What is Apple Watch use-case.

[wlossw]

So I'm curious other than fitness tracking and notifications please give me an example of something you can do with the apple watch that is actually a better experience then the iphone.

I tried to launch the weather network app on my Apple Watch over the weekend... 30 seconds later spinning wheel. Ended up pulling out my iphone to get weather info. This sort of thing happens every time I try to use my watch to checkout some quick info and get back to what I was doing. I really thought the watch would save me time but it seems terrible at giving me info at a glance... even the notifications have started coming in well after on my mac or phone as of late...

So I guess I am curious, other than using it because you have it on, and have to justify owning it, what can you do with your apple watch that is actually fast, easy and functions reliably?

 

[JayLenochiniMac]

I think you've answered your own question. The AW works best when you allow notifications, etc. to come to you, circumventing having to check the iPhone constantly.

 

[wlossw]

I think you've answered your own question. The AW works best when you allow notifications, etc. to come to you, circumventing having to check the iPhone constantly.

So there is no use viable use other than notifications and fitness?

 

[JayLenochiniMac]

So there is no use viable use other than notifications and fitness?

Well, I do find it useful for navigation, Apple Pay, paying with the Starbucks card (I have it configured to bring it up automatically when I'm near my favorite Starbucks store), and a few other things. Notifications seem to be by far the most useful feature of the AW, at least for me.

 

[wlossw]

Well, I do find it useful for navigation, Apple Pay, paying with the Starbucks card (I have it configured to bring it up automatically when I'm near my favorite Starbucks store), and a few other things. Notifications seem to be by far the most useful feature of the AW, at least for me.

Is it better at those things (navigation and apple pay) than your iphone? I thought I would like having Siri on my wrist, but its even more unreliable than on my phone, so I basically stopped using it.

 

[JayLenochiniMac]

Is it better at those things (navigation and apple pay) than your iphone? I thought I would like having Siri on my wrist, but its even more unreliable than on my phone, so I basically stopped using it.

I definitely prefer using navigation and Apple Pay on AW than iPhone. Less fumbling compared to the iPhone in both cases.

 

[njchris]

I definitely prefer using navigation and Apple Pay on AW than iPhone. Less fumbling compared to the iPhone in both cases.

The navigation is more of a compliment to the phone's navigation. It will buzz on your wrist and make a blinker like sound for upcoming turns (and show the current turn/direction), but the voice comes from my phone (or car if BT is connected). That said, I do like that a lot.

 

[JayLenochiniMac]

The navigation is more of a compliment to the phone's navigation. It will buzz on your wrist and make a blinker like sound for upcoming turns (and show the current turn/direction), but the voice comes from my phone (or car if BT is connected). That said, I do like that a lot.

It doesn't make a difference to me because I have my iPhone permanently on silent.

 

[wlossw]

It doesn't make a difference to me because I have my iPhone permanently on silent.

Thats actually a good point, for people that cant be disturbed by a phone ringing, and don't want to miss something, the wrist haptics are nice.

 

[Uofmtiger]

It works as a remote for the iPhone. The iPhone can't be its own remote, so I think that qualifies. For example, you want to frame a photo with you in it. That can be done on the watch and you can press the shutter button from the watch. It is nice for recording video, as well.

It also excels at being on my wrist when I have the iPhone docked on my table by the couch. I was outside working on the pool the other day and decided I wanted to hear some music. Instead of running in and getting my iPhone, I told Siri on the watch what I wanted to play via Apple Music and then used the Airplay button to send audio to my outdoors Airplay setup. You can can control volume, pause, etc.. with it, as well.

It works better with Apple Music in the car, too. Since it is right on the wrist, I can leave my phone in my pocket or on a dock and just control what is playing using Siri on the watch. It is great for sending an imessage in the car or for adding stuff to the grocery list when I am away from the iPhone.

It is nice to have for Hue lights and iDevices around the house, too. Personally, I don't walk around the house with iPhone in hand, but I do have the watch on, so it excels at being on me most of the time. Also, for weather, it is easier to look at my watch face than getting out the phone and launching a weather app.

