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The "I'm keeping my Apple watch and I really like it..." thread

iBighouse

iBighouse

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Mar 11, 2012
664
334
I can not ONLY tell time with it simply by raising my wrist upward but it alerts me when people are trying to message me and I feel a lot less tethered to my phone or iPad.

I also can tell the temperature outside before I head out the door.

It reminds me before I leave out the door of any events impending for the day.

And so much more. So, enough of the naysayers, how about you? If you like your apple watch and are planning on keeping it, share your reasons for doing so. (Naysayers, there's a different thread for you too, but please try to keep this thread focussed on the reasons those of us who are enjoying our watches are keeping them.)
 
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Having clear goals for physical activity has definitely helped keep me motivated to satay active. I'm having a blast tracking my workouts and stuff like that.

Being able to take calls without having to whip out my iPhone has also been great.
 
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I too have taken and made calls on mine. But it seems a little odd talking into it- even for using Siri to dictate messages.

One of my favorite things to use it for is as a remote to play my iTunes library through my Apple TV. It's so convenient not to have to hunt for the actual Apple TV remote.
 
I decided to return mine because................ Nah - Just kidding - I love it!, for me the notification system is the killer app & is leaps & bounds ahead of something like a pebble for the simple reason that you can reply & it's reliable!
 
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Really enjoying using Siri to play songs from Apple music and AirPlay them to my speakers.
 
I really like the fitness tracking and having the ability to glance a info like my stocks, tide, etc. I feel like I'm not tethered to my phone all day long. Everything works for me. I love it more and more everyday. I can't wait for Watch OS2.
 
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The Apple watch is my 4th smart watch (yeah - I really like the idea of smart watches!) and by far the best.

for me, it does everything a smart watch should do (notifications, at a glance information and fitness tracking) and does so in an elegant way in a nice looking and compact form factor
 
psylence2k said:
Can you activate Airplay from the watch without touching your phone ?
Click to expand...
Yup!

On the player screen, force touch the screen and more options appear, Airplay is one of them, as long as your iphone is on your home network, all your AirPlay speakers should show up in a list.

I leave my phone in the house and use AirPlay to my speakers in the summer house when we're chilling out there!
 
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Recognition said:
Yup!

On the player screen, force touch the screen and more options appear, Airplay is one of them, as long as your iphone is on your home network, all your AirPlay speakers should show up in a list.

I leave my phone in the house and use AirPlay to my speakers in the summer house when we're chilling out there!
Click to expand...

Awesome ! I assume you could do this with the Apple TV too right ? That way you could do everything (turning the Apple Tv on/off, activating airplay, etc) without the need of the remote or touching your phone.
 
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Recognition said:
Yup!

On the player screen, force touch the screen and more options appear, Airplay is one of them, as long as your iphone is on your home network, all your AirPlay speakers should show up in a list.

I leave my phone in the house and use AirPlay to my speakers in the summer house when we're chilling out there!
Click to expand...

I've had my watch for three weeks now and I had no idea about this. I really feel like a lot of watchOS is unintuitive. This option is only available from the now playing screen, not even in other parts of the music app, and it doesnt work form the now playing glance, even though the Glance registers that it detected a forcetouch. Also, the Glance does not show the currently playing song when I am using AirPlay, even when I start AirPlay to my aTV through the watch. As much as I like the watch, there are definitely issues with the OS.
 
I absolutely love my watch! The biggest impact it's made in my life is that I have started working out, for the first time ever in my 32 year long life. It really does make me more aware.

I also love the watch and faces. The design is incredible in my view and no picture on the internet so far has given the right view of how it looks in person. From wanting the SGS I ended up buying a SS after seeing and trying it in an Apple Store. I love being able to switch bands as I wish, really changes the character of the watch.

I'm glad I got in the 1 Gen for this one. Wouldn't like to miss out on any of this! Also, it feels like the first iPhone when it comes to software updates. This is just going to get better and better from here!
 
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mrnorwegian said:
I love it as well. A little bit expensive since I had to buy it overseas from eBay, but I'm a gadget lover so worth it for me :) Since i love taking pictures one of my favorite functions so far is actually the camera remote.

I bought a Joby grip tight (http://www.clasohlson.com/uk/Joby-Gorillapod-GripTight-Tripod/38-5613?showRatings=true) and it´s an excellent combination, finally I´m also part of the family pictures :)
Click to expand...

Whoa, another Norwegian! ;)

Good tip about the Joby and congrats on your purchase!
 
