# How do you use your Apple Watch?



## DougFNJ

One of the interesting things about the Apple Watch is we all have individual personal uses for them. I probably use mine much differently than the way you use yours. So I’m curious how members use theirs. 

For me, first and foremost notifications. I find it so valuable to have that tap on my wrist when an important email or text comes in at a time it’s not appropriate to look at my phone, or even a phone all so I know to accept or decline. I also like to keep Calendar events on every watch face along with weather for planning my day. 

These new activity notifications are great too. They aren’t intrusive, and they give me a little motivation to get up and walk to meet my goals. 

I’ve also been enjoying having sports and Fantasy Football scores on my wrist during games when I can’t watch. And at the end of the day when ready to go to bed, I tend to utilize the breath app to relax myself and wind down. 

So how do you use yours?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## SaMaster14

I only wear the watch during workouts - I’m big swimmer, so I LOVE the data you get for swim workouts with the new watchOS! I also use the watch when I’m doing other weight lifting or cardio workouts.

However, I rarely (pretty much never) wear the watch the entire day, the notification stuff never really hooked me since I find myself wanting to do more than I can and so I pull my phone out anyways. Also definitely a ‘watch traditionalist’ and LOVE having a mechanical timpiece on my wrist when I’m not sleeping or doing activities (e.g. working out, hiking, etc.) 


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro


----------



## whosehair

I'm a cyclist so I've always got my apple watch on when I'm on the bike. The few times I go to the gym, I put it on too. I almost never have it on if i'm not doing something exercise related. I ride my bike to work a lot and I'll more often than not have another watch in my bag to change into once I've parked and gotten to my desk.


----------



## MrDagon007

Next to the above, I find the notifications of the Nest cameras useful. I use one as a babycam in the baby room. The watch taps when the cam notices a change, and shows a still camera grab.


----------



## WIS_Chronomaster

The activity monitor is useful yes, i use that a lot, but most of the time, i just use it for basic functionality - i do believe Apple Watches are awesome!


----------



## BarracksSi

I could write a couple dozen lines of all the little things I do with mine. But, to put it into one sentence:

I use it so I don’t have to have my phone next to me all day long.


----------



## PDubs

BarracksSi said:


> I use it so I don't have to have my phone next to me all day long.


Same here. I dont find myself wearing it that much though.


----------



## PDubs

BarracksSi said:


> I use it so I don't have to have my phone next to me all day long.


Same here. I dont find myself wearing it that much though.


----------



## scentedlead

This thing is accurate to 50 milliseconds. So I use it to berate people who are late as this provides excellent proof. Sadly, I am a frequent target of my doing this. :think:


----------



## scentedlead

On a more serious note, I love it for the Pandora remote control and Maps. Having these two things on my wrist means not pulling the iPhone out of the car’s glovebox, where the iPod connection is. Safety first!


----------



## ronalddheld

Principally for the precision and notifications.


----------



## BarracksSi

BarracksSi said:


> I could write a couple dozen lines of all the little things I do with mine. But, to put it into one sentence:
> 
> I use it so I don't have to have my phone next to me all day long.


Figured I'd add some details that I had written in an earlier thread (most of which still apply today):
https://www.watchuseek.com/f586/com...ollection-pic-heavy-2699457.html#post23716009



BarracksSi said:


