So after going through all of the trouble of tracking down a series 2 watch with older software so that I could pair with my jailbroken 6S running 10.2, I'm now wondering what I'm supposed to be using it for lol. As stupid as it sounds, I really can't figure it out. I love the aesthetics of it and it looks great, but I would love to know what more I could be doing with it. I'm hoping I wasn't just drawn to the aesthetics and idea of it.
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What do you think the main draws of the Apple Watch are?
- Thread starter TH55
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You are one of the most conflicted people I've ever seen posting about the watch. This time, it's really funny!
You know the features of it right? Activity stuff, heart rate tracking, remote camera operation, unobtrusive notifications, yes?
Aside from those, you could:
You know the features of it right? Activity stuff, heart rate tracking, remote camera operation, unobtrusive notifications, yes?
Aside from those, you could:
- Toss it up in the air and see how high you can throw it
- Take a bath and put it on the tub and just admire its beauty while you relax.
- Buy lots of bands and change them every couple hours.
- Go take lots of selfies showing off your watch in the wild.
- Keep a diary of your adventures with your watch.
- Remove the bands and see how many times you can skip it across a lake. You can then have lots of fun trying to find it again.
Honest question, did you research the Watch at all before you purchased it and it's capabilities?
There are loads of threads in the Apple Watch forum that discuss all the capabilities of the Apple Watch. You will even learn things you didn't know it could do.
Some people just buy flashy toys to have them. Maybe you should have looked it up before buying it?
I use mine for:
Navigation (Apple maps)
Activity monitoring
Remote for music player/camera in my iPhone 6
Checking messages when on the go
Finding stores,gas stations and other places I need to find (poisonmaps)
Stopwatch/timer/alarm clock
Reading news
Checking weather forecasts
Exposure calculator (PhotoBuddy)
Finding my car in shopping mall parking lots
And a couple of other things I don't even think of right now.
I don't really know how it would work with a jail broken phone,because I had enough of crashing jailbreaks long before Apple presented the watch.
I use mine for:
Navigation (Apple maps)
Activity monitoring
Remote for music player/camera in my iPhone 6
Checking messages when on the go
Finding stores,gas stations and other places I need to find (poisonmaps)
Stopwatch/timer/alarm clock
Reading news
Checking weather forecasts
Exposure calculator (PhotoBuddy)
Finding my car in shopping mall parking lots
And a couple of other things I don't even think of right now.
I don't really know how it would work with a jail broken phone,because I had enough of crashing jailbreaks long before Apple presented the watch.
I think Apple's Apple Watch ads could've taught him something too.
Maybe you can tell time with it. Just a thought.
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Respond to text and email. Monitor heart beat, track exercise.
Responding to texts, one of the main reasons I got it, seems cumbersome. What is the easiest way to do it?
My main use of a smart watch is notification, so I can check what's going on without having to keep waking up my phone in my pocket.
As for the series 2, I am amazed at its fitness functions. Try using it for swimming, it's kinda cool being able to track things while you are excercising.
Default replies, emoticons and Siri is the only way to respond to texts from the Watch. I find Siri to be the most useful.
It has canned responses that are best to use the crown to scroll through so you don't inadvertently select one. But, believe it or not, the speech to text works extremely well. In fact I was in a crowd the other day with lots of ambient noise and it performed flawlessly.
Thanks to you, I had to go look this up. Pretty slick app (although I have no cameras worthy of using it).
Don't I have to have dictation on for that to work? If so, is it possible to have it on the watch but not the phone? I hate that microphone button, it's in a very inconvenient place and gets in the way.
I have used scribble when I have had to, it's a little slow and cumbersome. It would be nice if it had a predictive text function, so that every letter of every word didn't need to be drawn (scribbled) out.
Fitness with inbuilt GPS. S2.
I'm the guy that has 8 Facebook notifications and gets round to checking that in my own sweet time. As with all the other social stuff.
I'm the guy that has 8 Facebook notifications and gets round to checking that in my own sweet time. As with all the other social stuff.
You can turn it off on iPhone at General>Keyboard>Enable Dictation = Off.
I think for short response it's working great. I don't even have to slow my writing down.
In addition to what's posted above, I use mine to access contacts when someone asks me for one, while I am talking to them on my phone. Easier than trying to access contacts on the phone you are talking on.
I also use it to silence the alarm on my phone if I am up and about and the phone is still on the charger stand when the alarm goes off.
Also handy for turning up or down the thermostat remotely or unlocking my door from the car and turning on a couple of lights, if I know I will have my arms full, having to carry stuff in.
Controlling music, downloading music to the device and sometimes using it to pay for things, when I am out without the phone is also handy
I also use it to silence the alarm on my phone if I am up and about and the phone is still on the charger stand when the alarm goes off.
Also handy for turning up or down the thermostat remotely or unlocking my door from the car and turning on a couple of lights, if I know I will have my arms full, having to carry stuff in.
Controlling music, downloading music to the device and sometimes using it to pay for things, when I am out without the phone is also handy
Cumbersome? All you have to do is speak into it and it transcribes what you said. What could be easier than that?
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Aside from the Activity app for tracking workouts every single day, I also use the watch as my alarm in the morning. Getting taps on a wrist is a way more pleasant way of getting woken up than through blasting music or an alarm.
