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Still with iPhone Because of Apple Watch

rdavis41

rdavis41

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jul 10, 2009
270
248
As Smartphone season kicks off a thought occurred to me that I've struggled with over the last two years with iPhone updates. Today in 2019 I feel I am still using an iPhone only because of my love/necessity for using the Apple Watch. So I am curious, how many of you feel you are still on iPhone because of your utilization/love for the Apple Watch only?
 
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rdavis41 said:
As Smartphone season kicks off a thought occurred to me that I've struggled with over the last two years with iPhone updates. Today in 2019 I feel I am still using an iPhone only because of my love/necessity for using the Apple Watch. So I am curious, how many of you feel you are still on iPhone because of your utilization/love for the Apple Watch only?
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Do you have a real necessity to use the watch? Do you need the watch to tell you to move, stand up, complete your circles? You can certainly find out from your phone when you have received messages, emails etc. If you love the iPhone and can't fathom using Android then you have answered your own question. On the other hand, if you don't want to continue with the iPhone due to cost, ethics of Apple or one or more of a myriad of possible reasons, then think hard on what the watch actually gives you that you could not get elsewhere or do without.
 
Northern Man said:
Do you have a real necessity to use the watch? Do you need the watch to tell you to move, stand up, complete your circles? You can certainly find out from your phone when you have received messages, emails etc. If you love the iPhone and can't fathom using Android then you have answered your own question. On the other hand, if you don't want to continue with the iPhone due to cost, ethics of Apple or one or more of a myriad of possible reasons, then think hard on what the watch actually gives you that you could not get elsewhere or do without.
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Ok, I get that, but not everyone bases their decision on those ethics/thought choices. Personally, I teach group fitness classes and workout 3-5 days a week and the convenience the Watch provides me outweighs the iPhone utilization. I'm sure I'm not the only one that has this experience.

And you may be right with your one statement "If you love iPhone". I don't love iPhone anymore. I Stand it. But I LOVE Apple Watch.

It's pretty clear to me that Apple knows the Watch is its new cash cow for the foreseeable future. Imagine what those iPhone sales would be like without the apple watch that requires an iphone to pair to?
 
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rdavis41 said:
As Smartphone season kicks off a thought occurred to me that I've struggled with over the last two years with iPhone updates. Today in 2019 I feel I am still using an iPhone only because of my love/necessity for using the Apple Watch. So I am curious, how many of you feel you are still on iPhone because of your utilization/love for the Apple Watch only?
Click to expand...

I can’t say I share your thoughts here. The Apple Watch is a great device for many things, but it’s still not a necessity for me to have in my life where I need to keep it because of the iPhone. (I refuse to use any other smart phone besides an iPhone for a plethora of reasons with stability/security)

Truth be told about the Apple Watch, it’s still very much a superfluous device, but that’s starting to change more now that it’s becoming more health oriented and will continue to grow in that respect.

If I stop using my Apple Watch tomorrow, I would miss its capabilities/features, but that wouldn’t change my perspective of not having an iPhone with or without the Apple Watch.
 
rdavis41 said:
Ok, I get that, but not everyone bases their decision on those ethics/thought choices. Personally, I teach group fitness classes and workout 3-5 days a week and the convenience the Watch provides me outweighs the iPhone utilization. I'm sure I'm not the only one that has this experience.

And you may be right with your one statement "If you love iPhone". I don't love iPhone anymore. I Stand it. But I LOVE Apple Watch.

It's pretty clear to me that Apple knows the Watch is its new cash cow for the foreseeable future. Imagine what those iPhone sales would be like without the apple watch that requires an iphone to pair to?
Click to expand...

I appreciate your situation. However, step back a moment and look at the bigger picture. You are a young guy so I am not sure what kind of history / experience you have prior to the introduction of the watch and cell phones. Fitness classes were successfully taught for years before the watch was even an idea. A watch is not essential to teach a fitness class or to work out. I imagine it provides some convenience but you have to decide at what expense (financial and otherwise) to you. You can decide that the $$ cost, the "entrapment" in the Apple ecosystem is worth it to you. And that's great, it is your decision to make. Or you can decide to try something else or do without.

What is the main thing driving you to pose the question? Cost, wanting to not be "trapped" by Apple or?
 
rdavis41 said:
Ok, I get that, but not everyone bases their decision on those ethics/thought choices. Personally, I teach group fitness classes and workout 3-5 days a week and the convenience the Watch provides me outweighs the iPhone utilization. I'm sure I'm not the only one that has this experience.

And you may be right with your one statement "If you love iPhone". I don't love iPhone anymore. I Stand it. But I LOVE Apple Watch.

