Apple Watch

Does anyone here have an apple watch? Most of my friends do but I never really saw the point. Then my sister bought herself a new one about a year ago and offered to give me her old one (a 2nd generation model). I've tried repeatedly to find a use for the thing and honestly I HATE it. I don't like the nonstop notifications. With my phone at least I can set it on a table and forget about it for a while. Not with a watch strapped to my wrist. And then it got annoyed because apparently I take too many photos so the memory ran out. Every five minutes it buzzed to remind me that it's memory was full. Eventually I figured out how to stop photos from syncing, but apparently that is not a normal thing to do because finding the instructions for this task was brutal. And now today I decided to try the iphone widgets thing to see if I could get a button on my phone home screen for the garage door opener so that I wouldn't have to always unlock the phone and open the garage door app. Apparently widgets are not actually a useful thing. So I asked my sister and she suggested if there's a garage door app for the watch to use that. I checked and, yes, there is. But this stupid watch absolutely refuses to sync the garage door app with the phone's garage door app.

TLDR version: I got a free Apple watch, I HATE it, and every time I've attempted to use it I've failed and the experience ends with me wanting to throw the thing on the ground and stomp it into little bits, sort of like the printer in the movie Office Space.

Does anyone want a free second generation Apple Watch. You pay the shipping and it's yours.

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Originally Posted by jp1

Does anyone want a free second generation Apple Watch. You pay the shipping and it's yours.

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I love technology and collect way more than I should. Whenever I reach the point of frustration with something like that I give it to my youngest grandson. That's what grandkids are for.

I LOVe mine. I’m on my third now. 8 series. I have mine set so there is NO music or photos on the Watch. Especially with the older ones, there wasn’t a lot of memory, even for upgrades. I guess you get a ton of messages. Texts are the only messages that are actually on a Watch app. Everything else (WhatsApp, FB Messenger, Signal) just appear on the watch for maybe 5-10 min. If I don’e respond in that timeframe they’re off the watch notifications.

You can set phone notifications to mirror on your watch or not. And the settings really aren’t THAT bad.

Were you used to wearing a watch regularly? I know people who haven’t worn a watch in years and that was part of their issue with the Apple Watch. I’ve worn a watch for years so that wasn’t an issue for me. And when I’m diving, I have a dive computer on both arms, so I’m used to that sort of thing.

I love the health tracking aspects, especially the movement.

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Originally Posted by Alan

I love technology and collect way more than I should. Whenever I reach the point of frustration with something like that I give it to my youngest grandson. That's what grandkids are for.

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Lol. I don’t have any of those so I did the best I could. I reached out to my youngest close friend (he’s in his mid 30’s and way more tech savvy than I am) and asked his help. He looked into the MyQ app and basically came back with ‘it’s a dodgy app and you’re lucky the phone version works well as a standalone app.’

I'm with Tradd. I love my Apple Watch and the apps I use the most (aside from the basic text messaging, phone and time) are the weather and health data. I think the "ping" that finds your phone for you is worth the price of the watch. I used to be constantly looking for my phone. I also frequently use the timer when I'm cooking (Siri, set timer for 3 minutes) or meditating (Siri, set timer for 11 minutes)

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Originally Posted by catherine

I'm with Tradd. I love my Apple Watch and the apps I use the most (aside from the basic text messaging, phone and time) are the weather and health data. I think the "ping" that finds your phone for you is worth the price of the watch. I used to be constantly looking for my phone. I also frequently use the timer when I'm cooking (Siri, set timer for 3 minutes) or meditating (Siri, set timer for 11 minutes)

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Oh, yes, the weather app and notifications for severe weather are well worth the watch price, too. I don’t use the phone function, but for messages, knowing whether I need to pull out my phone to answer, hell, yes.

I've been using the Apple Watch for years. I have a love/hate relationship with them.

I wouldn't get one "just because", but if you have a specific application for some of its features/applications, it's quite handy.

My iPhone is lovely. After multiple attempts to make use of the watch I just don’t get it. Since all of you love them by all means I’ll give you my watch. I honestly never want to touch the stupid thing again.

What essential functionality does an Apple Watch have that an iPhone does not have? Is the advantage that it just rides around on your wrist rather than having to grip it?

