8 Observations After 8 Weeks Wearing an Apple Watch

I first wrote about the Apple Watch a week after receiving one for my birthday. Now that I’ve worn it every day for 8 weeks, I have a few more observations for those of you interested in the product.

One

Battery life will not be an issue. If you charge your Apple Watch while you sleep, you should not have problems with the battery dying. Mine has died once in 8 weeks, and that was when I didn’t charge it the night before. (It still lasted until after dinner the second day.)

Two

Most Apple Watch apps are useless, but you will find some that are valuable. Fantistacal, Omnifocus and ETA are the only third-party apps that I regularly use. Of the built-in apps, I frequent Messages, Activity, Now Playing and Maps.

Three

Curating notifications is key. Whittling down your notifications to what’s important takes the Apple Watch from being a distraction to being an asset.

Four

There are definitely times when the Apple Watch feels slow. Each time your watch displays info from an app, it is fetching that information from your iPhone over Bluetooth. The native app capabilities coming with watchOS 2 in the fall will allow apps to do more on the watch itself. This should make your apps less sluggish.

Five

Also coming with watchOS 2, third-party complications will allow any app (like Omnifocus or Fantastical!) to display information on your watch face. This will provide an opportunity for developers to add more value to their apps.

Six

The Apple Watch probably won’t dramatically reduce how much you use your phone. I still use my phone a lot for messaging, reading, music, Twitter and tons more. But I do look at my watch to see things like the time, who is calling/texting and the start of my next meeting.

Seven

The Apple Watch conserves battery by leaving the screen off most of the time and automatically lighting up when you look at it. Since this is based on movement, when you twist or raise your wrist the screen will turn on. I was surprised by how well this works.

Eight

I desperately need to work out. I’ve only completed the green ring once! Also, I’m an above-average stander.