WHAT I LIKE MOST ABOUT THE APPLE WATCH

BY TIM BROWN, HOST OF MY APPLE PODCAST

THE APPLE WATCH WAS RELEASED IN APRIL OF 2015 AND WE ARE NOW IN DECEMBER, RIGHT IN THE MIDST OF THE HOLIDAY SEASON. AND NOT SURPRISINGLY THE APPLE WATCH IS ON EVERYBODY’S WISH LIST.

I HAVE A SPORT EDITION AND I LOVE THE CLEAN ELEGANT DESIGN. IT FEELS LIKE A WATCH I CAN WHERE FOR ANY OCCASION. YOU CAN FIND A WIDE ARRAY OF OPTIONS ON APPLE'S WEBSITE. OVERALL THE GRAPHICS AND ANIMATIONS ARE JUST STUNNING. HERE ARE SOME FEATURES I ENJOY THE MOST.

NATIVE APPS

YOU CAN EASILY ACCESS THE APPS ON YOUR WATCH BY PRESSING ON THE DIGITAL CROWN. HERE YOU CAN CHOOSE FROM ALL THE AVAILABLE APPS, WHICH CAN BE CUSTOMIZED WHEN  USING THE COMPANION APP ON YOUR IPHONE. 

GLANCES

THE WATCH ALREADY COMES WTH A TON OF FEATURES THAT ARE VERY PRACTICAL AND A JOY TO USE. GLANCES GIVE YOU QUICK ACCESS TO INFORMATION AND SOME OF YOUR FAVORITE APPS. FOR EXAMPLE, HERE YOU CAN CHECK YOUR HEART BEAT, CHECK THE BATTERY PERCENTAGE, AND ACCESS OTHER THIRD PARTY APPS LIKE NEWS360 AND INSTAGRAM. YOU ACCESS GLANCES BY SWIPING UP FROM THE BOTTOM AND THEN SWIPING LEFT TO RIGHT TO BROWSE THROUGH THE MENU.

COMPLICATIONS

I LOVE THE ABILITY TO CUSTOMIZE WATCH FACES, WHICH COME WITH SOME PRETTY COOL OPTIONS INCLUDING A FEATURE CALLED COMPLICATIONS. WHEN YOU FIND SOMETHING YOU LIKE, SELECT THE CUSTOMIZE OPTION. HERE YOU CAN CHOOSE TO ADD OTHER ELEMENTS, LIKE WEATHER OR EMAIL BY TAPPING ON THE PLACE HOLDERS AND USING THE DIGITAL CROWN TO SCROLL THROUGH THE MENU OF OPTIONS.

MESSAGES

I THINK I USE THE MESSAGES APP THE MOST AND I’M ABSOLUTELY IN LOVE WITH THE 3D EMOTICONS. A QUICK WAY TO ACCESS MESSAGES IS TO PRESS THE SIDEBAR JUST BENEATH THE DIGITAL CROWN. HERE YOU CAN ACCESS YOUR ADDRESS BOOK, WITH THE OPTION TO GO QUICKLY TO YOUR FAVORITES. WHEN YOU IDENTIFY WHO YOU WANT TO CALL, PRESS ON THE ICON IN THE CENTER. HERE YOU WILL HAVE THREE OPTIONS: PLACE A PHONE CALL, SEND A DYNAMIC DRAWING MESSAGE, SEND A TEXT AND VOICE MESSAGE, OR SEND EMOTICONS.

I LOVE THE ANIMATED EMOTICONS: SMILEY FACE, HAND GESTURES, AND HEARTS. HERE YOU CAN USE THE DIGITAL CROWN TO CUSTOMIZE THE VARIOUS GESTURES AND EMOTIONS. YOU CAN ALSO ACCESS A LIBRARY OF EMOTIONS IF YOU PREFER STATIC IMAGES. 

ACTIVITY

THE ACTIVITY MONITOR IS ARGUABLY THE MOST POPULAR APP, AND ONE I USE DAILY. PERIODICALLY, YOU WILL RECEIVE NOTICES TO STAND UP. THIS ENCOURAGES YOU KEEP MOVING, AND KEEP YOUR HEART RATE PUMPING. HERE YOU CAN ALSO LEARN ABOUT THE CALORIES YOU’VE BURNED, THE NUMBER OF EXERCISE MINUTES YOU HAVE ACCUMULATED , AND THE NUMBER OF MINUTES STANDING. THERE IS ALSO THE WORKOUT APP WHICH ENABLES YOU TO TRACK YOUR EXERCISES, SUCH AS RUNNING AND WALKING INDOORS OR OUT.

MUSIC

THE APPLE WATCH ALSO COMES IN HANDY WHEN YOU WANT TO LISTEN TO MUSIC. WHEN YOU OPEN THE MUSIC APP, YOU WILL SEE OPTIONS FOR CONTROLLING MUSIC REMOTELY ON THE PHONE OR DIRECTLY ON YOUR WATCH. IF YOU CHOOSE YOUR WATCH, YOU CAN LISTEN TO BEATS1, YOUR MUSIC LIBRARY, OR PLAYLISTS USING A BLUETOOTH HEADSET OR SPEAKER SYSTEM. IN YOUR IPHONE SETTINGS, YOU CAN DESIGNATE WHAT PLAYLIST YOU WANT TO ACCESS. YOU CAN USE THE SETTINGS APP ON YOUR WATCH TO ESTABLISH A BLUETOOTH CONNECTION WITH YOUR DEVICE.

THIRD PARTY APPS

APPLE’S NATIVE APPS ARE FANTASTIC, YET THIRD PARTY APPS EXTEND AND ENHANCE THE OVERALL EXPERIENCE. MY FAVORITES INCLUDE NEWS READERS LIKE FLIPBOARD, LINKEDIN PULSE, NEWS360, AND FEEDLY. THE APPS LET YOU READ, SAVE AND LIKE ARTICLES. SOME APPS ALSO MAKE THE WATCH SURPRISINGLY PRACTICAL TO USE LIKE MICROSOFT'S TRANSLATOR APP AND JUST PRESS RECORD. THE FORMER ENABLES YOU TO TRANSLATE TEXT INTO A WIDE VARIETY OF LANGUAGES, AND THE LATTER PROVIDES THE ABILITY TO RECORD AUDIO ON YOUR WATCH AND SEND THE RECORDINGS TO YOUR PHONE

OF COURSE, THERE ARE MANY MORE LIKE PACEMAKER, FOR DJAING, OUTLOOK FOR CHECKING EMAIL AND CALENDARS, GOOGLE MAPS, AND AROUND ME FOR QUICKLY LOCATING STORES AND RESTAURANTS NEAR BY. THE SOCIAL MEDIA APPS LIKE TWITTER AND INSTAGRAM FUNCTION AS GREAT ALTERNATIVES FOR LIKING AND RETREATING POSTS RIGHT FROM YOUR WATCH.

THE APPLE WATCH IS A JOY TO HAVE AND HAS A LOT OF PRACTICAL VALUE FOR SENDING MESSAGES, READING NEWS, USING SOCIAL MEDIA, AND GETTING WORK DONE. IT WOULD MAKE A GREAT PRESENT FOR YOURSELF AND/OR THOSE YOU CARE ABOUT.

YOU CAN ALSO CHECK OUT MY REVIEW OF THE APPLE WATCH ON YOUTUBE.