On his new Netflix show, Adam Sandler does a little skit about how he can’t leave the house without his “phone, wallet, and keys”. It’s pretty funny, and extremely relatable. We all have an item or two or fifteen that we can’t live without. I’m starting to feel that way about my Apple watch.
I want to preface this by saying I’m a huge watch guy. I pick out and select the watch I’m wearing that day like a woman picks out shoes to match her clothes. I have high end designer watches, rugged on the job watches, classic watches just for show and tell.
Needless to say, I had been on the fence about getting the new Apple watch. I couldn’t justify its uses (at the time), and not only that, there was nothing aesthetically pleasing about it. A watch that I had to charge every few days? GTHOH.
A good friend of mine pushed me over the edge. He said, and I quote, “If you get the Apple watch, you won’t wear your Invictas or Movados or any of those other fancy schmancy watches again”.
Challenge accepted.
I drove to the Apple store that night and walked in like a snooty Yelp critic with an air of pretentiousness. I settled for the series 3, sans the ability to call directly from the watch. Even though it would have given me a slighter higher phone bill because it’s an additional phone on your account, I regret that decision to this very day.
I mean, C’mon. I grew up in that inspector gadget, Star Trek era. Every geek in the world wants a functioning tri-corder on his or her wrist. I purchased the Nike + version just because of the slightly cooler wristband and slapped this thing on not even bothering with a full charge. I got used to the phone calls and the messages pretty quickly. What I wasn’t prepared for was the level of dictation and how sensitive the microphone is. Listen, responding to a text via Siri’s voice dictation on your watch is ridiculously insane in a very good way. If it can understand my guttural savage baritone then it should have no problem transcribing your voice.
Some of the apps specifically made for the Apple Watch are hit or miss. The Nike app is great for runners…..for a gym rat like me, not so much. The Breathe app….Apple almost lost me with this one. It’s hard encoded and you the customer can’t delete it. I almost sold the watch until I figured out how to shut it up. Now, let’s talk about my favorite apps.
The Activity app is an extension of the iPhone’s health app. It tracks heart rate, movement, and exercise and best of all, workouts. Holy Mother of God, this is bio-tech done right. Fitbit is nice and all, it really is. I have one. it’s been collecting dust ever since. The Series 4 Apple Watch comes with an electrocardiogram (ECG), a measurement of your heart’s electrical pulses to gauge your heart health and give a baseline for your overall wellness. It’s even been approved by the American Food and Drug Administration.
In layman’s terms, if you’re having a heart attack, the Apple Watch is going to give you the data.
I’m pretty heart healthy sooooo….back to the other apps. I was in England and France during the FIFA women’s World Cup and you know what came in handy? I used my Apple Watch to pay for my rail fee on the Underground trains in London. Apple Pay, say what you want, but it’s next level. RFID and NFC technology is here to stay. I wouldn’t trust an android phone with ANY of my accounts, not even PayPal. When it comes to ease of lifestyle, the Apple watch is capable of so much.
Customization. Before I jump into customization let me say that I nixed the whole watch accessorizing thing. My friend was absolutely right. 7 days after my purchase, I realized the I hadn’t even looked in my watch cases. I called him and gave him his props regarding his foresight. Like a true friend, he gloated. With friends like him…..
Let’s be honest, Apple Watch bands absolutely suck. Even the third party watchbands are sketchy. Thankfully, I found this guy. Julian at Cording2u does AMAZING work. He also supports veterans, which is a bonus in my opinion. And because you’re wearing a delicate computer on your wrist, I’d be remiss to say that if you don’t purchase some kind of case or screen protector, you are inviting disaster. I went with Spigen’s Tough Armor case. Why? Because it was cheap. Coupled with the paracord wristband, my Apple Watch doesn’t look as effeminate as it did out of the box.
I wear my dressier watches upon occasion, but the apple watch’s ability to change watch faces has reduced that to a minimum. And it’s waterproof. As if I needed another reason for me never to take it off.
Like a lot of iPhone users, I was kinda upset when Apple decided to drop the headphone jack. Now it doesn’t even phase me, as I switch AirPods from watch to iPhone to MacBook. Don’t say it….”you’re an Apple fan boy”, of course you like Apple products.
Nah, I like quality. It’s that same reason I haven’t purchased a new pair of Beats headphones since Apple acquired them. But that’s another story altogether.
The Economy of Words 