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Originally Posted by iris lilies

What essential functionality does an Apple Watch have that an iPhone have is the advantage that just rides around on your wrist rather than having to grip it?

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Sort of.

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Originally Posted by jp1

My iPhone is lovely. After multiple attempts to make use of the watch I just don’t get it. Since all of you love them by all means I’ll give you my watch. I honestly never want to touch the stupid thing again.

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It’s too old. Doesn’t have enough memory to accept updates. That’s the issue I had with my series 3.

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Originally Posted by iris lilies

What essential functionality does an Apple Watch have that an iPhone have? Is the advantage that it just rides around on your wrist rather than having to grip it?

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A lot of people like the health apps.

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Originally Posted by Tradd

A lot of people like the health apps.

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Yes, I have the Apple Watch app of course, gives you
High and Low Heart Rate Notifications.
Irregular Rhythm Notification.
ECG App.
Low Cardio Fitness Notifications.
Blood Oxygen Level.
Fall Detection

Plus you can link other health apps to the Apple Watch app so all kinds of health metrics are consolidated.

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Originally Posted by Tradd

A lot of people like the health apps.

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I can see that being useful for people inclined to closely track such things.

My husband needs two of those things but is not interested in wearing the watch for reasons Tradd and Jp1 mention. I really should get it and maybe I will--I'm just really slow to learn how to use stuff like that. I did get an iphone, though, so it should sync well.

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Originally Posted by jp1

I can see that being useful for people inclined to closely track such things.

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I don’t know that I would trust those abs to be especially accurate, but they might be accurate enough, or at least internally consistent, so that it’s always measuring at the same level, even though that level may not be especially accurate.

They are proving really useful in detecting a fib.

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Originally Posted by iris lilies

What essential functionality does an Apple Watch have that an iPhone does not have? Is the advantage that it just rides around on your wrist rather than having to grip it?

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It's small and attached to your body.

After multiple problems locally with the medic-alert pendants and monitored call systems, I first got one to investigate its use for our older demographic here for:

- detecting falls
- being able to call 911 without crawling halfway across the house after an elder falls and breaks a hip
- monitoring ongoing health status - heart rate/blood oxy/...

That all worked pretty well - the Apple watch has now saved a few people in my local community since folks with certain risk factors have begun using them.

Personally, I use the one I have almost entirely for ApplePay transactions and as a source to stream audiobooks and music while I am walking. And a stopwatch/alarm, and remote camera trigger now-and-then.

Even with the improved battery life the newer models have, the battery is a problem for me - it does not last nearly enough, having to recharge it every single day is a pain. In particular, it is unhappy with staying alive for the amount of time it takes to get from my house to London, even with a direct flight from Seattle->Heathrow. And it requires a special charging cable.

It is also insufficiently robust, I am constantly scratching the face of it if I'm doing any sort of strenuous work in the great outdoors or with heavy tools.

These are not problems my old-timey mechanical watches have.

Oh yes, forgot about my heavy Apple Pay use via watch. So nice to not have to dig out my phone.

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Originally Posted by bae

It's small and attached to your body.

After multiple problems locally with the medic-alert pendants and monitored call systems, I first got one to investigate its use for our older demographic here for:

- detecting falls
- being able to call 911 without crawling halfway across the house after an elder falls and breaks a hip
- monitoring ongoing health status - heart rate/blood oxy/...

That all worked pretty well - the Apple watch has now saved a few people in my local community since folks with certain risk factors have begun using them.

Personally, I use the one I have almost entirely for ApplePay transactions and as a source to stream audiobooks and music while I am walking. And a stopwatch/alarm, and remote camera trigger now-and-then.

Even with the improved battery life the newer models have, the battery is a problem for me - it does not last nearly enough, having to recharge it every single day is a pain. In particular, it is unhappy with staying alive for the amount of time it takes to get from my house to London, even with a direct flight from Seattle->Heathrow. And it requires a special charging cable.

It is also insufficiently robust, I am constantly scratching the face of it if I'm doing any sort of strenuous work in the great outdoors or with heavy tools.

These are not problems my old-timey mechanical watches have.

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I think you know a thing or two about watches :-)

I remember that obsession hobby.

I’ve got a friend that also has a ‘hobby’ of collecting vintage watches. I offered him the Apple Watch and he politely declined.

