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Apple Watch ... who has one?

jenn mccabe

jenn mccabe

She's OUR sunshine!
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Jan 5, 2013
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My husband gave me a good chunk of $$$ for my birthday and I had no idea what to spend it on until I remembered I wanted a step tracking device of some kind for a long time. I don't carry my phone with me all the time and I'm eager to find out how many steps a day I really take. I've always looked at the Fitbit but they don't seem to play nice with the Apple product line. Plus, the ones I'm interested in are pricey. I want something that can track steps, sync with my diet app, and sync with my Health app so all of my steps are recorded easily across all apps/devices. I also want to be able to listen to music. I like the ones that can give feedback on HR too. So then, I went looking at the Apple Watch bc I'm an Apple everything girl. For me - it will do all those things. Record every step bc it will always be with me, let me play my Apple playlists and keep tabs on HR, and it syncs with the app/other devices I have. But it's very pricey. So those that have one ... do you love it, is it worth it, do you use it daily or regret buying it?

I'm tagging @Karen because I'm pretty sure you have one.
 
jenn mccabe said:
do you love it, is it worth it, do you use it daily or regret buying it?
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Yes, yes, yes, and no way :)
I have had the series 3 for 2 or 3 years now and I love it so much! I'd like to upgrade someday, but for now this one does what I need it to do. I rely on it and it drives me bonkers if I forget it. The only time I really take it off is to charge it. I even wear it in the shower sometimes because I don't want to miss any steps haha (sometimes that's when I charge it). It also syncs with our health program at work and gives me credit for all the things. I use it at the gym to track workouts and I love that I can quickly respond to texts or answer calls without fumbling with my phone. I have even used it as a remote shutter release for my phone camera a few times. I'm a fan! I don't have the cellular option, but there's only been a few times that I really needed it. I could see where it would be great to have though.
 
I don't have one, but this video is one of my favorite things I have seen in a long time. It's totally worth getting past his rambling. :-)

 
My daughter and her husband got new Apple Watches and gave us her old ones. I’ve actually had to get used to wearing a watch again since it has been years and years since I wore one. I don’t shower (@IntenseMagic drat, I lose those steps) in mine but wear it all day basically to count my steps. I like that it vibrates for text message alerts since I can’t hear my phone, a real bonus for me.
I’ve definitely become a fan. Good luck.
 
I have one and I love it!! I wear it every day. @jenn mccabe , it's great for step tracking. I look on my phone at the watch app and I can see what all I've accomplished in a day. It even tracks your "stand time". Mine was a Christmas gift about 3 years ago and I truly love this watch!
 
I don't have one and don't want one. I can't wear a watch... after many years of wearing one, they no longer keep correct time no matter what kind I try! And, I'm not an Apple user.

I was interested in reading this thread though because I wanted to know if you could see your text messages on one. My cousin bought one last November and I told her that would be great so she could see her texts more timely. She said it couldn't do that but I have another cousin that I saw do that a year earlier and I told her that. 6 months later, she still doesn't read her texts timely and her excuse when getting back to me days later is that she didn't hear her phone notify her of any messages (mostly because she leaves it in rooms she isn't in or even forgets it when she leaves the house). So I'm left wondering why she spent money on something that she doesn't even use all its capabilities... because it probably isn't for the fitness stuff either! Sorry for the hijack!
 
I have one and I like it. It's taken me a while to figure out what it does well but since I work from home and don't always carry my phone around with me, it does alert me to texts and calls, tracks steps, motion and workouts. It can remind you to take a minute to breathe every so often. If I'm wearing it when using my phone for driving directions, it will vibrate when it's time to turn. :D I've used it for paying by credit card -- just hold your watch near the reader and press a button and it will transmit payment. One thing I've come to use it for a lot is the timer and alarm. I use it when I'm cooking or if I have a meeting or need to remember to do something at a particular time -- very easy and good for that.

One other plus -- my hubby's notified him of a major A-fib episode. he was feeling kind of tired but otherwise ok and all of a sudden his watch said that it had detected a-fib and to contact his doctor. Doc told him to go immediately to the ER. Long story short, his AppleWatch may have saved his life or prevented a stroke (a complication of a-fib).
 
