Apple Watch As My Primary Device

[xDKP]

Nevertheless, I am leaving the phone in the office over lunch or when going to brief meetings - all in all probably for 2-3 hrs per day. The S3 is truly an outstanding device, especially when upgrading from a S0 and pairing it with AirPods.

This is my use case with my S2 - mostly to not be disturbed at meetings on my phone and often there is WiFi which makes important notifications available to my watch.

I would love the LTE S3 though to extend this part of my semi-disconnected life, but it’s still unavailable in Denmark

 

[Mabus51]

Other than getting my life back without constant distractions, QUOTE]

This seriously sounds like a You problem. Gain some self control.[/

 

[mathewr]

I think that this is on the way. AppleWatches are being spotted in the wild like crazy now. How do they grow beyond that? Like the iPod did. They make AppleWatch possible for Android owners and for those who don’t even want to own a phone at all.

I think that we’ll see a downloadable Apple Watch app for iOS and Android in the next year or two. That’ll allow anybody to set up an AppleWatch and use the Watch standalone or paired to the device it was set up with.

For the most part since I got AW 3 I’ve been brining watch and iPad with no phone and it’s great. It’s making me question if I should stay up for 3 more hours.

 

[ipedro]

Following up on this post about halfway through the AppleWatch's cycle, I ended up being lured by the iPhone X. That said, I do often leave my phone at home when going on dog walks and trying to disconnect from the internet for a bit.

While the Watch with LTE is fantastic, the things I miss the most when I'm without my iPhone are iMessage and the camera. I'm a big texter. Dictating to Siri simply doesn't compete. It works well for one off replies but not for in depth texting conversations. For someone to use an Apple Watch as their exclusive device, it would be best if they're more of a voice caller and interact with voice messages in iMessage.

I'm not going to end up using just my watch just yet but I do think that the iPhone X may be my last iPhone. I've started rediscovering the simplicity and humanity of speaking to someone on the phone. Maybe that'll reduce my dependence on texting. I've also been replacing the apps on my iPhone with simpler versions on my Watch going to my wrist more often than to my pocket.

Has anyone tried to go exclusively Apple Watch? What apps did you find helped you forget your phone at home?

 

[ignatius345]

I've started rediscovering the simplicity and humanity of speaking to someone on the phone. Maybe that'll reduce my dependence on texting.

Amen to this. I've got text fatigue, and I find more and more these days that I can't stand another 30 minutes involved in some text exchange that could just as well have been a five minute conversation or less. And that's not even factoring in the incredibly low nuance "bandwidth" of texting.

Not that a quick message or two doesn't have its place, but sometimes it truly gets out of hand.

 

[44267547]

While the Watch with LTE is fantastic, the things I miss the most when I'm without my iPhone are iMessage and the camera. I'm a big texter. Dictating to Siri simply doesn't compete. It works well for one off replies but not for in depth texting conversations. For someone to use an Apple Watch as their exclusive device, it would be best if they're more of a voice caller and interact with voice messages in iMessage.

I disagree with the Bolded in your post. I find Siri to be highly efficient when it comes to dictation and a faster way to send a messages, especially with longer messages, Siri executes for me. Sometimes accuracy is not always exact, but it has improved in ways where artificial intelligence has been primary.

 

[Cryates]

Bump

I'm considering a transition to using the watch as the primary device I use. I don't think it'd be easy at first, but for what I use a phone for, I don't think it'd be tough in the long-run. I'm debating on getting the Series 3 (w/ LTE) now, or holding out for a possible Series 4 redesign and better battery life. I'm leaning towards waiting on the S4. I think I'll give myself a good couple of months to test using my current S3 (GPS only) as my main interactive device, and if that goes well pulling the trigger on the S4 later.

I don't like the way the smartphone industry is trending, and I've become recently terrified of smartphone addiction and it's effect on the human body. This is an effort for me to untether myself from such things.

