Ah, the Apple Watch. Regular, devout readers will know that Apple’s smartwatch and I have had a somewhat fraught relationship. In fact, I’ve bought four of them. And sold four of them. Every time I think ‘this is it’, I get bored and realise I’m actually not really using it for much at all.
But my last Apple Watch was the one I kept for the longest, which means the withdrawals this time around are a little more pronounced. There are a few things I’ve been raising my wrist for, only to find, alas, a plain old analogue watch in the smart one’s place. I wouldn’t say I miss the Apple Watch (yet) – to me it’s still a nice and shiny extension to the iPhone, but not yet useful enough to justify the cost (or the extra notifications). But if my normal watch could do these three things, I’d be happy. (In the market for an Apple Watch? Check out the best Black Friday Apple Watch deals available right now.)
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01. Fitness tracking
Ok, yes, it’s the obvious one. This is what an Apple Watch is for, and it’s the main thing it can do that the iPhone can’t. From heart rate intel to calories burned, it’s an extremely informative and accurate fitness tracker. I’ve recently taken up squash (ooh, check me out), and was enjoying checking my stats after a game. I might be sweating profusely, but with no workout tracked and logged, did the game even happen? Hopefully not, because I probably lost.
02. Now Playing
The Now Playing app essentially turns the Apple Watch into a music controller. This is useful both out and about, and at home – it was much simpler to skip tracks or change the volume on my Sonos system (ooh, check me out) from my wrist then having to go into another room (!) to grab my phone. Also, when listening to a new playlist, if a new track came on that I liked, I could check the artist and add it to a playlist without having to reach into my pocket (!) for said phone.
03. Weather
Another simple one. The weather app on the Apple Watch behaves exactly like the weather watch on the iPhone. The only difference is that, once again, it’s right there on your wrist. About to leave the house and need to check if it’s going to rain? Quick check of the watch, quick grab of a brolly, done.
What’s probably pretty obvious by now is that these are mostly mere conveniences. Fitness tracking aside, being able to see (or control) things at a glance is a useful luxury. But ultimately, I decided it wasn’t worth the premium. However, it might be to you – and watchOS 10 might have dozens of other features that could prove invaluable for you (such as the Snoopy watch face).
