Anybody got an Apple watch?

[95%]

I'm pretty well tethered to my iPhone, but I can see still further advantages in the Apple watch because it would cover those occasional times when the tether is broken. In the shower, for instance. (The watch is water-resistant.). More practically, several times a week I receive a call while I have left my iPhone on my desk while visiting another room in the house. The Apple Watch would close those gaps in connectivity; I would always be able to take a call on my wrist if necessary, as well as to view notifications.

Have any members here pulled the trigger on an Apple watch? I'd be interested to hear of your experiences. Which watch band did you choose? - this is an important variant, it seems, and a major contributor to the cost of some models.

[JRTASTER]

Porter,

not even in my dreams!! I can see the attractions you mentioned...but it seems like a cost-benefit situation that for
me comes down to the cost far outweighs the benefit(s).

let us know when you pull the trigger!

[CMur12]

Not meaning to be the wet blanket here, but I don't carry a cell phone most of the time because I don't want that tether. An Apple watch would just be more of what I don't want.

- Murray

[pausted]

Porter, sorry but I have no desire to have one. I guess my iphone is all the connectivity I want or need. I'll be interested to hear which band you decide on. They do look pretty cool, though.

[Squire]

I no longer carry a watch since I hafta carry a cell that already keeps time. Omitting the watch is just one less thing.

[Rufus]

I no longer carry a watch since I hafta carry a cell that already keeps time. Omitting the watch is just one less thing.

I ditched the cell phone and kept the watch when I retired; mind you my cell phone didn't tell time so I had to wear a watch. Now I'm free and only speak to people when I want to; tremendously liberating.

[Squire]

Wish I could ditch the phone, that would be liberating.

[95%]

It was easy for me, like others here, to dismiss smartwatches as unnecessary gadgets when they first appeared. After all, a smartwatch can't do anything that a smartphone can't do (except for measuring heart rate and the like). But now that I've looked into the question, I see that the watch can simplify certain tasks of the phone. Telling the time is an easy example. With the Apple Watch, the clock face can be customized to show not only the time, but also the date, day, and local outside temperature, all at a single glance. And this can be done without pulling the phone out of one's pocket and tapping through two or three screens. It's more convenient than a phone, for the same reason that the gentleman's pocket watch was replaced about a century ago by the more practical wristwatch.

[brothers]

On the watch, I'm not sure how one would check email, scroll and text, read long articles, etc., unless the print, etc., becomes so small and in a much smaller screen area than the average smart phone. Would we see folks with the watch held up to one's ear for listening or up to eye level for reading, like Dick Tracy?

[Squire]

I don't need a watch to tell me the weather my joints tell me that.

[Kyle76]

I'll probably get one eventually. I'm not thrilled with having to charge it every night, but I definitely see some advantages, particularly if you were to want something like a Fitbit. Why not spend a little more for something with infinitely more functionality? I may wait for 2.0.

[95%]

The reviewers say that text is perfectly readable on the Apple Watch. But the idea is not to do extensive reading but to check quick messages and such. More involved work will always be done on the phone with its larger screen and on-screen keyboard.

The watch can indeed be used à la Dick Tracy or Maxwell Smart, as it contains a microphone and loudspeaker. In a pinch, when your phone is nearby but not actually in your hand, you can take a telephone call and carry on a conversation. I can see how that would be helpful to me several times a week.

We exchange a lot of short text messages in my family. Instead of having to reach into my pocket to check for them, I could rely on the watch to alert me with a gentle electric nudge on my wrist that a message has arrived. I can reply quickly by selecting a canned response like "OK" or I can dictate a reply to Siri, Apple's increasingly intelligent robot, and send off the reply with a keystroke.

I'm still on the fence, however. Charging the device will be a pain, and the cost of the Apple Watch is high. Jim's point about 2.0 is also well taken. While the first version seems well finished and can be further improved with software updates, the next release will undoubtedly feature a faster processor, more memory, and perhaps a slimmer profile and longer battery life.

[CMur12]

Porter, I don't think there is any doubt that it is a brilliant tool that will be useful to many. In my younger days, I embraced every new technology just to have it. Now, I look at whether I would actually benefit from it. At this time, I feel no need. At some point in the future, based on personal history, I could yet decide that it would be truly useful to me. I'm just not there now.

- Murray

[95%]

Murray, I follow the same principle as you: I consider whether I'd benefit from a new technology before I purchase it. I couldn't find a reason to buy an iPod and skipped it; I passed over the iPad and have never missed it. Ditto all social networking apps: I subscribed to Facebook and Twitter and then unsubscribed in disgust after a few days. I don't know what Instagram, Pinterest, and Snapchat are, and I shall be happy to pass into the Great Beyond without finding out. On the other hand, I can't imagine living without a computer on my desk and a phone in my pocket. Whether the smartwatch will be another necessity for me is still up in the air.

[Kyle76]

Porter, as I lie in bed reading the forum, checking my email and adjusting my wifi thermostat for a comfortable night's sleep, I can't imagine not having this small, lightweight iPad that allows me to do those things so easily. My iPod served its purpose in the days prior to smartphones that store music. Now it stays in my wife's car with about 100 albums on demand. The Apple Watch may prove as indispensable as these devices for many, possibly even me and you.

[fallingwickets]

I happen to be a giant fan of technology....have all the latest and greatest gadgets etc, however, for reasons unknown, the entire smartwatch industry is lost on me The only thing about smart watches that fascinates me is the endless amount of watch face apps are available.....Uber kool!

clive

[brothers]

This watch could turn out to be a popular item for would-be thieves. I certainly hope not!

[TheMonk]

Although I am an admitted Apple fan, and even though I've yet to try the Apple watch, I have to say it's failed to capture my attention thus far. I've noticed a general quality decrease (even in their software) since Steve Jobs died... and I really don't think this one will surprise me.

[95%]

My enthusiasm for the Watch has waned in the days since my initial post. I think the attraction was to the gadget freak in me: the Apple Watch is, truthfully, a gadget for the ages. In one minuscule package we have a device that can do much of what the iPhone itself can do. Many of the reviews on YouTube are conducted with the Watch not on the reviewer's wrist, as it is supposed to be used, but in his two hands, with which he operates it as he would a smartphone. This, I think, is because many reviewers are also gadget geeks who don't really care about the useful of a device, but only about what it can do.

There are games for the Watch. Now why would anybody want to play a game on a screen not much larger than a postage stamp? If he has the leisure to play a game, presumably he also has the time to pull his iPhone from his pocket, and he presumably has two hands available to operate it with. Is there a use case for one-handed smartwatch gaming?

If the device were a zero-maintenance item like my quartz crystal Seiko watch with a five-year battery, I'd probably go ahead and buy it. But the need for daily charging would be an unwanted complication in my life. So I will hold off on my purchase of an Apple Watch until I can be persuaded that the benefits outweigh the costs.

[JRTASTER]

Porter,
it has been interesting to watch (pardon the poor pun) the evolution of your thought/decision-making process re: the Apple Watch.
my guess is, if and when you do decide to purchase one, you will definitely be the person who can extract from it every benefit and
wrinkle it has to offer. that's value optimization!!
this, of course, is meant as a compliment!