Will you buy an Apple Watch?

[harshness]

Maybe medical monitoring will be up to the point where I jump.

Anything in particular that you're looking to monitor?

 

[rvvaquero]

For anyone who is on the fence about trying out an Apple Watch, Walmart has some great deals on first generation SE watch. Just go to walmart.com and search for "apple watch se". I have owned one of these for over two years and it still is working great for monitoring calls and texts and many other features. I charge it every other night. I also bought an AW8 recently. I very seldom use the updated features, do enjoy the longer battery life though.

My sister said she would never wear a smart watch. I bought her one of these Walmart SE's, and she loves it, won't take it off. These are brand new with full warranty. Here's an example:

Robot or human?

On edit, forgot to mention that these are cellular capable.

 

[navychop]

Anything in particular that you're looking to monitor?

BP, pulse, heart and Parkinson’s etc detection. I know I can attach today a cuff.

Not too interested in functions such as calls, Apple Pay etc.

Haven’t worn a watch in many years.

I’m also concerned it will be hard to read.

 

[harshness]

BP, pulse, heart and Parkinson’s etc detection. I know I can attach today a cuff.

Of those, I expect only pulse and heartbeat monitoring are practical in a watch form factor.

Of the ten popular symptoms of Parkinson's, I reason that the only one a wrist-mounted device might be able to measure would be tremors/pill-rolling and that wouldn't be easy to distinguish from many regular activities (i.e. texting or knitting).

Being able to act as a readout for a full-time blood sugar monitor is very handy.

 

[Foxbat]

Haven’t worn a watch in many years.

I’m also concerned it will be hard to read.

Before I started wearing Mrs. Foxbat’s old Series 4, it had been about a decade since I wore my Seiko on a regular basis. I used my phone as my timepiece. I’m surprised how easy it has been to get back on that horse.

The display is easily read outside in daylight, not hard to make out. Your eyes are not my eyes, though. Apple will take back a purchase up to a fortnight, so if you tried one out and found you couldn’t deal with it after a week, you wouldn’t be out any money.

 

[dfergie]

My SE2 has been flaking out lately so I ordered & setup a 13 mini, during setup it automatically switched to my watch. Painless.

 

[TheForce]

I am really liking the rumors of the new features coming in the AW Ultra2 but I tried one on and it just felt to fat and large on my wrist. One of the rumors is that Apple may come out with a smaller version as soon as this Fall. No real leaks yet, only rumors but if they wish to sell the Ultra to more people they need to heed the opinions of their customers.

https://9to5mac.com/2023/06/15/smaller-apple-watch-ultra/

45mm is my limit but also the thickness of the Ultra is too much so make one with 45mm size even if the battery life isn't as good and thinner.

There are far more people who can't handle the 49mm size than those who are so big they desire an even bigger size. 63% in the survey say they prefer the smaller size option in the Ultra.

 

[navychop]

Good to hear about the 13 mini and iWatch. My wife has one, but has no interest in the watch. The seed has been planted. I think she’ll talk to her doctor about health monitoring.

 

[harshness]

I saw an Ultra at the local Xfinity store yesterday. It is comically large and is certainly not to be confused with jewelry.

 

[dfergie]

38 mm Series 3 is large enough for me, that's also reason for the SE2 and getting the 13 mini, no desire to carry an iPad mini in my pocket.

 

[TheForce]

Good to hear about the 13 mini and iWatch. My wife has one, but has no interest in the watch. The seed has been planted. I think she’ll talk to her doctor about health monitoring.

I have the series 6 Apple Watch. I haven't seen an iWatch but it was something by OMG Electronics and back in 2015 Apple tried to call their watch the iWatch but discovered the name was already trademarked in several countries, although I don't believe they ever made the concept for market.

Anyway, The Apple Watch series 6 offered the Afib EKG monitor. However it was notoriously difficult to get a good reading. Not until iOS 16 did it get better. Many things will give a bad reading and you have to repeat the test. If you are sweaty, move, hold your breath it will fail. You can watch the reading as the data is being collected but if the pressure of your finger on the crown changes the reading will fail. If successful you will get either a sinus rhythm result or Afib. If the later you can send the result to your cardiologist to go in for a multi lead EKG for verification and maybe the doctor will put you on a 30 day monitor.

