Apple Watch?

[danielocean03]

OK, how many INGOers have Apple Watches or any experience with them? I've been considering buying one for my wife, just wondering if anyone had any experience (good or bad) with them. I think she will primarily use it for fitness tracking and getting notifications (she works in an environment where she's not always able to access her phone.)

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

Some of the folks at our plant have the Droid version for the Samsung Galaxies. They seem to like them for the same reason you mention---they know they're getting a message easier because it's often impossible to hear the phone out in the plant. Personally....I don't get it yet.

 

[downlinx]

from everyone I know that has bought one, they wish they didn't. They state the usability is vey bad and battery life is horrid.

 

[iChokePeople]

I have one, have had it for... oh, a while. It's solidly OK, in my book. It's convenient to have notifications on your wrist, but you're pretty limited in what you can do there. It gives me the option of ignoring it until later or picking up my phone/ipad/computer to deal with it. Fitness tracking is ok, but if you're really into that, there are better tools for the job. It's convenient in airports and on airplanes, and to pay for your starbucks, etc. With the next OS release, it *might* become a lot better... but we really don't know that yet. Battery life: You're going to charge it every night. I used to wear a fitbit at night for a sleep tracker. Switching to the apple watch took that away. It's definitely a daily charge thing, unless you put it in power-save mode where it's just a watch. Weather alerts on my wrist: very nice. I don't regret buying it, but I also don't often tell people I know that they just have to have one. I travel some, so there are some nice convenience features for that, and more on the way.

 

[danielocean03]

I'm always hesitant when it comes to real world testing of any new technology on my dime, I've been researching it (as I do with every purchase like this) and a lot of the features seem useful and I think my wife would appreciate it, some apps do appear useless and half-baked at best. As with most mobile electronics, I'm tempted to hold out until there's a Watch 2.0 featuring battery life and other improvements.

 

[Rookie]

I had the galaxy version until it refused to charge anymore. I liked it, but I think there's a lot of room for improvement.

 

[danielocean03]

I had the galaxy version until it refused to charge anymore. I liked it, but I think there's a lot of room for improvement.

How long did it last until it wouldn't charge? Did it plug in directly or using a magnet/inductive charger of some sort?

 

[Rookie]

It lasted about seven months. It had this base that clipped on the watch. The watch has little gold dots that match up to the pins on the base, and one of those dots fell off.

My wife has the same watch and it's still going strong over a year later.

 

[danielocean03]

Ah. The apple watch is covered under it's warranty for a year, so at least that should prevent anything failing that wouldn't be repaired or replaced within that time period.

 

[Rookie]

Mine probably had the same warranty, but it wasn't one of those things that I had to have. Knowing what I know now, I wouldn't have bought it.

 

[mondomojo]

Don't do it. Adopting first generation technology is usually disappointing as the bugs don't really get ironed out until gen 2, 3 or even 4. The fact that you have to ask about them tells me you're not convinced that you need to jump. Wait until you feel compelled to make the purchase and you won't end up disappointed. Otherwise you may end up like some others that have posted here and be less than enthusiastic about the purchase. To be clear on this issue, I don't own a smart watch and won't until they behave more like real watches and not require habitual charging.