09-07-19, 10:12 AM | |
VF Supporter
Join Date: Nov 2001
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Wow, Kim, thanks for your detailed review!
My DH pointed out that Apple will announce it's new models in just a few days, so the Series 5 might be coming out soon. I found out that current models don't have sleep monitoring functions, but the new one may. I'm not sure if I want the model with cellular capability. Do you have to have a separate data plan for that?
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Goal:250 / Done:67 POSTURE CHECK! |
09-07-19, 11:43 PM | |
VF Supporter
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: West coast of Canada, eh. ;)
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My husband has an Apple Watch and he loves it. He does have to charge it pretty much every day and he would like it to have a sleep function. He could live without the cellular function as it has to be near his phone to work. I have a Fitbit Charge 3, it’s very simplistic but works great for me....holds a charge for 6 days, is waterproof, and tracks my sleep. I struggle with poor sleep so the sleep tracking function is important to me. Hopefully the new Apple Watch will have it along with a longer battery life. And it’s definitely way more attractive than my black Fitbit.
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*~*Pam*~* Certified Level 4 Essentrics Instructor - March 2021 Hatha YTT - 2011 Your body keeps an accurate journal regardless of what you write down..... "Take care of your body. It's the only place you have to live." Jim Rohn "It’s not what we do once in a while that shapes our lives, but what we do consistently.” - Tony Robbins Check out my Instagram account, @fitness.ficti0n.inspirati0n |
09-08-19, 06:07 AM | |
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: NH
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You didn’t ask about knock-off watches but I bought THIS WATCH during amazon’s July sale for $39.99. I know, I know pretty ridiculous but it’s actually pretty sweet. I wanted to see if I’d even tolerate wearing a smart watch.
It tracks sleep, I can set multiple alarms and these were two things I wanted. I also didn’t know at that time that Apple watches don’t do sleep tracking. This thing is spot on with my sleep! Last night I was up once to check on the cat. That meant a trip downstairs and when I look at my sleep graph it’s there. The graph shows deep and light sleep and as I’ve used it to figure out my individual sleep killers and eliminated them my deep sleep has increased. If I need to wake to an alarm I prefer the vibration of the wristband to a regular alarm - who knew? It tracks steps and fitness activities and will send the activities to the Strava app. I’m not sure how accurate it is because I’m not worried about each step I take. I have a iPhone XR and the watch works well with it. It sends me text messages and my calendar notifications. This is important to me. It holds a charge for about 6 days and charges in a couple of hours max. Supposedly it can do a lot more but I’m not motivated to use the other functions. The app it uses just had an update and things got jumbled for an evening but were quickly righted the next day. When I contacted them they got back to me quickly. I discovered that restarting my phone can mess up my settings but nothing that can’t be fixed in a minute. There are a lot of similar knock-offs. You may want to look for one that reviews say works with your phone and check it out.
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Lannette See my profile for info on relationships with various video distributors. Do you really want to look back on your life and see how wonderful it could have been had you not been afraid to live it? - Caroline Myss |
09-08-19, 10:13 AM | |
VF Supporter
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: N. Idaho
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Just back lurking on VF and thought I'd reply. I got an Apple Watch Series 4 on Aug 1 so I am new to it still. I love it!
