My Newest Travel Gadget - Apple Watch |Travel Tech Gadgets

My Newest Travel Gadget - Apple Watch 3

The Apple Watch has been around for some time. It was released back in 2015. Since then, it has received several upgrades, with the latest version Apple Watch 4 coming out this year.
While I love the latest gadgets and tinkering with them, I am also on the practical side
where I do not jump at a chance to get the latest one as soon as it is released. I usually wait for a few iterations and reviews before getting the device. The same goes for updating to the latest software release.
After seeing the circumstances around some iOS updates that were hastily released I usually wait a bit to update. Of course, some updates my manufacturers are very important and you should read through the description for the updates and following the guidelines. Case in point, when Microsoft releases a patch for their system that has been found out to have exploitable code in it.
I also got burned previously with jumping in with products on crowdfunding sites and they being much less than was promised. See Why There Are No Longer Crowdfunding Posts On The Site

This post may contain affiliate links; please read my disclosure here

I got the Apple Watch Series 3

One of the main reason that I wanted to get the watch now is that I saw how much my wife was able to track and see with hers. She has the Apple Watch 2. She was tracking the number of steps she took every day, how many calories burned, amount of time working out, and even number of stairs climbed.

In turn, my wife wanted me to get one so I would track my physical activity as well plus my heart rate and for the watch to nudge me to stand-up. Working at a computer, often there is a lot of time that goes by that I can be just sitting in the seat without much movement. Now, with the watch, from time to time it tells me that it is time to stand up and remain standing for a bit. Great for stretching and getting away from the screen.

via apple.com

Another feature that makes you take a break or at least provides a reminder, is the Breathe app. It detects if your heart rate slows down too much which could indicate that you are not breathing as well, and it reminds you to take a breather and some deep breaths.

via apple.com

A long long time ago there was a site called fitday.com. It was ahead of its time as it gave you the ability to track everything you eat before there were apps on your phone or smartwatch. I used that site for a while to help identify and, as a result, control, what I was eating during the day. This control allowed me to limit the amount of "snacks" I just threw in my mouth as I needed to conscientious of it as I would later need to search for and add the food to my log. Now, I use an app called Lose It that is very similar to the site and makes it even easier to track thing as it is always with you. The app also connects to your phone and works with the Health app.

A smartphone is an essential gadget these days. We do not separate long from it if only during sleep (some don't even do that). A very helpful feature that is on the Apple Watch is Find My Phone.
On the watch face, you can swipe up to reveal the control panel. There there will an indicator in the top left corner if your watch is connected to your phone. If the icon is green and the phone is connected, you can tap on the icon with a phone in the middle and two rounded lines on each side. This will ping your phone and you will be reunited.

Siri is very easy to use on the watch. You don't even have to say "Hey, Siri." You just raise the watch up to your mouth and ask a question or provide instructions. I love adding reminders using Siri. Things pop up in my head from time to time and can easily have Siri jot them down as tasks within the Reminders app. Even better, since the watch is water resistant, I can add tasks and reminders when in the shower, which is where most of the best thinking happens.

Weather is something that we ask of our digital assistants on a daily basis, if not more frequently. On Apple Watch, I have the weather app installed and can easily look up the weather by either clicking on the app, clicking on the icon in the corner of one of the watch faces, or asking Siri what the is the weather outside. Once inside the app, you can view hourly temperature forecast or daily by rotating the digital crown.

Apple Watch also gives you easy music controls. When you have the music on and it is playing either through wired or wireless headphones or through Bluetooth connection, you do not need to reach for your phone or any other controls as you can make track changes and volume changes right from your watch.

I have had my Fossil timepiece for a long time. I really like that watch. It has a great design that withstood through a couple of decades. It was a gift for myself when I graduated from high school. Likely dating myself here, do the math ;) I wore it quite a bit almost never taking it off. However, as I started carrying a smartphone around, I wore the watch less. Though from time to time I had inklings to wear it again as it nicely complimented my outfits. And due to this watch, I was resistant to getting a smartwatch. I kept thinking I have a watch. However, because of the features described above and that the Apple Watch had better water protection, I opted to get another watch. I am still planning on wearing my Fossil on occasion.

The limitations of Apple Watch:

» For now, can speak to Siri if within range of the phone. If you move away from your phone and the little icon tells you are no longer connected, then you would not be able to talk to or use Siri to complete tasks.

» Same for some other apps. Quite a few apps that are available on Apple Watch are reliant on a connection to your phone.**

» Siri cannot take notes from the watch. The Notes app does work with Siri and Apple Watch. There is a workaround that was referred to above, which is to jot down your thoughts within the Reminders app

**Note that some of these limitations are because I opted for the non-cellular version as I didn’t want to pay for another line.