It's pretty clear to me that Apple knows the Watch is its new cash cow for the foreseeable future. Imagine what those iPhone sales would be like without the apple watch that requires an iphone to pair to?
Click to expand...

I’m in a similar boat. However, are you sure you don’t just love smart watches, not necessarily the Apple Watch? The galaxy watch looks like it does nearly everything the Apple Watch does. There are plenty of other options for watches that work with android phones.
 
nrvna76 said:
I’m in a similar boat. However, are you sure you don’t just love smart watches, not necessarily the Apple Watch? The galaxy watch looks like it does nearly everything the Apple Watch does. There are plenty of other options for watches that work with android phones.
Click to expand...

And look! The Toshiba HandiBook! This says it does everything the iPad does at half the price.

9901cfac-0301-43da-9bff-f7dbd1bdbea6_screenshot.jpg
 
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It’s the only thing I miss having moved to an Android phone last year. I don’t miss it enough to swap back from the Wear OS watch I bought though, even though I know it would be a better smart watch. The downgrade in phone experience wouldn’t be worth it.
 
nrvna76 said:
I’m in a similar boat. However, are you sure you don’t just love smart watches, not necessarily the Apple Watch? The galaxy watch looks like it does nearly everything the Apple Watch does. There are plenty of other options for watches that work with android phones.
Click to expand...

Consumers are tied into the ecosystem of what platform they belong to (iOS/Android), not the smart watch itself. Think about it for a minute, no one purchases a smart watch just because they ‘like it’, they purchase a smart watch that would be tailored for that specific OS, (i.e. the Apple Watch is in tandem to the iPhone.)

The only real advantage android/other smart watches have, is they offer a different shape versus the square design the Apple Watch uses.
 
Relentless Power said:
Consumers are tied into the ecosystem of what platform they belong to (iOS/Android), not the smart watch itself. Think about it for a minute, no one purchases a smart watch just because they ‘like it’, they purchase a smart watch that would be tailored for that specific OS, (i.e. the Apple Watch is in tandem to the iPhone.)

The only real advantage android/other smart watches have, is they offer a different shape versus the square design the Apple Watch uses.
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sure.. not really arguing that. The op is setting he only stays for the Apple Watch. Not necessarily the eco system. I’m curious if that logic is flawed because an android equivalent watch/phone combo may prove to be a better experience for him.
 
The Game 161 said:
Apple Watch is a deal breaker for me. Was without it a month or so and missed it. Galaxy watch is not on same level as the Apple Watch and played a big factor in me leaving my S10 plus
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Im genuinely interested in what you mean by the galaxy watch not being on the same level. I’ve only used the Apple Watch but they seem to provide the same features.
 
nrvna76 said:
Im genuinely interested in what you mean by the galaxy watch not being on the same level. I’ve only used the Apple Watch but they seem to provide the same features.
Click to expand...

Music connection is not near the level of the Apple Watch. It works with no issues certainly with air pods it’s the perfect combination while Spotify and watch has its issues

Apps are Awful for most part on galaxy watch. No podcasts app for one.

Notifications aren’t great due to notifications delay on android so they can all come through at once when you get nothing for 10-15 mins.
 
Yep, Watch and iMessage are the only keeper for me. Love to go out without any Phone, just the Watch.

Take your girl to the sea, no worries to loose the phone in the water or got stolen while swimming. Still can receive calls and messages to sync up with friends to meet up somewhere. Later when’s going out still able to pay with Apple Pay on Watch. iMessage could be replaced by Telegram or something else that offers a proper App for Watch, but there isn‘t any Watch out there that offers me to pay, track activities and offers cell connectivity. Samsung Pay isn‘t avail. in Europe, most Android Wear Watches don’t have cell or least that long as the AW. So I think I’ll stay with my iPhone X till there’s a 5G version... maybe at this point there’re more options for Android Wear, or it already got closed done like other Google products.

Time will tell...
 
this is interesting. i purchased my first watch a S3 LTE last year and loved it and always wore it. when i switched to FirstNet service last fall they said I would no longer have number sync on my watch and within 2 months i had pretty much stopped wearing it. number sync became available recently and I upgraded to a S4....i don't think apple will ever make watch available without iPhone which sucks but is the best move business wise. I'm almost shocked they don't offer more deals if you buy them together like they do with macbooks & beats headphones
 
SHirsch999 said:
Imagine what those Apple Watch sales would be like without the Apple Watch that requires an iPhone to pair to?
Click to expand...

I don’t think it would matter one way or the other, because anyone considering an Apple Watch regardless, likely already owns an iPhone or Apple product related somewhere in the ecosystem. Either way, wearables has been on the uptick in sales for quite some time, and Apple is completely responsible for the domination.
 
I am not with iOS bc of the Apple Watch and bounce back and forth b/w Android and Apple.