 

[44267547]

Bump

I'm considering a transition to using the watch as the primary device I use. I don't think it'd be easy at first, but for what I use a phone for, I don't think it'd be tough in the long-run. I'm debating on getting the Series 3 (w/ LTE) now, or holding out for a possible Series 4 redesign and better battery life. I'm leaning towards waiting on the S4. I think I'll give myself a good couple of months to test using my current S3 (GPS only) as my main interactive device, and if that goes well pulling the trigger on the S4 later..

Wait the 2.5 months for the refresh. Its very likely. And I also suspect some LTE changes are imminent with improvements, and the Series 4 is rumored to have increased battery life, which would be a direct advantage to LTE Service. I also believe Series 3 will still be an option in the line up with the announcement of Series 4, but perhaps _only_ offered in the GPS variant.

 

[rillrill]

Hopefully Apple can convince these wireless companies to let the watch on people’s plans for cheaper or nothing at all...then this could be a thing.

 

[ipedro]

A year later, I wonder if the Apple Watch Series 4 has moved things further along towards the goal of living without an iPhone and using the Watch as your primary device.

The bigger screen definitely helps. One of my main challenges was keeping up with a constant stream of messages. The small screen meant a lot scrolling. The better microphone should make dictation more accurate and the louder speaker will allow for phone calls without AirPods.

Still missing is an always with me camera. I was hoping for Series 4 to have accessory integration. A camera watch band would solve that problem.

 

[throAU]

A year later, I wonder if the Apple Watch Series 4 has moved things further along towards the goal of living without an iPhone and using the Watch as your primary device.

The bigger screen definitely helps. One of my main challenges was keeping up with a constant stream of messages. The small screen meant a lot scrolling. The better microphone should make dictation more accurate and the louder speaker will allow for phone calls without AirPods.

Still missing is an always with me camera. I was hoping for Series 4 to have accessory integration. A camera watch band would solve that problem.

A watch as a primary device is always going to be massively compromised purely due to form factor.

You can improve that to some degree but it is an inherent issue with the device.

The watch isn't intended to be a primary device any more than your toaster is intended to be used to watch netflix.

 

[musicpenguy]

A watch as a primary device is always going to be massively compromised purely due to form factor.

You can improve that to some degree but it is an inherent issue with the device.

The watch isn't intended to be a primary device any more than your toaster is intended to be used to watch netflix.

I’d argue at some point in the future that many people will just own the Watch and an iPad with a significant other that will have a phone to have that camera handy. But for many they won’t need the phone.

 

[Mabus51]

I've been reading Series 3 LTE reviews and the consensus seems to be that it'll last you a day with regular LTE use and a day to a day and a half with mixed LTE and iPhone tethered use. Since I'm coming from a Series 0, that's acceptable. I usually put my AppleWatch on at around 9AM and take it off before going to bed at 11. About 4 or 5 of hours of that I'm away from home, the rest of the time, I'm on WiFi and near my phone at my desk. I don't expect battery to be much of an issue.

No, without the iPhone nearby and regular LTE use, it will last about an hour of talk time. If you’re not answering calls you’ll get through half a day provided you aren’t streaming music either. If you have a workout with heart monitoring on and streaming music you might get 2 hours before you need to put it in power reserve. Which gives you enough time to place it on the charger and grab your phone.

 

[dsr2]

I am also digging this thread. I do always carry my phone, but it usually stays in my bag and I find myself doing a lot with my watch. I agree that Siri dictation is pretty good on the phone. Don’t think I’m leaving my phone anytime soon, but it is nice not to have to keep taking it out to do simple things. I am going to get the series 4 watch and see if i can do more without my phone.

 

[ipedro]

A watch as a primary device is always going to be massively compromised purely due to form factor.

You can improve that to some degree but it is an inherent issue with the device.

The watch isn't intended to be a primary device any more than your toaster is intended to be used to watch netflix.

You're constraining yourself to the current reality. If you look closely, technologies that are developing the fastest are leading to a world where computers are human like assistants that understand you in natural language and present data back to you either in conversation or within your field of view using AR. Slabs of glass in our pockets will be no more common today than having to rush to a telephone booth and find a quarter to make a phone call.

