I gave up my Apple Watch after 9 years and feel free.

[eyoungren]

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.

That was my original reason for wanting it. For 14.5 years I worked in a two story building. I had business up front on the second floor and business downstairs. In attending to that I would often pass my desk on the second floor and not know if I had notifications or not. I had to pick up the phone to check. So a flash was only useful if I was looking directly at the phone at the time a notification came in.

But with my new job in 2019 and the advent of AOD displays I'm right in front of my devices all day. So, there's really less of a need for that now (for me). Additionally, with the removal of the home button it would be an odd design choice for Apple to put that in (in front).

 

[Surfsalot]

People still complaining about no notification light bahahah

 

[ignatius345]

I've had my Apple Watch SE for about 5 months now and I'm still sort of on the fence about it versus my old Citizen analog watch.

I like the sleep and activity metrics, and I like being able to look down and instantly see the next thing on my calendar.

I found the notifications massively overkill. I've turned most of them off -- particularly the activity nags. I do like getting a notification when someone texts me, but I hate if they keep texting me and my watch just keeps buzzing on my wrist (we all have those people who love to send like 5 in a row, right? ). I would way prefer to have it suppress subsequent notifications from the same person if they start coming too frequently, and I'm surprised they haven't fine-tuned that yet.

As much as I like having the sleep data, I don't find it particularly comfortable to sleep in.

Where the AW really really shines in with running. I love being able to get all the workout data and music while not trying to carry my big old iPhone.

And lastly I just don't love having to charge it every day. I know the AWU has better battery life but it's also massive and quite expensive.

I also find the LED display just a bit too eye-grabbing and distracting at times. I think my fantasy smartwatch would have a display more akin to color e-ink with some optional backlighting (like Timex's Indiglo feature) for night. Not holding my breath on that, but it would really hit a sweet spot for me where I have something digital and dynamic but it doesn't look like a mini iPhone on my wrist.

I think I get what the OP is talking about as far as the "calming" effect of an analog watch. It just doesn't do anything at all, so there's nothing to tap on or adjust. It's just the time and (maybe) date, and a nice bit of decoration for your wrist.

 

[DMG35]

I love the Apple Watch but to be honest it does get a little weird seeing everyone wearing the same watch everywhere you look. There is a loss of individuality in them in that we are all wearing the same thing regardless of the type of band we wear.

 

[cjsuk]

What?

So I’m getting absolutely hammered in a bar on a Mediterranean island earlier this year. It’s about 1AM and I’m working hard on pulling a Greek floozie. So next thing I know I get tapped on the wrist suddenly.

FEED ME says the wrist gremlin. FEED ME NOW or I’ll fail to wake you up in the morning or won’t be able to record you staggering along! Oh go away I’m busy! 30 mins later ARE YOU GOING TO FEED ME? No, piss off!

So I wake up next morning sans Greek floozie (☹️) and wrist gremlin has passed out. Phone is on 20% and I need to charge stuff. But I only have a 20W USB-C with me. Well guess wrist gremlin is going to stay dead today!

 

[msackey]

Decided to part ways with my Apple Watch Ultra 2. From owning the original 9 years ago and wearing one on my wrist up until now, I felt it was time to try and see just what it feels like to rid myself of it.
I purchased a Omega as my new wearable.
Sold the Apple Watch on eBay.
Now, I feel comfortably free and, for some reason, clear headed.

Give it a try.

Interesting. So what were you obsessing over with the Ultra?

For me, most of the time my Watch is just a time piece. A few times throughout the day it is for using Omnifocus (task manager) and being notified of calendar events and that's it. I don't obsessively check notifications and in fact most of the time I ignore them ;-)

What I really do like my Ultra (or Apple Watch in general) is how it integrates well with my fitness activity. I am a pretty serious runner and log my runs religiously. I also really enjoy being able to listen to podcasts on my Ultra while I'm running.

 

[msackey]

I have really thought about this as I went to about age 35 without a watch at all. LOL.

Yeah I just shut off most of the notifications I don't want on my watch or phone. That way only the ones I really want get through.

This way I don't have to get my phone out to skip 30 seconds in a podcast or to check the time. Or see where I am navigating to. But when I don't want to be bugged, it doesn't bug me.

Yup. The main notifications I get are from Omnifocus, Calendar, and Weather. And then anything my spouse sends me. That's it.

Update: Oh, and I forgot: native reminders for my medication! LOL. This is a much more recent development so it has been very helpful that my Watch reminds me when I need to take my meds.

 

[msackey]

From time to time the thought of using a Watch enters my mind (though I would only use it as a pocket watch), but then I remember I'd have to recharge it every day (as if it wasn't already bad enough with the iPhone), which makes me quickly drop that thought again. I'd really just like a smaller and lighter phone.

