RHYS BOWEN: We are not exactly in the forefront of technology in our house. John had a flip phone until I finally put my foot down when, for the zillionth time I landed at the airport, called to be picked up only to hear his recording because he hadn’t turned it on! So I bought him an IPhone and guess what—he forgets to charge it for weeks. So I land at the airport and …. Get his recording.
I’ve never been one for gadgets. Strangely enough that is John. We have the bread maker and the bacon slicer and the onion cooker and the food sealer and the air fryer and the juicer and even the battery powered shoe polisher.
But I like to be organized. I have always loved agendas. I used to love my Dayrunner. But then something happened:
The Dayrunner begat the Compac electronic diary. Which begat the Palm Pilot, Which begat the Blackberry which begat the iPod, which begat the iPad, then the iPhone and the Mac. So now I’m thinking of getting an Apple Watch. I didn’t consider it before because it’s big and I’ve always gone for small watches. 
But events have propelled me toward making the decision: I know nobody needs a watch these days with their phone nearby but I like to glance at my wrist to see when I have to leave. Remember the Jack In the Box commercial when the intern calls Jack’s wristwatch “Your little wrist clock” as if she’s never seen one before.
I’ve been a Swatch girl for ages. I love Swatches with their fun patterns and the fact that I can swim without taking them off. But they have silicone bands that have started to irritate my wrist. So I’ve been walking around with a bare wrist for a few weeks, glancing down every now and then to see that the time is two hairs past a freckle.
So I need a different watch. I have Seikos: four to date. But I don’t like them. The metal bands are uncomfortable and I have to take them off to swim and shower.
So I’m seriously looking at Apple Watches. I can see the benefits: I wouldn’t have to carry my phone around with me all the time. I could leave it in a sensible place where I could find it instantly. (yeah, right! I have to call it from my house phone hundreds of times a day because I’ve left it somewhere). And I’d get my texts, and record my steps and laps And it would warn me if my heart started mis-behaving. It hasn’t yet, but who knows? But it is super-big and clunky and I think it has a silicone strap that would also irritate my wrist. So I'm in a quandry.
Who has an Apple Watch? Who loves it? Hates it?
I love wearing a watch, but finding a battery for it has recently become a problem. Nevertheless, I'm not considering upgrading to a Smart watch that, despite its size, has a screen that is much too small for actually reading texts on it. I’ll stick with my phone . . . but my technology-obsessed daughter has a Smart watch and loves it.
ReplyDeleteJoan, I have a similar problem - I have quite a few watches, some of them old, and finding batteries is a pain. Also, for some reason every one has a slightly different size! Makes me wonder if watch batteries were yesterday's printer ink scam...
DeleteI have an Apple Watch and love it for keeping up with my steps, and my heart! I also like the fact that you have your calendar and reminders so close. And the texts. I don’t read my texts on my watch, but if something come up, I can grab my phone and be on my way more quickly.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteThey are really big. And as Joan says, it might be a lot easier for young eyes to read texts on them than for some of us.
ReplyDeleteMy daughter has one, and she wears it on their walks, and on their boat. I'm pretty sure she wears it to swim, and she can take and make calls on it. She's forever asking, "Can you hear me? I'm on my watch." Which still sounds strange to me. But she uses it for a lot of reasons, including as a step counter. It can even tell her how far she swims.
Like you, Rhys, I don't want to have my phone in my hand all day and night, just so I can press various buttons and find out what time it is. I have quite nice watches from various past chapters of my life, but the other day I decided I wanted something big and simple. I don't need another smart device, so I bought myself a $35 Timex. It has a big dial that my aging eyes can read easily, whether I want to tell 12-hour time or 24-hour time. If you press the stem, it lights up in the dark. That's it. That's all it does. The strap is a cheap but sturdy nylon ribbon that is easy to replace when it wears out, and long enough to fit my apparently-too-fat-for-the-fashion-industry wrist. I can get it wet, although I probably won't wear it swimming. If it breaks, it won't destroy my budget to get a new one. And it keeps pretty good time. I love it!
ReplyDeleteSounds like the Timex Weekender I bought several years ago. Except I quit wearing watches. Don't really need to know what time it is since I'm retired.
DeleteI think that's exactly what it is, Pat!
DeleteGigi, this is why I’ve worn Swatches for years. I can swim in them. Easy to read. However I’m now allergic to the bands. So time to move on
DeleteToo big for me, and I'm addicted badly enough to my phone that I don't want another temptation. John, however, adores his. It tracks all his exercise. Plus it picked up when his heart was racing way before he felt anything wrong. He talks on it, he laughs about texts, and he always knows where it is.