It also has pulse measurement which is very accurate and a Blood Oxygen monitor, also accurate. The exercise rings are a good way to measure your fitness training including number of steps you walk or run. I use it to be consistent in my exercise sessions. I load all my health measurements on one watch face and weather reports on another and stock market monitor on another. You can load many watch faces like folders of similar apps.

I've always owned the SS model and never got a scratch on it. My wife has the Aluminum one and it just never stayed clean and the face got scratched up. When she upgraded we opted for SS for her too and, I feel it's worth the extra cost. I prefer a size that is comfortable on my wrist as large as possible so I don't need reading glasses to see the details of my email and text messages. We also have the cellular version and this allows us to travel leaving the iphone behind if the iphone becomes a problem.

 

[navychop]

Many thanks. And I’ll have to start using “Apple Watch.”

Just learned my doctor retired. See new doc August 31 and start over. Med history, current concerns etc.

 

[TheForce]

Many thanks. And I’ll have to start using “Apple Watch.”

BTW for us Tesla owners there is a really great app called Watch for Tesla. I can monitor both MS and MY switch between them It will display battery SOC and you can open the app and and access controls, lock, temperature, see charging stats for the past 30 days and a few other features. It doesn't do security cameras but another app I heard has that feature as well.

 

[TheForce]

We stopped in at the Apple store yesterday and I did a much longer evaluation of the size of the AW Ultra. I changed my mind on it and feel I could get used to the larger thickness after a short time wearing it. The trick will be sizing the band as it makes a difference how solid the fit will be. I tried several and the rubber one seems to be the best but I've never been a fan of AW rubber bands due to the sweat as they don't breathe. I use a metal dress band on mine now. All the bands for the SS AW will fit the Ultra which is a plus for me since I have a few different bands I like.

 

[Foxbat]

I tried several and the rubber one seems to be the best but I've never been a fan of AW rubber bands due to the sweat as they don't breathe.

Try the Nike Sport Bands, they are the same ”rubber” as the other Apple Sport Bands, but they have many holes to allow sweat to escape:

 

[klang]

I bought a few of these in different colors for some outdoor activities. Hard to beat at $6.99

Amazon product ASIN B0BFVNZM7J
View: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BFVNZM7J?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

 

[Foxbat]

I get home with 5-20% battery, but I try to quit apps I won’t be using. The Battery Health shows the following:

Apple will give $60 in trade for a new Apple Watch, but after September’s announcement, I am sure that will drop to zip.

Quick trip to the Apple Store this morning and now we wait:

I went with the Midnight and the Midnight Sports Band. Slowest part is updating the watchOS…

I’m answering Don’s question about my new Apple Watch in this Apple Watch thread instead of the iPhone 15 thread…

Which AW model did you get? Cellular? SS or Aluminum? My wife's first AW was Aluminum and it looked a mess after a year.

This is the 41 mm Midnight Aluminum GPS Series 8. Mrs. Foxbat had her Rose Gold Aluminum Series 4 for over four years and the case was in great shape. The crystal showed some fine scratches but did not deduct from the trade-in value.

My mobile plan is a pre-paid plan and I’m usually with my iPhone or close enough for a Bluetooth link, so getting the GPS+Cellular wasn’t worth it to me. I may feel differently after a year or so, in which case Foxbat, Jr. may get this as a hand-me-down. Also, the Series X may have the added biometrics that folks have been waiting for.

 

[TheForce]

Aluminum vs SS:
The aluminum case had what appeared to be a level of dried sweat of some coating in places. The edges of the plastic pace also had scratches. The band was very difficult to remove as there was a coating that developed in the little push button to release the band.

Glad you got some trade value on it. I wonder what Tesla Apple finds worth it in these watches for trade value. They don't sell used watches do they? Do they recycle the guts?

Edit- corrected brain block typo.

 

[navychop]

I believe I’ve seen ads for older Apple Watches for knock down prices recently. New old stock?

 

[Foxbat]

I wonder what Tesla finds worth it in these watches for trade value. They don't sell used watches do they? Do they recycle the guts?

Apple (not Tesla ) will refurbish certain watches by replacing the LiIon battery and crystal, either GorillaGlass or Sapphire depending on the model. If the case is scratched up, they will recycle it.

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