Apple Watch Sport Review

On 10th April the Apple Watch was available for pre-order. Usually, with the phone, the Hubby and I order on pre-order day but this time I wanted to see and try on the watch before ordering. 


Morgan's Milieu | Apple Watch Sport Review: Apple Watch Sport next to a blue Baby-G sport watch


Saturday 11th April saw me and the Hubby heading to Meadowhall to try on an Apple Watch. I tried on both the Apple Watch Sport and Apple Watch. The Edition was far too expensive, there was no way I was getting that one! 

After trying them on I decided the Sport would be best for me, I found the Apple Watch far too heavy. So we walked to the car and promptly ordered them, mine a blue strap and the Hubby's a black, with the larger screen. We were disappointed to find out that neither of us would get our watch until June. 

That's how it works with Apple products, if you don't order as soon as it's available you're looking at a 2 month wait, sometimes longer.

As it turned out my Apple Watch Sport shipped and I received it on release day, 24th April. I was more than a little excited!



At the time I shared my unboxing photos on Twitter and over the past few weeks I've been getting used to using this new piece of technology. 


And now I'm happy to let you know my thoughts on the Apple Watch Sport (this is the cheapest version of the Apple Watch starting at £299).





Strap


When I watched the Apple Event in March and heard about the strap I imagined it would feel plasticky and uncomfortable. Of course I should've known better, that's not what Apple want from their products. Here's what Apple say about the strap:

"Because it's made from a custom high-performance fluoroelastomer, the Sport Band is durable and strong, yet surprisingly soft. The smooth, dense material drapes elegantly across your wrist and feels comfortable next to your skin. An innovative pin-and-tuck closure ensures a clean fit."

The strap is surprisingly soft and it is a very comfortable fit. I don't find it annoys me or sticks to my skin, even when working out. The closure is easy to use and doesn't pinch, as I thought it might. To say it's the cheapest version of the straps it feels like a quality strap. You get a spare strap in the box with the Apple Watch Sport.





Watch Face


As my photos showed my first selection was Dancing Mickey, I LOVE Disney and to be able to have a happy, cheery Mickey Mouse telling me the time while dancing was brilliant. 

However I quickly found that I couldn't have enough information on the screen. The Dancing Mickey screen is customisable to a point but I couldn't have everything I wanted on there.

It wasn't long before I swapped my watch face to the "Modular" face. With this option I'm able to have lots of different information on the screen. My watch face shows the date, my diary appointments, the temperature, my activity rings and my battery level. You can also change the colour of all this information, mine is blue, like my strap. 




Turning on


Pairing my Apple Watch with my phone was super simple, all instructions were on screen and they were paired within two minutes. After pairing your watch has all the standard apps but you can use your phone to go to the Watch App Store and download more if you choose. 




Apps


There are lots of Apps to choose from but the ones I've found most useful so far are the ones that came already installed. 

Activity


This app tracks your steps, your exercise and your standing. In a glance you can see how active you've been, the bands make their way around the circle throughout the day. Using the crown you can scroll down on each of the rings screens to see how many steps you've done, how many calories you've burned and when you were most active. 

This is the app I was waiting for. I am now able to see how active I am and if I need to adjust anything about my routine. A useful feature is the stand reminder, if you've been sat down for longer than an hour it will remind you to get up and move around for at least 1 minute.

I've found this feature both useful and annoying. On days, like Sunday when I did the fun run, I would like to sit for more than an hour without feeling guilty. Also it reminds me to stand up when I am already standing. I'm not sure why that is. You can turn this feature off if you choose.

Workout


The workout app allows you to track details when working out. There are various options to select including Outdoor Run, Indoor Run (eg: treadmill), Outdoor/Indoor Cycle. You can keep track of your heart rate too, which shows you when to adjust intensity during your workout, if you need to. 

The app will show you a summary of your workout when you're finished and you're given an option to save or discard. I haven't yet worked out how to look back at your workout history.

Music


As long as you have your phone with you (and earphones connected) you can use Siri to play, skip and pause your music. I found this very useful when I did my 5k fun run on Sunday. I began running and simply asked Siri to "Play music" and it did as I asked. Much more simple than pulling out my phone, unlocking it and going to the music app to press play. 

Messages


As well as standard replies like "OK" and "Cool" you can use voice recognition to reply to messages. Not only that but there's also new animated emojis that you can send too! I love these and have sent them to the Hubby a few times. I haven't yet tried out the drawing pictures on screen and sending it to another Watch, I'll have to wait til the Hubby gets his watch for that. 




Siri


I didn't use Siri much before I got my Apple Watch, I never remembered I could. With Apple Watch it's the first thing you think of because it means you don't have to pull out your phone. I've used Siri more in the past two weeks than I have since I got my iPhone 6.

Sometimes it fails to hear me, or interpret my words, and I think it might be that it has trouble recognising female voices. I'm not sure why but it finds it much easier to respond to the Hubby's voice.




Summary


The apps I've found most useful are Activity, Twitter and messages. I am able to respond to messages without touching my phone, can ignore things if I choose and can see my activity levels at a glance. 

The notifications are great, they save me time and I'm able to get back to whatever I was doing quicker.

On a few occasions the Watch has paused, causing me to tap on something I didn't want to. I'm not entirely sure what caused the pauses but it can be quite annoying.



Overall I love my new Apple Watch, there are a few things that could be better but given it's the first of its kind I think Apple have done a great job.