> ...
> Bonus points for the AW:
> - Gives me the weather when I'm standing in the closet at 6 AM deciding what to wear;
> - Gives me snippets of news while I'm "meditating" in the bathroom (ahem);
> - Gives me texts and notifies me of emails from family and my work email account;
> - Reminds me to keep moving during the day (and ruthlessly displays how little I move on off days);
> - Works as a remote for my AppleTV (and works very well, too);
> - Wakes me up with some silent taps on my wrist;
> - Lets me receive, read, and quick-reply to messages without distracting my work colleagues during lunch;
> - Secretly shows me the hockey score while my wife and I hang out with Grandma;
> - Taps and dings when I need to get our laundry from the communal laundry room;
> - Lets me tick items off the grocery list without lifting my hand from the cart;
> - Lets me control my iPhone's music;
> - Taps my wrist to tell me when to turn left or right;
> - Lets me put my phone in my wife's purse so I can give her all my attention while we're out.
> 
> I _cannot overstate_ how big of a deal that last point was for me. It's taken me years to realize how easy it is to progress from merely checking the time on the phone to getting lost in Flipboard or playing through levels of Candy Crush. I have to carry my phone to stay connected to my job, but I _don't_ have to also keep using it to distract myself from the people in the room with me. With the Watch, I can remain accessible without becoming distant.
> 
> Take all of these points together, and the Watch either _loses_ or _wins_ every comparison. My only knock against it is that it's not a "forever watch" like some of the others will be.
> 
> There's so much more to it, though. It does all the current smartwatch tricks and does them well - but it's also smack in the middle of every role played by my traditional watches. It's not better than the Garmin at tracking workouts, but it's better than the Garmin at everyday wear; it's not as purely elegant as the Omega, but it's more durable and more purposeful. It's better at _something_ than all the other watches I've got.


----------



## Uyski

For changing music it works absolutely fine.


----------



## Fraga

I use mine as a all day watch for now but I can see that changing really soon. Pretty soon, It will become my workout watch only. I like the functions of the watch and Ive been using it to check messages, emails and notifications without reaching for my phone, unlocking it and opening the appropriate app. however, I had a different idea when I bought the AW. Don't get me wrong, Apple did a good job. The AW is just not for my taste. I can't explain this but I don't see the AW as a real watch. To me it feel more like a convenience tool, just another tech tool strapped to my wrist.


----------



## bshah1976

I don't. I feel the apple watch is an all or none...definitely does not mix in a rotation.


----------



## BarracksSi

bshah1976 said:


> I don't. I feel the apple watch is an all or none...definitely does not mix in a rotation.


Agreed. It's not like a fitness-focused watch like a Garmin or Suunto - because it does so many other things, it's best worn consistently. The main reason I still wear my regular watches is because we can't wear smartwatches at my office.

But on days like today, when I'm teleworking, my AW is on my wrist (and while traveling, or shopping, etc...).


----------



## ronalddheld

I wonder how many companies ban the AW at work?


----------



## pcardoza

Only Samsung......... ;-0


----------



## dalethorn

All of these bands fit my Apple Ceramic watch (or any Apple watch).









Edit: Once again, no picture added, just garbage....


----------



## BarracksSi

ronalddheld said:


> I wonder how many companies ban the AW at work?


Not sure, but our place doesn't allow any WiFi-enabled personal gadgets or cell phones for security reasons.

Curiously, basic fitness trackers are okay (there's a list of acceptable models), even though they have radios (Bluetooth) built-in.


----------



## Henry S

I wear it when working out, and on weekends running errands. I also like it when cooking for the convenient timer.


----------



## BarracksSi

I used it five minutes ago to add olive oil to my grocery list.

Long-pressed the crown for Siri, said, "Add olive oil to my grocery list", and that's it. I double-checked the Reminders app on my phone right away (like, within twenty seconds) to see if it went through, and there it was on list designated Groceries.

I'll use it again later when we go to the store.


----------



## broadwayron

I’m definitely in the minority on WUS in that I’m primarily using mine as a glucometer display. My watch face has everything I want- time, date, temp, battery, and my blood glucose (being pushed from my phone). I attempted to disable pretty much all the other functions to save battery power and not bother me with info I’m already getting on my phone.
Having the CGM functionality on my wrist is awesome, though.


----------



## Sital

When I first got my AW, I wore it everyday, primarily for the notifications. Soon, however, I tired of the taps on the wrist throughout the day.

Then I wore the AW only at night to use as a morning alarm to wake me up without waking my wife. That worked great...until we got a puppy who now serves as my alarm (seriously).

I just wear my mechanical watches now.