I got it as a gift because I assumed it was just luxury. Now use it all day. Pleasantly surprised with its practicality. My real-world usefulness list, in order of utility:
  1. Time. I switch faces for various purposes. Never have to set the time. The world clock, stopwatch and countdown timers are handy, more useful on my wrist than fumbling with my phone.
  2. Notifications. No longer need to have my phone out and visible. Don't miss notifications when phone alarm is muted. Can answer calls without fumbling to find phone.
  3. "Hey Siri, remind me to (whatever, when)".
All the rest are very useful because I don't need to fish out the phone or have it immediately to hand:
  1. Calendar. Very handy to have my next reminder instantly on my wrist.
  2. Weather: check current temperature and forecast.
  3. Messages: reply from the watch with short canned messages or dictate a reply using Hey Siri.
  4. Email. I just use it for awareness of incoming email and to clean out my inbox. Nothing heavy (I'll pull out my phone instead).
  5. Activity. It definitely motivates me. Less back pain.
  6. Lists. I use OneNote's handy new check off feature.
  7. Driving and walking directions from Apple Maps. Much easier to follow than trying to look at the phone, and I can mute the voice instructions on the phone.
  8. Travel: Boarding pass, flight notifications, directions from Apple Maps from iPhone in my pocket/backpack.
  9. Phone calls. When it's convenient I answer them right on my wrist. It's handy to see who's calling before I go running for my phone.
  10. Calculator: basic arithmetic.
  11. 1Password: check key data.
  12. Tile. Find my keys.
  13. Check my iPhone's battery and wireless connect status.
Fun:
  1. Sky Guide to check sunrise, sunset, moon phase, major sky events.
  2. Music control. I can move around my house and control the music - including volume which is awesome. On the go I use the Watch to quickly see the name of the artist and song that's playing, skip and control volume.
  3. Twitter. The bite-sized messages are perfect on the small screen; use it only for urgent news.
  4. Photos: tiny, but entertaining ice-breaker.
  5. Fashion. It does look very good. Haven't got into swapping straps yet, but I see the point.
Still looking for a tides app that works in Canada and gives correct information.
 
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mrnorwegian said:
I love it as well. A little bit expensive since I had to buy it overseas from eBay, but I'm a gadget lover so worth it for me :) Since i love taking pictures one of my favorite functions so far is actually the camera remote.

I bought a Joby grip tight (http://www.clasohlson.com/uk/Joby-Gorillapod-GripTight-Tripod/38-5613?showRatings=true) and it´s an excellent combination, finally I´m also part of the family pictures :)
Click to expand...

Also have the Joby and love it! We recently had a family holiday with our new 3 month old baby, and strapping the joby onto the pram and then using the watch to control the shutter meant we have plenty of family photos with all of us in it! So much better lining up the shot on the watch, rather than guessing if we're all in the shot before trying again.
 
I love mine and today I am realizing how much. I made the horrible mistake of going to OS2 Beta and have to send it back to get it back to OS1. I miss it already and it's only been 1 hour without it on!

Like others, I love not having to get my phone out so much. No need to check time on it. I can see my notifications. I know what the temp is before I head out of the house. A lot of the other stuff is less exciting, but nice to have. I'm really hoping third party apps get better. I am looking forward to new complications as well. I would love a "now playing" one!
 
I too use it to motivate me to be more active. Tracking my progress and increasing the targets of my rings every week. It's going to help me get there.
I've worked in tech a little over 20 years and I've always been an early adopter (was even on a few "alpha" *shudder* programs when I was at BB). I knew what to expect from a new category. I also had more time to see what others experiences were, so my expectations were very well set when I finally received my space black. :)
I use Siri to add items to my grocery list when I'm grabbing ingredients for something I'm cooking from the fridge and notice I'm out of something - or if I decide to make something in the next few days and know I need a couple of things, I'll have her add it in. I'm using Reminders Nano and check them off on the watch when I'm doing groceries.
I tend to leave my phone either on the counter in the kitchen or on the coffee table...it's very much out of mind now. Love using the watch to either take the call on the watch or hand it off to the phone. Absolutely awesome!!

Haven't used the voice dictation to respond to texts yet...heh...think I'm a little self-conscious yet about doing that around other people...maybe that'll change.

Looking forward to the new interesting ways this will change our lives as new functionalities are added by the software developers as well as Apple.
 
I am finding my third AW is working fine. Glad I stuck with it and did not give up. Would like to see Apple address a few little things in a OS update before they release OS2 for the watch. I would also like to see them "flesh out" their fitness app which is pretty basic when compared to what is out there.
 