I find it more convenient than the iPhone a lot of the time.

 

[SilentDoom]

I use mine to buzz Spock to beam me back to base, to show Luke and obi the leia hologram, oh and I draw dik pics to my girlfriend with digital touch.

In all reality, you seem like a person who would have asked everyone what's the good of iPhone without flash support. I look down at my wrist various times a day for the time? Seems easier than pulling my phone out. Wait, they should advertise this thing can tell time! Bc I see that as its biggest use. Complications such as current temperature. Appointment reminders. List goes on.

 

[BarracksSi]

For weather, I use Apple's own Weather app, Dark Sky (sometimes), and RadarScope (usually only if my phone isn't at hand). Using one of these three apps, plus doing a quick check of News360, means I don't bother unplugging my phone in the morning anymore.

In another thread, I started to write about the few apps I use on my AW, and I surprised myself when I came up with nearly twenty different things I do with it. I rarely wear any of my other watches these days; and when I do, I encounter another scenario where I wish I had my AW instead.

I think more people are confused by the AW, or any smartwatch, than by any other modern gadget. I doubt we would have seen so many "What can you do with it?" threads for smartphones or laptops back when they were new.

 

[wlossw]

I use mine to buzz Spock to beam me back to base, to show Luke and obi the leia hologram, oh and I draw dik pics to my girlfriend with digital touch.

In all reality, you seem like a person who would have asked everyone what's the good of iPhone without flash support. I look down at my wrist various times a day for the time? Seems easier than pulling my phone out. Wait, they should advertise this thing can tell time! Bc I see that as its biggest use. Complications such as current temperature. Appointment reminders. List goes on.

Funny you should say that about asking what good was the iPhone, my wife bought the iPhone 3G when it came out and I had to watch her use it for a over a year Before I traded in my blackberry. The iPhone 4 really sealed the deal for me.

That being said, I have been wearing my Apple Watch for 6 months now, and I am more frustrated than amazed by it at least half the time. I am simply looking for some inspiration on how to love this apple device as much as I do my iPhone, iPad and Mac.

The obvious answer is to wait for a few more hardware revisions, but I was hoping for some insight vis a vis this current model.

 

[JayLenochiniMac]

That being said, I have been wearing my Apple Watch for 6 months now, and I am more frustrated than amazed by it at least half the time. I am simply looking for some inspiration on how to love this apple device as much as I do my iPhone, iPad and Mac.

It sounds like you're trying to use apps on it, which many of us find quite useless. Just as iPad is far better at some key tasks than iPhone, the AW is far better at some key tasks than iPhone so stick with what the AW is best at and you'll get more enjoyment out of it.

 

[sean000]

Funny you should say that about asking what good was the iPhone, my wife bought the iPhone 3G when it came out and I had to watch her use it for a over a year Before I traded in my blackberry. The iPhone 4 really sealed the deal for me.

That being said, I have been wearing my Apple Watch for 6 months now, and I am more frustrated than amazed by it at least half the time. I am simply looking for some inspiration on how to love this apple device as much as I do my iPhone, iPad and Mac.

The obvious answer is to wait for a few more hardware revisions, but I was hoping for some insight vis a vis this current model.

Of course I would always welcome more speed, but the current hardware is perfectly fine for most tasks in my opinion. I have been using the Apple Watch since July, and I find it to be useful throughout the day and only occasionally frustrating. The important thing to remember when talking about app loading times is that not all apps are created equal. I've never tried the Weather Network app, but 30 seconds is not up to par. Carrot Weather and Dark Sky are the two weather apps to beat (personally I think Carrot is faster... always updates within a few seconds for me). The stock weather app also updates in just a few seconds for me. Even better is to rely mostly on the complications, but even loading the app and updating it takes less time than it would take me to get my iPhone out and check it that way.

