Thoughts on Apple Watch in 2021 : A Health Computer
So, I have been using Apple Watch practically since it launched back in 2015. I did not get one on launch day because I was a dork and scheduled an appointment with the Apple Store to try out the watches ahead of time since I was not 100% about which size I wanted and oh boy was I happy that I did. I drove 3x hours and met a friend for lunch before trying out the watches and went home that evening undecided between the sport model I thought I wanted and the stainless steel that caught my eye. I hemmed and hawed a bit unsure which one I should buy and ultimately settled on the stainless steel silver with the sport loop. I decided I wanted a “fancy” watch, but I still wanted it to be like my Fitbit for working out and whatnot and I could not justify the extra money for the leather or metal link bracelet (I still covet that band).
Back then, we were not sure what the Apple Watch would become. Apple half sold it as a digital computer on your wrist like the iPhone was with Apps and widgets, but at the same time a health device that acted as a premium Fitbit. With the Apple Watch Series 2 they pivoted hard into health and over time as the watch chipset has become more capable filled out that vision of wrist computer with Apps, Complications, Siri, Apple Pay, and HomeKit support, eventually gaining LTE as well. I’m presently on my third Apple Watch, with me going from the Generation 1 to the Series 3 to the Series 5 and have been very happy with each of my upgrades.
A Health Computer
With the latest version of the software, Apple has continued to refine the formula, most importantly adding native sleep tracking to the watch last year with WatchOS 7. I still have to charge the watch in the mornings and evenings, but the Watch has become like my digital companion throughout the day. I do use a Mac, iPad Pro, Apple TV, and iPhone all day, but the Watch is the most consistent thing tying them together now. My Apple Watch unlocks my Mac and Home, serves as my tether to Apple Fitness+ on my bike/yoga mat/treadmill, keeps me on tab with things at work without having to have my phone out of my pocket all time. The most freeing part of the Apple Watch really has been the fact that I can be connected, but choose how much distance I want from the rest of the world because as we all know the internet in 2021 is simply an extension of the real world. I can turn on Do Not Disturb directly from my watch, choose only to have priority contacts as notifications, leave everything behind for a walk with my AirPods while I listen a podcast or music on the go via LTE, block everything out with Sleep mode, and more. I also regularly use Siri to dictate text messages, reminders, timers, and HomeKit commands. Having notifications on my wrist is great because over time I did figure out that you can specify which notifications show up on your wrist so for me only the most important people and apps like family/friends and Teams+email. The entire time the Apple Watch is also being my silent health computer, recording everything I do for later review and hopefully making improvements when I look a the trends in health apps like Calory or WaterMinder.
Mindfulness
Features that I thought was just California hippy culture such as the”breathe” app have become some of my favorite features because it’s just there a few times a day, reminding me to take a moment and breathe. I tend to get fixated on problems and the gentle reminder of the Apple Watch to take a break, go for a walk, go to bed when I said needed to go to bed, drink water throughout the day, etc all have been infinitely useful to me over the last few years. Its helped me to gain more control of my brain that can sometimes be too anxious for its on good and little metrics like the move rings have been motivation enough for me to get out and do some physical activity every day even if life has me down. This has been especially useful the last year with COVID keeping me more indoors and separated from friends and family. Its easy when you work in technology to be a hermit and stay inside all the time. Part of me hopes that the next Apple Watch has Sunshine tracking that lets you specify a sunshine goal.
Future
Speaking of future Apple Watch features, I would love to see a Blood Glucose monitor, even as a non-diabetic because I think that being able to see how sugar effects my energy levels would be useful for my overall health, namely my weight and stress levels. Furthermore, hydration tracking would be useful and is a closer possibility with other watches such as Garmin’s watch already doing it with their Running Watches. WaterMinder has helped me build better habits of drinking water throughout the day, but I think having it built directly into the Watch itself would be more useful to a whole host of people. There are also rumors of a future rugged/sport Apple Watch and while I’m not sure if that style is 100% for me, the idea of a rugged Apple watch for hiking and biking with a larger battery to use take advantage of GPS and 5G sounds pretty neat. For the Series 7, I am hoping we get some 5G support because I do find that the LTE support on the Apple Watch is a bit slow when trying to start a podcast not on the Watch. Also, if they could figure out how to detect somebody have a panic or anxiety attack I think would be a good extension of the breathe/heart app, especially after the last year when so many have been suffering through the stress of living through a pandemic and all the uncertainty that it brings. Also being able to download hiking and biking directions to the watch would be really useful as well, especially if Apple partnered with third party services for places like national parks or nature trails. Oh, and finally, maybe third party watch faces? Even if its just select partners, I’d love me more Disney watch faces from Stars Wars and Marvel or more “Artist” watch faces.
Wrapping Up
Overall, I am very happy that I jumped on the Apple Watch bandwagon when I did because I’ve seen it evolve from an unfocused product to a real health companion for me throughout at the day that not only keeps track of my health stats & encourages me to do better with different apps/services, but it has gotten powerful enough in hardware and software over the last few years to be that digital computer on my wrist that Apple demo’d years ago. I’m looking forward to WatchOS 8 being previewed on Monday for WWDC 2021.