If the main or only reason you would use the Watch for is as a timepiece, then it is absolutely not worth it IMHO. There are MUCH better watches that are only timepieces.

 

[cjsuk]

If the main or only reason you would use the Watch for is as a timepiece, then it is absolutely not worth it IMHO. There are MUCH better watches that are only timepieces.

Yeah I got my Casio F91-W out earlier.

The finest watch on the planet. And if you break it, meh just buy another one.

 

[ThailandToo]

Decided to part ways with my Apple Watch Ultra 2. From owning the original 9 years ago and wearing one on my wrist up until now, I felt it was time to try and see just what it feels like to rid myself of it.
I purchased a Omega as my new wearable.
Sold the Apple Watch on eBay.
Now, I feel comfortably free and, for some reason, clear headed.

Give it a try.

I like it for one notification, which is the maps. I like it for working out. But otherwise I wear an Omega Seamaster, which is such a better looking watch. And I had tried to turn off every notification, but inevitably it would keep notifying me. I may have had a setting wrong, but I leave my iPhone on mute. I want to pick up my phone when I want to - I am not a servant to notifications from people and apps wanting my attention. The Apple Watch makes people addicted to responding and interrupts time! People are too connected. I tried turning off every notification and putting it on my ankle. That worked for heart rate and steps only, but sort of annoying anyways.

 

[msackey]

Biggest issue I see with people wearing smart watches - they start to become some data fanatics and record every bloody activity or analyze every bloody sleep time even if they never had any issues with the sleep.

Eh...maybe some people but certainly not all. I'm not one of them.

My first so called "smart watch" was LONG ago back in the early 2000s and really we didn't call those smart watches. It was a GPS "watch" of which I had several versions from Garmin's Forerunner line. Forerunners were designed for being able to give runners/cyclists instantaneous pace or speed readings, recording their workout and route, and recording heart rate over time. Yes, it had a clock too but when your workout was done, you turn off the watch. No one, in the early years, wore a Forerunner as full-time watch because the battery life did not last a whole day.

Anyhow, in the late 2010s I upgraded from various Garmin Forerunners to an Apple Watch (Series 4), and now an Ultra. Apple Watch has totally replaced my Garmin Forerunner and it also does more such as play music, etc.

Outside of my workouts, I'm not so curious about tracking my metrics, although I am curious from time to time how many steps I have taken, but primarily the metrics I care about are from my workouts, not daily movement.

 

[ApplesAreSweet&Sour]

Interesting to hear. A long time ago, when the AW first launched, I was involved in some long arguments about how I wasn't getting the AW and my reasons for that. Now, years later it would seem (if this thread is any indication) that there are Apple customers who no longer want the Watch.

Considering the overwhelming support for it and desire to get it at that time, I just find that interesting.

Apple Watch would be 2 or 3 times as great a product if third-party app integration and support was there.

On the other hand, for those trying to escape the time suck of all the things we do with apps on smartphones and computers, the lack of great third-party app support for Watch makes it a better "dumbphone".

Watch is sure to either have you love using your devices less, or hate how there's so much you're still forced to grab your iPhone to do.

 

[msackey]

Yeah I got my Casio F91-W out earlier.

The finest watch on the planet. And if you break it, meh just buy another one.

Long ago, my father gave me his Seiko diver's watch which has calendar date, tells time, and is automatically self-winding. It is a much more beautiful timepiece than Apple Watch ever can be. Alas, it was actually stolen from my workplace 😱. While it was not an expensive watch in the grand scheme of things, it had a lot of sentimental value as my dad wore that watch much of his later adult years and if I still had it, I bet it would continuing ticking away decades later.

I can't see an Apple Watch EVER holding sentimental value. As a Watch, it really can't be setup without an iPhone, and it really can't operate independently. I mean, it can operate independently once it is setup from the phone, but then it's just a not very good timepiece. And also at some point, that electronic Watch is not going to receive OS upgrades and won't work independently. It'll just be deadweight.

 

[Karannz1]

Decided to part ways with my Apple Watch Ultra 2. From owning the original 9 years ago and wearing one on my wrist up until now, I felt it was time to try and see just what it feels like to rid myself of it.
I purchased a Omega as my new wearable.
Sold the Apple Watch on eBay.
Now, I feel comfortably free and, for some reason, clear headed.

Give it a try.

I got rid of my Apple Watch this month after just a year of using it. It is too big and bulky and I used the smallest Apple Watch SE 41mm. Before the Apple Watch I never wore a watch. Would just check the phone for time and notifications. I did only find it useful for tracking steps, silent notifications and checking info like the weather on the watchface. So now I downgraded to a Xiaomi Mi Band 9 Fitness Tracker which does pretty much everything I most used on the Apple Watch other than picking up calls on the watch itself. But a bonus is it’s got 3 weeks battery life and is much more compact.

