APPLE WATCH - Review

IS THE APPLE WATCH WORTH THE HYPE? I have used the Apple 4 watch for few years now. I have tried most of its features and found some good uses and some irritations. I'll review the WI-FI Edition as that is the one that I have.

BATTERY LIFE. Just wearing the watch across the normal part of the day causes the battery to lose a lot of life. For example. just sleeping with it on will drain 30-40% of battery life overnight. You can disable various functions and prolong the life such as turning the motion sensors off, but if you're like me and trying to track my sleep, then it's a fast drain. Another tip is to turn off the Wi-Fi until you need it. 

FITNESS. I like the way it tracks my swimming. The pool at my gym is approximately 13 yards long. When I set the watch to that length and test the distance of one lap from the watch, it keeps a good count. Also, swimming additional laps and keeping track of the lap count proves it's accurate over the entire workout. However, using the watch in my entire workout causes a faster drain on the battery. Walking and running are also pretty accurate.

TIP. If you press the crown, it activates Siri. This happens at random when you're just wearing the watch. I've learned to use the water lock feature unless I'm actively changing a function. The downfall here is you first need to unlock the watch before you can review other features. This isn't specific to just the Apple Watch. Other watches also activate at random and need to be locked as well.

HEALTH. The heart rate monitor works like many other watches available on the market. It takes your pulse. I bought another ($69.00) fit watch which I gave to my wife that boasts a blood pressure monitor. That's not present in the Apple Watch. The ECG feature is nice but comes with a disclaimer that it can't detect a atrial Fibrillation, so it's more of a gimmick than any real feature.

USED AS A WATCH. It tells time. That's about as close as I can get to a positive statement. Other less expensive watches boast a large number of watch face options. The Apple Watch has less than 10. Also, there is no way to upload and design other faces.

Overall, I use my Apple Watch every day, but the reality doesn't match the hype. It spends almost as much time on a charger as it does on my wrist. As for the cost, well, let's just say that Apple still owes me a steak diner, roses and a box of chocolates.