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Original poster

Apple Watch. Great or waste of money?

47 replies

MadeForThis · 08/10/2021 10:53

I though I had a great idea for DH's birthday present - Apple Watch. But after playing with one on the shop it seems like a watch that also has iphone notifications. Not much else.

Am I missing something? He needs his iPhone close by for the GPS version. He can and does check his notifications on this. Both sales assistants I spoke to said they don't reply to messages etc on the actual watch, just check notifications. I don't know what I was expecting but definitely more functionality.

If you have an Apple Watch what do you use it for?

I think my expectations were wrong. I pictured a mini iPhone on your wrist.

He probably could do with a new watch anyway. But am I better spending £300 on a watch from a jewellers?

OP posts:

RustyBear · 08/10/2021 12:30

And you can also send WhatsApp messages if you get a 3rd party app; I use WatchChat2. Without the app, you can receive WhatsApp messages & reply, but not initiate a new message.

OchonAgusOchonOh · 08/10/2021 12:33

@PeppermintMocha

how does it know about washing hands?! Mine has never told me anything about that! Or alerted me when 20sec is up

Download the Handwash app on your watch.

I've just added Google Maps to mine as i didn't know about that feature.

PeppermintMocha · 08/10/2021 12:41

Ah mine is only Watch 3, so maybe that's why there is no automatic setting for that. But I could get an app

cortex10 · 08/10/2021 12:48

It's really useful for setting meeting alerts on days where I have back to back appointments

Also for tapping in and out to pay on the underground and for scanning a boarding pass at security barriers at the airport

OchonAgusOchonOh · 08/10/2021 12:49

@PeppermintMocha - there is no automatic setting for handwashing on any of them (as far as I know). It's an app for all. I have the SE.

Itsnotdeep · 08/10/2021 13:08

I think no one needs an apple watch. I have one and use it for telling the time, tracking fitness, and playing music when I'm running. I can see messages that come in while I'm away from my phone too. Oh and you can take selfies too with it. I don't have network coverage with mine as I have my phone to do all that stuff, and if I'm away from my phone its because I want a break ( so I'm in a yoga class or dog walk or whatever).

I don't have a fitbit or a garmin though, so mine is most value to me in those activities.

It depends whether you think your H would like it or not. It's just another gadget really.

bigbaggyeyes · 08/10/2021 13:24

I won an Apple Watch, and thought it was a waste of money, until I started to use it. I LOVE it now. So much so I bought my dh one last Xmas. He wasn't that fussed at all, until he started to use it, he loves his too now.

I can make and receive calls, it's cellular so I don't have to take my phone with me. I can use it as a contactless card, read and send emails, texts etc. I also use the health apps a lot for my exercise, steps etc. I does encourage me to move more which is a bonus

Toddlerteaplease · 08/10/2021 17:52

I stupidly licked my self out if my house and then the car, at the same time. My watch was a godsend. As I could stand next to the car. (Phone inside) and made calls to people and spoke throughthe watch.

PeppermintMocha · 08/10/2021 19:28

I have found a really useful thing called Taptic Time, which I'd always thought would be a useful gadget. You can just tap and hold with two fingers, and then it taps out the time for you with long and short vibrations (if you have it turned on). So you can find out the time without looking at the watch, like in theatre/cinema/meeting.

The only problem is that as far as I can tell, you still have to tap the watch 'on' before you can do the tap and hold, and therefore the screen still lights up (even in theatre mode, which just stops it lighting up when you raise your wrist). Admittedly, you can have your hand face down and covered up so the light shouldn't be too obvious, but still it's a bit annoying. I suppose I could put a dark watch face on that hardly has any lit icons or anything, and switch to that in the theatre. It might be enough, though I'm always annoyed but just how far the tiniest bit of light from a phone or watch can carry in the cinema, so I don't want to be the cause of this annoyance to others. Still, being able to tell the time without turning it over and lighting it up properly to see it, sounds very useful at times!

Frazzled2207 · 08/10/2021 19:34

Notifications are useful if your phone not on you (it needs to be closeby though.

Fitness tracker is very good. Apple watches waaay more durable than a fitbit IMO. I had a fit bit (well several) for years as not sure why it took me so long to discover that an Apple watch so much better.

You can answer the phone on it but the person calling you doesn’t have to have one- it makes no difference.

I love mine. I just have the cheapest s3. Really not sure what the more expenses ones do. Are probably bigger!

user6598 · 08/10/2021 19:42

I love mine, it's handy if I'm expecting a call as I don't have to have my phone with me if I go upstairs or out the garden, I can tell if someone is at the front door with the Ring notification and also use the fitness things. I have a series 5 one.

user6598 · 08/10/2021 19:45

I also found the maps feature very good if I am in an unfamiliar town and looking for a shop, the basic arrows are very easy to follow and saves staring at my phone for directions while walking.

