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Apple Watch Experiences (2019)


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Apple Watch Experiences (2019)
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Capella
Dark Cat of the Sith
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Rochester, NY
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2019-01-15, 18:56

I asked this question on Twitter earlier in the year but I'd like to ask it on the forums to get replies longer than single tweets.

I picked up a series 3 Apple Watch for $229 at Walmart over the holidays. So far it's been used for heart rate tracking, activity monitoring, Pokemon Go workouts while walking to/from work, figuring out when I can IM friends on other continents without waking them up, and quickly checking the weather.

So I turn the following questions to AppleNova:

1.) Who has an Apple Watch and what do you primarily like to do with it?

2.) What do you wish you could do with it and why? (Like apps you wish you had, etc.)

3.) What third party bands are you loving?

"A blind, deaf, comatose, lobotomy patient could feel my anger!" - Darth Baras
twitter ; amateur photographer ; fanfiction writer ; roleplayer and worldbuilder
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turtle
Lord of the Rant.
Formerly turtle2472
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Upstate South Carolina
 
2019-01-16, 09:26

Quote:
Originally Posted by Capella View Post
...
1.) Who has an Apple Watch and what do you primarily like to do with it?
I have a 1st gen (OG) Apple Watch and now a Apple Sport Watch S3 with cellular.
  • Primarily I tell time with it. No joke, I use the Watch as more of a watch than anything else.
  • Second is that I let it monitor my sleep for me with a sleep app that works with the motion sensor in the S3 to give me a general idea of activity in the night.
  • Third is deal with alerts since I leave my phone on my desk all the time. (I've also paired down the number of alerts I get since most really just annoy me and don't help me.)
  • Fourth is activity tracking for workouts (which have been few and far between lately).
Quote:
2.) What do you wish you could do with it and why? (Like apps you wish you had, etc.)
I really wish there was a pulse O2 sensor function in it. I know it can do it, they just haven't pushed that far yet. While I'm not having to monitor my O2 sat, I know a few who do and this would be a whole lot nicer to use than a finger tip device they have to hunt down. So more health monitoring functions is the best way to summarize this.
Quote:
3.) What third party bands are you loving?
I have a few crappy ones from Amazon that are all under $15 and keep going back to the black rubber band from Apple. I have a leather (fake) magnetic fastening loop band that I like and generally leave on my Stainless Watch.

Louis L'Amour, “To make democracy work, we must be a nation of participants, not simply observers. One who does not vote has no right to complain.”
Visit our archived Minecraft world! | Maybe someday I'll proof read, until then deal with it.
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kieran
@kk@pennytucker.social
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
 
2019-01-16, 10:46

Quote:
Originally Posted by Capella View Post
I asked this question on Twitter earlier in the year but I'd like to ask it on the forums to get replies longer than single tweets.

I picked up a series 3 Apple Watch for $229 at Walmart over the holidays. So far it's been used for heart rate tracking, activity monitoring, Pokemon Go workouts while walking to/from work, figuring out when I can IM friends on other continents without waking them up, and quickly checking the weather.

So I turn the following questions to AppleNova:

1.) Who has an Apple Watch and what do you primarily like to do with it??
Just got the Series 4 after having the original Apple Watch since day one.

- Time primarily. I just like to be able to glance down and see what time it is, even though I have 37 other ways of doing the same.
- Notifications. I like to see what notifications are coming in. Mostly iMessages & email, but a few other alerts, such as Nest Cams and delivery notifications.
- Sir. I use Siri on my watch a lot. Setting times, texting my wife, using HomeKit, etc..

Quote:
2.) What do you wish you could do with it and why? (Like apps you wish you had, etc.)
I'd really like for more health sensors to become available, specifically glucose monitoring. Just think that is the best course forward for this device.

Quote:
3.) What third party bands are you loving?
I just have a few random knock off sport bands, but don't really wear them. Right now, I just keep the sport band on that came with it mostly, but I also have a blue Classic Buckle from Apple that I really like.

No more Twitter. It's Mastodon now.
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turtle
Lord of the Rant.
Formerly turtle2472
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Upstate South Carolina
 
2019-01-16, 11:36

I have to admit that I "regret" not getting a stainless steel one again. The Sport Watch's face just doesn't hold up the same at all. I'm not especially hard on watches but mine has a major gouge in the upper left and hazing just inside the curves where the face goes from flat to curved for the edges. Maybe I'll get an S5 to replace this on when it comes out. It'll be SS though.