ReplyDeleteNo fancy watches for me. I'm sticking analog. I always have my phone in my back pocket, which tracks my steps. And I don't swim for exercise, anyway. Good luck with your choice!
ReplyDeleteTo begin, onion cooker ? It’s the first I hear of it.
ReplyDeleteAbout watch, I have a very small and ordinary one that I wear only when I go somewhere I think I’ll want to discreetly see what time it is.
One of my brothers recently bought an Apple Watch, advice from his therapist. He had no motivation to exercise even if he knew he needed it. With all the informations given by the watch, it really helped him. He likes it most of the time but find it a little tiring sometimes, especially when it says : breathe, adding how to do it. It happened on the road last time he came to see me and during our supper, weird :)
And Rhys, I began God Rest Ye, Royal Gentleman yesterday and can’t put it down, happily reading.
DeleteSmall ceramic pot. Cut up onion put it in microwave. Cooks perfectly
DeleteI have a friend who’s getting one for its emergency alert call button thingie - the I’ve-fallen-and-I-can’t-get-up button - she’s alone and living off the beaten track
ReplyDeleteIt is large … and expensive … and needs to be charged … still lots in its favor
That was me - hallie
ReplyDeleteI don’t wear a watch, but I might need to in the future. Our daughter gave V a watch about 3 years ago. He has achieved 90 years and we were both concerned about his having a fall. I can confirm, it works. Recently V has actually used it as his phone. Not bad at 95, but really I think most of the functions are Greek to him. I am mentally fighting the need to count every act in
ReplyDeleteMy life. The thought of all that counting exhausts me.
For travel, I have an inexpensive watch with a large face I can read without my glasses. Otherwise, if I need to know the time I check the clock on the microwave or my car dashboard, though it might be off an hour.
ReplyDeleteI really wish I had a pocket watch! I should just go buy one, shouldn't I?
ReplyDeleteIf you own garment with pockets, Judy! Most of mine don’t have any. Chain around neck?
DeleteIf you are getting an Apple Watch, now is a good time with the Series 7. I have had one for several years. I am trying to get my Mom (who lives on the other coast) to get one. Aside from all those factors you listed, there is also the “fall” alert. I do read texts on them, and sometimes answer texts as well. (Short answers- I also found that voice to text works better on the watch than the phone! Go figure) I agree the standard bands are less than optimal. So I would suggest paying extra for one of the nicer, premium bands ( they have metal ones and leather ones, etc). It may seem pricey but a good watch is an investment. And since you swim, you might want two bands- one that you swap out for the pool. I have also just recently upgraded my Apple subscriptions to the Apple One bundle and discovered Apple Fitness and Am loving it. Along with strength and HIIT workouts, they have dance, Pilates, yoga, and now meditation. And if you have equipment at home, cycling and rowing. The great thing is many of these can be customized by time 19, 20, or 30 minutes. So depending on how busy your day is, you can fit something in. And it all tracks on the watch.
ReplyDeleteSo overall a big recommendation from me!
Thank you. I like the look of the metal band
DeleteHappy Birthday, Hank!!
ReplyDeleteOld fashioned watches for me, Rhys. The smart phone took some getting used to and although I use technology, it's only helpful if it works;-)
Thank you!
DeleteI love my Apple Watch, Rhys, and vote YES for you getting one. I am a bilateral cochlear implantee so I'm always on the lookout for technology which makes my hearing situation easier. With the Apple Watch there are so many visual options and apps that make my life easier. If I am not at home and need to set a wakeup alarm I can do that on my Apple Watch and the notification buzz is certainly sufficient to wake me. At home I love seeing texts and phone calls as they come in. I also set alarms for the end of wash or dry cycles on laundry day. My techie son and grandson have me connected to a walkie talkie feature which comes in handy if we're at an event. I was initially concerned about the size of the Apple Watch on my wrist but I've adapted quite easily. When I upgrade my Cochlear devices there's a direct link via an Apple app to stream to my devices and to change settings on my devices.
ReplyDeleteSo all in all I love my Apple Watch.
Rhys,
ReplyDeleteThough I have an iPhone (as a Deaf person, it is essential) and an iPad (for reading ebooks), I do not have an Apple Watch.
When I travelled to England in the 1990s, I remember a British employee at the Heathrow airport who helped me. His watch was Swatch ? and I noticed that it was also a pager. You could see the one line text in the middle of the watch face.