I'm bemused by the currently popular compulsion to monitor one's every bodily function 24/7. I really don't understand it.

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Originally Posted by JaneV2.0

I'm bemused by the currently popular compulsion to monitor one's every bodily function 24/7. I really don't understand it.

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Yeah, I know... I understand. Sometimes someone will ask me when I get up, "Did you sleep well last night?" and I'll say "Let me check my watch."

One of the main reasons I do it is because I have a very low HRV which my doctors won't recognize so I'm trying hard to raise it on my own without their direction. The reason I'm worried about that is because there are many published studies that say that HRV is associated with poor outcomes like sudden cardiac death and other cardiovascular issues. That's my main area of interest in wearing the watch.

So there are a lot of metrics that correlate with that goal, like reducing heart rate, monitoring sleep apnea, deep breathing, meditation, and staying active.

That's why I do it.

I would like my husband to wear one because he has heart arrhythmias and it would be nice if he had a printout to show the doctor.

For those who don’t know about tweaking notifications, go into watch app on your iPhone. Then go to Notifications. Scroll down a bit and there is a section about mirroring iPhone notifications. Go through each app and set as needed. Mirror iPhone means you get every notification on your watch that you would on iPhone. Custom you can tweak. I have a lot set to no notifications. Besides iMessage, I have WhatsApp, FB Messenger, and Signal on my iPhone. Those and weather notifications are the only notifications I make sure to get on watch.

My kids wanted me to get one now that I live alone and I did. Being able to call for help and the heart feature were the biggest draws. However, it’s very inaccurate in counting steps. I have a Fitbit that I wear in my sock and it’s always recording between 1-2k steps more than on my watch. The watch relies on arm movement and once in awhile it only records half my steps.

I heard on the news that the new Apple Watch will be able to measure blood pressure. Now I’m even more skeptical about accuracy of that.

I have a digital blood pressure cuff and I haven’t been happy with. It’s reading high for months now. Every time I go to Red Cross or my doctor’s office and they take my blood pressure those professional readings are 20 points lower. I’m on another blood pressure lowering medicine, but I’m not convinced I need it. I really just need to run down to my doctor every day for about a week and have them take my reading. I can do that because I belong to a direct care physician where one price equals unlimited visits.

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Originally Posted by iris lilies

I heard on the news that the new Apple Watch will be able to measure blood pressure. Now I’m even more skeptical about accuracy of that.

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Hmm.

I know there are bluetooth-capable blood pressure measuring devices (cuff + controller) that can communicate with an app, and I'd imagine that one properly certified for accuracy, with the correct cuff size, and with proper use(*), could deliver accurate results. In which case the watch would simply be a data recording/display device.

I'm having trouble imaging the watch alone performing a measurement strapped to your wrist.

(*) Even with a correctly calibrated and approved device, considerable variation in readings happens due to user errors in placement and such.

IL, if it’s a wrist cuff they are usually inaccurate. If it’s an arm cuff and is reliably 20 pts over just use it and subtract the points. If it varies buy a better one.

Iris, try taking your cuff with you to the doc or Red Cross and compare your cuff against theirs at the same time. I did that with mine because I consistently get lower numbers at home. It turned out that I must just be nervous at the doc or whatever because at the doc’s office mine also showed higher numbers than at home and was within a couple of points of the doc’s.

Now that we’ve established that mine gives decent results I just take it at home from time to time and record the results on the medical practice’s app. Then when I go to the doc and have a higher reading he doesn’t worry about it since he can see that outside his office I’m fine.

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Originally Posted by jp1

Iris, try taking your cuff with you to the doc or Red Cross and compare your cuff against theirs at the same time. I did that with mine because I consistently get lower numbers at home. It turned out that I must just be nervous at the doc or whatever because at the doc’s office mine also showed higher numbers than at home and was within a couple of points of the doc’s.

Now that we’ve established that mine gives decent results I just take it at home from time to time and record the results on the medical practice’s app. Then when I go to the doc and have a higher reading he doesn’t worry about it since he can see that outside his office I’m fine.

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yes, and if my readings were consistently, HIGHER at doctors office or Red Cross I would understand it. But they are consistently LOWER.

