1. It keeps with time
Well, that’s a given, right? Apple Watch helps you keep a watch over current time. And thanks to features like Always-On display (Series 5 and later) or Raise to Wake, you can observe the time and other complications without wasting time. What’s great is that you get a variety of Apple Watch faces, everything from minimal, utilitarian infographics to portrait photos. Moreover, you can add complications that tell time, weather, or even the moon’s phases, basically customize these faces as per your taste and requirement. And if that’s not incentive enough, you can also instruct the faces to automatically change based on time or location. So, you can have a workout-centric face for the gym, a focus-centric for the office, and a chill-toned-down version for home/vacation.
Alarm, reminders, timers, and more
Apple Watch has almost every feature you’ll require from a time-piece. It can double as a stopwatch, kitchen or workout timer, birthday, anniversary, meeting reminder, etc. You also get a handwash timer to ensure you washed your hands for the appropriate time. And thanks to some amazing third-party apps, it also doubles as a scientifically sound and smart alarm clock. Unlike the traditional alarm clocks, this one reads your sleep and wakes you naturally in light sleep. So, whether it’s 6 am or 9 pm, the Apple Watch is always helpful, from waking you up to reminding you to go to sleep.
2. It keeps you connected
Unless going through a digital, social, or communicative detox, we all like to stay updated. Yes, the frequency might differ from person to person, but we’ve gotten into checking our phones regularly. And Apple Watch (especially the cellular version) gives you all the benefits of staying connected without the compulsion of lugging your phone all the time. I am not saying that you can lock your phone in a cupboard and go holidaying. You can lock it in a gym or club’s locker and continue with your activities without missing anything urgent. And it’s not all just work. You can use Apple Watch to track your activities, listen to music, podcasts, or audiobooks, get directions and make or receive calls or texts. And the connection isn’t limited to your circle of devices. Between Family Setup and Activity Sharing, you can stay connected with your friends and family (more on this later).
3. It keeps up with your health
Probably the most advertised feature of the Apple Watch. We’ve read stories upon stories of how the watch has saved many lives. Some by detecting falls and calling 911, and some by helping patients catch early symptoms and getting the right treatment.
Must know Apple Watch health features
Here, I demand your permission to look at these features from a bird’s eye view. Because if I dig deep, this would be an even longer (read: never-ending) article. You can check out Apple’s healthcare page or the detailed guide linked to the features to know more.
Heart health Heart rate monitoring – Notifies when the heart rate is unusually high or low. Heart Rate Recovery – Analyzes how your heart recovers from exercise or strenuous physical activity. Heart Rate Variability (HRV) – Monitors time between your heartbeats and alerts if it’s arrhythmic. Cardio Fitness ECG app Respiratory rate – Tracking blood oxygen to ensure your lungs perform as they should. Fall Detection – Detects if you suffered a hard fall and calls emergency services if you didn’t respond during a 30 seconds countdown. Mental health – Helps establish a meditation practice by taking short mindful breaks during the day. Sleep tracking – Track your sleep routine and help improve your sleep quality. Protect hearing – Monitors surrounding noise and notifies if sounds are above a safe level. Cycle tracking – Log monthly period, menstrual symptoms, and sexual activity. Medical ID – Stores emergency contact and essential health information to help in emergencies.
Activity tracking and workout
Challenges and incentives encourage us to achieve our goals and test our limits. And Apple employs these tactics to push us towards our health goal with three Activity rings – Move, Excercise, and Stand. Apple routinely introduces new challenges, limited edition achievement stickers to keep things interesting. And if you like competing with friends/family, the Activity Sharing feature lets you see others’ progress and show off yours. The best part is that you don’t have to be a fitness fanatic to make the most of the Apple Watch. You do you boo, whether a walk, yoga, pilates, dance, swimming, core training, functional strength training, or tai chi, every small or big effort is accounted for and supported.
Fitness +
Introduced in late 2020, Apple Fitness+ is a dedicated health-centric service. It gives you access to a catalog of workouts, including strength, cycling, meditations, treadmill, etc. These live and recorded sessions are conducted by experts and incorporate their unique training style, personality, and taste in music. The service also boasts a special feature, Time To Walk. It boasts curated stories and music by interesting people such as Emmy Award winner Uzo Aduba, NBA player Daymond Green, and more to keep you company during your daily stroll.
4. It keeps up with your work
Apple Watch can be a great companion whether your work incorporates commute, work from home, desk job, or anything.
Stay in the loop
You’re not going to miss any important calls, messages, or notifications while the iPhone is kept in your pocket/bag or at a distance (another desk or room). You can:
Make calls or FaceTime audio calls from the Apple Watch. Answer, reject, or silence incoming calls. See/read notifications from a selection of apps. Reply to messages or emails. Share Memoji or pictures via messages or emails.
Focus modes for the win
While the Apple Watch understands your need to stay connected, it can also undertake the task of keeping distractions at a minimum. Features like Focus and Notification Summary help you stay in the moment, whether working or holidaying.
Take notes
I know the small screen of the Apple Watch isn’t note-taking friendly. But an idea doesn’t check whether you have iPhone/Mac or pencil and paper handy when it strikes. So, we make do with what we have on our hands. And thanks to the native Voice Memos app and some amazing third-party note-taking apps, the task is not too difficult.
Siri
Apple’s voice assistant is pretty handy on the Apple Watch. You can ask Siri to
Answer some important or funny questions Start a timer Send a message Find you a route or nearby services and direct you towards the destination Set a Focus mode Announce calls or notifications on supportive ear/headphones Your schedule for the day and more. Open a certain app
And this is just the tip of the iceberg. The Apple Watch also supports Siri Shortcuts, so you can even ask Siri to clear all notifications, change the watch face as per time/location, send default replies, and more.