In 5 years, the Apple Watch will be an incredibly powerful device. Think of how underpowered the iPhone 3G was and today the iPhone Xs is a multi core computing powerhouse. Add that same development time to the Apple Watch. It won't need a screen as a primary way of getting information. You'll have a natural conversation like you do if you had a very helpful personal assistant checking on things for you.

Apple Glasses are surely coming. They'll add the visual component and will fill the role of always having a camera with you. But while glasses aren't always worn, a computer strapped to your wrist is something that is incredibly personal and can always be with you in every situation. It's a natural place for your primary device. I have no doubt that the Apple Watch will completely replace the iPhone within 10 years or less. iPads will be used for work that requires visual information like photos, video and text and for doing hands on work. But the device we have always on us will be the one on our wrists.

 

[throAU]

You're constraining yourself to the current reality. If you look closely, technologies that are developing the fastest are leading to a world where computers are human like assistants that understand you in natural language and present data back to you either in conversation or within your field of view using AR. Slabs of glass in our pockets will be no more common today than having to rush to a telephone booth and find a quarter to make a phone call.

In 5 years, the Apple Watch will be an incredibly powerful device.

in 5 years, AR and the like will still require FAR more power than will be available in the watch form factor. The PHONE might do a satisfactory job of it by say 2023.

There simply is not the space for battery capacity in the watch. If you said 10-15 years, sure. But battery tech and CPU tech simply isn't there yet, and CPU tech has stagnated significantly. The leap required to get from what the watch can do today, to what you're thinking about simply isn't going to happen that quickly.

I agree the glasses are definitely coming, but i think it's a no brainer that they will either be tethered to the phone, or IMHO more likely or more ideally - an ipad. Purely for the battery capacity available in the ipad to do processing for the glasses for a usable period of time. The phone CPU may be fast enough, but it will simply burn through the battery too quickly. The watch? Not a hope in hell of having enough battery capacity to process that in the near-medium term. No way.
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I’d argue at some point in the future that many people will just own the Watch and an iPad with a significant other that will have a phone to have that camera handy. But for many they won’t need the phone.

If i could pair the watch to the ipad today, and the ipad could do cell calls, i would likely not buy a phone. Today.

The phone is an in-between device for me now that is better done by the ipad (or via the watch-> ipad remote tether if that was a thing).

 

[44267547]

You're constraining yourself to the current reality. If you look closely, technologies that are developing the fastest are leading to a world where computers are human like assistants that understand you in natural language and present data back to you either in conversation or within your field of view using AR. Slabs of glass in our pockets will be no more common today than having to rush to a telephone booth and find a quarter to make a phone call.

In 5 years, the Apple Watch will be an incredibly powerful device. Think of how underpowered the iPhone 3G was and today the iPhone Xs is a multi core computing powerhouse. Add that same development time to the Apple Watch. It won't need a screen as a primary way of getting information. You'll have a natural conversation like you do if you had a very helpful personal assistant checking on things for you.

Apple Glasses are surely coming. They'll add the visual component and will fill the role of always having a camera with you. But while glasses aren't always worn, a computer strapped to your wrist is something that is incredibly personal and can always be with you in every situation. It's a natural place for your primary device. I have no doubt that the Apple Watch will completely replace the iPhone within 10 years or less. iPads will be used for work that requires visual information like photos, video and text and for doing hands on work. But the device we have always on us will be the one on our wrists.

You're insinuating that the Apple Watch could possibly replace the iPhone in terms of how we manage our daily tasks, ten years it's such a far speculative opposition, there is no way the Apple Watch would even meet the battery requirements necessary for LTE/cellular radio, heart sensors, EKG, the battery technology is not even close to being ready for something like this to replace the iPhone. Not to mention, the Apple Watch will likely always be a secondary device, because Apple wants to regulate this as being more health oriented, where as the iPhone is primarily a communication tool. You can see the shape of their making right now with the Apple Watch focusing on the health aspect, to where it first started as a communication device. Take in account, the iPhone is almost 70% of Apples revenue, but your theory , if the Apple Watch replaces the iPhone, are you insinuating that the consumer will simply rely on an Apple Watch to conduct other daily tasks being the primary source for the communication? I highly doubt that.

