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[SuperPac]

Got mine finally! Man the only thing that is buggy is the circle app interface... moving apps locations around is completely broken.

Oh yeah that app screen is the worst. It's slightly easier to customize it within the Apple Watch app on the phone, but in general that whole interface is awful. Hopefully it changes with the next OS update. I stopped trying to customize that layout a long time ago and now pretty much just use apps in the Dock.

 

[Deleted member 22576]

Timer is quite unreliable on os3. Its still giving this notification after the timer is off.

Which is strange. Does anyone else get this? But I almost burned some nachos a bit ago because the pulsling alert just didn't trigger! I felt the tiptap for the bogus times up notification but no pulsing alert.

crazy stuff. not the first time ive noticed the pulsation not activate either.

 

[mrkgoo]

Timer is quite unreliable on os3. Its still giving this notification after the timer is off.

Which is strange. Does anyone else get this? But I almost burned some nachos a bit ago because the pulsling alert just didn't trigger! I felt the tiptap for the bogus times up notification but no pulsing alert.

crazy stuff. not the first time ive noticed the pulsation not activate either.

I've onlyy used it once since I got watchOS, but it was how it always was.

One thing that seems off to me is that I have my watch set to show the clock face and not the last used app, EXCEPT for session-based apps. The Timer is supposed to be one, so I assumed it was supposed to show the timer until it finished. but it doesn't. I think I just don't get how session-based apps are supposed to work.

 

[Deleted member 22576]

I've onlyy used it once since I got watchOS, but it was how it always was.

One thing that seems off to me is that I have my watch set to show the clock face and not the last used app, EXCEPT for session-based apps. The Timer is supposed to be one, so I assumed it was supposed to show the timer until it finished. but it doesn't. I think I just don't get how session-based apps are supposed to work.

I think you can no set how long a session is. maybe yours is just defaultly set to a small interval. I think mine is set to 8 minutes.

 

[Giolon]

Woo! The exact Watch I wanted came in stock at the Stanford Shopping Center Apple Store so I went down to pick it up. 42mm Silver Aluminum, Series 2 with Pearl Nylon band.

I have no idea how to use this thing properly, but I think I like it so far!

 

[mrkgoo]

I think you can no set how long a session is. maybe yours is just defaultly set to a small interval. I think mine is set to 8 minutes.

On watchOS 2 there were only two options: show last app or show watch (except for sessions).

On watchOS 3 it gives selectable time and defaults to 8 minutes but I set t back to watch face except sessions.

It works how it did before. It I just thought timer was a session as well (it says it is) but my timer always disappears.

 

[PhoncipleBone]

Can I set a timer/alarm to go off every X number of minutes without having to set multiple timers/alarms?

 

[mrklaw]

I like the new side button to go to apps, but I'd like a tweak to how they work. Currently, side button brings up a list of apps, you swipe to the one you want and then tap to bring it up.

Seems a bit removed from the content

I'd prefer if hitting the side button just immediately brings up the last app you had open and then you can swipe to switch apps like glances used to.

I mostly use apps to get to now playing so this way I could blindly hit the side button without even looking at it, and get to volume controls on the crown for instance

 

[mrkgoo]

I like the new side button to go to apps, but I'd like a tweak to how they work. Currently, side button brings up a list of apps, you swipe to the one you want and then tap to bring it up.

Seems a bit removed from the content

I'd prefer if hitting the side button just immediately brings up the last app you had open and then you can swipe to switch apps like glances used to.

I mostly use apps to get to now playing so this way I could blindly hit the side button without even looking at it, and get to volume controls on the crown for instance

Double clicking the crown gets you to last used app if you didn't know. Personally I feel it makes more sense if you double clicked the side button now though.

So click once to get to your dock and twice to go to last used app.

 

[mrklaw]

Double clicking the crown gets you to last used app if you didn't know. Personally I feel it makes more sense if you double clicked the side button now though.