I would also give Siri another try after making sure you have the latest updates for your watch and for your iPhone. I used to find Siri hit or miss, but lately Siri has worked almost every time for me. I think Siri works best if you say, "Hey Siri" and immediately follow that with your request. Do not pause to wait for Siri to appear on the watch face... pauses seem to confuse Siri. I regularly use Siri to text my wife, schedule reminders, schedule appointments, set timers, control our Hue lights, dial a number, etc. When I'm on a bike ride I often leave the workout app set to display speed, but if I want to know my heart rate at any given time I can just ask Siri.

I don't experience many frustrations these days, but when I do it's often because an app that normally works just fine fails to update on the watch. For example my grocery app (Bring) and my calendar app (Fantastical) are excellent, but every now and then the watch app will fail to update as it normally does 95% of the time. Fortunately I can always get my iPhone out, but it can be worrisome if my watch is not giving me the latest information. Of course it's also possible for apps to fail to sync from time to time on the iPhone.

For me the watch would be worth it even just for the silent notifications and the complications. I don't usually open apps directly from the app screen, but I rely on notifications or complications. Sometimes glances as well.

Sean

 

[DynaFXD]

Mostly I use it to .... tell the time. Helluva lot easier than pulling/finding the phone. And for a solid, stylish watch that also does other things, the price is not out of line compared to good (not exorbitant/collectible) mechanicals.
Other things that I use regularly are text/emails/call screening from friends and family. While cooking/brewing it is very easy to use voice commands to say 'Set timer 20 minutes' and keep going. Controlling pod casts while driving or when using blue tooth speakers, taking an unexpected call while somewhere in the house. Fitness tracking, mostly for fun and interest, why not. I don't have my phone permanently attached at the hip.
But most of all, it's a watch.

 

[convergent]

The backdrop for the use case for me with the watch was that I went from an iPhone 5S to a 6S+. In making this move to a much larger phone, I went in planning to ditch traveling with an iPad and also get an Apple Watch to help me keep the larger phone in my pocket more. I had no thoughts of the watch being a standalone replacement for my phone, but rather an extension of it. Here is a repost of a "life in the day" during a trip to London that I posted in another thread here a while back.

I noticed that my Apple Watch was helping me out a lot this morning, so took a couple of minutes to write up how. This week I'm traveling on business in London.

First off, my AW alarm woke me up... I have a difficult time waking up, and having both the AW and iPhone there gives me two different types of alarms. In addition, its much easier in the dark to reach over and tap the watch (clock mode) to see what time it is in the dark. This helps me know if I have any snooze time.

When I first put on the watch this morning, I first checked the watch face to see what my first appointment was, and could go into Sunrise to see what was on the day's agenda. I then glanced at Carrot Weather to see that it wasn't going to rain today (shocking this time of year in London) and then tapped into the full app to see that it was only 40 degrees, but how the temp would go through the day. This let me know what coat to wear.

While eating breakfast, I opened my iPhone and used CityMapper (incredible app) to pick a path to my first appointment. I chose a path that involved walking and two trains on the Underground. I'm completely unfamiliar with where I am and how to get to my destination in London, but very confident with CityMapper. I could have taken a taxi instead for about 4-5 times the cost. After choosing my path, I could then put my phone away while getting through the busy rush hour Underground without having my phone out looking like a tourist.

I haven't found that it works that great for guiding me on the walking part of the trip (with CityMapper), but I'm not jammed in with a lot of people walking down a sidewalk either. CityMapper passes the walk route to Maps, but it seemed to pass it in Car mode. I haven't investigated why.

Once I entered the Underground, I could put my phone away and use the AW. I swiped up to the Glance and it loaded my trip and defaulted to showing the ETA. Pressing, it opens the app nearly instantly and I could then scroll right to each segment of the trip. It tells me which line and direction to go to... then tells me where in the train to get for the quickest exit. While on the train, it tells me how many stops, and updates me on which stop I'm at. Then upon exit, it tells me what platform and direction to go to, and/or where to exit the underground for the quickest walking path.

I was meeting up with someone for coffee, and they had sent me a text to tell me they were at the coffee shop next to our office. Again, I was able to respond from my watch with an "OK".

Once we got to the office, I needed to connect to VPN. I logged into Cisco VPN on my computer and up popped the DuoMobile app on my watch in a couple of seconds asking for 2 factor authentication. I hit approve on my watch and VPN connected.

