I probably would have stuck with my Pebble Steel and waited for GPS integration and more speed from the processor. The only advantages the 1st gen offers over the Pebble (for my usage): Fitness tracking (mediocre) and more consistent/cleaner iPhone connection (drops less, doesn't double notifications). Everything else I've tried has been not worth it.
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So, would you buy it again?
- Thread starter yanki01
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I certainly feel I've gotten my money's worth it just hasn't added anything to my life and I won't get another one. I'm an avid reader on the go and have to have books and safari at my fingertips so I'm clutching my phone all the time anyway. Getting a message it just feels quicker to pull out my phone and I genuinely dont use the health tracking. I certainly feel the price point is right for all you get and it will let some people not use their phones as much but my phone usage is the same. A year later and I still haven't gotten used to wearing anything on my wrist and I find myself getting irritated with the apps. The apps are a joke in my opinion. I absolutely LOVE the custom modular watch face and the haptic feedback for messages but that's about all I use it for. I'd buy it again because I'm an early adopter but if I forget to wear it I don't even think anything of it. If I forgot my phone I'd be freaking out. The watch isn't even a second thought. I see how great the product will be for some people but I just think it's a solution looking for problem. Even if it were faster and had cellular I wouldn't be interested in upgrading.
ABSOLUTELY! I love my apples watches! I wear one or the other 24 hours a day, except when I'm in the shower! (I did wear one in the shower a couple of times and the speaker acted funky after that for a while... til it dried, I assume??)
My biggest issue with the new one is do I buy 2 and get rid of both of these? Or just buy one and not have the new features on one? UGH! Decisions!?
My biggest issue with the new one is do I buy 2 and get rid of both of these? Or just buy one and not have the new features on one? UGH! Decisions!?
Yes, Apple Watch is a very nice watch with benefits. I can't emphasize the very nice watch part enough. Do my expectations go beyond what Apple can realistically do? Sure. I have always looked to Apple as the company that can pull off what others can't. That's part of the brand to me. So I will expect more, push for more, and over and over be happy enough to keep buying Apple products. AW is the best watch I have ever owned.
Well I love all things Apple, but I am honestly trying to decide whether or not I should keep the one I have. I've had it a month or so, and I just have not really embraced it like I generally do with my Apple products. I've certainly never second-guessed my iPad Pro, or any of my previous iPads, or iPhones, but I just don't have the same feeling about the watch. I LIKE it okay, but I don't feel like it's something I can't live without.
Maybe I'm just not using it to its full potential...
Maybe I'm just not using it to its full potential...
Maybe, maybe not. It really is Apple's "most personal product" in ways beyond just the choices of bands.
One event that pushed me to think, "Okay, this is cool…" was the first time I chose to keep my phone in my gym bag on the way home from work. I exchanged texts with my wife (starting with, "Hey Siri, tell my wife I'm on my way home now,") and used dictation, a canned reply, and a fancy emoji.
The neatest aspect was not the fancy emoji, though. It was how I was able to do everything so easily while walking down the street. I didn't feel as if I was buried in my phone screen, waiting for the next reply.
And, I was comfortable knowing that, if necessary, I could still get the phone if I needed to do something more complicated.
Smartphones are pocket computers now, right? Smartwatches can take over as basic phone devices.
I bought one only to try for a week because I couldn't afford it (was a student). I was sad to return it. Was way better than I expected given the reviews at the time were saying "meh it's ok". I felt free from my phone. It's almost subconscious how tied to our mobile phones we are now, so when i could still get those notifications without having to look at my phone, it was great. I also really enjoyed the fitness tracking and heart monitor for running as it was accurate for me, and I really liked the activity app.
Will definitely be buying AW2 if GPS is included.
Will definitely be buying AW2 if GPS is included.
If your interested in health tracking then your way behind. Apple Watch is not even close to being accurate try and chest strap by polar and compare. Smh
How are the polar watches at handling notifications, communications, displaying calendar info or utilizing custom apps?
Most of us don't really need to track our heart rate anyway, and never gave it much thought until fitness trackers with HR monitors dropped low enough in price for the feature to become a value-add. Cheaper fitness trackers with no HR capability are still insanely popular because many people just aren't willing to pay for heart rate monitoring. Most people just want to track their steps.