So click once to get to your dock and twice to go to last used app.

Seems to work for everything except now playing ?

Also agree it would make sense if one click of the side button is apps, then two clicks would be last used. Maybe they think people are too used to it for Apple Pay?

 

[mrkgoo]

Seems to work for everything except now playing ?

Also agree it would make sense if one click of the side button is apps, then two clicks would be last used. Maybe they think people are too used to it for Apple Pay?

Hey you're right about not on now playing! weird.

Oh apple pay. I don't have it so yeah double clicking does nothing on my side button, hence why I thought it was just not there.

 

[hirokazu]

Hey when you turn off Mirror iPhone Notifications for an app, that means it should no longer show up on Apple Watch, right? But its notifications still show as normal on iPhone?

Because I have Apple News notifications on iPhone but I don't want to see it on Apple Watch. I turn the Mirror iPhones Notifications off for News but it still shows up on Apple Watch.

 

[Spiral Insanity]

Someone please sell me on an iWatch! I want to want one.

 

[Quonny]

I am loving this stupid little watch. The screen is gorgeous and the thing looks so sharp. I was worried it'd look ugly but it really looks great. My only issue is if I bend my wrist up for more than one second it activates Siri.

 

[PhoncipleBone]

I like the new side button to go to apps, but I'd like a tweak to how they work. Currently, side button brings up a list of apps, you swipe to the one you want and then tap to bring it up.

Seems a bit removed from the content

I'd prefer if hitting the side button just immediately brings up the last app you had open and then you can swipe to switch apps like glances used to.

I mostly use apps to get to now playing so this way I could blindly hit the side button without even looking at it, and get to volume controls on the crown for instance

You can arrange the order of apps on the dock. I moved Now Playing to the first position so it is the first thing to pop up when hitting the button.

However, if I was using something else in the dock before, it goes to that on button press.

They need a Now Playing complication.

 

[The_Inquisitor]

Ugh. Really hope third party apps will integrate with GPS soon. Running strava without my phone was the primary purpose of my watch upgrade.

 

[kr2t0s]

Can I set a timer/alarm to go off every X number of minutes without having to set multiple timers/alarms?

Check out an app called Due - http://www.dueapp.com

 

[Zeyphersan]

Hey when you turn off Mirror iPhone Notifications for an app, that means it should no longer show up on Apple Watch, right? But its notifications still show as normal on iPhone?

Because I have Apple News notifications on iPhone but I don't want to see it on Apple Watch. I turn the Mirror iPhones Notifications off for News but it still shows up on Apple Watch.

By turned off you mean just uncheck notifications for News in the Apple Watch app?

 

[Bruce Springsteen]

Finally arriving Monday

And I noticed that SS 42mm sports band model is set for November 2 for in store pickups, good thing I ordered when I did

 

[japtor]

Anyway some dock chat, I don't care enough to get one for when I'm home, but when traveling all the cables and stuff I have can get annoying. I was looking into the Apple one (cause then I could just detach and use one of my many other lightning cables then came across this one, figure I can just bring and charge everything off that instead of disconnecting my other charger brick and cables:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B019SO9EHI/?tag=neogaf0e-20

Anyone have it? It seems like a lot of the reviews have the "I was given this for free/at a discount for a fair review" so I'm not sure how trustworthy the rating is.

Well I ended up impulse buying it, seem to be the first on the forums I'm on. Copy/pasted impressions ahead:

There's no padding or anything if you're paranoid about that, just sits right on the plastic. Also I have the 42mm, no clue if the 38mm would have issues or not, I'm sure that'd be mentioned in the Amazon reviews if there's an issue (although there are a lot of "I received this for free" reviews so ehhh...). It's all powered by a figure 8 power cord that connects on the back.

The puck holder piece is detachable, so when packing I plan on pulling it out and just trying to lay it flat. Unfortunately you can't just put it back inside since the puck can't pass through the hole there.

