I tried an Apple watch for the first time

I own an iPad, MacBook, AirPods, and an iPhone, so you could say I’m an Apple fan. My experience with Apple Watches is lacking. I experimented for a week with a cellular Apple Watch Series 9 to see if it would make me use my phone less and focus more on taking care of myself. See what my first week wearing the Apple Watch Series 9 looked like by watching the video up above. ).

My average daily iPhone screen time prior to using the Series 9 was nine hours and three minutes. E. far higher than what I would have preferred. That is the number I have been attempting to lower. Thus, last month, I switched out my iPhone 15 Pro Max for a Nokia flip phone, which reduced screen time but also caused anxiety in me. When I’m stressed out or bored, I automatically reach for my iPhone, which is like an adult pacifier. I had a hard time letting go of it, which is why I was anxious when I had to temporarily switch to using a flip phone.

Since it does many of the essential tasks that my smartphone does, I was interested in giving a cellular Apple Watch a try. Even when your iPhone isn’t nearby, you can use it to make calls, send texts, access your cards using Apple Pay, listen to music on Spotify, and use Maps to navigate. Consequently, I was hoping that it would reduce my use of my 15 Pro Max without requiring me to part with it completely.

With that objective in mind, I took a walk without my smartphone after setting up my Apple Watch. That first walk without my 15 Pro Max was kind of life-changing, but you’ll have to read to the end of this article to find out how much time I spent on screens after my first week with the Series 9.

The cellular Series 9 is revolutionary for strolls outside.

I typically bring my iPhone along for walks so I can listen to music and stay in touch with friends and family. Using a Series 9 with cellular made me realize that I can do all of those tasks with my watch and don’t need my smartphone. Leaving my phone at home felt strange at first, but once I started walking, I stopped missing it. In fact, I’ve grown to enjoy walks without my iPhone. When I’m not even able to scroll through my social media, I’m so much more present. It’s a pleasure not to have to carry the 15 Pro Max around, as it is quite heavy.

During phone calls, speaking into my watch gives me a cool spy vibe. Because they make it easier for me to hear other people and vice versa, I prefer to use my AirPods when I’m out in a noisy environment.

Although I don’t particularly enjoy messaging on the Apple Watch, I am still grateful that it is a feature.

You can use the new Double Tap feature on the Series 9 by touching your thumb and pointer finger together twice on the hand that holds your watch. It allows you to interact with the device without touching it, such as replying to messages or taking calls. I received a Slack message from my CNET colleague Abrar Al-Heeti asking if I wanted to take a coffee break on my first day of wearing the watch. I transcribed my response using Double Tap.

I use Double Tap mostly for messaging. This gesture isn’t something I do, though, because I haven’t gotten used to it yet. Perhaps as time goes on, that will alter.

I was not very good at dictation at first, as you can see from the fact that I included the word “send” in my response to Abrar by accident. I still don’t enjoy using it, even though I’ve gotten better at it. Due to the frequent period inserts by Dictation, my messages come across as more serious than they actually are.

The small screen of the Apple Watch makes it difficult for me to type by pecking at the keyboard. I find that typing a message is made easiest when I move my finger back and forth across the keyboard. Even with this method, I still prefer texting on my iPhone when available, as it still doesn’t always produce flawless messages. I like that I can see and respond to important messages on my Apple Watch even when my iPhone isn’t with me. Since my wrist is small, I have an Apple Watch that measures 41 millimeters; however, there is a 45-millimeter model that is presumably easier to type on.

I adore having Maps, Spotify, and Apple Pay accessible on my wrist.

The Apple Watch’s ability to pay for purchases without requiring me to carry my phone or wallet is something I truly value. I also adore having access to Spotify’s music library. It is true that I would have preferred a search bar on the watch version. I can only listen to songs from my library or Spotify recommendations when using an Apple Watch, but occasionally I want to listen to something completely different. (Sorry, Apple Music; I’m on board with Spotify. ( ).

You already know that I lack a strong sense of direction if you read my previous account of my trip with a Nokia flip phone. I found Maps on my Apple Watch to be really useful. I just read the instructions on the screen because I could never get used to the haptics telling me when to turn. I wasn’t bothered by it; in fact, having those directions was helpful, especially when I went for walks without my phone.

I even went to a concert without my iPhone because I was so confident in my cellular Apple Watch. I wouldn’t do that again, even though I was more attentive. I briefly lost my friend in the crowd and it would have been so much easier to call and text her on my smartphone. That small screen made it difficult for me to type messages to her as quickly as I would have liked. Our inability to hear each other over the din of the crowd during our call was largely due to my forgetting my AirPods.

I understand why closing those Activity rings is so exciting.

I finally understand why my friends who own Apple Watches have been talking about closing their activity rings for years. Initially, I was thrilled to use the Series 9 watch to increase my physical activity, but by day two, I was fatigued and didn’t want to go outside. It was my watch telling me to close those rings that motivated me to get up and move. I didn’t regret it once I started to walk. Moving around and getting some fresh air did help me feel so much better.