I got various notifications for messages, news, etc.. throughout the day on the watch. I also use a Bible app that gives me a verse of the day to my watch that I check out during notification checks from time to time. I am now using Pedometer++ which gives me a dedicated step count... a little easier to check in on to reach my walking goal.

I didn't use the Music app on the AW this morning, but do frequently use that to control my music via headphones from my iPhone. I can select and change my playing choices from the watch and leave my phone in my pocket.

I see so many people claiming the AW is pretty much useless, or that no apps are useful. I don't get it because I keep finding more and more ways to use it. I will also say that with Watch OS 2.1, I've noticed a performance improvement across the board, particularly with 3rd party apps. Some of them failed to load at all so I stopped using them, and now they are working fine. I didn't have anything today that had more than a couple of second load time.

That was a while ago, and I find that my use case for the watch will change depending on my plans for an outing. If I'm traveling, its often something like I described above. If I'm working in my home office, I find that the watch keeps me connected when I go to the kitchen or some place else and leave my phone on my desk. When I go to the gym with my Bluetooth sports headphones, I can leave my iPhone in my pocket and do everything I need to do from the watch... controlling what music I'm hearing and volume... and controlling my sports tracking.

The big thing I found when I got the watch was that I had never used the Today screen on my iPhone and never really thought through notifications. After getting the watch, I initially let it just send everything to the watch and it was overwhelming. I then became more intentional about notifications. I went in and turned them off for many apps... others I allowed to go to the phone... and then a subset of those went to the watch. So now when I get a notification on the watch, I really want it. When I'm in meetings or even doing yard work... being able to glance down and see them on the watch is very time saving.

And now the latest use case I found. There is a Dominos Pizza in a shopping center a short distance from our home. I like to pick up our pizza vs. having it delivered. They are very quick, but I usually want to squeeze in another errand in the shopping center on the same trip. The Dominos app sends me a play by play on my watch... in the oven... ready for pickup... very handy.

Oh, and one last one. I just bought a new CarPlay enabled head unit for my truck. I don't like the navigation prompts interrupting my music. So I usually mute the prompts in CarPlay and rely on watching the screen. The watch adds a little extra here because it gives you a unique taptic wrist alert when you are approaching a turn, and that reminds me to check the Apple Maps display on my head unit. If you didn't have CarPlay, it would be the same thing with reminding you to check your iPhone... but its just kind of cool that the three work well together... again allowing me to keep the iPhone put away.

 

[cwosigns]

The AW is an extension of my phone, not something I use in lieu of my phone (though many times it allows me to keep my phone docked or in my pocket and still know what type of notification is coming through). For me there's not a killer app that makes it worth it to me. But I do like the activity tracker, the remote camera feature, and of course actionable notifications. Really...I think actionable notifications is the killer app. It's less obtrusive to glance at your watch occasionally than it is to be the person whose phone is always in hand, who never makes eye contact because they're going to miss something on their phone. I guess it helps me to be more present with those around me and still not miss anything critical. It lets me triage my notifications more effectively.

 

[Skylitfly]

Well... for me it's just an accessory for my iPhone. And a timekeeping tool. For me the fitness features, notifications and weather quick glance and app are already a great convininince. Everything else is just bonus really. Sometimes I control my music on it when I'm playing through bluetooth speakers and my iPhone isn't close to me.

 

[maflynn]

So there is no use viable use other than notifications and fitness?

For my experience, no. There's a handful of other possible usages that vary in utility but overall, its primary focus is to extend the usefulness of the iPhone.

 

[BlueMoon63]

So there is no use viable use other than notifications and fitness?

Maybe for some, but I use my watch every night for my silent alarm. My wife thanks me for that. I also track my sleep and love that feature. I use Carrot for weather and it is very accurate and current. Loading if I want to check Lon range forecast takes about 1-2 seconds to load. Way faster than getting my phone. I use the app Things for tracking my to do items and love that app. It also loads in about 1-2 seconds and let's you use Siri to add tasks. I still love using Fantastical 2 for my calendar during the week and that is a great app.

