I really loved my Apple Watch when I first got it but for the past few months I’m realizing I’m only using it for a pedometer and seeing if I have (not reading) any texts. I’m not a super athletic guy. I do my exercises and that’s it. It’s hard for me to justify a $400 time piece that I’m not utilizing. I’m thinking about trying a Fitbit but I’m not sure about that either.
Has anyone else tried the Apple Watch for an extended time and decided it wasn’t for you? What did you replace it with, if anything?
Have you tried utilizing it more? Why not make an effort to try and use any of the other features for a while to see if you can make it work for you? Things I do with my Watch throughout the week, every week, for years now:
Control audio playback in Music and TuneIn Radio on my iPhone
Have Siri add or remove items from my shopping list or other lists in Reminders
Ask Siri to remind me at time or location to do something
Take phone calls or quickly dismiss calls I don’t want to answer
Quick reply to messages by way of drawing out short messages, emojis, or predefined texts
Shazam music
Request a Lyft
Automatically unlock/lock my Mac
Turn by turn directions while walking or driving using haptic feedback and not even having to look at it or my phone to know which direction to turn
Wallet: boarding passes, tickets to shows, etc etc
Pay for stuff everywhere!
Yes, I realize a lot of these things you can do with your iPhone, but not all of them and the ease of use and amount of hands-freeing and time saving (even if they’re little bits of time, they add up quickly) the Watch provides is indispensable to me.
I can’t wait to upgrade to one of the new ones when my second one dies on me.
I had not worn a watch for years before buying the series 0 watch. Wore it off and in for a couple of years before giving up on it. Was tempted by new series 4 watch but holding off for now.
I have had one for 2 years and really like it, though I never recommend it to anyone as my use is so basic.
I use it for the time, pedometer, alerts from a few apps (most are turned off), setting reminders, timing my brew of tea and sending a message to my wife when I arrive to pick her up.
The only significant thing is using it with Airpods when jogging, but I could easily use my phone.
So, yeah, lots of little things but nothing particularly important.
I’m not sure why you’d replace it at this point though, unless it’s not working well.
I think my path was the reverse of yours. I just got an Apple Watch in June. Part of my motivation was that the FitBit models that I used did not stand up to how my life functions. I am a long distance runner and I went through 9 FitBits in 3 years. Most of the time, it was due to band failures. In those cases, the models I used had the bands integrated into the dials, so I could not easily replace the bands. I also had battery issues with some of them. They were great about returns, but, in the end, I decided that I needed something that would survive my lifestyle. Good luck on your exploration.
@Centris650 if your watch is Series 0 then I can tell you Series 3 is a much better experience. (Series 2 might be also, Series 4 definitely is.)
I went from S0 to S3 and use the watch MUCH more now. Quite apart from being able to play back just off the watch, I use it heavily for exercise-related things.
The point being you might find a modern watch surprisingly useful, where the Series 0 never could be.
First of all, it is fine not to see the use of an Apple Watch! Everybody has a different way of using devices and that is perfectly fine.
I might be kind of a weirdo, but to me, the Apple Watch is a device I had been waiting for for years, long before it finally was released. Why? “Designed by Apple in California.” Man, sometimes I really hated to read this slogan. Because it really showed on Apple products. Try to use an iPhone when it is rainy and you are outside. Try to use it, when it is freezing cold. Yes, there are ways, but they are not very nice. So, walking the dog in the winter or just being outside for that matter, sometimes I really wondered why there is no Apple Watch that enables me to control music, that uses Siri for interaction, that shows me notifications and so on.
Then the Apple Watch was announced (Series 0). I bought it on day one. I bought the next generation (Series 1). And I even bought the third one (Series 2). I skipped the Series 3 and I bought the Series 4. I cannot imagine not having a smartwatch.
These days, I am tracking my sleep, I track my walks and so on. I am no sports guy, but I enjoy the tracking. I do not know why, but I love it.
I use Things on my Apple Watch in order to mark tasks as done. I check my calendar. I control music and podcasts. I check my notifications. With Siri Shortcuts I use it even more.
There are days when I do not unlock my iPhone for hours, especially when being at work. The watch keeps me up to date and at work it is my primary Apple device to interact with (working in a PC environment that is).
If you use the Apple Watch just for fitness tracking, I would go for a (cheap) fitness tracker:
The Apple Watch is truly one of those “nice to have” devices. One of my Apple friends told me he is not getting another Apple product that he feels compelled to upgrade on a regular basis, just can’t afford it.
For me, I really enjoy having the Apple Watch. To be sitting in a meeting and not have to pull out my phone to check texts coming in or to see who is calling at a glance it worth it. The tap on the wrist when it’s time to take a turn when using Maps is great. The step tracking is nice as well. I like being able to glance to see the temperature or see when my next calendar appointment.
Bottom line, the “at a glance” information is what keeps me on the platform.
@fastasleep I used to utilize it a lot more. I have used it for Things, Streaks, Pedometer++, Sleep++, I’ve made calls on it, dictated texts, alarms, times, stopwatch etc. However, I think @MartinPacker hit the nail on the head. My watch is a Series 1 and it just doesn’t connect like it once did. Pedometer++ rarely connects anymore and texts are slow getting to my watch. (I’ve noticed them on my phone, iPad or Mac LONG before they show up on my watch.) Maybe some of my disillusionment is that my watch is pretty slow now and it’s lost some of the functionality. The only thing that is keeping me on it IS the health monitoring services. I turn 50 next year and the idea that I have a medical device strapped to my wrist all day is kind of reassuring.