Easttime said:
I got it as a gift because I assumed it was just luxury. Now use it all day. Pleasantly surprised with its practicality. My real-world usefulness list, in order of utility:
  1. Time. I switch faces for various purposes. Never have to set the time. The world clock, stopwatch and countdown timers are handy, more useful on my wrist than fumbling with my phone.
  2. Notifications. No longer need to have my phone out and visible.
All the rest are very useful because I don't need to fish out the phone or have it immediately to hand:
  1. Calendar. Very handy to have my next reminder instantly on my wrist.
  2. Weather: check current temperature and forecast.
  3. Messages: reply from the watch with short canned messages or dictate a reply if convenient setting.
  4. Email. I just use it for awareness of incoming email and to clean out my inbox. Nothing heavy (I'll pull out my phone instead).
  5. Activity. It definitely motivates me. Less back pain.
  6. Lists. I use OneNote's handy new check off feature.
  7. Driving and walking directions from Apple Maps. Much easier to follow than trying to look at the phone, and I can mute the voice instructions on the phone.
  8. Travel: Boarding pass, flight notifications, directions from Apple Maps from iPhone in my pocket/backpack.
  9. Phone calls. When it's convenient I answer them right on my wrist. It's handy to see who's calling before I go running for my phone.
  10. Calculator: basic arithmetic.
  11. 1Password: check key data.
  12. Tile. Find my keys.
  13. Check my iPhone's battery and wireless connect status.
Fun:
  1. Sky Guide to check sunrise, sunset, moon phase, major sky events.
  2. Music control. I can move around my house and control the music - including volume which is awesome. On the go I use the Watch to quickly see the name of the artist and song that's playing, skip and control volume.
  3. Twitter. The bite-sized messages are perfect on the small screen; use it only for urgent news.
  4. Photos: tiny, but entertaining ice-breaker.
  5. Fashion. It does look very good. Haven't got into swapping straps yet, but I see the point.
Wish list:
  1. Tide.
Click to expand...

I use TideGraphPro on my watch and it works perfectly!
 
For me the "killer app" that got me to buy the AW was the ability to track my runs or bike rides by glancing at my watch and not having to dig out my phone. I use Runkeeper but I'm sure Strava or one of the others would do the job quite well. I was also expecting ApplePay to be a "killer app" for me and indeed it has been. I double tap my AW then wave my wrist at checkout kiosks and I've paid and gone while the other guys are still digging for their credit cards, phones, id's, checkbooks, crumpled notes and penny rolls. Better still, I've used my AW to board an international flight (US end), they weren't quite as prepared for it on the return leg as eboarding passes weren't available out of that particular airport.

Now that I've had it over a month I appreciate the weather app (tap the temperature on any watch screen and hourly forecasts come up on an alternate watch face, then tap that watch face to toggle between temperature/sunny cloudy rainy icons/rain probability percentages). I also like the ability to see and respond to notifications and the distinct haptics for different kinds of notifications. I like the photos app which allows me to quickly browse photos I've favorited on my iPhone from my watch. This means if I need a particularly obscure bit of information, I simply take a picture of it on my iPhone then favorite it and I can call it up on my wrist. I normally use the Utility watch face but I've also used many of the others as well.

While everything hasn't been perfect (my iPhone lost GPS on one of my runs around Macinac Island and screwed up my runkeeper log for that day), there is no way my AW is going back to Apple. I expect it to be a long term success no matter what the naysayers are dishing out lately. Remember Steve Ballmer laughing at iPhone? Remember the jokes about iPad being unnecessary or having something to do with feminine hygiene?

If you like your AW, enjoy it. If you don't like it take it back. Apple will survive and 5 years from now we very well might be posting in threads about how Apple has sold as many AWs as smartphones. Perhaps we might be posting in threads about how AW became a niche product like Apple TV. Regardless of the outcome, I don't regret being an early adopter and I'm rooting for AW to be a success because I like mine.
 
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I love my Apple Watch! It is so worth the price when you realize how much it can do. The watch looks great and is not stuck in one style but is versatile, personable and customizable, has state of the art technology and engineering that is just beginning. The future is so bright I have to wear shades! It has changed my life for the better with its activity notifications, I can control my Apple TV, I love showing it to people who ask about it (like at the Rolling Stones concert last night in Detroit). I could go on but you get the picture. I have always worn a watch and the Apple Watch has ceased my looking for new watches - it's Apple Watch or bust from now on. I love it!
 
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Love my Apple Watch 42mm SS. I love having choices for bands and using it to log my workouts and heart rate and the battery has been fantastic. Even when I do 3+ hours of a logged workout and heart rate, I have never went below 30% in a 16 hour day - even with 5+ hours of usage. Love using blue-tooth headphones working on the yard or mowing the yard (takes 2+ hours) and can leave the phone in the house and still make phone calls, respond to texts, schedule reminders and calendar appointments.

Most of my other watches cost about $300-$600 (Seiko, Tassot) and they look nice but all they do is tell the time. My Apple Watch looks just as nice for $600 and I can swap bands in seconds and go from Sport to Professional and love all the extra features. Love Fantasical 2 and 2Do for all my To Do's and Calendars and reminders for my schedule. Love the rings to keep me motivated. Looking forward to the O/S 2.0 and I am hoping for more watch faces or 3rd party options.
 
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