Apple Watch
- Thread starter jayhoz
- Start date
I pre-ordered one last week. I've had a Pebble since the original Kickstarter campaign and love being able to check notifications via my watch (although the Pebble's ability to reliably communicate all notifications from my iPhone has been inconsistent) and I have used various Fitbits over the last few years. I'm happy to buy a product that simply combines those two functions into a single, well-designed device. The rest of the Apple Watch's functionality is great, but not my primary motivation for buying one.
Tried the Sport and regular Watch on in both sizes this past weekend. It feels (and looks IMO) great on my wrist, certainly much better than I was expecting.
After the reviews came out last week I was firmly in the 'no' camp (at least until a second iteration) but after trying a few on I'm at least on the fence.
After the reviews came out last week I was firmly in the 'no' camp (at least until a second iteration) but after trying a few on I'm at least on the fence.
dirtynine said:
This is where I'm at -- I have an iPhone, and would like to have an iWatch, but I'm out for the 1st gen.
I switched to an iMac from a PC several years ago. Purchased an iPhone and never looked back. Tons of Apple products in my house. Love Apple products.
No interest in this watch.
No interest in this watch.
I'm not going in on the first gen version. I'm also not going in until non-nerds are wearing them.
As someone who gets 250-300 emails a day, 20 calls and a ton of texts for work I'm sure I'd really benefit from the watch though.
As someone who gets 250-300 emails a day, 20 calls and a ton of texts for work I'm sure I'd really benefit from the watch though.
I just ordered one for my wife for her birthday. She'll love hers, but I just don't wear watches (I carry an iPhone that will tell me the time). If a 3rd or 4th gen is compelling I might jump in. Otherwise I'm "meh" to the watch at this point.
I have an iPhone. I'm curious about the watch, but not enough to be interested in buying one. I also like my real watches very much.
That said, can we get some wrist shots/reviews posted to the thread when they roll in?
That said, can we get some wrist shots/reviews posted to the thread when they roll in?
This is it for me. I'd have to see a world of value between my iPhone and the iWatch to make me forgo my real watch.Rovin Romine said:
PS. I love 24 hour watches, so I'm a fan of that "sun in the sky" watch face they show on the apple site.
One of my favorite iPhone ap is "daylight" - it's a 24 hour clock with a single hand. Noon is at the top of the clock face, midnight at the bottom. The background shows (calibrated for latitude/date) the sunlight, twilight, and darkness periods. It's very easy to adapt to reading it. It's great for any outdoors person who relies on daylight for their activities. Especially if you instantly need to see how many hours are left before twilight.
Link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/daylight/id324528814?mt=8
If they had that on the iWatch, I'd be much more interested.
One of my favorite iPhone ap is "daylight" - it's a 24 hour clock with a single hand. Noon is at the top of the clock face, midnight at the bottom. The background shows (calibrated for latitude/date) the sunlight, twilight, and darkness periods. It's very easy to adapt to reading it. It's great for any outdoors person who relies on daylight for their activities. Especially if you instantly need to see how many hours are left before twilight.
Link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/daylight/id324528814?mt=8
If they had that on the iWatch, I'd be much more interested.
Oil Can Dan said:
Yeah. I'm there. Right now the iWatch looks like an awesome 4-6 hr. supplement to an iPhone, plus a kinda crappy watch. Apple would need to get the iWatch up to speed with what I expect from a typical watch I'd wear. I'd settle for something that, after burning off most of the battery, just went into "watch only" mode and could run for 72 hours. I'd need it to be waterproof - at least swimming pool level. I'd also need substantial ding resistance.
However, I'm glad Apple is making a 38mm watch. I have small wrists.
My current fav. non-court watch is a Seiko SKX013 (review). I love this thing. Pretty much bullet proof, good lume, timing ring, and, since it's not super speedy, I don't have to worry if I bang it into something.
Rovin Romine said:
I'm sure that app will be available soon but in the interim, apparently Apple has something like that already baked in. From http://mashable.com/2015/04/08/13-things-you-didnt-know-about-the-apple-watch/:
"One of the more interesting watchface choices is the Solar Face. It presents the time of day in a way that is, well, sort of timeless.
It shows a curve with the sun riding along it. Above it for daylight hours, and below it for night. The height and length of the curve is defined by where you live on Earth. In other words, it’s a visual representation of how many hours of daylight you get each day. People in Alaska, for instance, will have a rather flat curve. Over the course of the day, the sun will move along that curve."
Doubled down and bought a(nother) mechanical watch last week.
