Indeed. I find it interesting how people project their own foibles or shortcomings on things. I catch myself doing that too, more often than I like.
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I gave up my Apple Watch after 9 years and feel free.
- Thread starter CheffyDude
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Indeed. I find it interesting how people project their own foibles or shortcomings on things. I catch myself doing that too, more often than I like.
It may not be the problem, but it facilitates and enables issues.
If you're an an alcoholic and you keep whiskey in the cabinet, you're enabling yourself. The whiskey isn't the problem, it's that you overuse it, but if you know not having it in the house will assist with that, it's a wise thing to do, no?
If you know that an Apple watch, and all of its connectedness, makes you feel bad, removing the device that enables those feelings is absolutely justified and the wise and smart thing to do. It IS self-control to remove offending and enabling things from your life.
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Like any gadget, accessory or piece of clothing one wears in a cargo cult mentality. An Omega or Rolex are really no different in that regard. The wearer is trying to project wealth and sophistication in the hope of garnering respect and adoration.
Then I'd say you have deeper issues.
Or perhaps not, you'll just find something else to satisfy whatever need it was that made you wear an Apple Watch in the first place.
It distracts: just like a phone: notifications and needs charging almost everyday. I don’t have a AW myself, but I am planning to buy a “normal watch”: probably an automatic, so without batteries, you just need to wear it every ~2-5 days (depending on mechanics+price) to keep it charged, just to have time+date on hand. Having to look on my phone for the time can pull you back in. So I get OP.
It does and I do have the on. But if you are like me and place your phone with the back down on surfaces or in a business card holder, the flash is not visible.Apple does provide a way to use the iPhone flash light for notifications.
Get LED flash alerts on your iPhone or iPad - Apple Support
The LED flash next to the camera lens on the back of your iPhone or iPad can blink when your device is locked and you receive a notification. This can be useful for anyone who might miss audible alerts.support.apple.com
Secondly, if you are not looking at the phone at the time the notification comes in then you miss the flash. Since it only happens at notifications then you have no idea if you got one if you missed seeing the flash.
I used to have a jailbreak tweak that would not shut off the notification flash until I acknowledged the notification, but I'm not on a jailbroken iPhone anymore and I doubt that tweak even works anymore if I still had it.
My 2009 HTC Touch Pro had a LED ring visible on the front. At the time I was arguing for an LED, Apple still had the home button and could have added this.
And yes, I realize that I am not like the vast majority of people who put their iPhones down on the front. I don't use cases and if there is going to be any sort of a scratch on my iPhone I want that scratch to be on the back, not on the screen. So, my phones are set down on the back with the screen facing up. Which blocks seeing the flash.
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You're right, Apple isn't forcing me. No company is. Yet we have boycotts where people refuse to buy something (or anything at all) from a company that is not forcing them to buy their product. For reasons.
So, I'm boycotting the Apple Watch for reasons. And yes, I'm not getting it for the other stuff. If I wanted to be hooked up to a medical sensor all day then I'd buy one. But I don't. And I don't care about the fitness stuff. That's always been a thing I've hated. It's hard to fail PE, but I've come close.
For some people that would work, but remember, we're all not built the same. I've had an Apple Watch since day 1 and have gone through Series 0, 5, and now Series 9. Most of the time, I wear it for fitness reasons, but whether notifications are on or off, the temptation to check your messages or use other functions is still there, attached to your wrist. I try to take at least one day a week off where I don't wear it, and, as OP suggested, feel much freer.
This is why I hope Apple comes out with a ring at some point. The biggest killer feature of an Apple Ring would be health monitoring with no notifications or other functionality at all 😆😆
Beyond being in tune with my body and trying to handle things between gaps in health insurance, I don't want to know. It would just be another thing to worry about (how to PAY to fix it) and I'm already on meds for high blood pressure.
So, not getting an AW nor a ring.
Do Android phones have such a thing? Wouldn't that clutter up the front of the phone? Make the bezel bigger or something?
I don't think AW is lame, but I'd love it if it was a stand-alone device and replace the phone. Then I could just have my iPad and Watch, and get rid of the phone.
But if the phone keeps flashing until you notice, won't that drain the battery? Again, do Android phones do that? Also, don't missed notifications show up in the Notification Center? On newer iPhones with always on displays, doesn't the notifications show on the screen when they come in?
Oh, and if you want to see the flash while keeping your screen up front (to me, that feels like it will be vulnerable to getting scratched by things falling or brushing on top of it, but whatever works for you), try to find a way to put down the phone so it's not completely flat. That flash is so bright, you can see it if there's just a slight space between the phone and the surface it's laying on. I've managed to find the phone when it's buried in desk clutter because I could see the flash among the clutter.
EDIT: In fact, looking closer at your picture, it looks like you have the phone tilted up at an angle? In that case, you'd see the flash, even though that side is facing away from you.
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That was a jailbreak tweak that I was using, sheesh, maybe sometime around 2013 I believe. On a phone with a home button. It's been years since and a few things have happened. I'll get to that in a moment.
As to Androids, I have a Pixel 3a XL that I used for nine months and I believe you could set the flash to do that, but not 'forever'. I can't tell you about other Androids because my Pixel is the only one I've ever owned.
You are correct about missed notifications being in the Notification Center. But having to walk over, pick up your phone and then check defeats the purpose of a notification LED does it not? Why have the LED/Flash on if that's simply what you're going to do.