The target heart rate zones recommended by the American Heart Association are so wide that it is really hard for most of us to over or under exert. Of course elite training regimens will have more narrowly defined zones for different stages of a workout. Doctors might also want patients with certain conditions to keep it within a narrower range. If you're a heart patient, you need more accurate real-time readings than most of us do.
Most people are perfectly happy to wear a watch with a heart rate monitor all day long, but not everyone wants to wear a chest strap, even if just for a one hour workout. My Apple Watch heart rate numbers seem reasonably accurate and reasonably consistent enough of the time to give me some useful trend data. the only frustrating thing for me is that sometimes during a workout it will stop displaying real time HR and I will get the "calculating..." Message for a bit. Oh well... Not bad considering the convenience of not needing to wear a strap. I'm not saying I won't welcome improvements. It's just not as useful of a feature to me as it is for some.
Sean
How are the polar watches at handling notifications, communications, displaying calendar info or utilizing custom apps?
Most of us don't really need to track our heart rate anyway, and never gave it much thought until fitness trackers with HR monitors dropped low enough in price for the feature to become a value-add. Cheaper fitness trackers with no HR capability are still insanely popular because many people just aren't willing to pay for heart rate monitoring. Most people just want to track their steps.
The target heart rate zones recommended by the American Heart Association are so wide that it is really hard for most of us to over or under exert. Of course elite training regimens will have more narrowly defined zones for different stages of a workout. Doctors might also want patients with certain conditions to keep it within a narrower range. If you're a heart patient, you need more accurate real-time readings than most of us do.
Most people are perfectly happy to wear a watch with a heart rate monitor all day long, but not everyone wants to wear a chest strap, even if just for a one hour workout. My Apple Watch heart rate numbers seem reasonably accurate and reasonably consistent enough of the time to give me some useful trend data. the only frustrating thing for me is that sometimes during a workout it will stop displaying real time HR and I will get the "calculating..." Message for a bit. Oh well... Not bad considering the convenience of not needing to wear a strap. I'm not saying I won't welcome improvements. It's just not as useful of a feature to me as it is for some.
Sean
Hmmm health related u go on about apps. Listen you are fooling yourself if you think your Apple Watch is reasonably accurate. I have one ITS NOT REMOTELY ACCURATE PERIOD.
I did. I got a stainless and a sport. I lost and have kept off about 20 pounds and can now run up and down the stairs and run around the field next to my house and play soccer with the kids and beat them.
I had always been slender but I hit "the change of life" about a year and a half ago and found myself with a big butt and getting winded going up and down the stairs on my previous activity levels. Lol, Jony Ive and I got plump around the same time. I think we are the same age. I do still have some work ahead of me to get really fit again.
The activity rings are far from perfect and possibly not even all that good but they were enough to keep my mind on moving moving moving to the increased activity levels I now have to maintain to stay fit. I know big butts are all the rage these days but I will politely decline that fad as I am very short and it's not a good look on me. I end up looking like a Weeble.
I just can't jog on pavement like all the serious joggers because I have autoimmune disease and am subject to joint inflammation when I do that. I envy everyone when they get going on their serious runner talk.
And the notifications have been indispensable. The one day I wasn't wearing my watch was the one day I got an urgent call from the school. By the merest chance I happened to be near an old iPad that was still receiving call notifications and I heard that. Before I got the watch and my SE I was going crazy trying to keep my huge iPad 6S Plus on me at all times. Even now I sometimes won't have the SE on me but the watch still keeps me connected on the home wifi.
I had always been slender but I hit "the change of life" about a year and a half ago and found myself with a big butt and getting winded going up and down the stairs on my previous activity levels. Lol, Jony Ive and I got plump around the same time. I think we are the same age. I do still have some work ahead of me to get really fit again.
The activity rings are far from perfect and possibly not even all that good but they were enough to keep my mind on moving moving moving to the increased activity levels I now have to maintain to stay fit. I know big butts are all the rage these days but I will politely decline that fad as I am very short and it's not a good look on me. I end up looking like a Weeble.
I just can't jog on pavement like all the serious joggers because I have autoimmune disease and am subject to joint inflammation when I do that. I envy everyone when they get going on their serious runner talk.
And the notifications have been indispensable. The one day I wasn't wearing my watch was the one day I got an urgent call from the school. By the merest chance I happened to be near an old iPad that was still receiving call notifications and I heard that. Before I got the watch and my SE I was going crazy trying to keep my huge iPad 6S Plus on me at all times. Even now I sometimes won't have the SE on me but the watch still keeps me connected on the home wifi.
