Not Your Typical Apple Watch Review
A look into the more covert, unorthodox quirks of the Apple Watch.
I have to start with a disclaimer, I am not the most tech savvy guy you’ll ever meet. I am guilty to admit that I bought the Series 3 Apple Watch last December for a feature it didn’t have — Google Maps. Nevertheless, throughout the 7-month affair with this contraption, I have discovered several unique and quirky features that I never guessed would have benefited my life in ways so profoundly precise, that it seems like the gods over at Apple has spoken directly to my subconscious horological needs.
Also a disclaimer, as you can probably already tell from the title, this is not meant to be a tech-riddled, arbitrary term-infused specifications scorecard. This is my unique take on arguably one of the most shunned upon Apple product to date. That being said, if you want to read an actual professional review of the Watch, here’s one by Tech Radar.
Okay, now let’s get on with some of the cool features.
Forget the screen guards
The face of the Series 3 Apple Watch is made of either Sapphire Crystal, a mineral often comparable to Diamond in terms of strength, or a breed of reinforced glass Apple calls Ion-X. Both are very strong and durable in terms of day-to-day usability. My watch have seen the crude rocky walls of my apartment hall, kissed the marble floor a couple times, and felt the knocks of wooden edges, all without the cramped confines of a screen guard, which can annoyingly desensitise your Watch’s touchscreen abilities. For the average Joe like you and me, I think we can afford to skip the guards and put our trust to the robust screen build.
Took it swimming? No problem
Hey man, most watches are water-proof to begin with, what’s so special about these? You see, the Watch comes with a fully functional set of speakers, something most watches do not have. The problem with waterlogged speakers, as some of you are probably familiar with, are the annoying crackles and frizzles they make, which essentially renders them useless. The Apple Watch has a swivel wheel that you can turn to induce procurement of low-pitched reverberations that physically regurgitates these nasty little troublemakers. Epic stuff.
Use it as a magic wand for your house
The Apple Watch has a connectivity feature to the Home App of your iPhone, which grants it access to the various control options to your smart home, should you have a smart home, that is. Lock or unlock the front door, set your heater’s thermostat, or simply switch the kitchen lights off through the cozy confines of your living room couch. Alas, I don’t have the money to build myself a smart home, so that feature’s futile for me.
Other cool features worth mentioning
- You can use it as a walkie-talkie with other Apple Watch users, make yourself look like a real secret agent.
- The Series 4 Apple Watch has a 1-lead EKG! To healthcare practitioners like myself, quirks like these really get our juices flowing, but then again, I haven’t the financial resources yet to upgrade.
- You can use it as a photo clicker for your iPhone
- You can scribble replies to texts… with the risk of looking like a complete moron.
And now, a short exploration to the more occult benefits.
Never miss an alarm anymore
The all-too-common stock audio alarm that most of us hear on a daily basis can lose its effectivity over time. Some companies have even started offering extras to this, adding extraordinary and sometimes even outrageous prompts such as having to play a game in order to turn the alarm off or even charge you a monetary fine if you don’t get up. The solution Apple has proposed with their Watch is a simple yet incredibly useful one: a vibratory element. I know some people who are uniquely capable to sleep through their alarms, but there’s just no way you can sleep through a convulsing earthquake down your arm. You WILL get up. Plus, if you ever find yourself travelling and having to share rooms with other people (i.e. hostels), your alarm is practically soundless, and so you don’t risk civilian complaints with your early morning plans.
Become 100,000% more health-conscious
“How many steps have I taken today?”
“I’m one hour down from my daily standing goal? Shit”
I’m not gonna lie, now that I’ve written it down, the idea may seem quite pretentious, but I’ve been consistently managing daily workouts just to get those activity rings to transition into a beautiful, complete circle. And I’m not complaining, I’ve felt better than ever!
Never miss a call
I am one of those people who have a knack for keeping my phone in perpetual silent mode. No sound. Nada. I hate being disturbed off my routines. However, I am aware that the occasional phone calls can be quite urgent, and I’ve been countlessly saved by these festive vibratory prompts.
Extra fun fact: You can answer the call through the Watch and speak directly to it, but you risk looking like an absolute doofus. Discretion is advised.
Take more mindful breaks
In modern society’s prevailing high tempo hustle lifestyle, people are sometimes forcing their brain to juggle too many things at once. Being the biological organ that it is, their function becomes sub-optimal in these scenarios. Bound by hard-pressed deadlines and hectic schedules, we ignore their cues, and instead demand them for more. This creates a loop of physical and mental fatigue, causing your productivity to ultimately spiral down into oblivion. The idea is so frustrating that I need a breather just writing about it.
The Watch comes with a Breath app, which simply enough, is a breathing companion. The app guides you through a form of simple meditation that focuses on your breathing pattern. When you participate in this simple activity, you are giving your brain with much-needed downtime, sort of like restarting your overheated phone.
You can of course perform this without the Watch, but the beautiful graphics and friendly reminders are things you would not otherwise receive.
Closing off
The Watch is the third best investment I have made this year after the 2018 iPad and the my recently purchased iPhone XR. At only $280 in the US market (I’ve even seen some offered brand new at $199), I think everyone who needs a new watch and has some money to spare could benefit from this neat little widget.
Also, Apple if you see this please endorse me. I’ve practically talked one-third of my campus population into buying your iPad and the Pencil.