 

[ipedro]

You're insinuating that the Apple Watch could possibly replace the iPhone in terms of how we manage our daily tasks, ten years it's such a far speculative opposition, there is no way the Apple Watch would even meet the battery requirements necessary for LTE/cellular radio, heart sensors, EKG, the battery technology is not even close to being ready for something like this to replace the iPhone. Not to mention, the Apple Watch will likely always be a secondary device, because Apple wants to regulate this as being more health oriented, where as the iPhone is primarily a communication tool. You can see the shape of their making right now with the Apple Watch focusing on the health aspect, to where it first started as a communication device. Take in account, the iPhone is almost 70% of Apples revenue, but your theory , if the Apple Watch replaces the iPhone, are you insinuating that the consumer will simply rely on an Apple Watch to conduct other daily tasks being the primary source for the communication? I highly doubt that.

Have some foresight. It was also thought that a phone could never have the kind of battery life and CPU power necessary to replace most aspects of a laptop. The screen was too small — how could you do any productivity on a small screen? You’ll always have to carry around a laptop to do any real productive work, people like you said. But here we are.

Recall that the iPod accounted for a majority of Apple’s revenue. I know... it’s hard to believe but things change so fast that we forget how they were. At the time, it was obvious, but now looking back it’s hard to believe that a music player dominated Apple’s income. Yet, Apple abandoned their most successful product by phasing it out into a new product that would go on to becoming even more popular — a phone. That seemed preposterous at the time. Apple was iPod + iTunes. Today’s Apple is iPhone. But things change, and change they will.
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in 5 years, AR and the like will still require FAR more power than will be available in the watch form factor. The PHONE might do a satisfactory job of it by say 2023.

There simply is not the space for battery capacity in the watch. If you said 10-15 years, sure. But battery tech and CPU tech simply isn't there yet, and CPU tech has stagnated significantly. The leap required to get from what the watch can do today, to what you're thinking about simply isn't going to happen that quickly.

I think you’re thinking of augmented reality nearly indistinguishable from reality. That’s not what I’m suggesting here. I expect Apple’s first few generations of glasses to superimpose information on real world objects. Like walking past a cafe and seeing its star rating or asking Siri what it is you’re looking at and having it superimpose information about the object or place.

With regards to battery and cpu power in the Watch, the same was thought of the iPhone. They said there simply wasn’t enough room in a phone to run any serious kind of processing. It didn’t take long. 10 years later and we’re at the iPhone X, a serious CPU powerhouse. Look at the Watch. Its processing speed just doubled — again. It feels like it just came out yesterday but we’re already at the 4th generation and the power of compounding gains is already starting to show. We’re at the iPhone 4 in terms of Watch development now. If they keep doubling performance, in 5 generations, the Watch is going to be as powerful as the iPhone 6s.

The glasses will have their own processor to run the display. Like the first Apple Watch, its parent device — the Watch — will do the heavy lifting while the glasses’ processor will display the images. If you think about it I’m those terms, we’re almost already there.

 

[jonnyb098]

This is a great thread. I’m very heavily considering the series 4 as a first Apple Watch. But also wondering if getting a new iPhone even matters at this point too. I have a 6S and with iOS 12 it seriously feels like new. Silky smooth. I really only want a new phone for ....guess what....THE CAMERA!. I have an iPad Pro that I do most of my content consumption on both at work and at home. I simply don’t use my phone that much on the go. When I’m out with people or at a friends house I tend to try and be in that moment and only look at my phone a couple of times during the night. When I’m alone it’s mostly iPad. iPad Pro has been my main home computer for the last 3 years. My iMac is sitting in the closet.

