Apple Watch Series 2. Should I bother?

[ibex333]

I am a gadget freak. When something cool and useful appears, I must have it!

That being said, I am also practical, and don't want to waste money.

I owned the original Moto 360, Samsung Galaxy Gear 2, and LG G2.

All these watches sucked because their HR monitor and step count was always highly inaccurate. My Fit Bit One(the little clip on thingy) is also highly inaccurate with steps, and it counts elevator rides as floors climbed! WTF?!


Reading the Apple Watch review, I am noticing people claiming that the Apple Watch is almost as accurate as dedicated heart rate monitors! If this is in fact true, I already want this thing. I am wondering how accurate it is in steps and how useful it is overall in your daily life. Please, only chime in if you own the thing.

 

[TheStu]

I am a gadget freak. When something cool and useful appears, I must have it!

That being said, I am also practical, and don't want to waste money.

I owned the original Moto 360, Samsung Galaxy Gear 2, and LG G2.

All these watches sucked because their HR monitor and step count was always highly inaccurate. My Fit Bit One(the little clip on thingy) is also highly inaccurate with steps, and it counts elevator rides as floors climbed! WTF?!


Reading the Apple Watch review, I am noticing people claiming that the Apple Watch is almost as accurate as dedicated heart rate monitors! If this is in fact true, I already want this thing. I am wondering how accurate it is in steps and how useful it is overall in your daily life. Please, only chime in if you own the thing.

I have the Series 0 (so the original Apple Watch), and I find it really useful. The HR tracking largely matches up to the treadmills and stair steppers and what not that have integrated monitors in the handles. I don't have a dedicated chest HR monitor, so I don't know how accurate it is when I'm doing more dynamic full body stuff. I want to say that Apple's own documentation states that consistent movements (like in running/walking/rowing/swimming/etc) yield better results.

But, it's good enough for me, and it's useful to just see an idea of what my HR is at a glance, so I know if I can push myself a little before I think I'm ready.

Also, notifications and maps are pretty great.

 

[Commodus]

I understand the Apple Watch is reasonably accurate. I'd only really want to get a dedicated heart rate monitor or fitness watch if I was absolutely determined to get authentic data.

To me, the biggest advantage is more that Apple is good at motivation and quantifying info in a way that makes sense to people who aren't fitness junkies. The perpetual urge to close those activity rings gets me moving in a way that an app (or most smartwatches, really) wouldn't -- I've been known to go for late-night runs to make up for otherwise lazy days. And the Apple Watch gives me a feel for what constitutes good exercise. This is what constitutes light activity versus moderate, you need to run X distance to meet your goals every day, these are your heart rates at rest and after activity... really, making sense of data that used to be arcane.

One important note: if you don't want stand-alone GPS (for exercise without your phone), swim-friendly water resistance or Nike bands, the Series 1 will do the job just fine for less. The Series 2 would be my pick just for the greater choices in design, but the Series 1 will do a fine job of tracking runs if you bring your iPhone around. You can even get a reasonably good approximation of your performance on Series 1 without the phone once you've exercised enough for the watch to understand your gait.

 

[Aikouka]

Just get ready to deal with the awkwardness of trying to show someone a notification from your watch, and how the watch will probably turn off the screen at the position that you try to use. Oh, and how the most useful quick responses to messages are buried down in the middle.

 

[Commodus]

Just get ready to deal with the awkwardness of trying to show someone a notification from your watch, and how the watch will probably turn off the screen at the position that you try to use. Oh, and how the most useful quick responses to messages are buried down in the middle.

I haven't usually had to worry about those things! Your mileage may vary, I'd say.

 

[Illusio]

I have the Series 0 and I enjoy it. It hasn't become the must have device I was hoping it would be, mostly because app support isn't great yet. As a fitness/health tracker, it is pretty good though.

 

[Sho'Nuff]

I bought the series 2 today and I am seriously thinking about returning it. The main reason I got it was to use it as a music streamer and fitness tracker during working out. It works pretty well as a bluetooth music streamer, but I find the interface to be infuriating. Whoever thought it was a good idea to use icons the size of nail heads is a damn fool.

 

[Commodus]

I bought the series 2 today and I am seriously thinking about returning it. The main reason I got it was to use it as a music streamer and fitness tracker during working out. It works pretty well as a bluetooth music streamer, but I find the interface to be infuriating. Whoever thought it was a good idea to use icons the size of nail heads is a damn fool.

One thing to consider: putting a music complication on your watch face (preferably on one of the Utility or Activity faces, where you can choose the big text version). Makes going to the music app easier. That and you definitely need to embrace the multitasking menu (the side button) to make the most of it. I'll agree the main app grid is overly tiny, at least as of watchOS 3.