Wrist-based optical HR performance tends to be personal to the user. Yours may not be accurate for you, but that does not mean that it is not accurate for others. In fact, optical wrist HRM measurement is probably accurate for most people. I have an AW too, and it is highly accurate compared to three other HRMs I have (Garmin 735XT, Garmin chest strap, and Scosche Rhythm+). The only time I get burned with HRM accuracy is if I forget to tighten the sport watch band by one hole. Mine does not even have a problem tracking me on intervals. (My optical HRMs may lag the chest strap slightly while performing intervals, but it does not affect my performance during and analysis after.) The only time it struggles is when I am biking and have a tight grip on the handlebars, but even those faults are occasional.
Chest straps are not as accurate as an EKG. That does not mean that we should throw out chest straps. All of the devices have their place. I may get a new chest strap so my devices can use HRV to estimate some additional performance metrics.
This thread is not exclusively about the health features. Read the subject and original post again. It's about whether or not you'd buy the Apple Watch again.
You are fooling yourself if you think the feature everyone cares about the most is the HR sensor, and you are fooling yourself if you think most people are going to buy and wear a chest strap. I would have bought the AW even if it had no HR sensor. I have been surprised at how much I enjoy having that feature though, and it works well for me most of the time. I know how to take my pulse manually and the watch is usually really close if not spot-on when I compare. I get good results cycling as well, but a really rough surface can delay reading.
My interest in my heart readings are partly just because I'm a data junkie. I have never spotted anything in the readings that didn't make sense based on my activity routines.
You seem to be evangelizing the Polar heart rate chest strap sensor a lot in multiple threads. What evidence can you link to that shows the AW heart rate monitoring is as inaccurate as you say? Actually I don't think I have seen you mention any numbers. Just your opinion.
Sean
I understood fully what the article of what op stated. I pointed one of many of he's reasons. As far accurate of the heart strap your joking as for as links. I tell you what you do you google it and come back and post it. Anyone that is heavily involved in conditioning knows this point blank. I am not evangelizing anything only stated FACTS and not opinion. Chest straps are way more accurate than any watch PERIOD. the other post is correct dog is more accurate than chest straps but chest straps are always in the high 90% of being accurate some 97%. No watch can come close to that PERIOD. I refuse to collect way off data
Hey I digress on this debate as to what is better than what. I was only pointing out the Apple Watch is way off and don't see health related being a reason as to buy. Yes I admit something like this can get someone into the groove of exercise then advance
Exactly my point earlier. But people rationalize and try and make a product something it's not.i have the dang watch and it's not from person to person its inaccurate badly across the board. Any watch is inaccurate.
I think you have a very narrow and incomplete understanding of how these devices perform and how people use them.
The average person is not "heavily involved in conditioning" and that includes me. I have never heard anyone describe the Apple Watch heart rate sensor as medical grade or even professional athlete grade, but it is reasonably accurate for many folks. It depends on your wrist physiology, how you wear the watch, and what activities you engage in. If I was one of the unlucky ones who just couldn't get the Apple Watch to work for heart rate, I guess I'd be upset about that. I would still keep the watch since I didn't buy it for HR anyway. Fortunately it seems to work well enough for me to gauge trends in my activity levels, and for comparing the intensity of my bicycle workout rides. In fact it has been more accurate and more consistent than I expected it to be. I look forward to improvements in health and activity tracking, but heart rate hasn't been an area in need of much improvement for me.
Sean
Meh. I'm actually looking to sell mine at this point. I've just never really found it useful and even now, a year later, I don't know what it's for. Also as far as watches go, it's not really the most attractive of wrist jewellery. Unless the Apple Watch 2 is something really to be desired, I'll likely sell mine and either switch back to my regular watch or stop wearing one. Even as a fitness band, it's probably not the best fitness band on the market. The apps are, for the most part, completely useless and the notifications feature doesn't really benefit my life. I have to basically will myself to put it on in the morning and the only thing I really look at it for is to dismiss a notification telling me to breath or how I'm doing with my move goals that day...which I don't want!?
I still feel like it's a product that should not exist. It's evidence of Apple merely following the crowd and that's not what they're about - or at least it shouldn't be.
