Ditching My Apple Watch: A 2-Year Journey from Impulse Buy to Revelation

Apple Watch has become the gold standard for smartwatches. Be it the looks, luxe hardware, or amazing software experience, it’s just hard to beat the Apple smartwatch. Also, it comes with several health features that make an Apple Watch a must-buy for many people, especially users who have already invested in the Apple ecosystem. But, you may not be one of those people. Yes, the Apple Watch might be the top-selling smartwatch globally, but it isn’t made for everyone. I mean, I can say this for myself.

I’ve been using an Apple Watch Series 7 for more than two years now, and after all the good and bad experiences, I’m done with my Apple Watch. If you’re planning to buy this stylish timepiece, you might need to think again. Hear me out, and then decide whether or not should you buy an Apple Watch. Well, I just want to be clear so I don’t hurt the sentiments of Apple superfans (well, I’m also one of them, for sure). I’m not saying that Apple Watches are bad or not worth your money. I just want to share my opinion based on my requirements and experience with this wearable.

My Apple Watch Series 7 Experience

Back in February 2022, I wanted to get myself a smartwatch. Being an Apple lover, an Apple Watch was my obvious and only choice. I bought an Apple Watch Series 7 (41mm model), and couldn’t be happier. Of course, it had everything I could ask for in a smartwatch. Good looks, an all-day comfortable fit, basic and advanced health features, and whatnot.

I was damn excited and overwhelmed when I got a new smartwatch, and I would use it for every single thing. I would check my iPhone notifications, make and receive calls from it, measure my heartbeat, track my burnt calories, and do much more. In fact, I would even sleep with the watch on to track my sleep patterns. This went on for a good 6 months, and then it got boring. Over time, I started feeling that none of these features added to my productivity or made a huge difference in my everyday routine.

And now, I’m only changing faces on my Apple Watch so it complements my clothes, mood, or personality. I mean, did I spend around Rs 42,000 just for changing faces? Well, I don’t want to answer this. Let’s move on.

Why Apple Watch Is an Optional Gadget for Me?

After using my Apple Watch for more than two years now, I can say that isn’t an essential companion for me. I’ll walk you through some of my experiences and the reasons that made me arrive at this conclusion. If you also have a similar use case or preferences, this might help you make a better decision.

I’m Not a Fitness Enthusiast

An Apple Watch’s biggest strength is its monitoring of your exercise and everyday fitness levels. Most people primarily buy an Apple Watch for its fitness features. It can track various metrics like time spent, calories burned, heart rate, and more during the workout. If you’re a fitness enthusiast, a gym-goer, or someone who has an active lifestyle, Apple Watch can be an indispensable tool. It can help you track your progress in the best possible way.

If I talk about myself, I’m not a fitness enthusiast. I don’t have a fitness regime that I need to keep track of. I don’t go to a gym or do any dedicated workouts like HIIT or cardio. Yes, I go for a walk every day and like to keep track of my daily step count. Now that we have a Step Challenge going on in my office, I track my steps more than ever.

That said, I don’t need my Apple Watch for this. Since I have a habit of always carrying my iPhone in my hand or pockets, I can track my steps right on my phone. Also, it isn’t easy to view the step count on my Apple Watch. I have to head to the Activity app and swipe through four screens.

I feel that if you’re not a fitness enthusiast, you don’t really need an Apple Watch. In my case, the Apple Watch isn’t much more than a stylish (and more expensive) regular watch. In case you’re planning to buy an Apple Watch to improve your sedentary lifestyle, let me break it to you, nothing’s gonna happen unless you put in the effort. If you can’t, don’t buy a smartwatch.

2. I Can Do Most Things on My iPhone

If I skip the fitness and health angle, it kills the 80% worth of an Apple Watch or any other smartwatch. I can easily do most of the things on my iPhone. Be it checking notifications, tracking my steps, or any other basic health data, I can always do it right on my iPhone, a smartwatch isn’t mandatory in my case.

A lot of people also love and use their Apple Watch to make purchases via Apple Pay. No doubt it brings so much convenience. You don’t have to look for your wallet or take out your iPhone, just press a button on your watch, and voila! Sad to say, Apple Pay isn’t available in India yet. So, I’m not losing out on anything after ditching my Apple Watch.

That said, I can’t and don’t want to escape the fact that there are some crucial features exclusive to Apple Watch. One such example is Sleep Tracking. It offers comprehensive and useful insights about a user’s sleep patterns, and you need to wear an Apple Watch for this. You can analyze this data along with your respiratory data and heart rate for deeper insights. Honestly, I like this feature, but I feel Apple still has some catching up to do.

At the moment, Sleep Tracking on Apple Watch only works when you start a Sleep Focus or set a bedtime schedule and stick to it. One day you sleep at 11 PM, instead of 10 PM, and the tracking is messed up. Worse luck, your smartwatch can’t even factor in those afternoon naps or short breaks as they happen outside the night sleep schedules if you don’t put it in Sleep Focus before the nap. I know this is strange, but that’s how it is. This tracking isn’t smart enough for me, so I don’t fancy using it.

