Apple Watch

This blog post is going to be long. Prepare yourself.

I looked at the Apple Watch when it first hit stores a few months ago. The technology seemed pretty neat but I found it hard to rationalize why you would pay more money for a devise that you need your (already expensive) iPhone to work it. I didn't really think much of it after that. I've started to see a few people I know sporting a fancy Apple Watch on their wrist and it started to peek my interest again. I started asking questions and talking about it with a couple of my friends who are also thinking of getting one.

When I was at the mall earlier this week I stopped in to play with the display models and try a couple different on with different colored sport bands. I had mentioned to Kenyon that I thought they were still pretty neat and I'd talk more with my WW leader Donna when I saw her at my Tuesday meeting. I had also done some research and found out Best Buy is a Southwest Rapid Rewards partner so if I bought my watch through the Best Buy online link I would earn three times the Southwest flight points than buying one at the Apple Store. I quickly found out Best Buy isn't actually selling the watches yet so you can't get one through them. Honestly, if I had been able to get an Apple Watch with the extra flight points I would have sealed the deal on Monday!

After talking to Donna about her watch and the features she really liked it mostly came down to the fitness component of her new Apple Watch. Like most high end technology devices (aka all of Apple's products) my knowledge of the cool stuff you can do is limited. Donna agreed and showed me more of how you can track your daily activity/workout and how it tracks your movement encouraging you to move more overall within your day. It also tracks your heart rate all day and counts your movement calories so it would mean not having to wear a second devise, such as my Polar heart rate monitor, when I exercise. The Apple Watch was looking more and more appealing.

The final step in every thought process when it comes to Apple products is the price point. I got double paychecks last Friday between my last ISP paycheck and my first Nampa PD paycheck. I also had 110 vacation hours paid out to me. Kenyon mentioned that I didn't need to transfer any extra money into our joint account and that the extra money was mine. Big mistake in telling me that because now I had extra money just burning a whole in my pocket. Tuesday afternoon I went to the Apple Store and bought an Apple Watch.

BUT, I wouldn't let her open it as I was afraid I might still change my mind. By early evening I had decided I really did want the watch and got it all set up.

The verdict? I LOVE IT! Right now my daily activity goals are to burn at least 340 active calories, actively move for 30 minutes, and stand for at least 12 hours of my day. You don't have to actually stand all 12 hours you just have to get up and move at some points during each hour. This is a challenge in itself with sitting all day at work. I am trying to get better about remembering to get up and move around at my console. Not sure if that helps at all with the tracker or if it really wants some movement. I'm still playing with it.

I used the workout function this week during my hour fitness time at work. You can set a goal of time, calories, or miles. I selected a 30 minute goal since my daily activity goal is to move for 30 minutes that is my focus for my workouts. You can select several different workout options such as indoor walk, outdoor walk, elliptical, rowing machine, stair stepper, etc. My WW leader Donna said she picked the “option” other for her yoga class and saw her calorie burn climb through the roof. As long as you tell it you are doing something active it will start tracking your calorie burn through the heart rate monitor.

I tested the Apple Watch out the first day by wearing both it and my FitBit. While the start of the day there was a but of a different in the two numbers displayed for the daily steps it had become really close by the end of the day. I wasn't sure if the Apple Watch was giving me more numbers for different types of movement than the FitBit or if it was just being overly confident you were moving that much. I decided after day one to continue not to wear my FitBit. The reason I wanted the Apple Watch was so I had just one device to worry about.

I still have to rest the Apple Watch against my Polar Heart Rate Monitor. I am not sure if the calorie burn it is telling me after my workout is accurate or not. Danielle made the comment that she had heard it wasn't very accurate or trusting for those that had an Apple Watch. The HRM portion is on the top of my wrist. I don't keep my watch band really sung as I don't care for a tight watch. I figure at this point it is motivating me for activity. I am counting the APs for my workout only and they don't seem outrageous. I often earn 3 APs for a 30 minute workout where I am walking up/down the parking garage at work. Also 3 APs for a brisk walk but only 2 APs for my slower walk with stops along the way where I paused it. I do plan to test it out against my HRM sometime this weekend.

The workout function is pretty neat in that you can check your progress as you workout and then it rewards you when you are done.

I loved getting this message on my first day of using my Apple Watch. You also get a complete summary that you can either save or delete. So far I don't think there is anywhere it is being stored on the phone as there isn't an app for the workout portion. I was told the Apple Watch has 2 GB space so I have been deleting my summary. Just like my HRM, I don't need to keep that or reference that. I have been writing it down in my 12-week WW tracker this week as well. I'm not a huge numbers girl. I just like seeing my overall summary.

The watch is really customizable. I can pick any color I want or any layout. I can also change the colors. I really liked the purple display color but it is harder to see than the bright green display. Good news is that I can switch it up whenever I want!

I can add or remove apps. It connects with my iPhone so I can also see the main Activity goals daily and also by a monthly calendar. While the iPhone doesn't store the workout stuff it does store your Activity stuff through the Activity app. I am going to push myself to continue to meet my daily goals as much as possible. At the end of each hour I will get a little “reminder tap” that it is time to move. I like this as often it is easy to just sit and zone out in a chair all day at work. Sometimes we are busy but if there is a little lull I will get up and walk around my console area until I get the “good job” message.

I know the Apple Watch does other stuff than activity monitoring and workout summaries. Sometimes I feels like it doesn't do much else. I do occasionally use it for text messaging and I like getting my messages right away if my phone is in the other room or in my purse across the room. It has a microphone so you can reply to the message or I can just get on my phone and type. I can read emails but I can't reply to emails or write an email. The downside to voice-to-text is you are stuck with whatever it thinks you said as there is no keypad to re-type your message. It can get frustrating. I can listen to music and control my iPhone music through my watch. I can check the weather and see what is on my calendar for that day. It is a handy tool when your phone isn't in reach. I'm very happy with my purchase.