Notes on the Apple Watch

I thought I would do a running commentary on what I think of my new Apple Watch.  This would only be very casually formatted/edited, and I’ll just be adding to this entry as I go, so check back for more updates as I get used to my latest gadget.  Okay, so for some very quick background:  I ordered a white 42mm Apple Watch Sport with the white elastopolymer band and received it on launch day (24th April).  I’ve also swapped phones with my boyfriend (he has the iPhone 6 Plus) to see whether I can handle the bigger sized phone now that I have the watch.

Sun 26th April

The watch comes in very handy for me with the bigger phone. I find the phone very unwieldy and I no longer have it in a pocket but have it in my bag. As such, notifications on my watch are great, I no longer have to dig out the phone to read messages.

It’ll be better once there are Native Line and Whatsapp applications. But for now, I can send stickers using the Line watch interface.

Sending iMessages is really easy using Siri – but then I haven’t tried it in a crowd, just in the car.

I’ve also used the map function on the watch whilst driving which is really cool.  When I used the maps/directions features on my phone in the car in the past, I’d turn off voice navigation because it had a tendency of talking right over the podcast or audiobook I’m usually listening to. This usually means I would sometimes miss a turn if I wasn’t concentrating.  Now the watch taps my wrist when I’m coming up to a turn which is very convenient.

When at home (with wifi network) the connection between the phone and watch is extended past the Bluetooth range.

This means if I leave my watch upstairs, I can still receive messages and phone calls if I’m downstairs or something.

If you can’t find your phone, there’s a button on the watch to make the phone ping (much easier and quicker than logging into iCloud on the computer). This is extremely useful as I’m constantly misplacing my phone.

Sun 3rd May

Every morning I wake up and look at my calendar and the weather.  It’s so much easier to do that on the watch (especially if you choose one of the more information intensive watch faces, or use the glances), than doing it on the phone.

The watch is not meant to be life-changing, I don’t expect it to be; it just makes a few everyday things more convenient.  (And if only people I know gets it, the communications gimmicks would be pretty cool too)

I’m a person who would wear a smart watch and being a Apple fangirl, it just makes more sense to stay in the eco-system.

For some, perhaps the Watch would only be useful when native apps get added later on in the year.