I'd used several FitBits over the years but the last one which was about 3 years old was so scratched across the face that I couldn't read the watch (or any readout) outside. The band (the 3rd one on this particular FB) was also getting ready to break. I'd looked at Apple watches but couldn't decide if I could justify the cost, then realized a BIG birthday was coming up in August (gulp...70!!) so I went for it. I love it. -I wanted the pulse and EKG functions. I do not have a diagnosed cardiac arrhythmia but its the undiagnosed ones that kill you! -I love the "ring" system for movement, exercise and standing and yes it is motivating for me to figure out how to close each every day. I'm retired and can easily sit at my computer for hours and yes, I like the reminders to stand. (You'd think I would have enough time to work out, right?) -The 4 has a Breathe app loaded (but I'm sure the older ones can add it) and I like the reminders for focused breathing. You set the reminders to the # of times a day you want. -It also accesses a number of apps on my phone. The only one I really use is my 10% Happiness app (which is a meditation app). -The GPS seems to function better than the FItBit. Not sure HOW that can be but I walk the same paved trails most of the time and the Apple Watch gives me the mile marks at the same place whereas the FB had 1/8-1/4 mile differences on the same trail starting at the same spot. -I love the elevation function and the continuous HR function. It also gives your HR over the 2 minutes or so after you finish activity so you can see your recovery rate. -I don't have the cellular function as I have service thru a small local provider that doesn't support it. I also don't talk on the phone much and I'm not sure how much that adds. I bought mine thru Costco on the last sale they had. If you are a member check the emails and then set your alarm to purchase at 12:01 Pacific time on the day it goes on sale. They go fast. The last 2 sales have had $55 off of the 40mm GPS. I wanted the silver case. It comes with a white band which I didn't like but I bought a silver one thru Apple for $49 ($49 for a flipping band? yikes) I agree with Kim's assessment of the pros altho my only con is the expense. Mine does a good job on HR tracking and no problems with it going blank but it's only a month old so it shouldn't! No issues at all and even a non-tech person can set it up and figure it out. Well, except my nephew and I could NOT figure out the walkie talkie function. There are sleep apps you can download for the 4. I just charge mine overnight although I think some people charge it at the end of the day as they prepare for sleep, then put it on for a quick boost at the beginning of the next day. It's not a big deal. I charge my phone every night so this just goes on at the same time. I had the sleep tracker on the FitBit which did a pretty good job but I never used any of the information to try and make changes so it doesn't matter to me. Enjoy your discovery process! ~Pam |
09-08-19, 10:39 AM | |
VF Supporter
Join Date: Feb 2008
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I have AW 4 which I purchased in March of this year. I purchased it because I was feeling down and needed to treat myself to something (which I haven't done in a long time) and not because I thought I "needed" it. It was an extravagance on my part, but I absolutely love it and find it very useful for all the reasons already mentioned here and just for pure fun factor.
I no longer have landline at home but I have 4 floors so for me to hear my cell phone ring, I would have to have it in my pocket at all times. But since I have my AW on my wrist, I no longer have to carry my phone with me as I move around my home. I hear the phone and can answer it through my AW and I find it very helpful. My AW has cellular capabilities but my service provider currently does not support that function. However, as long as my phone is within 330' (I think) range of my AW, I'm good. I've never had my AW go blank on me or malfunction in any way. I like the EKG function as well as heart rate monitor. The fitness functions are way better than any other I've had in the past on other devices. I bought mine at Sam's where they sold it for about $15 cheaper than regular price and my DH had $60 bonus cash-back accumulated which he contributed it to the purchase of my AW. This is my first smart watch so I can't speak to other and cheaper versions. My DH has a Samsung watch (he's android guy) that was much cheaper and he is quite happy with it.
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09-08-19, 10:41 AM | |
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Denial
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I just bought a series 3 several weeks ago from Amazon -- it was far cheaper than the 4 and the differences in function didn't matter to me. The apps it comes with are the same, but the 4 is slimmer and has different heart rate tracking. I wasn't sure if I'd like the watch but it's been very useful. I really like it.
I bought it primarily so I don't miss texts and phone calls (my phone is on silent and usually in my bag, not on my person, so getting the alerts on my wrist really helps), but the workout tracking is excellent, and now I'd say that's its primary function for me. I've found the HR tracking to be particularly useful. Closing those rings gets kind of addictive! My 3 does not have cellular (so it needs to be near the phone to receive texts and such) but it does have GPS, so I can take it by itself for a run or whatever and it tracks it. If you get one with cellular capability it costs more and you'd incur a monthly charge for the cellular service, but then it kind of functions like a mini phone even if it's out of range of your iphone. My friend who trains for marathons has the top of the line model with cellular and she gets a lot of use out of it. If your watch will be near your phone most of the time, though, I think the cellular feature is unnecessary. My watch gets texts and phone calls unless I go pretty far from the phone (like, out of the house). That's really rare for me so not having the cellular works fine. As others have mentioned, it doesn't come with sleep tracking at the moment. There are 3rd party apps you can put on it that will do that, but charging will be an issue. Mine runs down about 60% over the course of an average day. Last edited by Cerulea; 09-08-19 at 10:42 AM. Reason: Spelling |
09-08-19, 11:01 AM | |
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Denial
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One more thing I forgot to mention: 3rd party bands are inexpensive and readily available on Amazon, and I've found the quality to be pretty close to Apple's bands. They're not 100% identical, but you'd have to really inspect it up close to be able to tell.
So there are lots of options to change up the band without breaking the bank. |
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apple watch, fitness tracker, fitness trackers, fitness wearables |
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