I still feel like it's a product that should not exist. It's evidence of Apple merely following the crowd and that's not what they're about - or at least it shouldn't be.
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Will I buy version 2? It depends on what's new about it. Would I buy a 2nd Apple watch in another material / colour? No. If I didn't have one, but knew what I now know, would I buy one? Absolutely.
v2?
All signs seem to be that there will be a long product cycle for watches. If you have bought the gold multi-thousand pound watch, that's just as well. I suspect v2 may not be with us for some time (years?) and when it arrives, I would hope it will be much improved.
My current watch and use
I've had my aluminium sport watch for more than a year. I love it, but I'm not blind to it's weaknesses. From what we were told in WDC, in June, OS3 will address many of these (slow wake time + slow-fetch-data-from-iphone-for-a-non-Apple-app time) for your 'favourite' apps.
But, IMO, it has no wow-factor. It has no must-have feature. I love the notifications on my wrist, the HR sensor and health tracking (and I really do love these features). They are great. I wish I'd waited long enough to get the gold-effect sport watch, although there is a limited number of bands that look good with it. I think the price drop was sensible, but I also think the milanese loop bands remain very expensive for what they are.
I never used Apple Pay before the watch, now I use it all the time. I am looking forward to the new 'auto-unlock' feature in OS3, so that my MBA can be secure, but easy to get into (for me) when I am wearing my apple watch.
But for running, I am seriously considering a dedicated running watch (I am currently looking at Garmins 235, 630, 735). At present, HR information takes too long to come through, the in-workout screens are not customiseable enough. The wrist-raise does not activate anywhere near fast enough. The data does not upload to anything but your iPhone, and cannot be uploaded to Strava or other running websites at all. It is not clear how you can send HR data from the watch to other apps. I am not an athlete, or anything more than an average runner, but even casual runners want these options so they can get more out of their miles (and make running or progress towards a weight-loss goal more interesting and attainable).
Conclusion
Ultimately, this is still a new product area for Apple, and a new category device for all digital device makers. Apple have made a great effort at this, and I suspect it is better than it's competitors, but it isn't as impressive as other Apple devices. I look forward to OS3, and version 2.
v2?
All signs seem to be that there will be a long product cycle for watches. If you have bought the gold multi-thousand pound watch, that's just as well. I suspect v2 may not be with us for some time (years?) and when it arrives, I would hope it will be much improved.
My current watch and use
I've had my aluminium sport watch for more than a year. I love it, but I'm not blind to it's weaknesses. From what we were told in WDC, in June, OS3 will address many of these (slow wake time + slow-fetch-data-from-iphone-for-a-non-Apple-app time) for your 'favourite' apps.
But, IMO, it has no wow-factor. It has no must-have feature. I love the notifications on my wrist, the HR sensor and health tracking (and I really do love these features). They are great. I wish I'd waited long enough to get the gold-effect sport watch, although there is a limited number of bands that look good with it. I think the price drop was sensible, but I also think the milanese loop bands remain very expensive for what they are.
I never used Apple Pay before the watch, now I use it all the time. I am looking forward to the new 'auto-unlock' feature in OS3, so that my MBA can be secure, but easy to get into (for me) when I am wearing my apple watch.
But for running, I am seriously considering a dedicated running watch (I am currently looking at Garmins 235, 630, 735). At present, HR information takes too long to come through, the in-workout screens are not customiseable enough. The wrist-raise does not activate anywhere near fast enough. The data does not upload to anything but your iPhone, and cannot be uploaded to Strava or other running websites at all. It is not clear how you can send HR data from the watch to other apps. I am not an athlete, or anything more than an average runner, but even casual runners want these options so they can get more out of their miles (and make running or progress towards a weight-loss goal more interesting and attainable).
Conclusion
Ultimately, this is still a new product area for Apple, and a new category device for all digital device makers. Apple have made a great effort at this, and I suspect it is better than it's competitors, but it isn't as impressive as other Apple devices. I look forward to OS3, and version 2.
I think I would, I'm a bit on the fence. I guess when I consider would I buy again, I'm having an eye to the apple watch 2. I enjoy and find the Apple watch,to be sure. Its not perfect, and the single day battery is a negative mark on what would otherwise be high grades for such a great product.
I wished Apple would roll out new bands as well.
I wished Apple would roll out new bands as well.