I think the discussion started by the OP is a very good one and a necessary one. People don’t realize how much of a hold these devices have on us. No one really wants to admit how much we notice people not being in the moment in the real world. Indeed a 30 min text convo can get messy at times and could have been solved by a 5 min convo on the phone.

Fascinating to read all the replies. Let’s keep the conversation going!

 

[throAU]

I expect Apple’s first few generations of glasses to superimpose information on real world objects. Like walking past a cafe and seeing its star rating or asking Siri what it is you’re looking at and having it superimpose information about the object or place.

Nah, that's what the hololens does already today (using an i7 in a box strapped to your head) and what the ARkit stuff for iphone and ipad does today.

What you are asking for still needs a large amount of processing, but more importantly, it needs to be running constantly.

The watch, with its current battery and pitiful CPU inside only lasts 1-2 days whilst being used very, very infrequently via glances. Which is OK, but annoying with the current workload it has to deal with today.

I'm not sure you realize the processing power required to do even the basic stuff we have today. I'm not talking photo-realistic AR, i'm talking similar quality to today, but actually usable because it is running constantly doing image recognition and 3d processing for everything you look at. An iPad Pro is still WAY off being able to do that properly just yet. The watch? Once something iPad Pro size can do that for say 12 hours straight with its internal battery, then add 5-10 years.


And again - the issue with the iphone processor isn't (just) how powerful it is. It's the battery life vs. form factor issue.

The iphone X CPU is a power house sure. It's still not fast enough for GOOD 3d scene recognition just yet, and if you push that CPU with such a workload (AR will need it to be running full time) you'll burn through the battery real fast.

 

[ipedro]

This is a great thread. I’m very heavily considering the series 4 as a first Apple Watch. But also wondering if getting a new iPhone even matters at this point too. I have a 6S and with iOS 12 it seriously feels like new. Silky smooth. I really only want a new phone for ....guess what....THE CAMERA!. I have an iPad Pro that I do most of my content consumption on both at work and at home. I simply don’t use my phone that much on the go. When I’m out with people or at a friends house I tend to try and be in that moment and only look at my phone a couple of times during the night. When I’m alone it’s mostly iPad. iPad Pro has been my main home computer for the last 3 years. My iMac is sitting in the closet.

I think the discussion started by the OP is a very good one and a necessary one. People don’t realize how much of a hold these devices have on us. No one really wants to admit how much we notice people not being in the moment in the real world. Indeed a 30 min text convo can get messy at times and could have been solved by a 5 min convo on the phone.

Fascinating to read all the replies. Let’s keep the conversation going!

I think texting is the big one. People just don't like making calls anymore. Texting rules. I think Apple has set on to change that. Notice how Apple has been pushing voice interactions in iMessage. First it was hold the send button to record a message, let go to send. Now it's Animoji. It wouldn't be difficult for iMessage on the Watch to convert what you said to sync to mouthing Animoji characters, including your own Memoji, making it more desirable to have asynchronous voice conversations rather than text or phone calls. Say what you want to say, a Memoji of you saying it is sent to your friend. They reply, their Memoji pops up on your wrist with a reply.

As for the camera, it would be great if a future Apple Watch worked with BT accessories. A camera watch band would make it possible to have a camera always with you to capture unexpected moments, but also to memorize things you see. A ubiquitous camera has become very important to how we function day to day.

That said, I do go by without a phone once or twice a week. I love how my Watch has LTE. It's truly freeing. When I want to force myself to disconnect for a day, I'll leave my phone at home and just grab my AirPods in case I have to take a call or want to listen to music or a podcast.

 

[gorkt]

I like this thread.

I am moving in this direction gradually, without deliberately doing it. With the series 3, and the iphones getting larger, I have been leaving my iPhone at my desk a lot at the office and at home, only using it for pictures and other tasks where I really need it, and using the watch for phone calls, texts, looking at my schedule etc...

