You’ve seen the posters and the Facebook posts—Apple Watches are becoming more and more popular. After having owned one for about a month, I feel that I can speak fairly well on the subject. I have a black, Series 1, 42mm watch which I like a lot more than I thought I would.
After having worn my watch for about ten minutes, I decided that this is not a product that anybody should spend any money on. It’s a fun thing to have, but absolutely unnecessary. There are very few things that the watch can do which your phone can not, and it’s virtually impossible to be completely out of earshot from your phone while still being in Bluetooth range. The only reason somebody might need an Apple Watch would be if they frequently got very time sensitive phone calls or texts (e.g., a doctor). I’m not going to talk about every aspect of the watch, as there are many. However, there a few significant pros and cons which stand out to me.
The watch itself is much more durable than I thought it would be. The first day I had it I was worried that it would fall off/break/get wet, however, it’s still going strong. It hasn’t gotten any scratches yet, which is impressive considering it’s on one's wrist. It is “splash resistant”, which I assume means that you can wash your hands without too much fear (though I am always very careful about it.) Because I like to use it as my alarm, I tend to charge it while I’m in the shower. It takes about 45 minutes to charge and lasts all day. I have gone two days without charging, though that is with very minimal use.
The biggest advantage to the Apple Watch, in my opinion, is the alarm. As somebody who often can’t fall asleep until very late, audible alarms sometimes aren’t as effective as I’d like for them to be. However, the Apple Watch syncs with your phone and can either pair with the alarms already on your phone, or you can create new ones. It essentially vibrates on your wrist, though feels more as if somebody is tapping you. This also works well for those of us with roommates. If you’re the kind of person who needs to set six alarms to wake up before 9 (I am that person), this is a nice, silent option. Definitely an effective means of waking up in the morning.
After updating to 3.0, the watch allows you to actually respond to texts via writing, opposed to diction. It’s called “scribble”, and you essentially write the letters on the watch face with your finger. This can be hard to get used to if you have unique handwriting (it still thinks my ‘a’s are ‘z’s), but it is nice if your phone is in your bag and just want to respond to the one text.
While this isn’t so much a function, I love that I can use my own photo as the watch face. As of now, I have a photo of my brother and dog with the time, weather, and date on my watch face, and it’s nice having that all there just by lifting my arm. Another favorite of mine is the solar watch face, which allows you to switch between the earth, moon, or solar system and “time travel” (By rotating the digital crown, you can change the solar system to what it will look like on any given day). I don’t fully understand how that would help me at any given point, though it’s certainly fun.
One app which I have mixed feelings about is the breathing app, which essentially is a guided breathing exercise. I like to use it when I’m having a hard time relaxing (particularly before bed), though getting notifications about how “it’s time to breathe” while I’m in class isn’t ideal.
I find it somewhat frustrating that some apps do have versions for the watch, though you can’t actually use it. For instance, I get Snapchat notifications on the watch, though can’t actually open anything. This means that I can see that I got something, but still have to get my phone out to do anything about it, and at that point, I’m not actually saving any time. The phone isn’t ideal, as the speakers aren't the highest quality (it’s a watch—what did I expect?) So while I wouldn’t recommend actually taking any calls with the watch, it is helpful to feel it ringing in addition to the phone. The other frustrating thing is that the only way to look anything up is via Siri. When I’m in public or in my room (with my roommate), I don’t really want to have to ask my watch “is the World Series over yet?” out loud. (It is, right?)
The “control center” is where I have a few issues. First of all, I’d like to be able to put my watch on Do Not Disturb without putting my phone on DND, and vice versa. There are times when I’d still like to know that I got a text, though the vibration is too distracting for me, and it seems silly that it’s all or nothing. Another issue that the low-power mode is a bit of a drastic measure. Essentially, once you turn this on, it only functions as a watch. As in, it is a black screen, and then when you click on the crown, you get the time and date. The only way to turn this mode off is by turning it completely back off and on or by plugging it in. While this is good in theory, it seems like there should be a happy medium between full-blown power and the ultimate power saver. There are certain settings you can change manually to increase lifespan (brightness, wake screen, airplane mode, etc.), and having an option similar to the iPhone would be nice. However, one of the really great things that the watch can do is also in the control center: you can play a sound on your iPhone just by pressing a button. How many times have I gone to iCloud.com on my computer, logged in, and located my phone just to play a sound so I could find it between the couch cushions? I definitely appreciate how easily I can send a sound on my phone just to check that it’s in my backpack while walking to class.
In terms of fitness tracking, it’s really not anything special. In fact, I actually prefer the Fitbit for this than I do the Apple Watch, and the Fitbit is far less expensive. It counts steps and whatnot, but not any better than anything else. I’m also not sure how it counts “exercise” because it seems that any time your heart rate goes above a certain point, you get a minute of exercise. If that’s what you’re looking for, I’d definitely recommend the Fitbit over this, especially because the Apple Watch doesn’t monitor sleep.
Overall, it’s definitely a fun thing to have. I use it, and it’s nice having a watch (I never really wore watches prior to this), though I would never spend money on it (this was given to me). It’s not worth 300 dollars by any stretch and doesn’t really do much that your phone can’t. Basically, if someone offers to give it to you, take it, but don’t waste your money.