If you decide to get an Apple Watch, please let us know how you like it.
Happy Sunday,
Diana
Last year I opened a box of Mom's Christmas ornaments to find her watch sitting in the middle of it. Surprise! I was tempted to add it to my tree. Now to find that one place that still puts in batteries.
ReplyDeleteApple watches - My sister has a watch that monitors her steps, tells how many calories she has eaten if she is honest about what she enters, reminds her to take her meds, monitors her heart (I think) and tells her how much sleep she got, or in her case, hasn't gotten. I think it also tells her what kind of sleep she had the night before. I think it talks to her Kindle or phone so she can read this information on a bigger screen. She usually has to order a charging cord when she comes to my house which I very carefully kept safe until her next visit only to find she upgraded and the carefully saved cord wouldn't work on the new watch. Now I'm wondering if she has to put it into airplane mode. I've thought about getting one, it sounds like a good tool if I were really interested in keeping that kind of information about myself. But am I really interesting spending more time on technology everyday? I do miss having a easy way to find the time without having to look at my phone, Kindle, computer screen. I've always liked a watch with a face and all the numbers, 1 - 12, when I was teaching preschool. Not helping am I?
Hey, my Facebook just popped a message on my screen saying it's Hank's birthday. Happy birthday!
Whoa, that Facebook! But thank you! xx
DeleteHank,
ReplyDeleteHappiest of birthdays!
Diana
OH, thank you! xoo
DeleteAs I said to Gigi I don't even wear a normal watch these days. I'm definitely not interested in counting steps, monitoring my heart, or any of the health/exercise functions. I just want to be in the moment without anything recording it or prompting me to do something else. If that makes me a crabby old thing, so be it!
ReplyDeleteMy daughter loves her Apple watch, not for telling time, but for all the gadgetry. It's like Dick Tracy with her talking to her wrist! A new model just came out and she's ready to get it.
ReplyDeleteWe have a friend with serious health issues who wears one that monitors her O2 levels, her heart rate, and several other things. It also will call for help if she falls. She did something recently that had it asking if she needed it to call for help. She didn't, but it's good to know she's got that covered.
I like analog watches, and I will often wear one when I go out because it's so much easier to glance at for the time than hauling my phone out of my purse or pocket.
ReplyDeleteI see the advantages of an Apple watch, but I'd like to become LESS connected, not more, and the idea of a constant stream of updates just makes me feel tired.
I am with you on the less connected, Julia. The phone is bad enough without another device to distract me!
DeleteI used credit card points earlier this year to get the cheapest Apple Watch. I love it for many of the reasons already mentioned. I haven't worn a watch in years, but got used to the Apple Watch very quickly...only the thickness bothers me when I occasionally bang it against things. (Though I wish they'd "pretty" it up to look nicer.) Rhys, Apple and 3rd-parties sell bands and you should be able to find something you like. This summer I've been wearing mine with Apple's "Sport Loop" band which is nylon and velcro. It's adjustable, waterproof, fairly comfortable, but the plastic strip part catches on things occasionally. The Apple Watch version 7 has been announced, but isn't available yet, but like the existing models it comes in two sizes, various metals, several colors, AND with or without cellular connection. If you get cellular, there is an additional monthly fee, but you can use it for phone calls even without a phone. I don't have cellular and just have my phone nearby (e.g., in the house somewhere or in my bike bag when I'm biking). I'm not sure if the Walkie-Talkie feature works on a non-cellular Apple Watch, I haven't tried it. The Apple Watch interfaces beautifully with the phone, for example, if using GPS to go somewhere your Watch will have the basic instruction and vibrate when you need to do something "Turn left" watch vibrates when you are approaching that left turn. One last point...it has to be charged for about an hour every day. Good luck with your decision!
ReplyDeleteI should have said, I got the cheapest model of Apple Watch version 6, that got me the latest features, but used less mileage points.
DeleteI can't wait to read these comments. I have exactly the same thought. I love my fitbit, and sometimes I get my text messages from it, but only sometimes, and I don't know why. But I do love that!
ReplyDeleteI wear a fitbit on one wrist, but often my watch on the other. And I hardly ever look at my phone to see what time it is.
ReplyDeleteI stopped wearing my watch during COVID isolation . . . and started using my flip phone more than ever before, to call for parking lot delivery of food orders and to gain admittance to the allergist's office, "I'm here." I toyed briefly with the idea of making my phone "smarter" but with each such step, there's a necessary period of learning to use it, and I'd rather read a book. GOD REST YE was splendid! Thanks and "please, may I have some more." (no pressure, though, good work takes time ;-)
ReplyDeleteThank you, Mary. I’m glad you enjoyed the book. And I’m already writing the next one!