----------



## scarrz

Yep, agree with all + I keep my main stocks on my apple face...plus using it for heart rate during biking is pretty awesome


----------



## Derek411

Mainly fitness. I check weather, news and I have a Hindsight app I use for many things like when I fed the fish.  If my wife is shopping and it’s a noisy environment I’ll let it tap me with her “done” message. Otherwise it’s on airplane mode. Lasts me 2 days with 20/30% battery remaining. 

I think Fitbit has the fitness stuff covered too. I just think the AW is more fun to use. I have a Fitbit Alta HR which I wear as a night clock and sleep tracker. Just for fun I ordered a Mi Band 2. I think I have an issue. Although the real watch is worn the left wrist, AW or other on the right.


----------



## dkauf

Like most, I use it mainly for fitness. But I wear it for 23 hours per day now. Use it to track my sleep. It really comes in handy when I'm in a meeting and I get a text, I can simply glance down at my wrist to see if it is anything important vs. having to pick up my phone. Last, it syncs nicely with many of my smart home apps, so I can get alerts when the garage opens, when the last person leave/first arrives, etc. It's been months since I"ve worn any of my nice mechanical watches outside of formal events


----------



## jalcas

I have my calendar events displayed on my watch face. This feature is very, very useful for work. 

The countdown timer that you can launch via the watch face is great. More useful to me than the chronograph.

I thought the flashlight was useless when I first got the watch but its surprisingly good.

Sent from my SM-J200GU using Tapatalk


----------



## BarracksSi

jalcas said:


> I thought the flashlight was useless when I first got the watch but its surprisingly good.


Oh yeah, the flashlight is something I use every night, too.

My routine goes: Shower, rinse off the watch and use its "water eject feature" to push water out of the speaker; finish in the bathroom, turn out the lights, turn on the watch's flashlight mode, and switch it to red light; use the watch's light to shuffle safely around the bed; turn on the watch's Theater Mode, and make sure the alarm is activated for morning; and finally, wear the watch into bed.

The cool trick about the flashlight is, when you turn your wrist away from you, it goes to full brightness.


----------



## dantan

I only wear mine out Running, on average four times per week, and 40 or so kilometres.


----------



## scarrz

Working out, running, biking. Also like the controls for audio books in the car while driving and the gps directions.


----------



## aaron6600

I agree with the wrist tap convenience when pulling a phone out would not be acceptable or appropriate. To me that is the biggest benefit of the Apple Watch vs. a conventional watch.


----------



## JuanPablo046

I use mine to workout basically, works great


----------



## neilziesing

So first I must state that it was my desire to get an Apple when they were first released, which got me back into mechanical watches. I had not worn a mechanical watch, or even a quartz watch since I got my first cell phone back in 1994. I ended up going down the watch rabbit hole in 2016 and not getting into Apple Watch until version 3. I have the LTE version and I primarily use it as an emergency phone and fitness tracker while riding my bicycle. Strava is my app of choice.


----------



## BSG75

I really like to use it for workouts and for notifications. It's in a rotation with my mechanical watches, but I try to make sure that I fill my move and exercise rings every day. My move streak is at 961 days and my goal is to hit 1,000 days in a row. Some days I wear it all day and other days, I'll wear it to work and then put on a mechanical watch when I get home. It just depends on my mood.


----------



## camaroz1985

Was only using mine for workouts, but also have a Fitbit, so I will be using that instead and selling the AW.


----------



## jalquiza

Pretty much sleep tracking at this point.


----------



## Eclectic Gearhead

My Apple Watch is my main, daily wear watch. It’s an Apple Watch 3. I basically almost never wear any other kind of watch now. I have a G-shock for working in the garage or the yard, and one mechanical watch, but it barely gets used.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## applejosh

I have to travel for work, so a primary use is notifications from my airline/travel apps so easier to see when I'm running the wrong direction when they changed gates on me. Sleep tracking (Autosleep) is the other reason. Sometimes helpful if I'm out running errands and the better half adds thing to my honey-do list.

Sent from my SM-G973U1 using Tapatalk


----------



## carlosimery

Apple Watch is extremely useful...


----------



## BarracksSi

carlosimery said:


> Apple Watch is extremely useful...


Don't stop there. Tell us more.


