Apple Watch owners

[A900ss]

It's been out a few months now and OS2 seems to be better than OS1 so I'm thinking maybe I should get one.

I'd like to hear owners views of what they like and dislike rather than read a review from a journalist that's used it for 5 minutes.

Any PH'ers care to pass on their knowledge?

(Please, can this not be an Apple/Android thread? Thanks)

[sicasey]

I've had one since launch (sport with a tan leather strap).

I wore it very day for the first 2 months or so and found it to be not particularly useful but just a nice toy to have.

The fitness tracker is incredibly good in my opinion.

I now wear it maybe once a week and have pretty much forgotten about it.

Tbh I feel a bit of burk wearing it sometimes and the having to charge it every night as well as two iPhones gets to be a bit of a pain.

I imagine the next incarnation will be better and don't really see the value in it until it has a real show stopper of a feature (not sure what that might be).

I travel a lot for work and having my boarding pass on my wrist is about its best feature for me. It's also the best tech watch out there just purely for design and feel compared to the other clunky offerings that I've seen.

If you must buy one then buy a used Sport from eBay in good condition..

Edited to add that I freely admit I'm a sucker for anything shiny and new from Apple which is why I probably own an Apple Watch in the first place. A degree of common sense saw me only shell out for a Sport model of which I am now glad of.

Edited by sicasey on Sunday 29th November 11:58

Edited by sicasey on Sunday 29th November 11:59

[devnull]

Here's a summary from me - bear in mind that I love watches, and i love technology, so it was a reasonably easy sell for me - however, I'm not an out and out die hard apple zealot - i like all GOOD tech.

• I originally bought the Pebble Watch from Kickstarter, and got rid of it after a few months as it was simply too nerdy to wear with smart clothes and the apps were simply st. (Key point here: The watch has to look good as a piece of Jewellery).
• Bought an apple watch sport in grey - scratched it in a week after clonking it on a porcelain sink and the range of straps are quite limited with a grey watch, so swapped it in the apple store for a stainless milanese loop. The stainless watch simply 'goes' with clothing better and looks a lot smarter. The gold editions look tacky IMHO. I still get quite a lot of compliments on it.

App Wise...

• It is primarily a watch to me. The fitness stuff is useful, but doesn't necessarily motivate me to move more.
• I like BBC news notifications and messaging app notifications - useful and discreet.
• Some apps are simply too slow to use - plenty of times i've tried to hail an Uber from the watch but it's infuriating.
• Apple pay using the watch is cool - plenty of people are still amazed when i pay for things using the watch and i'm sure an even greater number think i'm a tosser when I do so as well
• The apple watch for me has really been useful at airports - head to security and the watch helpfully brings your boarding pass up ready - scan on the gates and you're through without faffing for a pass.
• I use 'App in the air' to keep me notified about gate changes, etc.
• Apple maps navigation is super useful on the watch - used it a few times in new cities getting about.

If you don't have a job or a life 'work flow' that uses email / calendar or travel much, I wouldn't think the watch is much cop for some.

Edited by devnull on Sunday 29th November 12:06

[A900ss]

Thanks for the comments.

I'm into the Apple ecosystem (phones, tablets, MacBook and ATV) so it would 'fit' with my gear. Of course apps are everything so those are interesting comments.

Anybody else with a view of using their Apple Watch is most welcome.

I would just be looking at the 42mm Sport Watch. I have a few watches (good ones) so this wouldn't get a look in for a dress occasion, it's the day to day function I'm interested in.

[EdJ]

A900ss said:

Thanks for the comments.

I'm into the Apple ecosystem (phones, tablets, MacBook and ATV) so it would 'fit' with my gear. Of course apps are everything so those are interesting comments.

Anybody else with a view of using their Apple Watch is most welcome.

I would just be looking at the 42mm Sport Watch. I have a few watches (good ones) so this wouldn't get a look in for a dress occasion, it's the day to day function I'm interested in.

I have some nice watches so my biggest issue with getting an Apple Watch was not wearing them, but I don't regret buying one. Biggest feature for me is that I never miss a notification / call / text message these days, and I can always have my phone on silent as well.

I like being able to quickly glance at my watch to check the temperature outside before going out, and also to see other information such as different timezones / markets.

I also like that I have a watch on my wrist which is absolutely accurate - handy when trying to catch a train. My more expensive watches are great, but one thing they are not so good at it telling the time!

As another poster mentioned above, the map directions feature is great - you get a little tap on your wrist when you need to change direction. Very subtle.

It's definitely not life changing the way the iphone was, but it makes a lot of little things just that bit easier.

[ZesPak]

Agreed with most you said, up until this:

sicasey said:

It's also the best tech watch out there just purely for design and feel compared to the other clunky offerings that I've seen.

This is very untrue. Of course if you have an iPhone, you'd be silly to pick anything other than the iWatch (except maybe the Pebble for price point), but some of the Android Wear competition imho looks a lot better than the Apple watch does. Not to mention the one to go for is the steel one with the steel or steel link band, costing a hefty premium over the alu/plastic/rubber one.
Beware, good looking Android Wear watches here.


Huawei:

Motorola:

Samsung:

LG:


As for the original question, my colleague tells me that the biggest let down of the apple watch is that, while it's good as a fitness tracker and it's a nice gadget, it's just not good as a watch. The screen is always off unless you make the "looking at my watch" gesture or press the button. That and the daily charging of course.

Edited by ZesPak on Monday 30th November 23:02