That being said, I constantly look around at the Samsung and Google Wear OS options and just with software and design Apple feels to be a couple of years ahead and everyone else playing catchup. When the Samsung Galaxy S11 comes out in the spring I’ll take another good look at the non-apple watches, but as of now I’m not seeing anything that great. Maybe the Galaxy Active 2 that just came out but even that is way way thicker than the Apple Watch.
 
razmonster said:
this is interesting. i purchased my first watch a S3 LTE last year and loved it and always wore it. when i switched to FirstNet service last fall they said I would no longer have number sync on my watch and within 2 months i had pretty much stopped wearing it. number sync became available recently and I upgraded to a S4....i don't think apple will ever make watch available without iPhone which sucks but is the best move business wise. I'm almost shocked they don't offer more deals if you buy them together like they do with macbooks & beats headphones
Click to expand...

I completely agree. I also feel Apple knows they don’t have to be as “cutting edge” as others with their phone releases because if the Apple Watch remains 2-3 years ahead of the curve, those are guaranteed purchases. As many are devoted to the Apple EcoSystem. I’m with many others here as I’ve gone back and forth between Garmin watches, samsung gear S3 and even Fitbit, but the utilization needs the Apple Watch crosses off on top of having the best OHR for a watch keeps me coming back to the ecosystem (and repurchasing watches). The easy answer is I could do without a watch, but I’ve tried it and with a wife and two kids and frequent events to go to it has become a necessity for my day to day especially when my phone at the office will at times not have a signal, yet my watch will.
 
rdavis41 said:
I completely agree. I also feel Apple knows they don’t have to be as “cutting edge” as others with their phone releases because if the Apple Watch remains 2-3 years ahead of the curve, those are guaranteed purchases. As many are devoted to the Apple EcoSystem. I’m with many others here as I’ve gone back and forth between Garmin watches, samsung gear S3 and even Fitbit, but the utilization needs the Apple Watch crosses off on top of having the best OHR for a watch keeps me coming back to the ecosystem (and repurchasing watches). The easy answer is I could do without a watch, but I’ve tried it and with a wife and two kids and frequent events to go to it has become a necessity for my day to day especially when my phone at the office will at times not have a signal, yet my watch will.
Click to expand...

It has only "become a necessity for my day to day" because you have let it. Prior to smart watches, fathers with a wife and two or more children with busy schedules managed just fine. Not being critical of you, but step back for a moment and reflect. We are letting ourselves become too dependent upon these tech "tools".
 
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Other watch options than Apple and Samsung. What about Garmin? They make awesome watches.
 
nrvna76 said:
Im genuinely interested in what you mean by the galaxy watch not being on the same level. I’ve only used the Apple Watch but they seem to provide the same features.
Click to expand...
I had a Galaxy Watch with an S10 and there simply wasn’t the same amount of thought put into the software on the Galaxy Watch.

Here’s a good example: Music playback. On the Apple Watch I can look at my wrist while music is playing to see what’s playing (I don’t always know who the artist is because I download lots of suggestions), adjust the volume, like/dislike a song by going one tap deeper, very quickly. The time stays on the screen so I can still tell the time all the time.

With the Galaxy Watch, I had to go two taps in from the now playing screen to adjust the volume and then back to see what was playing, and there was no way of telling the time without leaving the now playing screen.

They seem like small things, but the Apple Watch makes these small interactions easy and intuitive in a way the Galaxy Watch doesn’t.
 
The Game 161 said:
Music connection is not near the level of the Apple Watch. It works with no issues certainly with air pods it’s the perfect combination while Spotify and watch has its issues

Apps are Awful for most part on galaxy watch. No podcasts app for one.

Notifications aren’t great due to notifications delay on android so they can all come through at once when you get nothing for 10-15 mins.
Click to expand...
jonnyb said:
I had a Galaxy Watch with an S10 and there simply wasn’t the same amount of thought put into the software on the Galaxy Watch.

Here’s a good example: Music playback. On the Apple Watch I can look at my wrist while music is playing to see what’s playing (I don’t always know who the artist is because I download lots of suggestions), adjust the volume, like/dislike a song by going one tap deeper, very quickly. The time stays on the screen so I can still tell the time all the time.

With the Galaxy Watch, I had to go two taps in from the now playing screen to adjust the volume and then back to see what was playing, and there was no way of telling the time without leaving the now playing screen.

They seem like small things, but the Apple Watch makes these small interactions easy and intuitive in a way the Galaxy Watch doesn’t.
Click to expand...

I actually do appreciate the responses. I suffer from “is the grass greener” syndrome when it comes to the Note line and the Galaxy watch line. Switching when you have multiple devices in the ecosystem is a pain, and is the only reason I haven’t tried it myself.
 
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