If you've treated your cable nicely it should coil up inside easily enough, that's the longer original cable btw. It's not a huge space, but enough that I tossed in my wadded up Milanese loop and could fit in a short (like 8") lightning cable I have.

There's a little blue LED inside near the USB port, and visible here through the front USB port and a bit through the casing (kinda visible on top left). It's not too bad, but my bed stand is lower than my bed which helps. I'll probably try blocking it inside since the shining up through the casing is the main annoyance (and the USB port can be blocked enough by usage). There's also a gray/black version which is probably better in this regard.

And it hasn't burned down my house yet but it's only been one night. I charged my iPad and iPhone off of it too, but I don't know at what rate (probably in the Amazon description). I did see another branded version for about $2 less, and the first review mentioned it burning up so we'll see what happens there.

Another night or two since I wrote that I covered up the blue LED but it still bleeds in the bottom area that's closed off, doesn't bother me enough to try taking it apart yet. Otherwise it does what I wanted and I think I can fit all the other short cables I'd need inside during travel. A collapsing puck holder or some way to pack it inside would've been nice, that and the LED are my only complaints really.

 

[mrkgoo]

You can arrange the order of apps on the dock. I moved Now Playing to the first position so it is the first thing to pop up when hitting the button.

However, if I was using something else in the dock before, it goes to that on button press.

They need a Now Playing complication.

There is a music complication that lets you see what is playing. But do you mean controls?

 

[sruckus]

The Music complication is just for Apple Music.

 

[mrkgoo]

The Music complication is just for Apple Music.

Yet I don't have Apple Music and it shows my playing music. Weird.

 

[mrklaw]

Yet I don't have Apple Music and it shows my playing music. Weird.

Local music? Isn't that still playing using Apple Music - it's both the generic native local player and the subscription service. I don't think that complication shows anything if you're using Spotify or pocket casts (in my case)

 

[mrkgoo]

Local music? Isn't that still playing using Apple Music - it's both the generic native local player and the subscription service. I don't think that complication shows anything if you're using Spotify or pocket casts (in my case)

Yeah it's my local music. I'm not subscribed to Apple Music, so it's not exclusively Apple Music. It is only music though- it's a "music" cimplication so just for the music app rather than the now playing app. It won't show my podcasts playing for example.

 

[Deleted member 17706]

I decided to give the Series 2 a try, but I can't say I'm very impressed by this thing after 24 hours with it. Not really sure what I was expecting, but it's been a lot of head aches.

The first time I paired my watch with my phone (iPhone 7), the watch wasn't tracking my activity at all. Everything was at zero and wouldn't budge. After rebooting it to no avail and looking online for a solution, it seemed like the only solution was to unpair and re-pair, which seems to be the equivalent of factory resetting the damn thing as it is a very time consuming process.

So, I finally get everything set back up again and, yay, activity tracking works. I'm still confused how this thing works in tandem with the iPhone's activity tracking. Does one get priority? Why are my steps and walked distance in the Activity app on the watch and Health app on the iPhone not always in sync?

Anyway, I had a flight today, but unfortunately neither the scanner at the TSA security line or the boarding gate could actually read the barcode on the Apple Watch screen, so I had to pull out my phone both times, which was awkward. Oh well.

Had trouble with Apple Pay, as well, where the airport coffee shop's machine wouldn't work with my watch for whatever reason, causing me again to pull out my phone.

While on the plane, I tried out listening to some music and seeing how the Apple Watch could control it. I was listening to some downloaded songs on the Spotify app, and after some tinkering, learned that the Music Watch app, when entered as an app, will not let me control Spotify. It will instead just play whatever song is first in your iTunes/Music library. However! If you press the side button (not the dial) to bring up the "Now Playing" version, you can control your Spotify music. Never mind that the interfaces for the two is exactly the same. Not confusing at all...

