I can sum up my experience with the Apple Watch very simply. Overall the Apple Watch is 5% functionality and 95% vanity/status. Almost all of the 3rd party apps are worthless making the core timekeeping functionality the high point.
I can breakdown how I use this device into 3 sections; the watchface, notifications, and fitness tracking. Originally I was concerned with the battery life but it’s never died during daily use.
There are 2 sizes of Apple Watch available; 38mm and 42mm. I got the 42mm and it still feels extremely small, in a good way.
A Killer Watch Face
I never wear watches so this may sound dumb, but having the time on your wrist is extremely useful.
You can customize the watch face with with widgets or “complications” as they call them. I mainly include the weather and activity summary on mine. These glances of information are the primary function to me.
Notifications are Extremely Pleasing
Seeing notifications from my iPhone displayed beautifully on my wrist is always a joy. The slight tap the taptic engine gives you just feels right.
I love archiving spam emails right from my wrist as they happen. But at the same rate when I feel a tap on the wrist it’s hard not to look, making it slightly annoying in social situations (granted it’s better than reaching for the phone).
Fitness Tracking Made Me Move More
Step counts are pretty worthless and I’m glad Apple recognized that with their fitness tracking. Instead of being based solely on step count the main metric used here is active calories burned.
The benefit of this is that you can do a more intense workout which would normally be less “steps” and still get a rewarding feeling for it.
The only thing I wish the activity tracking had was social features. Most of my friends have an Apple Watch so it would be nice to completely stop using FitBit for it’s challenges.
But Mainly, Pure Vanity.
I get asked constantly “Should I buy an Apple Watch?”. A way better question is do you have an extra $400-800 to spend on wrist candy.
Don’t get me wrong the Apple Watch comes in handy and slightly improves my life but falls short as essential. I’m sure a generation or two down the road the Apple Watch will be a LOT more useful but for now for me it’s just a status symbol.
The Future, WatchOS 2
The new version of the operating system; WatchOS 2 should be out this fall. It’ll include 3rd party complications and allow 3rd party apps to run natively on Apple Watch. This is going to be huge and increase the utility of the device significantly.