DeleteAnd I often have characters in my books looking at their watches, and my editor wonders why. Isn't that funny?
ReplyDeleteHysterical, Hank! And scary.
DeleteWe think like old fogies. Editors are 21!.
DeleteI have to make sure my characters look at "the time" not a watch or a clock.
DeleteStarted listening to God Rest Ye Royal Gentlemen this morning. Delightful!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteThis is a dilemma. I’d like one but I can barely see my phone with readers so I fear the watch would be too small for me. I do love a good watch, tho. You could always order a leather strap to go with the watch. Maybe?
ReplyDeleteJenn, I think you can adjust the font size. My sister has a lot of different bands for hers & they are easy to change.
DeleteI'm a gardener, and I was forever getting soil caught in the watch strap. So I got a pendant watch that I wear on a necklace. When I'm in the garden, I just tuck it inside my shirt.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great solution!
DeleteMy husband has had an Apple Watch for years and kept suggesting I get one, but I resisted. I loved wearing my great-aunt’s retirement watch and didn’t need a device making me feel bad about myself by constantly telling me to breath, stand up, get more steps, etc. then one day I woke up with a pinched nerve sending shooting pains down my arm so I put on his watch to check if I was having a heart attack (I know, it comes with all sorts of warnings that it doesn’t actually diagnose heart attacks). As I mostly exercise on my own (cycling) it seemed like a good safety feature, so I got one. The nice thing is you can choose the level of intrusiveness, so if you don’t want to be super connected, you don’t have to be. Since I keep my phone on silent most of the time, the watch helps alert me to calls when the phone is in my bag or the next room.
ReplyDeleteMy sister got an Apple Watch a year ago & loves it. She can’t carry her phone around at work. Hers is pretty slim & she has a variety of bands for it, some dressier & some sport bands. Most of the bands she ordered from Amazon & were inexpensive.
ReplyDeleteI'm an analog girl. I didn't wear a watch for years because of a metal allergy, but a couple of years ago Rick found me a watch made by a company called Boccia. The metal parts are solid titanium, not plated, and totally hypoallergenic. And waterproof. Mine has a really pretty leather band. That said, I have not worn it since the pandemic, because I haven't been much of anywhere and I don't like wearing a watch in the house. Anything on my wrist bothers me when I type and do chores like cooking and dishes. I keep my phone in my pocket but seldom look at it for the time, as I have a clock fetish, apparently. We have a clock in every room in the house!
ReplyDeleteI keep my old Fitbit (which doesn't track anything but steps) in my pocket instead of on my wrist. The only problem is that pockets are a necessity of life for me!
Hank, happy birthday!!!!
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday, dear Hank!
ReplyDeleteI hate to admit this, but I've had an Apple Watch sitting in its unopened box for close to a year. When I upgraded to iPhone12, I got it as a bonus offering, which I clearly did not understand. I have to learn to say that I just came for a phone and that's all I want. And, what's worse, I was paying for usage of it for several months before I realized it and turned it off. Geesh. Now, my daughter has one and loves it.
ReplyDeleteJulia and Debs mentioned being less connected, and I think I might be headed that way. I've been considering cutting way back on FB, and I actually have a bit already. I sometimes think that being "online" adds to stress, and my doctor mentioned this back in the summer when I was having some high anxiety moments.
Happy Birthday, Hank!
ReplyDeleteI’ve been wearing a watch ever since I was in the second grade. I can’t imagine going without a watch! My first watch was a Cinderella watch that I got for Christmas. I still have the watch my parents gave me when I graduated from high school 54 years ago, and it still works. Unfortunately, I can’t see the face of it at all! Currently, I wear a Fitbit and I love it. When I bought it I was torn between the Fitbit and an Apple Watch. Now I’m thinking of perhaps upgrading to an Apple Watch because I like the idea of being able to use it as a medical alert system too.
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday Hank!!
DebRo
For all of you who keep a land line just to find your Smart phone -- my Fitbit has a "find your phone feature". Swipe past the clock face a couple times, press the button and your Smart phone beeps! Neat feature (in addition to keeping bad track of your steps, sleep, heart beat, etc.
ReplyDeleteDar Simpson
I've loved watches ever since my parents gave me one from Switzerland for my 6th birthday! Now I wear a Fitbit, and I buy fun, stretchy bands on Amazon, that look like bracelets.
ReplyDeletegt2
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