The Apple Watch: Tipping point
The Apple Watch: Tipping point
10:19

The Apple Watch: Tipping point

Smartwatches
I'm gonna let you in on a little secret. I haven't always been the biggest fan of the Apple Watch. I would use it sporadically but I think the first three versions of it sat my desk collecting dust. Now though I can't imagine not having it on my wrist [MUSIC] Five years ago when the Apple Watch first came out, I guess you can say times were very, very different. [UNKNOWN] was working for CNET in Spanish, we could leave our houses, and we were so publishing video in 720p. Yeks It is, the next chapter in Apple's story. The Apple lotter eye watch, cuz everyone called it that, was the first new product category, in the post Steve job's era, and the first truly noble Apple product that I'll be reviewing. [FOREIGN] So yeah, it was kind of a big deal for me at the time even though I had tested other smart watches. The problem was I didn't really get why I needed an Apple watch or what I would be doing with it. So rather than publish a straight forward first look, we decided to take viewers on a journey. To see what it was like to live a day with the Apple Watch. [SOUND] [FOREIGN] Looking back you wouldn't think the Apple Watch has changed much compared to the current Series 5. The screen is a bit bigger and brighter but it still has the same general design with that squarish watch face, digital crown, and swappable bands. In fact, if I still have those ugly green bands, I could even use them with my Series 5 today. But I'm pretty sure I burned them or at least I should have. I remember thinking at the time that it was one of the best looking smart watches, I've seen up until that but that wasn't saying much. Most of the other ones I had tested were a lot bulkier and definitely geared more for men than for women. The fact that the Apple Watch came into Sizes meant it was at least considering the opposite sex. But I think the design has grown on me over the years, and not really because of anything that Apple has done, and more so because I've gotten used to seeing it on people's wrists. It also helps that the series five finally got in always on display, so that it doesn't look like I have a dead screen strapped on my wrist anymore. More and not having to do this all the time is really nice. I still have to charge it every night though that much hasn't changed. Sure the battery has improved since the first one, especially considering it hasn't always on display, but you still won't be able to squeeze a full two days out of it. And that's probably one of the main reasons why Apple still Have not done sleep tracking. Yeah. And you still have to type in that tiny passcode when you strap it on in the morning and screenshot it anyone anyone [MUSIC] Find My iPhone continues to be one of my all time favorite features on the Apple Watch That in telling the time. It's about the little things. It's saved me a lot of time when I'm rushing out the door in the morning, especially now that I have kids. I have found my phone in some very odd places. Let me tell you side note that seems like such a chill morning compared to That is trying to get out of the door these days, pre quarantine of course. [MUSIC] It's funny seeing Instagram. On the Apple Watch. Back then I had Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and a bunch of other third party apps that I barely used. Now those aren't even an option. I think Apple may have realized how bad of an experience that was because first off Photos would take forever to load and secondly, insta stocking on a tiny screen just isn't the same. I've Marie Kondo my watch since then and now I have fewer third party apps, but Apple Watch. Watch apps in general have gotten way more useful as it's blossomed into its own platform. Now you can download apps straight from the watch, which I love. I remember thinking back then how cool it was that I didn't have to take out my phone to check notifications when I was out on the street, and I still like that about the Apple Watch. Except now I don't feel as silly talking to my wrist **** Tracy style in public. Plus, there are more ways to respond. I use the scribble feature a lot, because oftentimes, I am holding a sleeping baby for two hours and I have to respond to a text. Without being too loud. Also, I still do not use the digital touch feature. Is that even a thing, who uses that? Maybe in this quarantine era it's the only thing we got [MUSIC] [FOREIGN] Good must be able to spell his lovely Apple Pay. Having Apple Pay on my wrist was great back then. And it's still great now especially because it's more widely accepted, except now it's kinda lost its wow factor when I talked to pay with. With my wrist on the cash register, especially in San Francisco. [MUSIC] There were two features that really changed my perception of the Apple Watch. The first one was LTE on the series 3. Up until then I view the Apple watch as just an extension of the iPhone on my wrist. Having its own cell signal liberated the watch from the iPhone and in turn freed me from having to tote around my phone all the time. I could go on a run and leave my phone at home and still be comfortable knowing that I had the basics on my wrist the ability to call text or call a Lyft or Uber in case of an emergency. And it was tough at first because I had a little bit of phone withdrawal but eventually I liked the feeling of not having a full fledged phone on me all the time to distract me. When I had my first baby, I made a conscious effort to limit screen time at least while I was around him, which was all the time considering I was nursing 24/7 at that point. I like that the Apple Watch allowed me to stay connected without taking me away from my baby. I could still log a sleep schedule, answer text or check the headlines during those 2am feedings. But I wouldn't spend endless hours scrolling through Instagram like a zombie at 3am. [MUSIC] [MUSIC] The other feature or features rather, it changed the way that I use the Apple watch were those heart health notifications and the ECG app on series 4. All of a sudden, all that health data that I had been ignoring for three years, felt like it was more credible. The Apple watch went from being a cute little fitness tracker to me to being a potentially life saving health tool. I considered myself somewhat of a purist when it came to running. I like to run for the sake of running and not for the sake of filling a quota on a tracker. I didn't even listen to music on a run, just the phone in case of an emergency. See, this coincided with me having kids and all of a sudden I did not have the time or energy to go on those endless trail rounds for the sake of running. I struggled to keep the same level of activity that I had prior to having kids and the real system really helped me be honest about how much or how little I was doing at the time. I'm not proud of it, but I eventually became that person who obsesses about closing her rings all the time. Maybe once the kids are off to college, I'll get back to running for the sake of running but until then, see me [MUSIC] [MUSIC] I'm at the UCSF Medical Center hooked up to a 12 lead EKG. Now I'm going to compare the results of this test versus the 1 lead EKG on the Apple Watch. And then things got real. I was testing out the ECG app alongside a hospital grade ECG for a CNET story. When the doctor noticed something strange about my heart rhythm, it was showing up on both the watch and on his machine. So for the purpose of the story, it proved that the Apple Watch was accurate but I was freaked out. Turns out, it wasn't anything serious. Luckily just stress and lack of sleep it made my heart skip a beat. But it freaked me out because you just never know with these kinds of things. That Christmas I gave both my parents an Apple Watch. They live in El Salvador and I can't physically be there to monitor their health. So I felt like at least the Apple Watch was watching out for their heart health in a way. It also included the fall detection feature. So if they fell in the middle of the night, I would be notified the emergency services would be notified. It's just, I guess a nice way to keep tabs on your loved ones. And I think it opened up a whole new realm of possibilities for the Apple Watch. [MUSIC] Five years later, and there's still plenty that the Apple Watch can do, too. To improve, battery life number one, I think we're all ready to see a new look from the Apple Watch maybe that round watch face, more health features and complete independence from the iPhone. But that said, I think it has stepped out from, under the shadow of the iPhone to become its own unique device and one that I use on a regular basis. So why do I need an apple watch? For, me personally, it's about health and staying connected. It keeps me healthy amongst all this chaos, and it keeps me connected without, becoming too much of a distraction. So I'm excited to see what the next five years of the Apple Watch looks like.

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