Will you buy an Apple Watch?

[harshness]

The Emporer's new wristwatch.

 

[Foxbat]

Where’s the animated roll-eyes Emoji when you need it? Apple announced that one of the features in the new watchOS will be an automatic countdown timer when it detects you are washing your hands based on motion and “soapy” sounds and running water. After the CDC recommended 20 seconds, the Haptic Engine will remind you that, once again, owning an Apple Watch has saved your life.

 

[harshness]

Where’s the animated roll-eyes Emoji when you need it?

Apparently Apple doesn't think their customers can correctly wash their hands (as if we all set our phones down near the sink).

 

[navychop]

= : rollingeyes without space after colon.

 

[TheForce]

I’ve long debated about getting an Apple Watch again. Got my wife series 1 and she didn’t like the battery life or the fact it didn’t track her steps as good as her Fitbit so we sold it. Then I got a series 2 for myself . Had it for awhile but wasn’t impressed with the battery life. Now that series 5 has been out , has either of those things improved with the watch ? The health tracking and battery life ??


Sent from my iPhone using SatelliteGuys

Longest I ever got was with my series 3. I have a series 4 now and it lasts for 2 days so I put it on charge every other night as it is usually down to 35% when I do. It would probabkly make it to the following mid afternoon if I didn't charge every other day.

The only thing that I don't think works as good as claimed is the EKG which is tricky to get a good reading. I have the cellular version and both my wife and I love just taking calls on the watch. She often just leaves home without her iphone and uses the watch. I still carry my iphone.

 

[Foxbat]

I was sure that I was going to go for the Apple Watch Titanium to save weight and get the sapphire crystal instead of the Gorilla Glass, but then I read about how Titanium can be destroyed by the fluoride in tap water and thought “great, here’s another case of Apple doing something because it sounds cool” but it’s going to come back and bite the consumer. So, I stayed away, waiting for the next great feature to be added.

ApplePay with the Apple Watch would be great in this day of contactless payments but you still need to activate the watch to allow it to pay. At least that doesn’t involve removing your face mask for FaceID or your gloves for TouchID.

 

[TheForce]

That's just you looking for an excuse. Before I got my Apple watch I wore a Tissot T-Touch Titanium for more than a dozen years including diving in salt water rinsing it off in tap water after the dive. Unless you store your watch in Sodium Fluoride solution every day, you're not going to have a problem. Besides, I prefer stainless and the weight doesn't bother me. My wife wears a stainless too. Her first aluminum Apple watch did get a bit of a skin sweat coating after 3 years but by then the technology dictated getting updated. We both updated to stainless. Mine is gold 'stainless. I too like the sapphire durability and if it is in the budget, I highly recommend it for active people. My active daughter has already shattered two cheap Apple watches.

I also recommend getting the cellular version. My wife went backward to my AW3 with cellular from her AW4. She didn't want to spend the money until we are ready for the next tech upgrade. I plan to do that when they add more health monitoring features. If you use Apple Pay the watch really does make it easy. Since they introduced Apple Pay I have yet to use it with my iphone. The watch is so much easier.

 

[rvvaquero]

I have Apple Watch questions and I know this is the place to get answers. It applies to the cellular feature.

If I buy the one with cellular ability, is it a different phone number or does it mimic your cellphone. In other words, do I just receive forwarded phone calls that come in to my cellphone or do I now have two phone numbers for people to call me on?
I'm with Verizon postpaid. Do they just add the watch as a second phone, or is there a reduced cost to add it because it is just an extension of the cellphone? I really don't want to call Verizon for this if you guys can answer. I despise talking to CSR's.

Thanks.

 

[rad]

I have Apple Watch questions and I know this is the place to get answers. It applies to the cellular feature.

If I buy the one with cellular ability, is it a different phone number or does it mimic your cellphone. In other words, do I just receive forwarded phone calls that come in to my cellphone or do I now have two phone numbers for people to call me on?
I'm with Verizon postpaid. Do they just add the watch as a second phone, or is there a reduced cost to add it because it is just an extension of the cellphone? I really don't want to call Verizon for this if you guys can answer. I despise talking to CSR's.

Thanks.

I’m on AT&T, the watch gets a different number but calls come I using the same number as your phone. Don’t know VZ pricing but AT&T is $10+tax per month.

 

[rvvaquero]

I’m on AT&T, the watch gets a different number but calls come I using the same number as your phone. Don’t know VZ pricing but AT&T is $10+tax per month.

Thanks for your reply. I have another question if you don't mind.

I'm looking at the SE model, which is similar to the Apple Watch 6 but with a couple less health features and a slightly slower processor. Is the audio on these watches good enough to have a phone conversation without using ear pods of some type?

Thanks again.

 

[rad]

Thanks for your reply. I have another question if you don't mind.

I'm looking at the SE model, which is similar to the Apple Watch 6 but with a couple less health features and a slightly slower processor. Is the audio on these watches good enough to have a phone conversation without using ear pods of some type?

Thanks again.

If you’re in a quiet area and it’s a short call it’s been OK for me.

 

[TV Junkie]

I’m on AT&T, the watch gets a different number but calls come I using the same number as your phone. Don’t know VZ pricing but AT&T is $10+tax per month.

Yeah verizon "companion" price is same as are features (seperate number linked to cell)

 

[rvvaquero]

Thanks. Question about Verizon. It is $10 to add a watch to my plan. I asked at Best Buy cellphone dept. and two different Verizon website chat sessions and they all said that there are no fees added to that. Yet, when I do a Google search, I see people saying you pay the same Administrative, Fed Universal service, 911, etc etc. fees as any other line you add. Those fees on my phone are almost $5.