And yes, AOD does what you're saying. My Pixel has AOD. But my current iPhone, the 11 Pro Max does not.
So, the things that have happened. One, Apple moved away from TouchID. Adding in a LED notification light now would simply be a headscratching moment about a design choice that is no longer necessary. Why use FaceID, if Apple is going to have a home button like LED light in the same spot as a home button previously? Makes no sense.
Two, AOD. While I do not have an AOD iPhone, I do have an AOD Pixel. And it's AOD that largely eliminated a desire for an LED light for me.
Three, my personal situation changed around late 2018 when I switched jobs. An LED notification light was important to me from 2004 to 2018 because I was often away from my desk doing other tasks. In between passing my desk I wanted to be able to just check visually if I had any messages. I could momentarily divert and go over and read my notification if the light was flashing. Otherwise, I'd just continue doing what I was doing. But in 2018, I got a new job that put me squarely at a desk. That and AOD pretty much eliminated my need to a LED notification light. When COVID happened, I went 100 percent to WFH and that's where I am now. My phones are in front of me pretty much all day. I'll see a notification come in.
I don't use cases on any of my phones, so there are a set of rules I developed for myself that have all become reflex by now. One of those rules is that I set my phone down on its back. If I am out, then that's some place I think is safe, or I stick something under it (like a napkin at a restaurant).
Another thing is that I don't let stuff get on top of my phones. At home I have designated spots for my phones. On my desk in business card holders or on my nightstand, also in a business card holder.
So, at my desk, for there to be a danger of stuff falling on my phones you're going to need a force sufficient to topple monitors and/or rip the television out of the studs in the wall that it's mounted to. I consider that highly unlikely to happen. On my nightstand is a lamp with a wide base. It's going to take a sufficient amount of effort to knock that lamp over to hit my phones.
I mean, honestly, I don't really see a danger here in stuff 'dropping' on my phone…
IF that happens, or the lamp in my room topples I think I've got MUCH bigger problems. I don't live in California (anymore) so earthquakes are not an issue.
Lastly, I have spots for my phone(s) when out. In a cupholder in the car and in my pocket anywhere else. I usually wear cargo pants or shorts so there's always a pocket I can put my phone so I'm not sitting on it.
The point is, I'd rather scratch the back of my device and not the screen. And while something dropping on my phones could happen, it's much more likely to smash a screen than cause a scratch. If my phone is 'flipped over' to 'protect the screen' I really don't think the screen's going to survive something crashing into the back of the phone either. So, in light of that, a scratch is the greater risk and I keep my phones on their backs so that doesn't happen to the screen.
So, my reason not to have an AW now is largely because I don't need/want another device when I already have my phones in front of me all day. And I take my phones when I go out.
That and I don't want the other features.
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I agree with your sentiment and suspect many people wake up one day questioning what they really need. I use a regular watch specifically to not be gadget dependent 24/7.
iPhone and Mac take up too much of my time. Watch never did.
I mean, if closing your rings every day gives you anxiety then I can see why ditching it feels good.
But Watch is about as distracting as a “dumb phone” if you set it up correctly.
I get much more done when my phone is stored away and I’m only checking my Watch.
I did the exact same thing. I wore an Apple Watch for 5 years and finally gave it up and moved to a mechanical watch. I couldn't be happier.
This little device just kept me hooked up for no reason and totally fried my brain. And don't tell me it's about the "steps" and workout apps. I'm a body builder and the data collected by it did nothing for me, besides providing Apple with more data for their Machine Learning crap and analytics so they can just sell you more stuff.
Don't listen to all of the "just turn off notifications" screams. It's a very populistic thing to say. If not for the notifications, then why would I need to wear it everywhere in the first place? It's not as elegant or pretty as an Omega watch anyway. Not to mention I grew tired of charging it every day.
Enjoy your new freedom and your new Omega! (I have one too).
A real connection requires disconnecting.
This little device just kept me hooked up for no reason and totally fried my brain. And don't tell me it's about the "steps" and workout apps. I'm a body builder and the data collected by it did nothing for me, besides providing Apple with more data for their Machine Learning crap and analytics so they can just sell you more stuff.
Don't listen to all of the "just turn off notifications" screams. It's a very populistic thing to say. If not for the notifications, then why would I need to wear it everywhere in the first place? It's not as elegant or pretty as an Omega watch anyway. Not to mention I grew tired of charging it every day.
Enjoy your new freedom and your new Omega! (I have one too).
A real connection requires disconnecting.
I guess your Watch can help you read the rest of this "silly" thread.
You're redundant.
Mine gave me massive anxiety and actually made me quite ill. I became obsessive with the heart rate monitor and I was having panic attacks. Never had anxiety before or really knew what it was prior to the Apple Watch. Went to docs and had various tests which were all fine. Took watch off and I’ve felt fine ever since!
Anyone else?
Anyone else?
How’s the nomad band in terms of scratching? I really want to get the black when ultra 3 comes out this month but don’t want to have to deal with scratches
Right back at you! Just a few posts up. Already explained this because someone else are brought up your point.
Doesn't work well when you lay your phone down on it's back or have the screen facing you in a business card holder. Also, doesn't work well when you don't see the flash.
Your post is NOT a mic drop solution.
Reading this, I wonder how often people would want the "LED in front" and/or "flashing continues for a long time" features. Seems like it's only needed if you are in the habit of walking away from your phone for long periods of time, and pass by it frequently without picking it up.