Thoughts on buying Apple watch

[nightcap965]

Bought the 42 mm Space Black Sport model, mostly for the fitness apps. I can't say enough good things about it. I've lost 20 % of my body mass, my A1C (the measure of sugar-frosted hemoglobin) has dropped to normal, ditto blood pressure and every other health metric. I mainly credit Lark and the Activity apps. My doctor bought one and now recommends it to other patients like me (overweight middle-aged geeks, I guess). It's the first thing I put on in the morning and the last thing I remove at night.

 

[nightcap965]

Were you wearing the watch while you were sleeping?

I'm just going by what the Lark app says they are doing, but it's possible they updated to track data from the watch and didn't update the in-app explanation. Or it's just coincidence that it managed to detect sleep during that period -- their sleep tracking feature is very hit and miss.

In any case, my point remains that there is no native sleep tracking feature built into the watch, and any apps that try to track sleep using data from the watch are just extrapolating from the motion and perhaps heart rate data.

Lark is going by when you put your watch or iPhone down at night and when you picked it up in the morning. It's not all that accurate, but it can provide a rough baseline.

 

[BarracksSi]

Were you wearing the watch while you were sleeping?

Yup. It's so great at waking me up, it's now my main alarm clock.

In any case, my point remains that there is no native sleep tracking feature built into the watch, and any apps that try to track sleep using data from the watch are just extrapolating from the motion and perhaps heart rate data.

What's necessary for tracking sleep besides motion and heart rate? (it has HR data about every 9-10 minutes overnight, too, according to Health) Ah, one app -- Sleep Cycle, but they haven't yet built an AW app -- can also record snoring….

 

[BarracksSi]

Lark is going by when you put your watch or iPhone down at night and when you picked it up in the morning. It's not all that accurate, but it can provide a rough baseline.

This doesn't explain why I have no sleep data from Lark after I uninstalled it from the watch. Maybe there's another setting I've got switched off and don't know about.

 

[sean000]

What do fitness bands like the Fitbit use? I haven't used one, but do they get more info from the wearer?

Newer Fitbits that have a heart rate sensor might use that combined with the motion sensor. Older Fitbits like I have just use the motion sensor. Worn on the wrist, the motion sensor detects when you move around and logs those minutes as "restless" ones. It can also tell when you get up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, and it logs those as "awake" minutes. I find the information to be helpful, keeping in mind that it's no replacement for a sleep clinic when it comes to severe sleep disorders (which thankfully I don't suffer from). I have a Fitbit One that I use for pretty much just sleep tracking now that I have an Apple Watch. Even if the AW could track sleep natively, I am not crazy about wearing a watch to bed. I would rather have a break from it and let it charge. The Fitbit One has a comfortable soft wrist-cuff that you wear to hold the tracker for sleep. I like keeping track of sleep because it encourages me to get in bed earlier more consistently. Even just tracking the time you get into bed to the time you get out of bed is useful in that respect. I also like that it tells me how restless I was and how often I got up. If I feel like I did not sleep well in the morning, the Fitbit data usually shows a lot of restlessness. It also has a vibration alarm, which my wife appreciates. My Apple Watch in nightstand mode is my backup alarm

 

[Night Spring]

What's necessary for tracking sleep besides motion and heart rate? (it has HR data about every 9-10 minutes overnight, too, according to Health) Ah, one app -- Sleep Cycle, but they haven't yet built an AW app -- can also record snoring….

Yeah, I can't think of any other data that the watch can record that can be used for sleep tracking. But what I mean is that each app developer has to implement their own algorithm for interpreting that raw data into sleep data. So if you had two apps on your watch that tracked sleep, they might report widely different results. In that sense, yes, the watch can be used to track sleep, but it isn't a built-in feature.

 

[Night Spring]

This doesn't explain why I have no sleep data from Lark after I uninstalled it from the watch. Maybe there's another setting I've got switched off and don't know about.

I'd check to see if Lark has permission to write sleep data to the Health app. Perhaps that permission got turned off when you uninstalled the watch app.

 

[r0k]

I have a Garmin Forerunner 220. The Garmin app on the iphone s*cks. I mean it's pretty darn bad. Every so often I have to delete and reinstall it. It fails to send data to health about my runs. At least it uploads my run data to my coach and it never fails to do that so I can live with the fact that it's a poor app. Thanks to a poster earlier in this thread, I've downloaded Lark. I like it so far.