5. It keeps up with your fun
The Apple Watch knows that all work and no fun can make its owner a dull one. So, it incorporates features that help you let your hair down.
Music
Although not from its speakers, Apple Watch supports music listening via Bluetooth devices (earbuds, speakers, etc.). Moreover, you’re not limited to Apple Music; there are a host of third-party music apps that incorporates a companion Apple Watch app. And not only music, but you can also play audiobooks, podcasts, and radio. Remarkably, the Apple Watch also offers Shazam support, i.e., you can also recognize the song playing in the background; just ask Siri which song is this.
Games
Don’t rub your eyes; you’re not reading an anomaly. In fact, you can play a host of interesting and fun games on the Apple Watch. Agreed, they are not Apple Arcade standards; nonetheless, they can relax, distract, and pass your time.
Apps galore
Apple Watch has an exhaustive array of apps in its App Store. You’ll find an app for almost anything you need, emails, weather, home automation, calculators, podcasts, expense managers, golf, etc. Overall, you won’t get bored or left stranded if you have the Apple Watch and the right apps by your side.
6. It keeps up with your family and friends
It’s insane how much Apple Watch can do to keep you connected with your family and friends, especially now that we have Family Setup and Health Sharing.
Family Setup
Pair more than one Apple Watch with your iPhone, and set up a watch for kids or older people. And while the Apple Watch will support all features, the parent/child will have control over certain features like:
Content and App Store restrictions Apple Cash Family – Load money for Apple Pay Emergency SOS Notification Current location via Find My Manage to call permission and set Schooltime schedule (only for kids) View health-related information
Health Sharing
We can’t be everywhere and monitor every little detail of our parents, partners, or kids’ life. However, thanks to Apple Watch, you can at least keep an eye out on their health stats. When enabled, you can view the health data of a fellow Apple Watch user. Depending upon the permission given while setting up, you can get an overview of cardiac health (heart rate), sleep metrics, exercise minutes, etc. You can even view health trends they have established or broken recently. Moreover, the setting alerts you if there’s an emergency, like when a fall is detected, or a metric is out of order.
7. It keeps up with the Apple ecosystem
Along with family/friends, Apple Watch is also a master at keeping you connected with your Apple devices. For instance, you can unlock your iPhone and Mac from your Apple Watch. Neat, right? You can also ping the paired iPhone via Apple Watch to find its location and vice-a-versa. Plus, thanks to Handoff, you can switch Apple Watch tasks like typing messages, passwords, app names, etc., to iPhone. Interestingly, the Apple Watch also boasts AirPlay compatibility. And albeit limited in its functionality because you can’t AirPlay from the watch, you can surely use it as an AirPlay remote for content streaming from the iPhone. There’s more; Apple Watch can double as Apple TV remote, HomeKit remote, and iPhone Camera trigger; you can connect AirPods and switch between devices with ease. Overall, I could say that Apple Watch seamlessly closes the loop of Apple’s ecosystem.
8. It keeps up with your privacy
Apple keeps privacy at the core of every device, feature, and service it releases, and the Apple Watch is no different. Whether it is App privacy labels, lock screen passwords, notification privacy, or clarity on data being shared via Activity Sharing or Health Sharing, everything is built with keeping the user’s privacy as a priority. You can check out the detailed article on Apple Watch security features or trust Apple.
9. It keeps up with your lifestyle
I have already established how Apple Watch keeps you connected and supports you during work, workout travels, etc. So, it indeed keeps up or molds into your style of living. However, there are also some more social advantages to owning an Apple Watch. First and foremost, it carries Apple’s signature sleek and minimal design philosophy. To put it simply, it looks rich and panache. Furthermore, you get endless options for Apple Watch accessories, from bands and cases to charging stands. So, you can customize the looks to suit your style statement. Another interesting Apple Watch feature includes support for Apple Pay, hotel/home keys, transit cards, Covid-19 vaccination cards, etc., that’ll make your day-to-day tasks quicker. Then there are accessibility features like VoiceOver, zoom, braille display, gestures/Assistive Touch, Accessibility Shortcuts, etc., to ensure that everyone can use the Apple Watch seamlessly.
Things to consider before buying an Apple Watch
I hope by now, you’re convinced that Apple Watch is more than a mere accessory. And that this smartwatch would be a worthwhile investment. However, before you click that buy now button, here are a few things you should consider.
Do you have an iPhone?
While Apple Watch works fine independently, it still needs to be paired with an iPhone to function. And some features can only be managed and accessed through an iPhone. So, if you don’t have an iPhone, you can’t have an Apple Watch.
Would it affect your digital addiction?
It’s funny that the device we depend upon for digital minimalism is a digital device itself. Although I must say, Apple Watch has helped me and many others like me to minimize their daily device usage. Instead of unlocking the iPhone and falling down the deep pit of scrolling, I now quickly and swiftly see my watch for updates, reply to that need attention, and move on with my workflow.
Is it worth the expense?
Yes, especially if you compare it with other smartwatches in the market. However, the price is somewhat worth it when considering seamless compatibility, accurate data metrics, and privacy-intensive features. Signing off… Have any more features that should make a user buy Apple Watch? Share them with us in the comment section below. Thinking of buying an Apple Watch now, don’t miss on these resources:
7 Best places to buy refurbished Apple Watch How to pair Apple Watch with iPhone 45 helpful Apple Watch tips and tricks: Be a pro How to use Heart Rate Zone tracking on Apple Watch