----------



## sithjedi333

After culling what notifications I get on it, I use it so I don’t have to look at my phone as much so I get interrupted much less frequently.


----------



## Gbphilli

For fitness, texting, weather, POS payments at the grocery store and the like, monitoring e-mails and other notifications, telling time... When walking ar night, I turn on the flashlight for better visibility. I have the GPS-only version, but the watch allows me to keep the phone in my pocket mostly. I also occasionally use the watch for navigation. It’s become my daily wearer, displacing my Citizen day-date Ecodrive.


----------



## sithjedi333

I thought this sounded silly when I first heard it but it’s true. For someone who keeps his phone on silent mode one of the best Apple Watch features is its silent notifications.


----------



## carlosimery

I don’t 



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


----------



## BarracksSi

carlosimery said:


> I don't
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


tl;dr?


----------



## Palmettoman

My Series4 44mm has become my daily wear. I've found it to be so useful for me that I can't stand NOT to wear it - major wrist hog.

The most useful thing for me is text notifications...all I have to do is flick my wrist to see if I need to respond immediately, or if it can wait. The phone feature is also fantastic and keeps me from having to dig my phone out to answer a call. Another thing I recently discovered, is that the watch will notify you with beeps and taps while navigating using Apple Maps. Pretty cool.

For me, it is the perfect example of a tool watch. When the next major upgrade comes around, I'll spring for the sapphire version.


----------



## deasejazz

I've been using it for workouts and to stay off my phone during meetings (silent notifications). I just forget to keep it charged- throws off my rhythm and routine, so trying to get into a charging routine.


----------



## BarracksSi

deasejazz said:


> I've been using it for workouts and to stay off my phone during meetings (silent notifications). I just forget to keep it charged- throws off my rhythm and routine, so trying to get into a charging routine.


Try putting the charger where you sit down and relax.

I first tried charging mine next to my bed with my phone, but then I found out how good it is as an alarm clock when it's on my wrist and can tap me awake. I needed to find a different time to charge it, so I put the puck next to our couch, and charged it while we sat and watched TV. That's been my routine for ... wow, almost four years now.


----------



## carbon_dragon

Interesting post. I do NOT have an Apple watch (even though I have an iPhone, 2 iPads, a MacBook Air and a iMac). Except that I use a fitbit to keep track of steps and it allows me to log food (which Apple probably doesn't) AND it also receives notifications from my iPhone. And I swim but I have a (older now) Polar waterproof watch which radio connects to a chest strap which probably works better than the Apple watch could since as far as I know pulse detection by wrist in swimming doesn't really work very well. Though the Polar is a PITA to connect to computer (which used to be an issue when I was connected to the company health incentives plan). And the fitbit is a pain to wear on my right hand (I'm right handed) but an Apple watch would be worse (bigger). 

I feel like if I want to read mail or weather, I want more screen space and resolution than the watch could give me. And I don't want another super expensive Apple device anyway. Fitbits are pretty cheap.

To me, the iWatch is still a device looking for a reason to exist -- 90% marketing and 10% function.


----------



## BarracksSi

carbon_dragon said:


> Interesting post. I do NOT have an Apple watch (even though I have an iPhone, 2 iPads, a MacBook Air and a iMac). Except that I use a fitbit to keep track of steps and it allows me to log food (which Apple probably doesn't) AND it also receives notifications from my iPhone. And I swim but I have a (older now) Polar waterproof watch which radio connects to a chest strap which probably works better than the Apple watch could since as far as I know pulse detection by wrist in swimming doesn't really work very well. Though the Polar is a PITA to connect to computer (which used to be an issue when I was connected to the company health incentives plan). And the fitbit is a pain to wear on my right hand (I'm right handed) but an Apple watch would be worse (bigger).
> 
> I feel like if I want to read mail or weather, I want more screen space and resolution than the watch could give me. And I don't want another super expensive Apple device anyway. Fitbits are pretty cheap.
> 
> To me, the iWatch is still a device looking for a reason to exist -- 90% marketing and 10% function.


Logging food - there's an app for that. I've still got LoseIt!, which has an AW component, but I haven't used it in quite a while. There's other apps, too.

