people to heart conditions and potentially saving their lives. The new irregular heart rate alert in watchOS along with the ECG function of Series 4 are only going to add to the number of people who say the Apple Watch saved their lives.

I also think there is a certain amount of peace of mind that comes from features like Fall Detection and 911 calling. My 80-year-old mother bought Apple Watch Series 4 specifically for Fall Detection because, as with many older people, it's a fear of hers to be alone and fall without anyone there to help.

For me, it's also little things like when listening to music I can skip the song from my wrist or adjust the volume by turning the crown. I don't have to dig my phone out of my pocket or go across the house to where the phone is connected to my stereo.

Shopping in the grocery store, I used to have my grocery list on the phone (which was annoying to hold and push the cart as it got full). Now I look at my wrist and can check off items as I buy them. When I'm in the kitchen, I can just use "hey siri" to add things to the list while my hands are full and the phone is on my night table.

Is the GPS only version able to do those things or is the cellular version needed? The grocery list; skipping a song with the watch? That would be cool to not have to take my phone in the grocery store if the list will be on the watch, but I’m getting the non-cellular version. Thanks!

 

[Southern Dad]

The Apple Watch isn’t for everyone but it is for me. I can respond to messages right there on the watch face. No need to pull out my iPhone. A lot of convenient complications on the watch face. I hate the hour it has to charge each day.

 

[Knight3]

Short and sweet - is the so called 'smart watch' the most boring and pointless bit of tech ever invented (whoever makes them)?

I would say a resounding 'yes' to that question. Whilst some will work without your smartphone being nearby they are essentially 'companion devices'.

If ever a device was invented which was then looking for a market it is this 'trinket'. I genuinely wouldn't wear one even if they were 'free'. The battery in my current 'analogue' watch is now pushing 4 years and tells perfect time, what else do you need?

I would prefer a 'root canal' procedure each and every week in preference to owning a 'smart watch'.

You do understand that smart watch by definition means it does more than just tell you time right?

EDIT: Also why use a watch at all when your phone can tell the time just fine? Isn’t your analog watch a bit redundant in this case? You could probably feed a family for a month in a third world country with that money. Just my two cents.

[doublepost=1544227857][/doublepost]

In Apple's case, Apple Watch (or smart watch) is their answer to an LED notification light.

It's a classic Apple solution, make the customer pay more for yet another device rather than honoring the original request. Add in just enough features that no one asked for but will appreciate and thus justify the creation of the device. Over time expand on those features and make people dependent on them just like with their other devices.

And the kicker? Well, the watch ALSO tells the time.

So you’re basically saying a company should be asking their customers and give into their every whim instead of how they feel is best to advance their products?
[doublepost=1544228005][/doublepost]

Is the GPS only version able to do those things or is the cellular version needed? The grocery list; skipping a song with the watch? That would be cool to not have to take my phone in the grocery store if the list will be on the watch, but I’m getting the non-cellular version. Thanks!

The only difference between a cellular and gps versions of the watches is the ability to take calls independent of the iPhone’s proximity. It’s basically having your own hotspot for Maps and other stuff besides calls. Everything else is the same.

 

[MisterSavage]

How does your smartphone measure your heart rate to know when you're actually burning calories? Apple Watch, for example, can tell if I'm working hard enough to elevate my heart rate so that my effort goes from simple movement and progresses to exercise.

Hell the notifications that I've been sitting for too long and need to get up are enough benefit for me to justify having an Apple Watch. I work at a desk and had no idea I was going for such long periods without getting up.

 

[Jordan921]

Is that even English?
[doublepost=1544223751][/doublepost]
Again as I commented to another poster - doesn't your phone offer the same functionality. This just appears to be a duplication of what your phone can offer you. Sounds very much like an iPhone 'lite'.

Very much so

 

[tromboneaholic]

Is the GPS only version able to do those things or is the cellular version needed? The grocery list; skipping a song with the watch? That would be cool to not have to take my phone in the grocery store if the list will be on the watch, but I’m getting the non-cellular version. Thanks!

Personally, I only have the GPS version and keep my phone in my pocket in the grocery. If your grocery store has wifi, I guess you could do it.

The grocery list is nice, because it's synced with my wife, so we go through the store separately marking things off the list. We can see if something is already completed on the list, so we don't get duplicates. We get out in about half the time as we used to.

 

[MEJHarrison]

In your opinion maybe. Do you dismiss everything that doesn't chime with your narrative?

So your "narrative" is that smart watches are stupid. Why take the time to come to a place where we talk about smart watches, and nearly everyone owns one, just to insult us? And yes, I know you'll say you didn't insult anyone, but you did. You had no apparent question. You just wanted to tell us that Smart Watches are dumb. Leaving us to infer that anyone who purchases one is equally dumb. Again, you never said that. But it's there between the lines.

If there is a valid question in your head, let's hear it. We'd love to answer your questions and help. Otherwise, what's the point of your post?

 

[Matz]

Nice job.

 

[cwosigns]

The point is:

• less intrusive notifications
• more freedom from your phone
• fitness/movement tracking
• sleep tracking
• health monitoring

Whether you find any of that appealing is up to you. Lots of people do.

 

[staggerlee41]

Honestly it's pretty simple. Buy it if you like it, and if not then don't. Nobody needs to justify why they like anything or not. Especially on the internet

 

[eyoungren]

So you’re basically saying a company should be asking their customers and give into their every whim instead of how they feel is best to advance their products?

Are you taking this perspective from a stockholder point of view?

Because it sounds like your priority is the business over the customer.

Of course the customer is not always right. But when it comes to creating their products, Apple seems to believe the customer is always wrong.