I have had a Fitbit but I’m not sold on replacing like with like so I too at some point since I’m already an Apple gal will probably get an Apple Watch....comes down to $$$ at the moment though
 
I love love LOVE my Apple watch. It does all those things that you want it to do. And my favorite thing is that I don't miss phone calls anymore because my phone is always on silent and sometimes with me, but in my purse, and I'd miss when my kids were trying to call me. Now my watch buzzes and I can get their calls. PLUS you can answer the phone with your watch which makes me feel like I'm on Star Trek or the Jetsons or something. :giggle I use it to set timers while I cook too and then if I walk away from my phone to clean or whatever, I still hear the timer go off. It just the simplest of things, but I absolutely love it.

I bought an old version ( a 3) and I still don't feel the need to upgrade even after two years. It tracks all my walks and bike rides without having to also take my phone. I can't get texts or phone calls on it unless my phone is with me, but I don't really want to get those while I'm exercising. :giggle And when I bought mine, it was cheaper than the newest FitBit and works SOOOOOO much better! You will not regret having one. It did take me a few days to get used to the size of it, but as I'm aging {cough} I appreciate the larger size so I can read the time. :giggle
 
HavaDrPepper said:
I don't have one and don't want one. I can't wear a watch... after many years of wearing one, they no longer keep correct time no matter what kind I try! And, I'm not an Apple user.

I was interested in reading this thread though because I wanted to know if you could see your text messages on one. My cousin bought one last November and I told her that would be great so she could see her texts more timely. She said it couldn't do that but I have another cousin that I saw do that a year earlier and I told her that. 6 months later, she still doesn't read her texts timely and her excuse when getting back to me days later is that she didn't hear her phone notify her of any messages (mostly because she leaves it in rooms she isn't in or even forgets it when she leaves the house). So I'm left wondering why she spent money on something that she doesn't even use all its capabilities... because it probably isn't for the fitness stuff either! Sorry for the hijack!
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Yeah, the texts pop up on my Apple Watch and I have a really old version. I read 90% of my texts on my watch these days. It'll buzz or buzz and chime if you have the volume turned on which I usually don't.
 
dawnmarch said:
I have one and I like it. It's taken me a while to figure out what it does well but since I work from home and don't always carry my phone around with me, it does alert me to texts and calls, tracks steps, motion and workouts. It can remind you to take a minute to breathe every so often. If I'm wearing it when using my phone for driving directions, it will vibrate when it's time to turn. :D I've used it for paying by credit card -- just hold your watch near the reader and press a button and it will transmit payment. One thing I've come to use it for a lot is the timer and alarm. I use it when I'm cooking or if I have a meeting or need to remember to do something at a particular time -- very easy and good for that.

One other plus -- my hubby's notified him of a major A-fib episode. he was feeling kind of tired but otherwise ok and all of a sudden his watch said that it had detected a-fib and to contact his doctor. Doc told him to go immediately to the ER. Long story short, his AppleWatch may have saved his life or prevented a stroke (a complication of a-fib).
Click to expand...

Oh yeah! I forgot about the ApplePay bonus too! I use that paying at the grocery store all the time now and I love it. It works while wearing a mask, unlike my phone!

That's so awesome that your husband's watch caught a-fib! My Dad has that bad too!
 
Karen said:
Yeah, the texts pop up on my Apple Watch and I have a really old version. I read 90% of my texts on my watch these days. It'll buzz or buzz and chime if you have the volume turned on which I usually don't.
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I honestly think my cousin needs to figure out what her watch can actually do for her and wear it which I'm suspecting she doesn't. She is one of these people that has to have all the latest technology but then doesn't use it to its fullest. She also goes overboard sometimes with what she has. She is also the one that kept telling me to get outside security cameras instead of something like a Ring doorbell (which I still don't have), yet she now has a video doorbell because the guy that put in her security cameras when she bought this house now does those as well. In her previous house I understood the cameras since she was in the country with no house nearby. This house, she's got neighbors that can actually look into her windows, they are so close. I'm in the same neighborhood but my neighbor's houses aren't quite as close as hers.

Thanks for the info guys, I think I will have to ask her if she has started using it like she should next time we talk.
 
I don't have Apple, I have a Garmin.

I came to Garmin from Fitbit and I have to say it felt like a total upgrade! I bet Apple will feel the same way! My fitbit died so fast and the Garmin lasts so much longer, I bet Apple is the same based on comments I've seen.
 
jenn mccabe said:
I want something that can track steps, sync with my diet app, and sync with my Health app so all of my steps are recorded easily across all apps/devices.
Click to expand...