What is your experience with Verizon and fees?

 

[TheForce]

Here you go: (Verizon in Florida)

Surcharges​

$2.49

​

Fed Universal Service Charge


$0.33

​

Regulatory Charge


$0.21

​

Administrative Charge


$1.95
What are Surcharges?
Surcharges are discretionary charges, subject to change, not taxes, that we collect to fund certain governmental and other expenses.

Taxes and gov fees​

$0.95

​

FL State 911 Fee


$0.40

​

FL Communications Service Tax


$0.30

​

Jax/Duval Cnty Comm Srvc Tax


$0.25
What are taxes and gov fees?
We are required by law to collect these charges, based on your service address.

 

[rvvaquero]

Thanks Don.

I bought the SE model. It's a nice watch. So far, I haven't added a line for it, just using it on bluetooth and wifi. It's good to not have to carry my phone all over the house and yard. After using it for a while, I may add it's own line so I don't have to carry the phone with me at all.

 

[TheForce]

You can set up multiple watch faces with different complications (apps) you favor.
For responding to text and emails on the watch, use the voice to text feature.
Pair airpods to the watch for privacy and high quality music listening.

The Apple watch has so many advantages most people don't even know about. But- I'm not familiar with the SE version or it's limitations.

 

[rvvaquero]

Yes, I actually read the manual from start to finish twice before I received the watch. I am aware of the different faces, I have three already created. I've used voice to text for emails and texts on my phones for years, it's pretty easy to do on the watch also. I've only tried answering one phone call on the watch so far. The other person could hear me fine, but I had a little trouble hearing them because of my ambient noise. I think it's usable though.

I'm not a music person. Can you use just one of the air pods on a phone call? Do both pods have a microphone? I'm thinking I might get the pods for that, but don't like having two of them in my ears at once.

My understanding is that the SE is the same as the 6, except for four items.

1. The Apple Watch 6 uses the SIP6 processor and the SE uses the SIP5. I haven't found processing speed to be a problem yet, although they say the SIP6 is more efficient. That efficiency is sacrificed by #4 below.
2. The AW 6 has the ECG feature and SE does not. I get an EKG four times per year at the doctor, where they use 12 or 13 electrodes instead of the one used by the AW. Don't need the feature.
3. The AW 6 has built in oxygen sensor. I have an oximeter so can live without this feature also.
4. The AW6 has the always on face. I would like that, but didn't want to spend $200 extra for it.

The only real complaint I have about the watch is the battery longevity. After 24 hours, it still has about 45% power left, too soon to charge. However, it won't go 48 hours, so I can't get in a routine of charging it at the same time every day. I'll get used to that though, keeps me on my tows.

 

[TheForce]

Sorry for late reply but I rarely get to this section.

The EKG feature is good enough for AFIB detection. While you and I get regular EKG's at the doctor those are usually checks for the time you are being checked. The AW EKG is a tool you can use anytime to see if you have a problem when you might be experiencing something unusual. If you can check it and know you are not having heart problems, it can pout your mind at rest.

The Oximeter in the watch will check your O2 levels automatically throughout the day and is low alert you. The finger Oximeter only works when you use it.

Battery- I have the larger watch which has the larger battery. However, the older watch 3 and before would last me for 3 days. Since, the newer models only last 2 days. I don't use always on as that does drain the battery.

Typical practice with a rechargeable watch is to use it also as your alarm clock or bedside clock on a charging station. So, every night you could put it on the charging stand on it's side so the bedside clock and alarm clock is activated. It stays dark if you wish and lights up when it feels a slight movement or vibration. I just put it on the night time charger every other night and it runs down from 100% to 30% in about 42 hours. My wife has her own charging station on her side of the bed. The USB power center has a wireless charging top for the iphone. Here is the stuff I set up to for this:

Amazon product ASIN B085WN48XK
One thing I didn't like about this was the display panel is great for diagnostics, but annoying at night as it can't be turned off so I taped a piece of black plastic over the display that can be removed when necessary.

Amazon product ASIN B07M7SG2QN

 

[TheForce]

Finally, a really good wrist camera for the Apple watch. I've been waiting for something like this that actually works well and has decent quality.
It can shoot video in 720 or 1080 resolution. Both are pretty decent and you can select the aspect ratio as well.
The sound quality is kind of thin but for documenting a conversation it is adequate. What makes this different is that it is approved by Apple and carried the MFI certification. Currently it does not do Facetime but I understand they are working on it with a software update. You can send video messaging, however.
Whats cool is when shooting video or taking a still the Wristcam you see what you are shooting on the watch face. It has two cameras, one for personal face shot and the other camera shoots the landscape in front of you. Tap the screen camera icon to switch between the two cameras. It runs on it's own power and can auto transfer your pictures and video to your iphone while charging. Can hold and shoot about 30 minutes of HD video. Setup was easy process.
I ordered yesterday afternoon and it arrived today. Plenty of YT videos on this.

Amazon product ASIN B09399LS32View: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09399LS32/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1

 

[harshness]

I saw in a YouTube video the other day that Masimo Corporation, the soon-to-be parent company of Sound United (Denon, Marantz, Polk Audio, etc.), is suing Apple over the oximetery technology in the Apple Watch. The news is about nine months old but it seems like it could be a problem if Masimo wins.

Is anyone keeping up on this lawsuit?