Love going for a run with just the Apple Watch and Blue Tooth headphones or doing yard work the same way. Hate having my phone with me while working on the yard or running or listing. The watch is great for listening to music without bringing your phone.

All in all, I use about 5-6 apps heavily on the Apple Watch and they always load fast. My glances for my bank balance is always current and that is nice to know. I'm very pleased with the usage and functionality of the watch and not sure there is another device out there that lets me go lift weights trackin my workout and reps and sets and rest time while listening to music and Bluetooth headphones, logging my workout, getting notifications and responding while my phone is in the locker or on my desk charging. Even when out of range of Bluetooth or wi-fi, I can do so much with just the watch and Bluetooth headphones.

 

[JayLenochiniMac]

For my experience, no. There's a handful of other possible usages that vary in utility but overall, its primary focus is to extend the usefulness of the iPhone.

The AW also "extends the usefulness of the iPhone" when it comes to notifications (i.e., you can also check notifications on iPhone). The OP asked if there is no viable use other than notifications and fitness so you'd have to take notifications out of the equation based on your criteria.

 

[wlossw]

Maybe for some, but I use my watch every night for my silent alarm. My wife thanks me for that. I also track my sleep and love that feature. I use Carrot for weather and it is very accurate and current. Loading if I want to check Lon range forecast takes about 1-2 seconds to load. Way faster than getting my phone. I use the app Things for tracking my to do items and love that app. It also loads in about 1-2 seconds and let's you use Siri to add tasks. I still love using Fantastical 2 for my calendar during the week and that is a great app.

Love going for a run with just the Apple Watch and Blue Tooth headphones or doing yard work the same way. Hate having my phone with me while working on the yard or running or listing. The watch is great for listening to music without bringing your phone.

All in all, I use about 5-6 apps heavily on the Apple Watch and they always load fast. My glances for my bank balance is always current and that is nice to know. I'm very pleased with the usage and functionality of the watch and not sure there is another device out there that lets me go lift weights trackin my workout and reps and sets and rest time while listening to music and Bluetooth headphones, logging my workout, getting notifications and responding while my phone is in the locker or on my desk charging. Even when out of range of Bluetooth or wi-fi, I can do so much with just the watch and Bluetooth headphones.

How do you use sleep tracking and still have apple watch on you for fitness tracking? when do you charge?

 

[sean000]

So there is no use viable use other than notifications and fitness?

Keep in mind that many people spend just as much, and sometimes more, on fitness bands and watches that don't do anything else. Some of them may do fitness better, but none of them do notifications as well. I came from a Fitbit to the Apple Watch, and the Apple Watch suits my fitness needs just fine. Even better in some ways, because I'm just going for overall health and not training for competition.

Personally I think the value of the Apple Watch, beyond fitness and notifications, is in all the little conveniences it provides throughout the day. I probably glance at my watch dozens of times a day for a variety of information, so that's dozens of times a day I'm not digging my iPhone out of whatever pocket, bag or room it's in. Most of the interactions have to do with checking the time, weather, calendar, notifications, fitness rings, tasks/reminders, lists I keep in a grocery shopping app and in an outliner app, etc. I also value the apps I don't interact with regularly, but I'm glad they are on my watch when I need them. I can do the grocery shopping without getting out my wallet or iPhone, which is convenient when you're juggling groceries and your kids. I can set a timer or a reminder when my hands are full. I can see what's playing when my iPhone is docked to the speaker bar in the next room. I can control our Hue lights.

It really comes down to whether or not these conveniences add value to your iPhone experience. For me the watch significantly improved the experience of owning and using an iPhone.

Sean

 

[BarracksSi]

How do you use sleep tracking and still have apple watch on you for fitness tracking? when do you charge?

It doesn't take long to charge fully. It's a small battery.

I charge mine in the evening before going to bed, then I wear it into bed to serve as my alarm clock. I suppose I could top it off in the morning, too, but since the watch usually has between 50-40% remaining at the end of the day, I figure it's doing okay.