I hope the upcoming watchOS 11 brings better sleep tracking to give more useful insights into whether I’m sleeping properly. It’s worth knowing that Apple is reportedly also developing a Smart Ring. Since a ring can be worn for longer and is easier to sleep with, it might become a popular smartwatch alternative. That said, it would take some time and would cost a fortune, for sure.

Moving on, the Apple Watch can also monitor my heart rate, ECG, and other stuff. That being said, no one uses these features regularly. If you ask me, I don’t use these features often, until and unless I’m not feeling very well. Yes, I did measure everything on my watch out of curiosity, but not anymore. If I’m unwell, I would rather use a dedicated apparatus like a blood pressure monitoring machine to get accurate readings. In severe cases, I would rather visit a doctor and get my ECG done.

3. I Can’t Charge My Gadgets Frequently

Let’s face it. An Apple Watch has a bad battery life. Tell me if I’m lying. Modern Apple Watches can deliver a battery life of up to 18 hours after an overnight charge. This is far from as good as fitness bands and trackers, let alone regular watches. In fact, you can find other smartwatches that offer a better battery life.

My Apple Watch Series 7 also delivers a similar battery life. My watch can easily get me through the day, but I need to charge it every night to ensure it’s ready for the next day. This has to be one of my everyday tasks. If I forget to do it, I won’t have a functional watch the next morning.

Many times, I forget to charge my iWatch and then realize it in the morning when I’m all ready to leave for the office. So, I have to step out without my smartwatch. Don’t tell me to charge my Apple Watch at the office. I can’t carry my watch to the office and give it around two hours of charge time. All of that happened so frequently that it changed my habits. Now, it gets several days that I don’t care about charging my smartwatch. It’s sometimes in my drawer and other times in my bag, but it’s never on my wrist now.

If you’re also like me who often forgets to recharge gadgets, your Apple Watch might remain very low on juice all the time. Who knows you might get frustrated and chuck it away in a drawer.

4. I Hate Constant Reminders

I feel constant reminders and notifications make it harder to stay offline. In today’s digital era where anyone can spend hours on a gadget, it’s quite a challenge to reduce screen time. And, my Apple Watch makes it even more difficult for me. I do nifty things to limit my screen time, like hide apps on my iPhone, turn off notifications for some apps, and more. Having a smartwatch makes it even more challenging to stay offline since it brings all my iPhone notifications, reminders, and calls to the comfort of my wrist. Even a slight vibration can grab my attention.

Many Apple Watch users might differ here. Some of my friends feel that their Apple Watch helps them reduce distractions. They feel when they pick up their iPhone for a notification, they unknowingly spend an hour scrolling through the content. On the flip side, it’s easier to check out a notification on the smartwatch without being distracted by other apps. Well, I don’t feel the same. I can easily go from notifications to my Apple Watch games in no time.

Now, that’s one. Also, I hate those constant reminders, they are so damn annoying. Once you set your fitness goals, those Activity rings are after you. There’s no such thing as rest, recovery, or a day off for Apple Watch. You close your rings one day, your watch will throw more challenges, sending reminders every now and then. Also, I have to deal with those notifications flooding from my iPhone to my smartwatch. Isn’t this too much?

I feel it’s harder to ignore them on a watch than on a phone. I can put my iPhone to silent mode or face it down to avoid that bombardment of notifications. But, how do I do it on my watch? That constant vibration on my wrist gets too annoying at times that I would turn on DND on my Apple Watch. And, that destroys the whole purpose of having a smartwatch.

Do I Regret Ditching My Apple Watch?

It’s been a few weeks since I stopped using my Apple Watch, and I have no regrets. Being a loyal Apple user since 2014, it’s hard for me to say that the Apple Watch is an optional gadget for me. I’ve stopped using it for a few weeks now and I didn’t feel its absence. I can absolutely live without it. Well, this is the only Apple gadget I can say this for. I can’t imagine my life without my iPhone, MacBook Air, iPad, or AirPods. I need them every single day, all the time. Ask me to give up on any of them, and I’ll get a panic attack.

Who Should Buy an Apple Watch?

Well, this isn’t a debate on whether Apple Watches are worth it or not. I mean, there can’t be a debate about it. All of this depends on a user’s requirements and lifestyle. You should only buy an Apple Watch only if you’re a fitness enthusiast or someone who needs motivation to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Also, if you’re suffering from any health problem and you frequently need to monitor your Heart Rate, ECG, or sleep patterns, an Apple Watch can offer great help. With these come several small additions like checking your iPhone notifications directly on the Apple Watch, listening to music, and making payments right from your wrist.

On the flip side, if you have a similar use case like mine, there’s no point in getting an Apple Watch or an Apple Watch alternative. You would impulsively buy it, excitingly use all the features in the beginning, and then you’re bored. Just like mine, your smartwatch might be lying in a drawer, unpowered all the time. If you wish just to track the basic stuff like step count, calories burnt, and more, why not buy an affordable, no-frills fitness band? Today, you can easily find some nice fitness bands and trackers for under Rs 5,000 that have all the essential health tracking features and can last you several days on a single charge.

Do you also feel that you’re done with your Apple Watch? Have a similar story to share? I’d love to hear from you in the comments below.