Read some of the reviews of this, it has some good features and some questionable ones, as you'd expect from a 1.0 product. The original iPod was pretty iffy too. I think if this were put out by Samsung or this was Android Wear last year it would be getting completely torn apart in reviews, but Apple is getting a bit of a pass on some of the rough edges. Releasing a super expensive one and having all the metallurgy hype was a great move to steal focus.
Read some of the reviews of this, it has some good features and some questionable ones, as you'd expect from a 1.0 product. The original iPod was pretty iffy too. I think if this were put out by Samsung or this was Android Wear last year it would be getting completely torn apart in reviews, but Apple is getting a bit of a pass on some of the rough edges. Releasing a super expensive one and having all the metallurgy hype was a great move to steal focus.
I have that exact Seiko as my everyday, bang around watch except I put an oyster band on it. The things are bulletproof - favorite watch I've ever owned.Rovin Romine said:
As for the Apple watch, I'm sure I'd like it for a couple months because I like gadgets, but I'm definitely not buying one at this point.
The Apple watch seems cool, but I just don't see it as more than a gimmick for me at this point. I don't mind pulling out my phone to check the time, or to check my messages or email. If I did a lot of walking around unfamiliar cities I'd definitely see more use in it; I can see the usefulness of the ability to do walking or transit directions and have it buzz your wrist with different signals for turning left/right/getting off the train/bus. It'd be better for getting around unfamiliar cities than starting at a phone screen while walking along a sidewalk. Otherwise I think it makes a lot more sense for women than men, simply because it's easy enough to grab your phone out of your pocket as a man for anything quick, while fishing it out of a purse can be less convenient.
One fashion roadblock I see with Apple Watch (and all smartwatches really) is that you won't be able to help looking like kind of a dork when you're interacting with them, no matter how nice the design and materials are. Not Google Glass-level dorky, but just enough to matter. You just don't poke or swipe or talk to a regular watch, or even touch it with your other hand that much. There's a certain stoic, dignified quality to traditional watches that is a big part of the appeal.
And speaking of dorky, god forbid you ever actually need to take your iPhone out and use it for a few minutes while an Apple watch sits idly on your wrist - maybe it'll end up being very common, but at least at first I just think that will look straight up goofy, basically advertising that you're an Apple/gadget freak.
I am reading nothing but great things about the bands Apple's made. I wonder if traditional watches can be made to lock in with the Apple Watch band mechanism.
And speaking of dorky, god forbid you ever actually need to take your iPhone out and use it for a few minutes while an Apple watch sits idly on your wrist - maybe it'll end up being very common, but at least at first I just think that will look straight up goofy, basically advertising that you're an Apple/gadget freak.
I am reading nothing but great things about the bands Apple's made. I wonder if traditional watches can be made to lock in with the Apple Watch band mechanism.
Apple has smartly said that they won't try to block third party watch bands that interchange with their mechanism.
dirtynine said:
You can't get a watch without an iPhone, so if you're using your iPhone while the watch sits on your wrist, it wouldn't be that surprising to anyone.
Seeing the iPhone 6 thread bumped made me realize no one has posted in here since the Apple Watch was released. How do other owners feel about theirs?
I've had mine a little over a week and it's okay. Getting important notifications and weather updates on my wrist is nice and I appreciate the activity tracking features, but it's definitely very limited at this point. Hopefully watchOS 2 brings a lot more to the table.
I've had mine a little over a week and it's okay. Getting important notifications and weather updates on my wrist is nice and I appreciate the activity tracking features, but it's definitely very limited at this point. Hopefully watchOS 2 brings a lot more to the table.
Love mine. Had it since release and used it non stop on our vacation to France for everything from walking/driving directions, weather, email/messages, siri, baseball scores, etc. Now that I'm back its become a daily part of my workout tracking and using it to control my appleTV and DirecTV boxes has been huge. They both play music around my house and outside and I can now quickly change songs in Pandora or a playlist without searching for my phone or my various remotes. Also use it to set my house alarm and lock the doors when I leave in the morning.
All of those things could be done from the phone but when I traveled I noticed the battery on iPhone rarely dipped below 50% and the watch was usually about 30% at the end of a long day.
Can't wait to see what 2.0 brings but I'm thrilled with this device, also having never had a watch before I'm even more surprised how often I forget I'm even wearing it.
All of those things could be done from the phone but when I traveled I noticed the battery on iPhone rarely dipped below 50% and the watch was usually about 30% at the end of a long day.
