Everything You Need to Know About Buying Your First Apple Watch
An Honest Perspective from a New Apple Watch Owner
I finally did it. After months (years!!!) of seriously considering buying an Apple Watch I finally dropped a cool $600 on an Apple Watch Nike+ Series 5. Yes, even during a world pandemic with a crashing economy I willingly threw a chunk of my could-be-last paycheck directly at Apple as hard as I possibly could.
For years I speculated the Apple Watch — what was it for? How good could it really be? Would I really want to leave my phone behind all that often? Doesn’t it still need to be in my pocket anyway? If you have these questions, I’ll answer those as well as discuss things I’ve learned during my first week with my new watch.
Exactly what I purchased:
- Apple Watch Nike+ Series 5 GPS+Cellular with standard Black/Anthracite Sport Band
- Nike Sport Loop in Summit White for an additional $49
- “Fastest” shipping for an additional $8
After briefly reading up on the difference between the Series 3 and Series 5 watches, I found many to be in agreement that the Series 5 wasn’t worth the price difference from the Series 3 for the features it offers. I even had friends who supported that decision and loved their newer Series 3. However, one review quickly swayed my decision by stating the fact that “you are spending a couple hundred dollars on a 2 (for me almost 3) year old processor.” It’s true — you could save money now, but the likelihood of you having to replace that watch sooner is high. I dove right to the deep end, buying the Nike Apple Watch Series 5 GPS+Cellular. If you want to learn more about the different options you have when building your Apple watch, read my other article, Which Apple Watch is Right For You?
It is worth making a special paragraph just to applaud Apple for the stellar customer experience around shipping. I chose to pay an additional fee for “fastest” shipping, rather than the standard free option, because I wanted to get my hands on the watch sooner. I thought maybe this watch could bring life and joy to my world which was otherwise quarantined at home. I ordered my watch around 3PM PST on a Wednesday, and had it in just under 24 hours. I received text message updates from Apple every step of the way — from order confirmation right to my door. My additional band was supposed to take one day longer, but they even managed to have it delivered at the same time. Amazing.
Now, on to some topics I wish I had more information about when first buying my Apple Watch:
What does this thing do?
Answer: honestly not as much as I thought. Apple Watch buyers who have no interest in the fitness aspect…I’m really confused. The Apple Watch is a decent fitness monitor. However I expected just so…much…more. And to be honest, I’m not complaining, I think there is just a lot of hype around Apple Watches that after all these years, I think I started to convince myself it was just a mini iPhone. For example,
Communication: is just awkward, In my daydreams I imagined myself shifting all my texting, emailing, communicating to my watch. In reality, texting on the Watch is hard! There is no keyboard! Ok, don’t laugh..yes I expected it to have a mini screen sized keyboard. Nope! Talk-to-text or an option to scribble letters with your fingertips, however this feature really only recognizes one letter at a time, and gets it right about 70% of the time. This makes texting very laborious on the Watch. You can talk-to-text, I’m just not a fan of speaking into my devices. It’s just a ‘me’ thing. So what will I do? Continue to use my phone…Emails are another thing. If you’re using Gmail like some majority percent of the world, you are limited to gmail notifications. There is no ability to read your emails. Now you just have multiple places to check for notifications.
Speaking of,
Google Apps: nope. I imagined myself reading emails, navigating via Google Maps, and performing quick searches on Chrome. I know this sounds naive, but again I thought the watch could do it all! You won’t get to experience your favorite Google apps on the Watch.
And that leads me to,
Apps in General: Gah. Apps in general on the Watch are very, very, very “light” versions of app. I’m surprised to see how many apps aren’t compatible with the Watch. If you do have a compatible app, almost all interacting with it will be done on the actual iPhone version. Even news! Can’t read Apple News, can just browse headlines.
Music: Yes, Apple Watch plays music, But only Apple Music. If you love Spotify, and want to buy an Apple Watch so you can run without your phone, you’re either going to have to give up music or always run with your phone. The only option you have is to pay for Apple Music, which will stream through your Watch. This sounds ok in theory but when it comes down to it, you can’t port your playlists, favorites, or any data from your existing music apps which is a bummer. I would say this has to be the biggest continuous letdown of both Spotify and the Apple Watch. Can’t we all just get along?
The True Value of the Watch
After a few months of owning the Apple Watch, I’ve been able to overcome its shortcomings.
I’ll be honest, I no longer remember life without it. The biggest value from the watch is the fitness tracking capabilities. I’m a hard-core motivated exerciser, but this brings me to the next level. Not a day goes by that I lose out on closing my activity rings. If you need a boost of motivation, nothing will get your ass in gear like your Apple Watch reminding you that “your activity is usually higher by this time of day.” It’s full of friendly little reminders that you could be doing better…
I’ll be honest, I no longer remember life without it.
Another awesome thing about the watch is the alarm clock. If you sleep with your watch on, you’ll be able to set alarms to wake you up by tiny haptic vibrations each morning. It’s so relaxing and much more enjoyable than being woken up by an audible alarm. The timer works the same way — which also comes in super handy for baking, laundry, etc.
Being able to move about your neighborhood or wherever you please without your phone is also a benefit. However, I will warn you — Apple has some serious network connectivity issues with Watch. My Watch connects to my Verizon plan when I’m away from my phone about 75% of the time. But I’ve just come to accept this.
Bottom Line
An Apple Watch is a big investment. At first it can feel a little underwhelming. However, soon, like all other Apple products, it will become an essential part of your life. If you value fitness tracking, real-time notifications without your phone, and have the cash, I say go for it.
