The Apple Watch’s Stand ring
Listen. Yes, the Stand ring is very easy to “close.” All you have to do is get up and move at least one minute for 12 hours per day. Super simple. Very clear. Unbelievably annoying.
Let’s not pretend a goal like “just get up for sixty seconds you misery” is some great barometer of health. It’s not. Here’s what it is:
- A good reminder you haven’t moved significantly in 50 minutes
- Lackluster motivation (but motivation nonetheless) to pursue a more active lifestyle
- More annoying than accurate
Unlike the Watch’s other two Activity rings, Move and Exercise, you can “fail” the Stand ring even with hours left in the day. Burn enough calories and log enough “brisk activity” to close the former rings before midnight and the Watch isn’t concerned with “how” or “who” you had to kill to do it.
“You can still do it,” happily chirps an evening notification. “Just a brisk, 24-minute murder and you’re there.”
But the Stand ring? Well, that’s another story.
All right, before you even start, know that I get it. Yes, the entire point of the Stand ring is that it doesn’t allow you to cram in a full day’s worth of activity into the final hour. The only way to get your hours is to put in the work and stay active throughout the day. Okay? We’re all caught up.
Sure, standing for a minute per hour is a nice little goal. Nobody’s going to argue that point. It can improve your insulin response and even reduce your risk of cancer. Hey, that sounds pretty good! What’s not to like?
Here’s my problem with the Stand ring: It lacks perspective.
It would be one thing if the Watch recognized you missed a crucial hour and popped in with a challenge: “You’re no longer on track to meet your Stand goal. Burn 100 Move calories next hour and we’ll call it even.” It’s too bad you missed that hour, the Watch should be saying, but the day’s not over yet!
I could even see a possible solution in increasing the demand. One minute of standing isn’t a lifestyle change. It’s a chore. It’s Apple’s Pavlovian experiment to see if they can get us to stand and shuffle awkwardly like teenagers at prom for a minute every hour. Up that to, say, five minutes? Well, shoot, I’ll get a stretch in, maybe even take a little walk. If Apple wanted to get really crazy, it could even let you reduce that larger goal with more intense activity. Don’t have five minutes? Give me one minute of jumping jacks then.
However Apple does it, the Stand ring needs to be fixed. It doesn’t inspire a healthier lifestyle; it inspires eye rolls. Already, that’s not great. Worse, though, is how the moment the Watch recognizes it’s become mathematically impossible for you to close your Stand ring, it just… gives up on you. That’s it. No notifications. No challenges. Nothing. You’re done.
That sucks. No, really. The Watch shouldn’t be able to give up. If it can, what’s stopping you? “Shit, I’m short an hour now,” you might say. “May as well just sit.” The Watch should always find (or better yet, create) a way to get you up and moving. Even if it’s not your original goal, it’s something.
Every time I close my Move and Exercise rings, it feels like a true accomplishment. Even on low days with my depression, I’ll still grab my boxing gloves at 11 p.m. and hit the gym before midnight to keep my streak alive. But I never feel any satisfaction out of closing my Stand ring. It’s just another mindless chore I have to do today, like resetting a password, folding my socks, or standing for a minute every hour.