Can't wait to see what 2.0 brings but I'm thrilled with this device, also having never had a watch before I'm even more surprised how often I forget I'm even wearing it.
I've had one since April and it's worth it to me for the notifications alone. The ability to keep track of my email without having to look at my phone (particularly when I'm driving) is incredibly useful.
Got mine a couple of weeks ago. I haven't worn a watch outside of work for years, and have never used a fitness band, but am Apple everything, so I took the dive.
Overall I like it. I probably get fewer notifications than most, but that's how I like it. I have text and calendar alerts go to the watch, but email alerts to phone only. So it seems to be helping the iphone battery life overall, and I no longer feel like I have to keep my iphone on the table during a lunch.
I definitely like the fitness app overall, although I have nothing to compare it to.
One of the unexpectedly popular features for me is the timer. Every time I grill now I use the timer.
There is a bug with the weather app (doesn't load at all), which is pretty annoying. And I wish the screen would be a little more sensitive and show itself more quickly. But those are things which can obviously be fixed.
Overall I like it. I probably get fewer notifications than most, but that's how I like it. I have text and calendar alerts go to the watch, but email alerts to phone only. So it seems to be helping the iphone battery life overall, and I no longer feel like I have to keep my iphone on the table during a lunch.
I definitely like the fitness app overall, although I have nothing to compare it to.
One of the unexpectedly popular features for me is the timer. Every time I grill now I use the timer.
There is a bug with the weather app (doesn't load at all), which is pretty annoying. And I wish the screen would be a little more sensitive and show itself more quickly. But those are things which can obviously be fixed.
behindthepen said:
There is a remote app on the watch (blue circle with white play button). You can pair it with Apple TV as long as your iPhone is on the same wifi connection. Below are the details from Apple's support page.
Control Apple TV
You can use Apple Watch as a remote control for your Apple TV when you’re connected to the same Wi-Fi network.
Pair Apple Watch with Apple TV. If your iPhone has never joined the Wi-Fi network that Apple TV is on, join it now. Then, open the Remote appon Apple Watch and tap Add Device +. On your Apple TV, go to Settings > General > Remotes, select your Apple Watch, then enter the passcode displayed on Apple Watch.
When the pairing icon appears next to Apple Watch, it’s ready to control Apple TV.
Control Apple TV. Make sure Apple TV is awake. Open the Remote appon Apple Watch, choose Apple TV, then swipe up, down, left, or right to move through Apple TV menu options. Tap to choose the selected item. Tap the Menu button to go back, or touch and hold it to return to the top menu. Tap the Play/Pause button to pause or resume playback.
behindthepen said:
Answered above in detail by Blundatola but I'll just add that at home I use multiple AppleTVs to play iTunes playlists and being able to skip songs with a tap on your wrist is awesome. Also the DirecTV Watch app is really handy for stuff like pausing a show in a dark room instead of digging for my remote and trying to remember which button to push.
Agree with BehindThePen on the timer app, also the Alarm and Reminder using Siri to set is fantastic. Siri on the watch seems so much better than I remember. I'm sure they updated the phone but it has gotten really really good since I used it.
For anyone that really wants one of these, whats the awesome feature that sucked you in? Because I cant seem to find one for myself. It did seem like a neat feature to be able to read a text or email by just glancing at your wrist, but then I realized that while I work and while I watch TV at night I have my phone out of my pocket on a surface nearby so I can just glance at it so its pretty rare it would really save me from having to take my phone out of my pocket. I really cant figure out what I'd do with the thing if someone just gave me one.
I've found it to be a great "on the go" device. It's great for getting quick bits of info (weather, traffic, important notifications) and for controlling your phone while you are out and about. For instance, I was walking home in the rain Saturday evening and wanted to know the score of the Blackhawks game. Siri was on that in a heartbeat, which was great.
I wouldn't say there is a killer app at this point, just several features that make it a nice complement to your phone that all start to add up. I'm particularly fond of being able to get my yardage to a green right on my wrist and look forward to getting feedback on my swing from my watch. In the end I didn't get mine for it offers right now, but what I expect it to offer within the next year (especially once watchOS 2 is released in the Fall). Unless find yourself out and about a lot (particularly in unfamiliar areas) or you like being an early adopter, I'm not sure it's a must have just yet. That may all change in the Fall, though, when developers get more complete access to the hardware.