Pulse detection while swimming - it works fine using the AW alone (I used it during pool rehab last year). If you want to use a Bluetooth chest strap instead, you can.

Connection to computer - that's why I went with Garmin instead of Polar when I got my first fitness watch back in 2011 or so. At that time, Polar was still inexplicably Windows-only. But holy moly, the AW is so much simpler. But-but, there's no web interface for Apple Health or Activity (but I never found a great use for Garmin Connect's website either).

Mail and weather - the most I use Mail on the watch is to check new emails, and delete the ones I don't care about, while sitting on the John. But Weather is likely my most-used app on the watch (after the time display), even as having the temperature displayed as a complication. And from there, it's just two or three taps and I can see the day's rain and temperature forecast. Much faster and more convenient than using my phone.


----------



## deasejazz

BarracksSi said:


> Try putting the charger where you sit down and relax.
> 
> I first tried charging mine next to my bed with my phone, but then I found out how good it is as an alarm clock when it's on my wrist and can tap me awake. I needed to find a different time to charge it, so I put the puck next to our couch, and charged it while we sat and watched TV. That's been my routine for ... wow, almost four years now.


Will try this for sure- thanks!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## jason1971

I take advantage of many of the AW features, particularly activity tracking, but it's greatest feature is that it gets me away from the phone. While this is handy at work (particularly in meetings), it's really important at home. I try to give my kids my full attention, but when they're watching something or in the bath, it's tempting to check mail, scroll news, etc. With the watch, I know I'll get anything super important, but I take away the attention-suck, and become more present.


----------



## kwoody51

I originally got my apple watch for fitness tracking to replace a GIANT garmin GPS watch. I told myself I would only wear it for fitness tracking but that has changed.... 

I have found myself using apple pay more and more which is SUPER fast. If you haven't tried it give it a shot. I'd guess it takes maybe 2 sec to process a charge which is much faster than the typically chip processing.


----------



## carbon_dragon

BarracksSi said:


> Logging food - there's an app for that. I've still got LoseIt!, which has an AW component, but I haven't used it in quite a while. There's other apps, too.
> 
> Pulse detection while swimming - it works fine using the AW alone (I used it during pool rehab last year). If you want to use a Bluetooth chest strap instead, you can.
> 
> Connection to computer - that's why I went with Garmin instead of Polar when I got my first fitness watch back in 2011 or so. At that time, Polar was still inexplicably Windows-only. But holy moly, the AW is so much simpler. But-but, there's no web interface for Apple Health or Activity (but I never found a great use for Garmin Connect's website either).
> 
> Mail and weather - the most I use Mail on the watch is to check new emails, and delete the ones I don't care about, while sitting on the John. But Weather is likely my most-used app on the watch (after the time display), even as having the temperature displayed as a complication. And from there, it's just two or three taps and I can see the day's rain and temperature forecast. Much faster and more convenient than using my phone.


I've tried a bunch of apps for food logging and the fitbit one seems to work well for me. I could probably use another but not an Apple Watch. Way too expensive for what I'd get. I'll probably nurse my Polar RCX5 for a while for workouts and my fitbit alta for steps. I wouldn't mind replacing both of them with something (but not with a fitbit because their swimming watch apparently dies if it even is in the same room with a glass of water). The Polar Ignite is a possibility but a bit bigger than I like. I like a big watch, but maybe not 2 big watches since I'm wearing this one on my right hand.

As I said, weather needs more screen space IMHO anyway for 5 days and hourly forecasts. I wouldn't want a watch for that and my fitbit is already quite good at receiving notifications from my iPhone (texts, phone, reminders). I check the time a lot on my watch, but I check the weather only once or twice a day.

I have too many apple devices already, I'm typing on one now.


----------



## Bizcut1

Mostly dietary tracking. Heart rate. Sometimes I'll do a text from the watch.


----------



## morsegist

I like it for the heart rate/ekg functions. I also like the ease of payment at McDonalds in the morning. Have gotten into the habit of wearing it, so it's second nature now.


----------

