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Apple Watch Series 3

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Re: Apple Watch Series 3

#71

Post by eridius »

jhugg wrote: post #14
minimaxir wrote: post #2

So why does the LTE Watch have the red dot anyways? I asked on Reddit and no one has any idea : https://reddit.com/r/apple/comments/70homi/so_why_does_the_a... The most sensible theory is that it’s related to the LTE antenna, but Apple admitted in the Keynote the Watch screen is the antenna.

It’s because in many parts of the world, people won’t buy expensive things unless there is some way for people to know you spent a lot of money and have the newest thing. I hate the red dot too. Already ordered my WatchDots.

Exactly this. China is a great example. Many many people will buy the LTE model strictly for the red dot, with no intention of actually using LTE, because it's a status symbol. I'm really surprised Gruber doesn't get that.

There was a post I saw recently, that I thought Gruber linked to but I can't find it anymore, about how Apple's strategy of taking old phones and selling them as the lower tier models is great because it means people can buy those phones and nobody can tell that they bought a lower-tier phone (because it looks like they could have just bought the top-tier phone last year and not gotten around to upgrading yet). This was also used to explain why the 5C was apparently a flop, because it was immediately obvious to anybody that a 5C owner bought the cheap phone.

Status symbols are important.

Re: Apple Watch Series 3

#72

Post by matrixtransform »

gallerdude wrote: post #45

With iOS 11 and watchOS 4, it feels like watchOS is taking aim for iOS, and iOS is taking aim for macOS. What’s Apple’s endgame here? The whole Mac Pro mini-crisis last year proved that professionals are a super loud minority, so they can’t flat out kill macOS. I think they’ll just make iOS more and more attractive, while they make macOS more... iOS-like? And in turn, watchOS is an added benefit to iOS that macOS won…

I notice that the watch now covers all 3 tentpoles from the original iPhone launch:

a phone, an ipod with touch controls and an internet communications device.

Of course, the iPhone is now marketed as a multipurpose computing device, a 4k video camera and an AR viewer, so things have moved on.

It would make sense to me to add more power-user features to MacOS in future, rather than making it more iOS-like? Apple made that mistake with Lion and the app grid with folders and massive icons that can't be resized is crappy to this day.

iOS won't be a MacOS replacement at least until all Apple's professional apps are available on it. Processing-wise they are probably only a couple of generations away from being able to support Final Cut Pro, Logic X and XCode, but interface-wise there is a huge amount of work involved in reinventing those apps as touch-first.

Re: Apple Watch Series 3

#73

Post by matrixtransform »

eridius wrote: post #71
jhugg wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s because in many parts of the world, people won’t buy expensive things unless there is some way for people to know you spent a lot of money and have the newest thing. I hate the red dot too. Already ordered my WatchDots.

Exactly this. China is a great example. Many many people will buy the LTE model strictly for the red dot, with no intention of actually using LTE, because it's a status symbol. I'm really surprised Gruber doesn't get that. There was a post I saw recently, that I thought Gruber linked to but I can't find it anymore, about how Apple's strategy of taking old phones and selling them as the lower tier models is great beca…

It's the same reason why earpods only come in white. It makes them stand out. White iPod headphones were a walking advertisement/status symbol for years.

Re: Apple Watch Series 3

#74

Post by gnicholas »

robterrell wrote: post #21
AVTizzle wrote: post #4

>> "When are you separated from your iPhone? When you’re exercising. What do you miss most when you’re away from your phone? Messages and phone calls." Anecdotal, but personally, this is one of the most refreshing and cherished qualities about my exercise time: it's ME time. No messages, no phone calls. Phone goes on airplane mode, and I'm in my own zone for those 60-90 minutes. After reading My Year with a Distracti…

I do like having a distraction-free iphone, but I also like to run and hauling a huge phone with me is stupid. But I like to run on the trails on Mt Tam and it can feel surprisingly remote quickly, so I want to keep the ability to make phone calls somehow. I am looking forward to trying the watch for just this use case. (Also, music while running!) I'm assuming I can turn off notifs on the watch just like on the phon…

In The Verge's testing, the cellular range was not great. I wish they'd done side-by-side testing with an iPhone. Something like: "if your iPhone has one bar, your Watch will have none. If two, then either one or none."

https://www.theverge.com/2017/9/20/16334066/apple-watch-seri...

Re: Apple Watch Series 3

#75

Post by Angostura »

perseusprime11 wrote: post #63
logical42 wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can listen to podcasts with the watch series 2 and no phone, you just need wireless headphones.

Can you listen to podcasts on Apple Watch 3 without a phone around?

Yes - you can stream songs over cellular.

Re: Apple Watch Series 3

#76

Post by pm90 »

logical42 wrote: post #57
kpwags wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed. I have the series 2 and have started running without my phone since the series 2 can still track my runs without it. The one thing I kind of miss is listening to podcasts while running since I still would need my phone for that.

You can listen to podcasts with the watch series 2 and no phone, you just need wireless headphones.

I don't think this is possible. There is no podcasts app for the watch (shocking). If you have your iPhone, you can pause/play forward/back... but this is the generic player for apps that don't have a version for the Watch. i.e. I use Google Play Music, which doesn't have a Watch version of its app, but when I play music from my iPhone, I can pause/play etc. from the watch.