 

[cbruce76]

I think this is an excellent thread and discussion. I just ordered an lte series 4. But I hadn’t considered that I could use it as my primary device. I agree that the watch has the potential to be a standalone unit in just a few years. Battery tech, from solid state batteries to contactless charging methods, are all being researched and refined right now. Apple has unlimited funds to buy this tech once it is ripe. The future is bright and will change directions in surprising ways. I look forward to what the next 5 to 10 years will bring.

Maybe this thread will still be going. lol

 

[bunnicula]

Adding a little anecdote...

When I got my S3 LTE last year, I hopped in the car to run to the store and realized I’d forgotten to grab my iPhone off the charger.

I went ahead, knowing I had my watch on, and it was oddly liberating. I thought it would bother me, not having my phone, but I rather enjoyed it.

If texting via AW becomes much easier, I think we are due to see a shift in usage patterns. Not that iPhones will become unnecessary. More that people may feel more inclined to leave them in their purse, pocket, or backpack.

Might be nice.

 

[jonnyb098]

So I wanted to share my recent Apple Watch experience with this thread only for obvious reasons. I recently purchased a series 4 Aluminum with LTE and returned it after a few days. Here are my initial issues and impression of a product I really wanted to love, yet fell a bit short for me. I realize this may be unique to me but I think its relevant to the discussion here.......

As a regular watch wearer most of my life I figured I would finally take the plunge since the series 4 hardware simply looks amazing.

MY REAL WORLD EXPERIENCE:
It was super fast, everything was instant, it was comfortable. But things quickly started to become almost anxiety inducing, even after taking a couple hours setting up preferences. I felt like it was almost information overload at times even just with a few complications. Now I know I could keep the watch simple and bare bones but then whats the point of owning this $529 smart watch (besides the fitness tracking of which I would only use for the basics including periodic walks I take). I found myself definitely using my phone less which seemed like a good thing, but then realized...ok now I just check my wrist 40 times per day instead of the phone. As far as LTE I think it's pointless for most except for pure fitness. Let me explain. If I were to ever go out anywhere I would have my phone with me for one simple thing.....taking pictures. Therefore the phone would always be around and tethered to the watch so no need for LTE. At work, home, other peoples homes I would have wifi too so I could still leave my phone and walk around the office for example and LTE would still be pointless. Not to mention $10 plus tax for allowing me to use my own number and data plan every once in a while seems ridiculous.

HABITS OF A LIFELONG WATCH WEARER:
Apple needs to figure out how to make an always on screen (like a simple watch face to glance at that then fades in complications and brightens the screen WHEN YOU DELIBERATELY raise your wrist). When my arms are folded or in my pockets and I want to check the time on a regular watch I can do it extremely quickly and discreetly. I noticed I simply cant do this with an Apple Watch. I have to make a very deliberate flick of the wrist motion which is flat out silly when my hands are either folded, arms crossed, or in my pocket. On the opposite end of that spectrum the watch was constantly lighting up when I didn't want it to. Like when sitting on the couch while using my iPad. Seems like all that wasted battery with the screen lighting up could be better used with some sort of dim, simple always on mode as stated above.

CONCLUSION: While I know the watch makes total sense to millions of people, I think its a much different story coming from the standard watch perspective. Just about everyone I have heard of who owns one never wore a regular watch. So my views might be unique. But as I stated, I want my camera with me all the time which is what is so amazing about the iPhone. So I just don't see the watch being a replacement for being out and about and wanting to snap a photo or look up a great place to eat around town or do a quick price comparison at the store. The watch doesn't work for any of that really.

I encourage others to continue this discussion. But right now I don't see the apple watch as anything more than a fitness device that does a few other cool things. It still has a ways to go before even coming close to replacing a phone or a real watch with always accessible time, if ever... or once again, a CAMERA! Maybe I would feel differently if the device was cheaper (aside from no always on display). But right now, the newest model is $399+. Apple seems to be raising prices on everything this year because it can, but thats a totally different topic for another time.

Please discuss. I welcome the feedback on how I may be right, wrong or off my rocker. One thing is for sure. The Apple Watch fascinates me now more than ever especially as to how it actually fits into everyones life. One day it very well might fit in mine, just not today.