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The Apple Watch 7 Months in – What Is It Good For?
I’ve owned the Apple Watch for over 7 months now: about time to take a closer look at how the Apple Watch is doing, don’t you think?
It’s always the same two questions: “Do you like your Apple Watch? What is it good for?”. People ask me that all the time. Every time someone notices that I’m wearing the Apple Watch (or it comes up in a casual conversation), they ask the same two things.
And every time, I don’t have THE ultimate answer for them. Then I go on explaining, in a long (and probably boring) monologue, the million reasons why I really love my Apple Watch, how it has changed my life, and why I don’t want to miss it.
Is the Apple Watch the most important device in my life? Probably not. Could I survive without it? Absolutely. Do I want to? Not in a million years!
So what makes the Apple Watch so compelling? What does it do for me, someone who hadn’t worn a watch on his wrist for over a decade, that he’s wearing one all day, every day? Is it just because Apple made it?
To illustrate the many ways I’m using the watch on a daily basis, let me walk you through a typical day:
6:45am: My Apple Watch’s alarm wakes me up. I snooze it for a couple of minutes.
6:52am: The alarm again. I dismiss it and immediately put the Watch on my wrist. Once put on, I unlock it and activate Siri: “Good morning”. Siri turns on my stereo and my espresso machine.
7:10am: While walking to the bathroom, I quickly glance at my wrist to see the first meeting for the day. 10am - daily standup. No early meetings. Good.
8am: I leave the house, which is exactly what I tell Siri (using my Apple Watch of course): “I’m leaving”. She wishes me a nice day and shuts down everything in my apartment.
9:10am: I’m in some office somewhere, discussing the latest requirements for a project when my Apple Watch taps me on my wrist. A quick glance reveals that someone is trying to call me on Skype. It seems urgent so I hurry back to my desk and call back.
12:55pm: Oh damn. I almost forgot that meeting at 1pm. Good thing my Apple Watch reminded me in time. Back to my desk it is, to start the online meeting.
3:50pm: My Apple Watch reminds me to stand up and move around a little. A break, just what I needed! A quick check of my activity rings reveals that I’m on track to reach my goals for today. Nice!
5pm: Time to go home. While I’m walking to my car, I get a text from a friend asking me whether I have time for dinner this evening. I don’t and since my Apple Watch allows me to dictate a response, I don’t even have to stop and pull out my iPhone to respond.
6:07pm: My mum calls me. Where is my phone???? Doesn’t matter. I’m just going to answer on my Apple Watch.
7pm: Time for my badminton practice. And of course my Apple Watch is tracking every single minute of it. Let's get that heart pumping!
9pm: Goals reached! 200% actually. I feel great!
12am: Bed time. I tell Siri to set the alarm, then wish her a “Good night”. She turns the lights off. Phew, I’m tired!
I could probably expand that list in many ways, but I’m going to leave it at that. You get the point. The Apple Watch is just very convenient.
No matter where I am, no matter where my phone is, the watch on my wrist is almost always the better device to do certain tasks. Not because it’s actually better at all of them, but because the device is right there, literally at arms reach. I don’t have to look at it all day. I don’t have to take it out to do something. I lift my arm and it’s right there. My very personal assistant, my tiny little access point to the big world of the internet. And when I’m done interacting with it, the wrist goes back down. Gone.
For me, it’s the best communicator, the best calendar, the best personal assistant and the best fitness tracker I’ve ever owned. Right here on my wrist.
The one thing it is not, and I didn't expect it to be, is a watch. I rarely (if ever) check the time. If I could remove that complication from my watch face and move it to a glance screen for example, I'd do it in a heartbeat.
So, to answer my initial question what makes the Apple Watch so great: It’s the little things. Taken separately, none of them might look especially important or compel you to purchase an Apple Watch. But taken together, they’ve had a huge impact on my life. Well worth the money, if you ask me. But that is up to you to decide!
Author
Patrice Brendamour