Re: Apple Watch Series 3

#77

Post by goodroot »

eridius wrote: post #65
goodroot wrote: post #49

Phone anxiety is a weird, and, for me at least, irrational thing. I know that mankind survived for millennia without the ability to communicate with each other out of earshot. But once you get used to having your phone with you at all times, you get used to feeling that if anyone needs you, they can get you. Apple Watch Series 3 with cellular networking completely alleviates this anxiety. It is not a replacement for…

The phone doesn't generate anxiety. Not having the phone generates anxiety. The Apple Watch series 3 with LTE fixes the issue. So what's the problem? Your comment seems to be implying that being used to always being available if someone needs to contact you is a bad thing (e.g. is the same thing as alcoholism). But why? Personally, I'm all for disconnecting, but even when I'm not available to anyone else, I still wan…

That is the implication. Alcoholism is an affliction wherein something that's fairly benign in small doses can be a significant detriment to the individual if consumptions falls out of balance. In this way, being ever-available and ever-connected is a bad thing; there's nothing intrinsically wrong with it in small and balanced doses, but in high doses it can cause significant neuroses through withdrawal. It follows that, just as alcohol is the cause of alcoholism, the phone _is_ the ultimate source of anxiety. It provides dopamine, you feel bad when you don't get it.

An alternative angle is this:

If you're an addict and you get withdrawal symptoms, having more of your substance does not alleviate your addition. The symptom of withdrawal, not having the phone, generates anxiety. By increasing the time that you're connected and removing natural/forced break periods, you're raising the threshold that you need to maintain to not feel anxious. In doing so, you've created a situation where it will be harder to make break time and when you do, it'll feel worse.

Here's an excerpt, link at the bottom, of one of an increasing number of studies that describe the negative health impact of communication technology dependency:

> The results indicate that depression, anxiety, and sleep quality may be associated with smartphone overuse. Such overuse may lead to depression and/or anxiety, which can in turn result in sleep problems. University students with high depression and anxiety scores should be carefully monitored for smartphone addiction.

Yet, we want to sell everyone smart-watches so that they'll never miss a beat...

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26132913

Re: Apple Watch Series 3

#78

Post by kstrauser »

spiderfarmer wrote: post #56

Why does Gruber refuse to make his website responsive? For someone so focused on the elegance of Apple’s products, it seems strange that he forgets that his website looks like a forgotten/neglected website from the early 00’s.

Safari's "Show Reader" option makes it nicely responsive, albeit not in the intended way.

Re: Apple Watch Series 3

#79

Post by eridius »

goodroot wrote: post #77
eridius wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The phone doesn't generate anxiety. Not having the phone generates anxiety. The Apple Watch series 3 with LTE fixes the issue. So what's the problem? Your comment seems to be implying that being used to always being available if someone needs to contact you is a bad thing (e.g. is the same thing as alcoholism). But why? Personally, I'm all for disconnecting, but even when I'm not available to anyone else, I still wan…

That is the implication. Alcoholism is an affliction wherein something that's fairly benign in small doses can be a significant detriment to the individual if consumptions falls out of balance. In this way, being ever-available and ever-connected is a bad thing; there's nothing intrinsically wrong with it in small and balanced doses, but in high doses it can cause significant neuroses through withdrawal. It follows t…

Just reading the abstract of that study it sounds like bullshit. Nobody is addicted to a smartphone. People get "addicted" to their social networks, but the social network isn't the smartphone. Take the smartphone, reset it back to factory defaults, and block the ability to install new apps, and you'll find that the "addicts" aren't going to be as interested in it (block the browser too and they probably won't even use it).

And making yourself available to be contacted isn't the same thing as being "addicted" to social networks. You'll notice the study you linked was looking at university students (which itself means its conclusions aren't necessarily applicable to the larger world), people for whom "being connected" means Snapchat and Instagram and other social networks. But for most adults, "being connected" means someone can reach them if necessary, as opposed to sitting there for hours browsing a stream of social network posts.

Personally, I've disengaged from basically all social networks. But I'd still like to "be connected" because people do sometimes contact me directly and I'd like to be available for that, or sometimes I get an important email that I want to handle sooner rather than later. And the only reason I'm not getting the LTE watch is because I always have my phone with me anyway and the LTE isn't worth giving my carrier $120/year.

Re: Apple Watch Series 3

#80

Post by kikkoman23 »

melling wrote: post #50
taloft wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also have a Garmin 735xt for the same reasons. Another big issue is battery life. Garmin can go for a solid week or more between charges, while Apple Watch is about a day.

Can someone describe the other benefits of a Garmin over an Apple Watch for jogging? I use my Watch for light jogging, monitoring heart rate, pace, and distance. Recently, I’ve been trying to increase days, and will up my mileage in a couple months, after I lose a little more weight.

I have the Garmin 230 and like others have mentioned, the battery life, always on, and its supposed to be a bit more accurate GPS wise than the Apple watch. But I'm not sure if it matters too much unless you're training and really need to be spot on, but know there will always be little differences between any gps watch.

I run with both watches just to compare distance, etc. but one of the main reasons I got the Apple watch 2 was for the GPS and ability to store up to 2GB of music. This way I can stream my music while running onto my Jaybird 2 wireless headphones. Another cool and funny thing is that while running one day, with the Nike+ app, when I hit a certain distance, Kevin Hart started talking and cheering me on. I thought that was pretty neat and kinda motivating. I'm sure they have other celebrities doing that as well, but just a little something.

I also noticed on Apple watch, the Nike+ app doesn't have metric for Avg. Pace, it does show Current Pace, Distance, and Time. Every mile it will speak and tell you your Avg. Pace. But there is the Workout app on the watch that does allow you to see up to 5 metrics for Current Pace, Avg. Pace, Heart Rate, Distance, Duration, Active Calories, Total Calories. For me I like to have Current Pace and Avg Pace shown together along with Distance and Duration.

Now with the Apple watch 3, I do like being able to leave your phone behind in case an emergency does come up and someone needs to contact you, but I can also see how a random non-important call can throw off your run/workout session.

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