I LOVE my Apple Watch! I was a Fitbit user for years and didn't think I needed all of the extras of an Apple Watch... but turns out that I do... lol!

First of all, I love all of the fitness features. Most diet apps sync well with an Apple Watch.... my original app did and the new app I just started does as well. Nothing feels better than seeing your calories available for the day go up automatically as you exercise! :-)

I do love getting my text messages on my watch... you would think it would make me more dependent on my phone, but for me it's opposite. I can see text messages and "important" emails pop up on my watch... which means I only really open my phone when I need to respond. Cuts down on mindless phone checking, if you know what I mean.

On last favorite thing... and one I use way too often... the feature to make your phone chime. I lose my phone in the house more often than I care to admit...lol!
 
thanks ladies - i'm sold! i learned a lot reading this thread and now think the watch will be even more of a fit for me than i previous thought! my husband is switching to an iPhone again (he's gone back and forth between android and iPhone) and is interested in the Apple Watch for exercise too.

i'm convinced!
 
HavaDrPepper said:
I was interested in reading this thread though because I wanted to know if you could see your text messages on one. My cousin bought one last November and I told her that would be great so she could see her texts more timely. She said it couldn't do that but I have another cousin that I saw do that a year earlier and I told her that. 6 months later, she still doesn't read her texts timely and her excuse when getting back to me days later is that she didn't hear her phone notify her of any messages (mostly because she leaves it in rooms she isn't in or even forgets it when she leaves the house).
Click to expand...

Not to appear that I'm taking sides, but in your cousin's defense I hate texts on a watch. I have a Garmin hybrid smartwatch. Technically it can get texts and notify me of calls, but I purposely didn't set those features up. I bought mine for fitness tracking, and that's all I want it to do, along with telling me the time. It's a pain to read texts on such a small screen (mine is a lot smaller than an Apple Watch), and I find it hard to concentrate on work or get things done when my watch is constantly notifying me of things. I can put my phone in another room and just ignore it when I'm busy. (We still have a landline phone that we use as our primary number, so any emergency calls or calls from the kids' schools would come in on that. I suppose if that wasn't the case I wouldn't be able to ignore my cell for a few hours at a time.)
 
We're team Android here, I got the new Galaxy for my bday this year and they had the watches free, so I've got the Samsung version. I love it and wear it every day not only for steps, but I love that I don't have to carry my phone everywhere anymore, like a quick store run, I can just go!
 
rach3975 said:
Not to appear that I'm taking sides, but in your cousin's defense I hate texts on a watch. I have a Garmin hybrid smartwatch. Technically it can get texts and notify me of calls, but I purposely didn't set those features up. I bought mine for fitness tracking, and that's all I want it to do, along with telling me the time. It's a pain to read texts on such a small screen (mine is a lot smaller than an Apple Watch), and I find it hard to concentrate on work or get things done when my watch is constantly notifying me of things. I can put my phone in another room and just ignore it when I'm busy. (We still have a landline phone that we use as our primary number, so any emergency calls or calls from the kids' schools would come in on that. I suppose if that wasn't the case I wouldn't be able to ignore my cell for a few hours at a time.)
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The thing about my cousin is that she lives alone and has always taken her dog for walks. When she lived in the country she had a woods and would take her Vizsla back there no matter what the weather was. We had a pact that she would text me when she left and when she returned. Know how many times I would have to call her because I never got that text and was afraid something had happened to her during icy/snowy weather (she is 70)? Too many to count and it was always because she forgot her phone.

Now she lives in my neighborhood, the Vizsla is gone and she has a very active 1 year old AussieDoodle that she takes for walks. My neighborhood has no sidewalks and in the last couple of years, she has fallen a number of times (even in her house) and cannot get up on her own as she is overweight as well. And, she forgets to take her phone with her when she goes out. She told me the watch would be her way to stay in touch if something happened... but she hasn't set it up yet. Lot of good that does her.
 
@HavaDrPepper I never even thought of an Apple Watch being useful if you’ve fallen to be able to ring for help. That might be something I strongly consider then as I’d been worrying about what happens if I fall and I’m on my own but I bet that would only work if I had the cell version of an Apple Watch. I was lucky the last time I fell answering the door I had my phone in my hand as we’d been dealing with intruders and vandalism for the last 9 months so I’ve been very careful to always answer the door with my cell with me as well.
 
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