Along this topic of Apple Watch, does anyone have a "killer"/"can't live without now"/"actually makes the watch more useful" app they use (other than watchOS defaults)?
I love what apple has built around it - health and fitness monitoring primarily but also siri integration (setting reminders, alarms, timers etc).
Generally on the health and fitness aspects the only accessories I find useful are a connected scale and connected blood pressure monitor (both from withings). The data is shared from the withings app to the health app (and I don't let the withings app read any data from health) so I can see that info along with everything else.
I do wish either the health or fitness apps on iPhone had better analytics, data visualization, and comparison tools or made them easier to find. They do have some good ones but it takes more taps than I'd like and I wish there were more breakdowns.
Makes it very easy to track this data over the longterm automatically - especially BP which I can then show my doctor at my annual physical of how I'm doing especially since white coat syndrome can affect readings they take.
I find having this data very motivating and I can use it to calibrate my days and weeks.
I don't deeply trust many of the metrics but anecdotally it's very accurate for the amount I'm sleeping, which is mainly what I'm concerned with
“Sleep sufferers” as in insomniacs and sleep-apnea folks. I’m lucky to be both. :/
Ping authentication is really nice.. I can leave my phone anywhere in the house and still validate VPN authentication requests.
Wallet -- wrist tap to pay.
These alone would keep the watch on my wrist.
That Google doesn't let me authenticate Gmail app 2FA by phone seems.. silly (does it? have I missed that?).
Do you mean by watch? From what I'm aware google prompt only works in the google/gmail applications for iOS.
(Not really "can't live without" but that, to me, justify the cost of buying and the routine of wearing.)
I do sometimes want to track or do some things in a certain way that the default apps don't... but I can ever seem to find an existing app to do it either. The apps exist but don't work the way I want any better than the built-in ones.
(Since I'm a developer, I sometimes whip up a prototype watch app myself, though I have to admit that while some have proved useful for a while, none have become a killer app for me, no matter how much I thought I wanted it originally. I do like my couch to 5K app.)
I can also use the watch to pay for stuff anywhere. I can go on a jog and reward myself with ice cream half way (stupid: yes, fun: also yes) without needing to carry my phone or wallet with me.
That combined with a list of curated apps that can notify me on the watch help me not check my phone as often. If my watch vibrates it's something I actually need to take action on, and it's easier to quickly glance at it compared to a phone.
I've written Watch apps (It's a pain in the ass). I haven't really found a compelling driver for it, though.
That might change, as the hardware improves.
But also nice to allow the watch to act as a wifi hub so that I can if needed carry an iPad if I need to look at things.
I thought the thread was what would be the killer feature that you wanted.
Which is not what this part is about.
Closest is when I’m trying to do a workout circuit and I don’t have my phone I use Seconds. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/seconds-pro-interval-timer/id3...
However I prefer to use Seconds on the phone so I can see the timer without looking at my wrist.
- SmartGym for tracking reps without my phone.
- Paprika with my grocery list. Much easier to flip over my wrist while pushing a cart than pull a phone out.
- Pocket Casts for selecting podcasts on a dog walk.
Honestly, none are worth buying an Apple Watch for but the notifications & built-in fitness tracking are really the selling points anyway.
I like that the watch provides some benefits like sleep tracking + vibrating alarm for a calmer wakeup, and buzzing on my wrist while using maps on silent to remind me a turn is coming.
I can live without the benefits the watch provides. Sometimes I take it off for days because I find wearing watches hurts/annoys my wrists (I had pocket watches until cellphones/PDA's took over for this reason). Although I am amazed that it's more comfortable than other smart watches/fitness bands I've tried to wear in the past.
I've turned off all other features/notifications on my Apple Watch, it just does this, and it's the most valuable product I use (since I no longer have to pull out an insulin pump in a meeting, look at some other screen to see glucose values, etc etc etc).
What do you think is preventing more development for the watch?
But it is a killer feature that makes the watch a must have, and since I'm on the iOS stack, it might as well be an apple watch.
* Stocard - gym / loyalty cards.
Speaking of messaging, I monitored several whatsapp groups, but I don't need to answer all messages. I did that on my PC; if I received a notification in my PC, but didn't interact with it, my phone would ding a few second later, and if I ignored that too, my watch would ding/vibrate a few seconds later. This is probably Meta's implementation, but getting triple notifications made day-to-day a bit more annoying.
I also tried to use it to track exercise, which I usually do at home. I saw no advantages compared to regular timing and counting, and didn't find the gamification of exercise engaging, because I was already doing it.
I got the watch during the pandemic, primarily for the oxymeter and ECG in case I had COVID (which I had). The oxymeter worked well, but the ECG wasn't enabled in my country until late 2022.
Maybe it's become better now, but I sold mine before it became too old. Except for the automatic health monitoring, it made things a bit more of a hassle instead of making them simpler.
Also, mine would automatically go into “Sleep Focus” (previously “Do Not Disturb”) during sleep time, which muted notifications. Not sure why yours wouldn’t do that.
Do you want to get those notifications in all three places in case you only have one of the devices with you? I’d just turn WhatsApp notifications off everywhere but my computer if I were you (if I were me I’d just turn them ALL off ;)