One note of caution to those considering Apple Watch as a fitness tracker. Despite the fact AW has more processing power and better sensors than just about anything from Fitbit, Polar or Garmin, the software just isn't ready for prime time for anything beyond "stand reminders" and walking. When I tried to use my AW for running, it was consistently off on distance by about 5%. At first, I thought this was due to the fact I wasn't properly running apexes on USATF certified running courses until I got my Garmin.

During a marathon, my Garmin recorded 26.2 miles for a 26.2 mile race. But my AW battery died and I never got the data. Well that's not entirely true. I got something like 60,000 steps. Steps? What runner cares only about steps? So when I run, I run two-wristed. I have a Garmin on my right wrist and the display shows nothing but distance, elapsed time and trailing pace. My Garmin's distance measurements are also perfect for half-marathons, 10Ks and 5Ks. What is 5% distance measurement error? It's the difference between qualifying for Boston (BQ) or not, that's what. My AW showed me an 8:30 pace for what was actually an 8:55.5 pace. My real pace was too slow for somebody in my age group to BQ. Meanwhile if I want to see what time it is or check for text messages from my significant other, my AW is on my other wrist but I never bother trying to get runmeter or any of the other so-called running apps started on my AW. I avoid them because it's always a hit-or-miss spinning-wheel laden frustrating waste of time I could spend simply running.

Don't get me wrong here. I'm not bashing AW. It's fine for what it is. Just don't get all bent out of shape when you find it isn't well suited for intermediate to advanced fitness tracking applications. Next time you see competitive runners in a video, glance at their wrists and every single one of them has something round with a plastic strap (Garmin, Polar, etc) and almost nobody is (yet) wearing an AW. If you are a competitive runner looking for pace, heart rate, long battery life, accurate GPS, and accurate steps based distance during GPS loss then buy a Garmin first. If you already have a Garmin, adding an AW will give you world class smart watch features, just don't make the mistake of leaving your Garmin at home if you are going out for a run.

As for what the OP said about saving $100. That makes AW a no-brainer for someone who doesn't have one yet. I'm sorry I missed out on that discounted price but I think it was well worth missing the $100 discount to be one of the first people to have an AW over 6 months ago. I pre-ordered a mere 3 hours after preordering went live and because I ordered the single most popular model, I still had to wait weeks for mine arrive. I've been thinking about getting a rose 38mm AW Sport with white band for my significant other. It would be great to pick up one for her at "only" $250 but I think it's too extravagant a gift at this stage in our relationship. Once again, timing is more important than saving $100. Perhaps we'll be at that point of commitment by the time AW2 comes out and I can order her one of those on its launch day.

 

[Quu]

When I first got mine in July I was not convinced it was a good product and returned it. But the latest software updates have improved the watch a lot and it's much easier to get it now for much less money in deals online.

I subsequently was gifted another one and I've had it a full week, I'm really enjoying it. I like the way it feels on my wrist better with the leather loop band instead of a sport band, it looks pretty nice and I'm making great use of the features. I've found it very usable.

My advice, go through the features that the Watch offers and check off the ones you'll actually use. If you're not going to be doing cardio exercises or you don't get many notifications in the day then the watch is just not worth it but if you do both of these things I'm confident you'll enjoy it.

 

[BarracksSi]

I'd check to see if Lark has permission to write sleep data to the Health app. Perhaps that permission got turned off when you uninstalled the watch app.

I checked and didn't see any permissions switched off. Hmm.

Anyway, I've reinstalled Lark onto my watch to see what it does over the next few days. I had removed it because I wasn't strictly recording everything I ate, and I would have felt like a nutball if I verbally dictated everything about my meal. (plus, since Lark works "conversationally" as if it were another person, my wife kept asking what its iMessage-like notifications were!)

 

[WigWag Workshop]

Should a guy wear the 38mm or just the 42mm is what I want to know.

 

[BarracksSi]

Should a guy wear the 38mm or just the 42mm is what I want to know.

Depends mostly on your wrist size and aesthetic preference. I could get along fine with the 38mm, while my wife (who doesn't have one yet) says she'd want the larger display of the 42mm.

My 42mm is just about average-sized compared to my other watches, iirc.

Also, my wrist size is roughly 170mm, if the size ranges Apple specs for its straps is anything to go by. I wear the S/M Sport strap, usually on the second-largest hole.