There was a time, way back in the day, far into the last century, where I lived as an early adopter of modern technology. First, CP/M, dBase II, WordStar, SuperCalc, and then onto Lotus 1-2-3, the Mac and everything in between; a festering habit that lasted a few decades. In the past 10 years or so I’ve become more patient, perhaps more considerate of my money. I skipped the first generation iPhone and iPad, knowing there would be massive improvements within a year or two.
Then, about a year ago, I bought an Apple Watch.
My iPhone is set up with a growing number of notifications; alerts, alarms, blips, and beeps, electronic notices which seem to go off whenever my iPhone is tucked away in a pocket, either while driving or doing something whereby phone checking is conspicuous or inconvenient.
Early adopters usually tinker with their new devices over time, and that was mandatory with Watch. It was new, so software that took advantage of all Watch did was a trickle to the marketplace. After one year of use and many hours of tinkering with various apps and settings, Watch just works, even without the interface advantages coming in watchOS 3.0 in a month or so.
As much as Apple’s array of watch faces may look, I settled on the modular face because it takes more complications. Glances are worthy because they’re faster viewing than apps. In fact, with few exceptions- “Hey Siri… set an alarm for 5:15 PM“- I avoid apps and the honeycomb app launcher entirely.
My list of Watch Glances:
- Just Press Record - one tap to begin recording audio that syncs up with iCloud. Priceless.
- MacID - it locks your Mac when you step away, unlocks it when you get back.
- PCalc - just get it. Best calculator for Mac, iPhone, iPad, and on Watch.
- theScore - ESPN just doesn’t do it for me. The Cardinals are struggling, the Rams are in L.A. so I might ditch this one.
- Heartbeat - lower when I sleep or nap or rest, higher when I’m active.
- Pedometer++ - steps matter; the more walking I do, the better I feel. Goals matter.
- Dark Sky - almost worth getting a Watch just to use this micro-forecast app.
- 2Do - this is my go to todo app; Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Watch.
- Fantastical - its’ what Calendar would be if it was chocolate instead of vanilla.
- Due - fabulously simple alert system for Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Watch
- OfficeTime - because time is money
Those are just the Glances and from what I’ve seen of watchOS 3.0, they will be even better and faster.
What about Complications?
Even the modular watchface limits the number of complications but watchOS 3.0 should give us the option of switching to different watchface designs and layouts and get different complications. I look forward to that.
Regardless, early on I determined that Watch is little more than an iPhone accessory but the value of notifications, Glances, and complications outweighed the early adopter fear.