Technology

I love mine. I had a Pebble, which I also loved, but the Apple Watch merges pretty seamlessly with the rest of my Apple stuff, and has extra features my Pebble doesn’t. I think they should either pay a usage fee to Masimo, or change their software. They’ve wasted enough money and time fighting it.

For me, the Apple Watch is about reducing notifications to mere glances at my wrist. That instead of interrupting what I’m doing to pull my phone out of my pocket I can at a glance categorize what, if anything, I need to do in response to that notification. That and always accurate time to me was worth getting a watch. I upgraded from a series 3 to a series 6 when the sensor tech advanced enough to convince me to update. The 9 has some new stuff, but not enough to convince me to upgrade.

Times where I've found myself pleased with my smart watch:

• Keeping discreet timers.
• Discreet taps on the wrist when a delivery is arriving or someone important is trying to call me.
• Quick replying to texts from my SO.
• Pinging my misplaced phone.
• Directions to places via cryptic taps on my wrist (and having a little map if I want to check).
• Remote camera view-finder and shutter button for group photos where everyone can be in them.
• Having a money conversion calculator on my wrist when traveling.
• Audio controls from my wrist. (Really nice if you like walking around without a phone in front of you.)
• Paying through a subway turn-style with a tap from my wrist instead of needing to dig something out of my pockets.
• Keeping track of my health, which I wouldn't have otherwise.
• Less general dependency on my phone itself, resulting in better battery life.

Not saying you should or shouldn't get one. These are just reasons I've found myself happy with mine.

Other people have already responded, but I wanted to add my two cents because I use mine as a disability support. It was paid for out of my National Disability Insurance Scheme plan here in Australia, and they’re known for being tough about the things they will cover.

• Calling or texting formal & informal supports to ask for help when without my phone or it dies.
• Medication reminders I can’t miss.
• Metrics like: Walking Speed, Step Length, Asymmetry, Steadiness and Double Support Time that help my Physio and OT with assessment and therapy. Important because I use a cane or walking frame 95% of the time.
• Detailed heart data that helped me have my POTS diagnosed. Heart meds have helped me be able to exercise way more without tachycardia.
• Paying without needing to juggle things with one hand (using cane in other hand).
• Smart home control for things like lights, blinds/curtains, fans, aircon, heating, TVs, computers always on my wrist.
• Sleep & Exercise tracking help me feel validated when my body hurts more than usual.