That aside, I use it for quick glances about the weather and notifications about upcoming appointments. My phone's vibration is not strong enough for me to feel it and my Watch has saved me on multiple occasions. That same feature, but for phone calls, has also been terrific.
I did something similar: bought it without any specific plan in mind, but figured that enough people had them that there was probably some utility to it. I think it probably took me 1-2 months before I really felt that I had found a way to make it feel useful.
For me, the major strength of the Watch is in the ability to changes faces easily (just firm-press and then swipe back and forth) and the "complications" (little bits of info displayed on the face). I have a number of faces - all of them the "Modular" style - with different complications set for each. I have a face for work, one for driving, one for home, all with different bits of information and quicker access to applications, if needed.
The weakest point of the Watch is in its usage of specific applications. That's the way I started out trying to use it (similar to other iOS devices), and I'd guess it's where most people start. For me, the real strength of the devices is in being able to glance at it and receive quick updates or reminders.
Granted, it's pretty versatile and can be used in a variety of ways. I still don't consider it a "must-have" device like an iPhone, but I think I've reached the point where I'd miss it if I didn't have one.
For me, the major strength of the Watch is in the ability to changes faces easily (just firm-press and then swipe back and forth) and the "complications" (little bits of info displayed on the face). I have a number of faces - all of them the "Modular" style - with different complications set for each. I have a face for work, one for driving, one for home, all with different bits of information and quicker access to applications, if needed.
The weakest point of the Watch is in its usage of specific applications. That's the way I started out trying to use it (similar to other iOS devices), and I'd guess it's where most people start. For me, the real strength of the devices is in being able to glance at it and receive quick updates or reminders.
Granted, it's pretty versatile and can be used in a variety of ways. I still don't consider it a "must-have" device like an iPhone, but I think I've reached the point where I'd miss it if I didn't have one.
You should sell your watch. You don't seem to like anything the watch offers.
I'm asking is there a way to turn dictation off on the phone without turning it off on the watch?
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I have yet to see anything essential or even useful that it offers aside from fitness and notifications?
"Aside" from fitness and notifications? What else were you expecting the Watch to do? I find your post borderline ridiculous. Those are the two main selling points for the Watch.
Also, Did you read what @Stefan johansson already Listed for additional uses in Post #4.? He summed up the other Watch capabilities.
As @FrisbeeK9 mentioned, If you can't find any other uses for the Watch other than the tips others posted in here, then sell it and quit implying its not useful, when it is, it's just not useful to you.
Did you try what he suggested? You have your Series 2 right there, don't you? You're asking this question as if you don't have an Apple Watch or an iPhone.
I wear mine so often that I don't realize how much I use it until I wear one of my other watches instead. When I wear another watch, here's what I miss:
- Being able to leave the phone on the kitchen counter all day long
- Seeing the current weather while I'm looking in the closet, deciding what to wear
- Not missing a text or call when I'm walking around and aren't carrying my phone in my hand (I'm so tired of hearing other people's ringtones that I keep mine turned off)
- Getting football scores without having to be near a TV (or, again, keeping my phone welded to my hand)
- Logging walks with my wife, who likes to know how far we've gone
- When I'm driving somewhere new, being able to glance at my wrist for the name and direction of the next turn rather than fumbling around for my phone (seriously, it's as easy as glancing at the time)
- Being able to quietly wake up in the morning by the watch tapping me on the wrist (yes, I wear it to bed)
- Answering a call on my wrist while I'm at my computer
- Other neat tricks, like using the watch to trigger the phone's camera, or catching up on news during my "morning meditation" on the john, or checking items off our grocery list, etc etc
Mostly, I enjoy not having to keep my phone on my person all the damned time anymore.
[doublepost=1495485728][/doublepost]Let me ask you this (and it's related to the thread in my sig) --
Do you wear a regular watch at all?
My theory about AW satisfaction is, if someone tries to treat it like a smartphone, they're going to be disappointed; but if they treat it as a wristwatch with extra functions, they'll be pleased.
No, I'm not going to play Ridge Racer on the AW, and neither would I play Candy Crush. But I'll never get the weather forecast on my Seiko, no matter how hard I try.
In a related topic, I am thinking about buying a new bike, but I can't think of anything useful it offers, aside from fitness, recreation and commuting. What else can I do with a bike? 
Having technology on the wrist makes a lot of sense to some people and it doesn't for others. For the same reason as with any computer, like a clamshell laptop. It's the convenience that the tool offers.
I guess it's a passive device. Because it's worn, I think ideal for passive alerts and notifications and quick and simple actions. I really appreciate the level of deep thought put into this device unlike Samsung's offerings: using the Taptic Engine for map directions is great. I don't use it every day but it's been a hidden gem of a feature for me. Things like that now make pulling out the phone to check something simple feel like a chore or overkill.
Before, you had to pull out your phone to check the time. Now with Apple Watch, you can check the time right on your wrist. Think about that.
I guess it's a passive device. Because it's worn, I think ideal for passive alerts and notifications and quick and simple actions. I really appreciate the level of deep thought put into this device unlike Samsung's offerings: using the Taptic Engine for map directions is great. I don't use it every day but it's been a hidden gem of a feature for me. Things like that now make pulling out the phone to check something simple feel like a chore or overkill.
Before, you had to pull out your phone to check the time. Now with Apple Watch, you can check the time right on your wrist. Think about that.