 

[ApplesAreSweet&Sour]

I initially hated the physical sensation of wearing my Watch. The 41mm isn't heavy. But I could always sort of feel it. Not great.

But after switching to a Sport Loop, the whole thing feels so light that I genuinely forget that I'm wearing it sometimes.

Crazy to me that the Sport Loop isn't the default in the box. I feel like Apple is losing a lot of Watch wearers because the standard silicone watchband is so rigid and traps so much sweat.

 

[Thehangmn]

You bought an Omega for like 8k and that made you feel free? Ok. Whatever.

You can manage your notifications and exclude the ones you don’t want. But if all you got it for was telling time the. You obviously made the wrong call. You can get a great Casio for way less than the Omega.

 

[boss.king]

Interesting to see how many people here are writing off the watch as only being able to do notifications and completely ignoring all the fitness tracking stuff, silent alarms, media playback without needing your phone etc.

If that’s not your thing, that’s fine, but let’s not pretend the Apple Watches aren’t incredibly capable little gadgets.

Also, as far as battery life goes, it would be great if the watch lasted longer, but charging every day or every other day is no different from my phone, so it’s not that big a deal to me. It charges pretty fast too, so I can just do little 10-20 min top ups here and there if needed and rarely need to charge it to 100%.

 

[splifingate]

My mom bought me a digital watch in 1983 when I was 12. My first watch. Everything was great until I helped my uncle wash his car. It was at that point that I became aware of something called waterproofing - because that watch didn't have it.

I took my original (1st Gen) Casio Calc watch into the saltwater of the Florida Gulf three decades ago, and ultimately found-out that it wasn't WR (in any shape, or form).

It was real fun, until that morning

 

[AZFalconi]

Decided to part ways with my Apple Watch Ultra 2. From owning the original 9 years ago and wearing one on my wrist up until now, I felt it was time to try and see just what it feels like to rid myself of it.
I purchased a Omega as my new wearable.
Sold the Apple Watch on eBay.
Now, I feel comfortably free and, for some reason, clear headed.

Give it a try.

I dropped a massive dump after lunch…. I Feel so free

 

[splifingate]

Decided to part ways with my Apple Watch Ultra 2. From owning the original 9 years ago and wearing one on my wrist up until now, I felt it was time to try and see just what it feels like to rid myself of it.
I purchased a Omega as my new wearable.
Sold the Apple Watch on eBay.
Now, I feel comfortably free and, for some reason, clear headed.

Give it a try.

I purchased the big AW6, mostly because my xSO had purchased one (and I wanted to be at-parity (for diag, help, etc)).

Apart from the need to re-charge that bastid, I don't mind sportin' it.

Use it mostly for Time; but also vetting {spam} phone calls....

I must say that the Little Beast is durable as hell . . . beat teh Bejesus out of it on the daily, and it's Timex Tried-And-True

 

[StaceyMJ86]

I’ve been wearing Apple Watches since the S2, and now have the Ultra 1. For me it is necessary to wear my Apple Watch, not just for the notifications which I customized for the certain ones that I want to show up, but for the health metrics that I’m tracking. I’ve been wearing them for years to the point I forget I’m even wearing a watch at times. I had a health scare last summer, that without my Apple Watch I don’t know if I would be here today for my children. I have several health diagnoses and being able to track these diagnoses with my Apple Watch and have it uploaded to the Health app for me to show and send a copy to my various doctors is nice.

I wear my watch all day everyday, except when it’s charging an hour before bed and an hour before work, and I still have enough battery to go into another day. I’m not a slave to my devices and do not find myself glued to them. I can even say that my Apple Watch has helped me to be more concerned about my health and start me on a weight loss journey which has turned out quite positive for me, so no I will NOT give up my Apple Watch.

 

[adrianlondon]

I’ve not worn a watch in 30 years.

I also turn my phone off at night. I’m very old fashioned.

But you’ll have to fight to take my MacBook Air out of my cold, dead hands.

 

[splifingate]

I’ve not worn a watch in 30 years.

I also turn my phone off at night. I’m very old fashioned.

But you’ll have to fight to take my MacBook Air out of my cold, dead hands.

👊

 

[msackey]

Crazy to me that the Sport Loop isn't the default in the box. I feel like Apple is losing a lot of Watch wearers because the standard silicone watchband is so rigid and traps so much sweat.

Not sure what you mean because there is NO default Watch band. You have to choose when you buy from the online Apple store.

 

[Hornby]

I love the Apple Watch but to be honest it does get a little weird seeing everyone wearing the same watch everywhere you look. There is a loss of individuality in them in that we are all wearing the same thing regardless of the type of band we wear.

This is my issue with them (and I’ve worn an AW since day one). I hate that they are EVERYWHERE and all look alike. I just sold my AWU today and may not go back.

I’m not bothered that iphones all look pretty much the same because I’m not “wearing” it.