I wouldn't say there is a killer app at this point, just several features that make it a nice complement to your phone that all start to add up. I'm particularly fond of being able to get my yardage to a green right on my wrist and look forward to getting feedback on my swing from my watch. In the end I didn't get mine for it offers right now, but what I expect it to offer within the next year (especially once watchOS 2 is released in the Fall). Unless find yourself out and about a lot (particularly in unfamiliar areas) or you like being an early adopter, I'm not sure it's a must have just yet. That may all change in the Fall, though, when developers get more complete access to the hardware.
The feature that I think will be intensely useful are the wrist notifications that I have a call or email. While I don't expect to actually read the emails on the Watch, getting them in real time if I'm not at my desk is huge. I currently keep my phone on silent, and usually can't feel it buzz in my pocket, so this is an important feature.wutang112878 said:
Basically, right now when I walk anywhere, I need to pull out my phone every 5 minutes to check if I've gotten an email. The Apple Watch I hope will remove my need to do so.
bowiac said:
Personally, going from an iPhone 5S to the 6 fixed the issue of not feeling the phone buzz in my pocket. The vibration motor in the 5S was pathetically weak or something because I never noticed the damn thing and missed calls all the time when it was on vibrate/silent. The 6 is far more noticeable.
The best uses of the watch for me are:
1. Notifications - There are plenty of times when I want to just glance at my wrist instead of taking out my watch to see who's emailing me, particularly when I'm driving
2. Reminders- I use the reminder app Due and it integrates very well with the phone. I can mark reminders as done or change the time for the reminder directly from the watch
3. Overcast (podcast app) - I use this app as a remote for podcast playback when I'm driving
4. Complications - These are widgets that appear on the watch face. I like seeing the temperature, next calendar appointment, etc by glancing at my watch face.
5. Apple pay - I find it easier and more frequently reliable to use Apple pay from the watch than from my phone
6. Fitness tracking - I expect to get more use out of these apps, but I've frankly been too busy to do much exercising of late.
1. Notifications - There are plenty of times when I want to just glance at my wrist instead of taking out my watch to see who's emailing me, particularly when I'm driving
2. Reminders- I use the reminder app Due and it integrates very well with the phone. I can mark reminders as done or change the time for the reminder directly from the watch
3. Overcast (podcast app) - I use this app as a remote for podcast playback when I'm driving
4. Complications - These are widgets that appear on the watch face. I like seeing the temperature, next calendar appointment, etc by glancing at my watch face.
5. Apple pay - I find it easier and more frequently reliable to use Apple pay from the watch than from my phone
6. Fitness tracking - I expect to get more use out of these apps, but I've frankly been too busy to do much exercising of late.
Certainly not as good as Roku, but I'm not sure I'd go as far to call it shitty. It is definitely annoying that basically need to reboot it once a month, but yeah, it could be better but it's also not awful.Blundatola said:
I got the Watch. It's been largely as expected (48 hours in) - no real functionality apart from notifications, which have been clutch. Maybe I'll start using it with Apple Pay once I figure out how to do that, and it's got some potential as a remote, though I don't have an Apple TV.
This is big for notifications however. I think I'm going to switch to the bigger size phone (6S+ or whatever) with my next upgrade, since I don't need to reach for my phone as often.
This is big for notifications however. I think I'm going to switch to the bigger size phone (6S+ or whatever) with my next upgrade, since I don't need to reach for my phone as often.
I have a 6 and I was thinking about the 6+ because the screen size but ultimately I decided against it because it seemed like it was barely going to fit into my pocket and I thought it was going to be pretty uncomfortable if I was sitting down and had it in my pocket. Definitely check one out in the store first because I was totally sold on it until I held it in my hand/pocket.
wutang112878 said:
I love the 6+ in that the screen lets me go through reams of text a lot easier. Sort of a mini tablet.
I haven't found carrying to be a problem - with a suit jacket or blazer it works fine. Other than that, just get jeans with longer front pockets and carry it there. I agree it won't work in the back pocket of most jeans.
Rovin Romine said:
I'm with you I loved the idea of a mini tablet because it was going to be much easier on my eyes, thats the big reason I was drawn to it. And I'm sure it would work in a jacket, no doubt. For over a decade now I've kept my phone & keys in my left front pocket and wallet in the right and I just couldnt modify that, I just wouldnt feel right all day everyday.
I have an issue where my emails and calendar reminders still pop up in the Outlook app on my watch, but when I go to the Inbox or Calendar, it hasn't updated in weeks.
Anyone else deal with this and/or have any ideas? I already reset the sync data to no avail.
Anyone else deal with this and/or have any ideas? I already reset the sync data to no avail.