The Apple Watch integration of the Fitness Plus core workout was a great addition to the workouts I already enjoy doing on YouTube. I liked how my iPhone’s Fitness Plus app started tracking my Apple Watch workout automatically as soon as I turned it on. The fact that I could pause the workout and the video right from my watch was fantastic.

Honestly, I only use my Series 9 to track the number of steps I’ve taken and how close I am to closing my rings. For someone like me who is new to wearing a wristwatch, the variety of information the Apple Watch records is astounding (e.g. g. flights increased, the humidity when taking a stroll outside, and so forth). I’m curious to see if I’ll delve further into this data as I keep adding fitness to my life. The data I receive with the Series 9 is still impressive to me as a novice, even though there are many smartwatches that track the same metrics as the Apple Watch—if not more.

The Mindfulness app, which encourages you to pause, breathe, think, and write down your feelings, was another app that I enjoyed. The exercises are brief, but sufficient to give me a break and allow me to reflect deeply on myself.

I even gave Fitness Plus’s 20-minute gratitude meditation a shot. It was unexpectedly difficult; I had to force myself to return to the meditation’s main focus because I kept getting sidetracked. My thoughts felt a lot clearer afterward. The Apple Watch has given me the motivation to finally start meditation, something I’ve been meaning to do for years.

I was feeling great both mentally and physically once I realized that mindfulness and movement were helping. I didn’t wear my watch or leave the house, at least not until the Sunday scaries hit. Though I didn’t close my Activity rings or engage in daily mindfulness exercises, the Apple Watch did motivate me to do so for the first time in a long time, and for that, I’m thankful for this gadget. I’m motivated to keep adding these exercises to my routine until they’re a regular part of it because of this watch.

I hate nothing more than forgetting to begin my workout. You can accrue rings for your workouts with the Apple Watch’s automatic workout detection feature, which activates after a set period of time. My walks begin very slowly, and it took the watch about half an hour to recognize that I was exercising, I discovered during this challenge. That’s a me problem, not an Apple Watch issue, so I need to get better about starting those Outdoor Walk workouts as soon as I leave the house.

I wish I could get closer to 8 hours of sleep every night after using sleep tracking.

I have never attempted sleep tracking before because I suffer from insomnia. I was thus very curious to see what the data from my Apple Watch regarding my sleep would reveal. The reason I only monitored my sleep for three days is twofold. First of all, it’s not very comfortable to sleep with a watch on. It is not automatic for sleep tracking, to start with. To begin with, you need to set up a Sleep Schedule and a Sleep Focus Mode in the iPhone’s Health app.

I apologize for not realizing this until halfway through my first week of using the Apple Watch; as a result, I missed some data. I discovered that I wasn’t getting the recommended eight hours of sleep when I used the watch to track my sleep. I was almost there, but not quite, which encourages me to keep trying to get my sleep habits better.

More than just your sleep duration is tracked by the Apple Watch. It is possible to observe, for instance, the duration of your time in deep and REM sleep. I can’t wait to look more closely at this information and track my sleeping patterns over time. There are other smartwatches with sleep tracking besides the Apple Watch. Not only can they measure the amount of sleep you get, but the majority of contemporary smartwatches can also measure its quality.

Around 10:00 a.m., I usually put on my watch. m. & by 10 or 11 p.m., after a long day of using my watch’s cellular connectivity to make calls, send texts, listen to music, work out, and navigate, I would be nearing battery fatigue. me. In order to track my sleep, I would charge the watch for roughly 30 minutes before bed. When I was getting ready the next morning, I would juice it back to 100%. I didn’t find it uncomfortable to have to charge my Apple Watch every day because it does so rather quickly from my laptop. I can go up to a day and a half without having to plug in my watch again on days when I’m not using its cellular connectivity as much.

I’m grateful to my Apple Watch for motivating me to look after myself better.

I regret to inform you that my screen time did not decrease with the Apple Watch. In the first week I had the watch, my screen time went up by 13%. The Apple Watch reduced my screen time when I was out for walks (and at that concert), but it had no effect on how I used my smartphone at home. So how could that be the case? I still carry my iPhone with me at all times, and when I’m feeling nervous or bored, I still have a tendency to grab it and browse social media, particularly TikTok. Going straight to the source—my iPhone—will be necessary if I want to reduce the amount of time I spend on screens (yes, even TikTok).

Here’s the difference: Although my iPhone screen time hasn’t decreased, the Apple Watch has changed the way I feel about self-care. It inspired me to work out regularly and engage in mindfulness exercises for the first time in a very long time. I’m beginning to prioritize my physical and mental health much more now that I’m starting to incorporate these things into my routine. It means a lot to me.

I’m aware that a week of wearing an Apple Watch only scratches the surface of its capabilities. After three weeks of wearing it, I’m still getting to know more and more about how I like to use it every day. As those are the things I use most frequently right now, I updated my watch face so I can easily access my activity rings, Spotify, phone, workouts, and messages. I recently ordered a new watch band that goes with my gold jewelry and tested the Camera Remote app, which makes it easier to frame selfies taken with my iPhone’s rear camera. If you haven’t tried it, this is a game-changer. The more I wear the Apple Watch, the more I look forward to how it integrates into my life.