It’s not a wrist cuff, it is an arm cuff, and I reread the instructions to make sure I am placing it properly and sitting properly

Maybe while I apparently get nervous at the doc you feel calm when there? Lol.

But seriously, who knows. It may well be that your cuff is off calibration and would also report high at the doc’s.

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Originally Posted by catherine

Yeah, I know... I understand. Sometimes someone will ask me when I get up, "Did you sleep well last night?" and I'll say "Let me check my watch."

One of the main reasons I do it is because I have a very low HRV which my doctors won't recognize so I'm trying hard to raise it on my own without their direction. The reason I'm worried about that is because there are many published studies that say that HRV is associated with poor outcomes like sudden cardiac death and other cardiovascular issues. That's my main area of interest in wearing the watch.

So there are a lot of metrics that correlate with that goal, like reducing heart rate, monitoring sleep apnea, deep breathing, meditation, and staying active.

That's why I do it.

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From the little I know about HRV--and I think this applies to a variety of conditions--the stress involved in constant monitoring and worrying is probably more of a threat than the condition itself.

A shallow dive into the literature on HRV suggests it could be diet-related. For example:
https://elitehrv.com/case-study-the-...te-variability

My husband has sinus bradycardia, a left branch bundle block and premature PJC's. His fingers will get very white and sometimes blue. That's all I know so far. But it isn't all the time. Thus I thought the watch might be good.

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Originally Posted by JaneV2.0

From the little I know about HRV--and I think this applies to a variety of conditions--the stress involved in constant monitoring and worrying is probably more of a threat than the condition itself.

A shallow dive into the literature on HRV suggests it could be diet-related. For example:
https://elitehrv.com/case-study-the-...te-variability

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Diet is one component, but there are several others including sleep, alcohol/tobacco use, physical activity, stress, caffeine, posture, overall health, genetics, age, gender, medications, noise, and climate.

Related to diet, I read in one article that heavier meals high in saturated or trans fats and high glycemic carbohydrates have been found to reduce heart rate variability, in contrast with a Mediterranean diet and lighter meals high in omega-3 fatty acids, B-vitamins, and probiotics. I have also found that my HRV goes up a little if I remember to drink a lot of water.

My HRV has been chronically low since 2020 at least--that's when I first identified it. I've played around with many modifiable factors in an effort to influence it, yet, it stays steady year over year, and it's actually declining. For my age, it should be about 40-60ms and mine is about 16-17.

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Originally Posted by catherine

Diet is one component, but there are several others including sleep, alcohol/tobacco use, physical activity, stress, caffeine, posture, overall health, genetics, age, gender, medications, noise, and climate.

Related to diet, I read in one article that heavier meals high in saturated or trans fats and high glycemic carbohydrates have been found to reduce heart rate variability, in contrast with a Mediterranean diet and lighter meals high in omega-3 fatty acids, B-vitamins, and probiotics. I have also found that my HRV goes up a little if I remember to drink a lot of water.

My HRV has been chronically low since 2020 at least--that's when I first identified it. I've played around with many modifiable factors in an effort to influence it, yet, it stays steady year over year, and it's actually declining. For my age, it should be about 40-60ms and mine is about 16-17.

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Sounds complicated. I'm happy I have no idea what mine is. :~)

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Originally Posted by JaneV2.0

Sounds complicated. I'm happy I have no idea what mine is. :~)

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I know! I wish I had never heard of it....

I took my wrist one to the doctor with me and that’s how I learned it was 7 points higher. For a few years I just subtracted the points and then finally bought an arm one.

So, thinking about portability of podcasts, how good is the audio transmission on the Apple Watch? I’m a little hard of hearing. Could I hear it if I’m out and about listening to podcasts on my Apple Watch?

that would be useful for me. But then, having one more thing to keep charged wouldn’t be great. I wonder how many podcasts I could load on there, could I have eight hours of podcasts loaded?

The sound quality from the built-in speaker would disappoint you.

As a source to stream to Bluetooth headphones, it works fine. But then again, your phone does too.

It *is* convenient to have the controls on the watch for pause/whatnot. Most earbuds let you poke at them directly to do that, but that's a bother if you have large hands/arthritis/...


I keep a couple Audible books on mine for hiking, but really the phone would work just as well.