Do I want an Apple Watch?

[IknowIknowIknowImJustChecking]

DH would like me to really get on and make a decision on what bloody colour decide what I want for my birthday and an Apple Watch has been footed by both sides.

My priority is really having music without lugging my phone when I’m out for a ‘run’ inverted commas tragically necessary. I’m only looking at the 3 series as I don’t think I need/want anything really above that. As I see it right now:

Pros: music without giganto phone, not checking my phone to see what time it is (don’t wear a watch currently), other bits of good functionality (I think I’d like one just generally?), would work with my iPhone (not keen on Samsung or Garmin for that reason), notifications without looking at my phone

Cons: we’ve got Spotify Premium and I’d be limited to music we bought before that (so nothing I run to right now) or buying more music, it’s still nearly £200, notifications without looking at my phone (do I need to be any more tied to WhatsApp?)

On the GPS model only (so without cellular), could it track my run distance / pace etc or would I need the cellular?

Would it definitely tell me about calories burned during activity or could I disable that bit?

If you’ve got one, how do you find it?

Halp.

Mine is pale pink. £5 from amazon and matches the Apple ones. I can't send a link as it's no longer available but simple search will get you there.

The three loops are certain activities. So you have to stand and move around each hour, same as most sports watches. Burn an amount of active calories per day (set by you) and do 30 mins exercise a day. Me getting DD ready for school and me for work usually gives me five minutes.

Would it definitely tell me about calories burned during activity or could I disable that bit?

I think you'll struggle to avoid this. It's in the health app and you could not check that; but the outer of the three rings is calories burnt and mine is forever congratulating me for burning more/telling me I burned more earlier yesterday/prompting me to go for a walk to hit my daily goal etc.

I can think of nothing I would want less and get v irritated when people check their wrist every time it buzzes like a bad episode of star trek. However, if it will enhance your like and you genuinely cannot think of better ways to spend £200, enjoy it!

I bought myself the 4 and it’s fine but I mainly bought it so I could leave my phone at home when I went running - it doesn’t support it!! I have to find a way of lugging my phone about with me for it to work - absolutely infuriating and had I researched it before I went in gung ho I would never have bought it. I’ve spent £400 on something for absolutely no benefit
However, it’s handy for me at work when I can’t have my phone on me but can be alerted if needs be.
I don’t regret it as such but it’s nothing special.

In fact I started a thread asking about it a few weeks ago because I was sure it said I could play through Spotify. You can but only if you have the watch on a date plan (which I don’t).
Someone said you can play through Apple Music without WiFi but I don’t have anything on there that I’d want to work out to and I now resent having to go back and buy more music when I have entire gym playlists on my Spotify account that I have taken ages to get just right!!

@CakeNinja why do you mean it doesn't support it? Are you on a network that doesn't have this yet?

the outer of the three rings is calories burnt and mine is forever congratulating me for burning more/telling me I burned more earlier yesterday/prompting me

This is what concerns me. It might sound like I’m overegging it but I’m a broadly recovered anorexic and don’t want calorie numbers forced in my view.

Burn an amount of active calories per day (set by you)

Does this mean I could theoretically just set the target to zero and let it crack on its merry way? If it’s going to tell me I burned more/less than yesterday, could I switch that off?

DH reckons he’s at least sorted the music issue (above board!) so the Apple Watch will be a winner but I’d like to know what I’m getting myself into.

How has he sorted the music issue?

@Cabezona I mean that it doesn’t work.
The second I leave my house (and the WiFi) I lose my music because I’m not on a data plan, mine works as a remote from my phone. If I leave my phone (and WiFi link) at home, I lose the ability to sync.

How has he sorted the music issue?

Loading music we already own and just sucking it up and buying individual tracks for run playlists as needed. Pros outweigh cons based on everything I’ve found in the last couple of days.

,
I thought My outer ring is steps ? (Am new to it so might be wrong)

My outer ring is movement/calorie based.
Depending on things like your heart rate I think it calculates how much energy you’re expending and works it out that way.
Eg today I went for a long but slow paced walk. I’ve walked 5 miles but only reached half of my red ring today. On Thursday i went for a 3 mile run and virtually completed my whole circle because my heart rate was higher.
I think that’s how it’s calculated anyway, it makes sense to me!

@CakeNinja have you turned mobile data on and activated it with your network? It costs £5 a month.

@notapizzaeater the steps are on a separate pedometer application. You might have an outer ring around your watch face that's steps?

If I go on a walk I tell it and it counts the exercise and calories differently. Sometimes I forget and half way through it asks me if I am walking and is pretty accurate at knowing where I started and calculated but unless you tell it, it doesn't seem to add jt the same.

I wanted one as it would link well to my iPhone and track exercise better. My iPhone is out by as much as 1.5km on tracking runs.

However, my DH has one and the face has cracked without him actually doing anything to cause this and the charges to repair are ridiculous. It's not at all shock proof and I would be guaranteed to bang it off something.

I got a Garmin Vivosmart and it tracks brilliantly, links to music, shows notifications of I want it too. Only thing is it looks a bit bulky and overt so I don't wear it for work.

@Cabezona how do I do that I didn’t know this was possible - you have possibly revolutionised my life!

Depends on how you're set up but if you scroll up, for me it's the symbol on the top left. You have to activate it with the network. Only EE, Vodafone and o2 have it at the minute. I activated mine through the o2 app I think.

Top left antenna looking thing.

This is my symbol on the top left of mine.

Oh. I don’t even have that. I just bought the watch outright without a data plan etc.

I’m back to the thinking that my watch doesn’t have the option!

Does this mean I could theoretically just set the target to zero and let it crack on its merry way? If it’s going to tell me I burned more/less than yesterday, could I switch that off?

I don't think you can turn it off... you could theoretically set it to zero but it suggests a new goal for you every week based on last weeks movement, so I think you'd have to zero it every week.

I've looked through all the settings just now and I can't find any way to turn off movement tracking or the alerts about how you're doing compared to yesterday...

Today I've had an alert to say I need to do one more workout to win an "award" (Apple sets them, not me). An alert to say that I've moved less than I had at this point yesterday so to get up and walk a bit (fair, but I'm watching the rugby!) an an update on how far round my circles are. I'll probably get two or three more today, plus two alerts to remind me to take deep breaths (my watch seems to think I don't breathe well enough ). I just dismiss a lot of them, so if you could do the same; you'd probably be okay. I'm not sure if that'd be too triggering though... my instinct is that it probably would be at least some days. but that's based on my experiences with people who have had eating disorders. Everyone is individual.

Could you have got the 4 without cellular? I don't know how else to get onto it apart from one of the new watch faces lets you add it as a complication. I know you can change what's on the scroll screen tho so maybe you have different options?

I got mine without the data plan but then called them to add it.

Excuse the grime but mine says this on the back. Does yours say the same?

Yours says something else between GPS and WR that mine doesn’t.
Yes, I bought it without cellular so I really just think it’s not an option. Very annoying but as i say, my own fault for not researching and generally being shit at all things techy!