I closed my Apple Watch review this way:
As I said over 2,800 words ago, I’m conflicted when it comes to thinking about Apple Watch.
I’d recommend it to anyone who is strongly tied to their iPhone and is looking for something to track their fitness.
That combination is what sets Apple Watch apart from things like the much-cheaper Fitbits of the world. Having one wearable to deal with notifications, fitness and more is great, but by no means necessary.
And here’s the kicker:
That’s where the rub is with this thing. Apple Watch is much more about want than need. I can’t judge that for anyone but me, but it is something to think about. Apple Watch probably isn’t going to change your life, but it will make it better in a bunch of small ways. I find it a valuable addition to my life, but not everyone will, and that’s fine. After all, as Apple says, its the most personal device they’ve ever made.
I published that on August 3, 2015. I was just starting out life as an indie. Quitting my job led to more changes in my life than I had anticipated, including my thoughts on the Apple Watch.
My previous job was full of meetings: project updates, internal design reviews, client pitches and more. Having notifications — and my calendar — a glance away was hugely helpful.
These days, I don’t have many meetings. I do a little consulting, but outside of that and recording my two podcasts, I don’t have many things that are assigned a static time. As long as my work gets done, I can do it when I want.
Furthermore, I’m at home most days now. While I do have an office where I go to record, most of the time, I’m at my MacBook Pro or iPad. My need for glanceable notifications has gone way down as a result. In fact, most of the time, if my Watch goes off, it’s just one more Notification Center that needs clearing.
The result of this is that more days than not over the last several weeks, my Apple Watch hasn’t made it off my nightstand.
Like I did in August, I feel conflicted about this. The Apple Watch can do a lot of neat things, and I miss its fitness tracking, but so much of it just doesn’t fit my lifestyle anymore. It’s not super useful for work, apps are still miserably slow and at times, its an additional distraction.
I wish it were smarter about what other devices I’m using at any given time. I’d like for it to be proactive about things like driving time and incoming notifications that I really need to see.
I’m not sure my time with Apple Watch has come to an end entirely, but I can say for sure we’re well past the honeymoon phase.