Louis L'Amour, “To make democracy work, we must be a nation of participants, not simply observers. One who does not vote has no right to complain.”
Visit our archived Minecraft world! | Maybe someday I'll proof read, until then deal with it.
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chucker
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: near Bremen, Germany
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2019-01-17, 07:28

Quote:
Originally Posted by Capella View Post
So I turn the following questions to AppleNova:

1.) Who has an Apple Watch and what do you primarily like to do with it?
I got a used "Series 0" (original version; identical with Series 1 except it has half the CPU cores and is thus too underpowered to run watchOS 5) last year from a colleague for $120. I'm not sure I actually want to upgrade to a more recent one for full price.

It's too slow (and too small? it's 38mm) to conveniently use apps. It also has some reliability issues with sync — for example, timers and notifications syncing seems quite intermittent. I'm guessing this works more smoothly on newer models. But either way, this means I hardly use it for apps.

I do, however, use it all day and night: I sleep-track using Autosleep, and charge both before going to sleep and in the morning before taking a shower; that way, it lasts me through the day.

I use Activity and try to keep my move and exercise rings full, at least on weekdays. The stand ring is a lot harder, as is filling rings on weekends. But there is a gamification feedback loop, which overall helps my health. So that's cool.

I sometimes look at heart rate as well, but that seems a bit of a toy.

And I sometimes use it to input weight, but this requires launching an app, which is very slow. Oftentimes more convenient to do on th ephone instead.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Capella View Post
2.) What do you wish you could do with it and why? (Like apps you wish you had, etc.)
I'm not sure I would use apps more if it were faster. I might?

I have the Authy app installed for two-factor authentication, but it seems useless the way it is. It takes a long time to launch (which is not primarily the app's fault), and then it also doesn't let me tap the code to copy it over to my Mac (using Continuity Clipboard). I'm guessing this is a limitation on WatchKit's end. In contrast, on my iPhone, I can tap a code and then hit cmd-V on the Mac. Pretty cool when it works, and I find that increasingly, Continuity does just work. It took quite a few years to get there, but it has gotten more reliable, I think. I hope to one day have this functionality on the Watch instead, but that only makes sense if it's fast and convenient.

Speaking of, I also use the Watch to unlock my Mac. This, too, seems to have gotten much more reliable in recent months. It could be a little faster, and I'm guessing it will be on a newer Watch.

Getting back to health, as others have mentioned, more sensors would be great. I'm probably too young for stuff like ECG to really matter (but who knows), but some other medical data would be nice. I think Apple has plenty of growth potential here both in terms of technology/real-world applications and as a sustainable business, meaning they also have the incentive to invest. I also trust them more than the average corporation to keep the data private and secure.

But, more concretely, it's a bit hard to see where the Watch can go in the short term. They made significant improvements like ECG for the Series 4, but I'm not sure what more they can add for now.

There seem to be quite a few things that haven't panned out yet or haven't been cracked yet. Some have been killed entirely or made optional, like the side button showing a contacts list, the app grid, or time travel mode. Some UI paradigms just don't seem implemented well, like buttons seemingly randomly hidden behind a Force Touch press. It would be great if Apple could make improvements to this experience. They've iterated on it, but it doesn't feel like they have it figured out, and they definitely didn't when they shipped 1.0. So that's a bit of a shame.

It also doesn't feel like there's good guidance on what a third-party app should be. Again, this has improved (such as more audio stuff working for third parties in watchOS 5), but WatchKit is still quite limited, possibly for technical reasons, but possibly also because Apple doesn't really have a vision on what third parties should be able to do. They're certainly second-class citizens to an extent they aren't on the iPhone.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Capella View Post
3.) What third party bands are you loving?
I'll mostly repeat what I posted on Twitter: the Watch came with an orange Sport Band, which I honestly don't find that attractive / fancy for regular-day use. It does, however, seem to have the best fit and yield the most accurate health data.

Then I have a monowear Classic Leather Band. Looks fancy enough, but the fit is not great, and consequently, the data is not reliable. On top of that, it wears fast. The inside has collected a lot of my sweat. Would not recommend for regular use; might consider putting it on for special occasions!

Then I moved to the MoKo. A good compromise, especially given the absurdly low price tag. It fits reasonably well, and looks neat, too. This is what I've been wearing for months now.

I see other people switching a lot and making a collection. I feel like Apple is underselling the usefulness of easy band switching.
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chucker
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: near Bremen, Germany
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2019-01-17, 08:09

Quote:
Originally Posted by kieran View Post
I'd really like for more health sensors to become available, specifically glucose monitoring. Just think that is the best course forward for this device.
Non-invasive glucose monitoring would be an amazing step forward, but is probably years, maybe decades away. There's quite a bit of bad journalism that makes it look closer than it is.

But yeah, I hope the Series 23 does it.
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