I’m going to try going a month without it and see how it goes. If I miss it I’ll look at upgrading but if I don’t it’ll be hard time convincing myself I need a new one.
I actually went from having a Apple Watch Series 3 to a FitBit Versa. I loved my Apple Watch but it was a smart watch first when I needed a fitness tracker more. The FitBit app with the FitBit watch is unmatched if you need to lose weight like I need to. So getting healthy is more important for me than having a fancy watch.
The only thing I miss is being able to adjust volume of my AirPods on my watch. I do everything else on my phone a lot easier than doing it on the watch.
I bought a series 0 second hand, then waited for
Series 3 new, it is second nature for me to strap it on now.
I’m in museum management, many times a day I jump up from my desk and run around the museum as I’m over two departments. Getting alerts, meeting reminders, and quick replies has been great.
When I arrive home I check activity rings and amazed at how many miles I walk inside the museum daily, average is 6-7 miles.
I don’t leave home without my phone often, but when I do I like listening to music or a podcast through my watch using my Beats X.
Now, I also carry a Galaxy Note 8 and have been thinking about a Samsung watch to compliment it occasionally, but I’m not sure what that experience will be like yet.
I went through a similar situation in March. My deal with the Apple Watch is it caused me to feel anxious while wearing it. I think it was something to do with my brain anticipating notifications and feeling like I always had to be aware. I chronicled some of my dealings with this process at the Productivity Guild.
I’ve worn both the Apple Watch and the Fitbit Versa. At the end of the day, Fitbits have much less versatility than the Apple Watch. For an extra $200 you can get all the fitness features of a Fitbit as well as so much more! It’s never a bad thing to have more functionality than you think you may need.
For example - DayOne just came out with audio recording on the Apple Watch. Not something I realized I even needed until they released it and now I can’t imagine not having!
I’ve been solely with a FitBit (Alta HR) for three years.
An Apple Watch does appeal to me, but I’ve found that I use my FitBit for 3 things
Number of steps per day (run/walk)
The profile of my sleep (The HR part really helps)
Notifications of calls
I’m really happy with the FitBit, and have stayed with it not because I wouldn’t get benefit from an Apple Watch. I am afraid I would get too much engagement from it. I really think I would be too attached to it, always engaging with it. FOTMWA (fear of too much Watch attraction)
I have a love/hate relationship with the Apple Watch.
My first Apple Watch was the Series 1. I wore it non-stop for about a year. Then I started to miss my other real watches (Timex Weekender was my daily driver before). Then I saw an opportunity to get a stainless steel silver Series 4 and I bought it. Absolutely love how it looks, but I’m having buyer’s remorse. Stainless steel was already going to cost beyond what I was comfortable spending. But then Apple gated the stainless steel models behind LTE which translates to an even higher barrier for stainless steel.
I have a week left on my return window, and I think about returning it every day. I love it, but I keep thinking of other things I can use $850 for. Especially as a college student. The bad part is, the stainless steel Series 4 ruined my aluminum space grey Series 1 for me.
I’m 90% sure I’m going to return it, and I really don’t want to.
With all the benefits the Apple Watch affords, I sent mine back. It was a SG Aluminium LTE. I bought it for health reasons but took it back for obsolescence reasons. In 2 - 3 years time I’ll be selling it or throwing it away. That’s a lot of money to throw away in a short space of time.
Don’t get me wrong. Great technology and if the ECG does indeed come to Australia, I may revise my decision and purchase again just for that.
Plus while the stats and reminders etc are all part of the experience, I’m not sure I want to be comfortable in such an environment. The quantified self is, perhaps, not ideal for me.
As a watch enthusiast, I was reluctant to give up my “jewellery” but as a tech/apple nerd, I had to try it and it is now my favourite Apple product. I use it continually from the time I get up until I go to bed - uses include:
setting a 6 minute timer for my tea
diary check and diary reminders
confirmation when anything is added to Setmore
weather check which is important for me as a photographer, and having a detailed weather report by the hour on the new infograph watch face is very useful
BBC news updates
unlocking my mac
adding items to Omnifocus
dictating to Drafts
Starbucks card (in wallet)
I pay everything under £30 with it
In the office, I often answer calls while phone is at my desk and the Series 4 is much better as a phone
quick replies to messages
decline calls
Shazam
Check on my activity
set alarms to remind me of appointments
When I am traveling, I use it for directions
and my favourite use is for Overcast, the radio, or music with AirPods. I am a photographer and when photographing real estate, I am usually working on my own so I have the AirPods in to listen to either music, podcasts, or audio books, and being able to change the volume, pause, skip etc. all from my watch is fantastic.
I use several different watch faces but my most used one is shown.
Same for me it’s so much more than a watch. I look at my iPhone much much less and it’s enjoyable to use my Apple Watch. I had not worn a watch for over 10 years until the Apple Watch arrived. I won’t look back and waiting on the series 4 to arrive😁
Thanks for the info and opinions everyone! After my last post I decided to tweak my complications on my watch. (I always use the MODULAR face) So far I’ve not really used them. My phone is literally either beside me or in my hand most of the time. I just don’t feel like I’m using my Apple Watch to it’s full potential…and I don’t think I ever will. Part of the issue is my eyes. I have really REALLY bad eyes and the tiny screen is tough for me sometimes. My job and lifestyle isn’t so rushed and crazy that I feel like I save time inputting todos, events or journal entries into my watch than my phone. Once again, don’t get me wrong, it’s a great device but like the iPad it’s not for everyone and I just don’t feel I’m getting my money’s worth out of it. I might upgrade one more time to the 4 and see how cellular will help out.
