Hellobee Boards

I have an Apple Watch, and I love it, mainly for running/workouts. Instead of wearing a Fitbit and a Garmin and carrying an iPhone I now just have one thing.

I have a Wear OS (Google smart watch), I know it's compatible with iPhone and Android, but haven't used it with Apple OS so can't speak to that part.

The one I bought is by fossil with wear os tech. I love that it's waterproof, heart rate monitor, step tracker AND texts, apps, and maps. I haven't tested the true limits of the "wireless" aspect of how far from your phone you can get, but it's supposed to have quite a bit of range.

One small part I really like is interchangeable bands (I know Apple watches have that too) so I can go from a sport band to a metal band whatever is outfit appropriate.

But this is coming from a person that feels naked without a watch. Like I think I've worn one almost daily for at least 12 years.

I primarily bought it for the health benefits. The S4 (and S5) have the ability to take EKGs and detect irregular heart rhythms. I use it on myself and my husband regularly. It also has a passive heart monitoring app that will alert you of anything strange. Fall detection is another big one (note that you have to turn it on in settings). The number one cause of injuries and death at home are falls—usually on the stairs or in the bathroom. I have a joint disease that makes me unsteady on my feet sometimes, so I always wear it just in case. If you fall, it asks you if you’re okay, and if you don’t respond for one minute, it automatically calls EMS and texts your emergency contact.

I also have the HRV app that measures your stress levels. Using the Breathe app does seem to help bring my stress levels down, and I’ve been able to see for myself how other activities (practicing music, cleaning, exercise) reduce my stress levels. Seeing that quantifiable feedback makes me do those things more.

We don’t have a landline, so I’ve taught my five year old how to press and hold the crown and tell Siri to call 911. The call automatically goes to speaker phone, so it would be much easier for her to talk to the operator than on my cell phone.

I use the infograph face, which has nine complications in addition to telling the time. It tracks:

Streaks: There are six habits I check off daily, and it shows how many I’ve completed so far.

Activity: The standard rings for exercise, standing, and active calories burned.

Timer: I use this so often I keep it on my watch face.

Fantastical: My calendar app displays the date, along with the next upcoming reminder or calendar event.

HRV Tracker: Displays the most recent stress level.

Weather Temp: Self explanatory.

Noise: When it gets above 70 dB, I tell my kids to quiet down.

I also use the watch when tuning my harp so I don’t have to hold my phone.

Sometimes I use a different watch face (modular?) that has more room on it so I can write notes using the Cheatsheet app (things like temporary codes I need to remember, room numbers, etc.).

Just Press Record allows me to make quick audio notes, and it automatically transcribes the notes and saves them to my phone.

I track my cycles with the health app.

AutoSleep tracks my sleep every night.

I use Voice in a Can to control Alexa from my wrist.

I use IFTTT to control my Kasa outlets for our lights (I bought a bunch on sale because they said HomeKit compatibility was coming, but they recently said it won’t integrate with Siri).

You can’t download Spotify songs for offline playback yet (just Apple Music), but there’s a workaround using Apollo that works fine: http://www.geekscorner.co.uk/get-apollo/

It’s great being able to listen to music or a Podcast with my AirPods and nothing else.

It wakes me up with the haptics without waking my husband.

I have access to my grocery list without my phone.

I control the music from my wrist when I’m taking a shower.

I can ping my phone from my watch when it’s lost.

I’m short, it’s been very useful as a productivity tool and a mean of keeping me away from my phone during the day.

@Hypatia: wow this basically convinced me to ask DH for an Apple Watch for Christmas