Rockbird · 08/10/2021 19:57

I love mine, I'm obsessed with closing my fitness rings every day and I say that as someone who hadn't exercised in 25 years, genuinely. Now I swim and I love that my watch with log how many strokes I did, as well as distance, speed, heart rate etc.

user6598 · 08/10/2021 19:57

If he has a Mac computer it will open that rather than putting in a password and also if his iPhone is face recognition it will open that if he is wearing a mask, the computer password thing I find particularly handy

EerilyDisembodied · 08/10/2021 20:23

I said no to one for a couple of years, then caved and got one last Christmas. It's absolutely brilliant. I work in a fairly small industrial unit and love that I can pick up calls and messages from anywhere in the building if I have left my phone on my desk, which I often do as a lot of my clothes don't have pockets. Love the fitness tracking, unlocking face id phone when wearing a mask, timer, Apple pay, pinging to find my phone, controlling my music or other audio without having to get my phone out when I'm gardening, walking or running, ditto following map directions without having to walk round with a phone in my hand.

OchonAgusOchonOh · 08/10/2021 20:56

@RustyBear

And you can also send WhatsApp messages if you get a 3rd party app; I use WatchChat2. Without the app, you can receive WhatsApp messages & reply, but not initiate a new message.

@RustyBear - All I'm getting is the notification about the WhatsApp message. I can't reply to it. Should I be adjusting some setting?

Itsnotdeep · 08/10/2021 21:56

how do you unlock your phone while wearing a mask @EerilyDisembodied ?

EerilyDisembodied · 08/10/2021 22:14

support.apple.com/en-gb/HT212208

Here. It's very useful if you are using one of the supermarket self scan apps and you have a short lock time on your phone.

DrDreReturns · 08/10/2021 22:35

I've got a Garmin which is designed for runners. If your husband isn't in to running a Garmin would probably be a waste of money. It displays notifications from my phone which is useful, but you can't reply to messages on it, the link is only one way iyswim.

RustyBear · 08/10/2021 23:54

@ OchonAgusOchonOh You should be able to reply to a WhatsApp notification on your watch, as long as you do it straight away, before coming out of the notification screen. There should be a ‘Reply’ button which you may need to scroll to find. I find it easiest to dictate a reply, but you can use the Scribble function if you prefer.
If you want to initiate a message using WhatsApp, you need to download the WatchChat2 app (or any other 3rd party WhatsApp app) and then go into the Watch app on your iPhone and find it in the list of ‘Available Apps’ under My Watch and install it. Your watch will then show a qr code and you need to open WhatsApp on your phone, go into Settings - Linked Devices - Link a Device and scan the qr code You should then be able to see your WhatsApp chats whenever you open WatchChat on your watch.

CovidCorvid · 08/10/2021 23:59

@PeppermintMocha

You don't have to get the very latest one, and you can also look at refurbished models, so it could be quite a bit cheaper than that.

apparently you can get it to unlock your front door if you have the right sort of lock installed, which I think sounds useful! (But no idea how to get that sort of lock, how secure they are, and whether I'd be allowed to do that in a flat anyway).

I have one of these locks. You don’t need an Apple Watch, you can also do it from your phone. Plus my lock keeps malfunctioning and locking me out the house if I don’t have my key. I’m sick of it.

OchonAgusOchonOh · 09/10/2021 00:27

@RustyBear

@ OchonAgusOchonOh You should be able to reply to a WhatsApp notification on your watch, as long as you do it straight away, before coming out of the notification screen. There should be a ‘Reply’ button which you may need to scroll to find. I find it easiest to dictate a reply, but you can use the Scribble function if you prefer. If you want to initiate a message using WhatsApp, you need to download the WatchChat2 app (or any other 3rd party WhatsApp app) and then go into the Watch app on your iPhone and find it in the list of ‘Available Apps’ under My Watch and install it. Your watch will then show a qr code and you need to open WhatsApp on your phone, go into Settings - Linked Devices - Link a Device and scan the qr code You should then be able to see your WhatsApp chats whenever you open WatchChat on your watch.

Apparently the issue was the notification setting I had on my phone - it didn't include the preview. I changed that and the messages are now visible on the watch.

That's great now as I use WhatsApp a fair bit and it was annoying me that I couldn't read the message on the watch. I'm not so bothered about initiating a message but good to know what to use if I change my mind on that one.

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