Now, I'm sitting here trying to set up Apple Watch unlock for my MacBook Pro (early 2015). Initially the option showed up in my MacBook settings, but it told me that I needed to enable two-factor authentication. I thought I already had that on, but apparently I was using "two-step" authentication. Great naming there, guys...

So, I disable two-step and enable two-factor, but then I go back into the Security & Privacy settings and no longer is the Apple Watch unlock option available. I try some solutions online (mainly involving disabling an re-enabling "Handoff" on every device), and rebooting each of my devices, but nothing helps. One option I read online is that I can try logging out of and back into iCloud on my MacBook, but fuck that. I don't want to have to "back up" all of my data, including dozens of gigabytes of photos, just to be able to log out once.

Other than all of those troubles, the device seems... okay, I guess. No idea how accurate this fitness information is, but the fact that it isn't in sync with the Health app on iPhone bothers the hell out of me. Honestly, the OS feels sluggish, even though this is supposed to be the fast version. Lots of unresponsiveness or interface lag, even with "Reduced Motion" turned on to kill the animations. It almost feels like using an iPad 2 on a tiny screen in late 2016.

I wish the modular watch face would be a bit more customizable, too...

The only really positive experience I've had so far is dictating text messages and seeing it work really well. It even knew to switch languages between English and Japanese depending on the context of the message thread. Very impressed with that.

I'll try using it for a week, but my initial feeling is to return this thing. Definitely doesn't feel like it's providing $400 worth of value to me, personally, but then again, I don't do much running or swimming.

 

[sruckus]

Yeah it's my local music. I'm not subscribed to Apple Music, so it's not exclusively Apple Music. It is only music though- it's a "music" cimplication so just for the music app rather than the now playing app. It won't show my podcasts playing for example.

Yes so it's using Apple Music.

 

[Jo Shishido's Cheeks]

I am loving this stupid little watch. The screen is gorgeous and the thing looks so sharp. I was worried it'd look ugly but it really looks great. My only issue is if I bend my wrist up for more than one second it activates Siri.

You're wearing it wrong, it needs to be higher up your wrist and completely clear of the wrist bone. This will ensure accurate heart rate readings too.

I'll try using it for a week, but my initial feeling is to return this thing. Definitely doesn't feel like it's providing $400 worth of value to me, personally, but then again, I don't do much running or swimming.

I think this is key, I honestly wouldn't recommend one of these to anybody who doesn't work out regularly. The non-fitness stuff are nice extras but aren't worth the asking price alone.

 

[eyeball_kid]

I like the new side button to go to apps, but I'd like a tweak to how they work. Currently, side button brings up a list of apps, you swipe to the one you want and then tap to bring it up.

Seems a bit removed from the content

You can also turn the crown to scroll through the dock, which I find much easier than swiping. But it really irritates me that the dock doesn't scroll vertically. The hardware and software don't feel in sync there because you're turning something physically but it's moving on the screen in a perpendicular direction. With interface issues like that, I continue to feel that they've got a B-team of designers working on the Watch.

So, I finally get everything set back up again and, yay, activity tracking works. I'm still confused how this thing works in tandem with the iPhone's activity tracking. Does one get priority? Why are my steps and walked distance in the Activity app on the watch and Health app on the iPhone not always in sync?

I'm not sure exactly how it determines which device to use for activity; if you look in the Health app under walking steps, you'll see that the data has a mixture of Watch and iPhone data samples. However your Watch and iPhone are not in constant communication; otherwise your Watch battery would run down pretty fast as it would need to send data constantly over a BTLE or wifi connection. When you open the Health or Activity app on the iPhone is should ping the Watch for an update though, and it does this periodically in the background.

The Watch device unlocking feature seems to be buggy for everyone right now. Sloppy to release in that state I agree, but hopefully it will get attention soon.

 

[hirokazu]

By turned off you mean just uncheck notifications for News in the Apple Watch app?

Yeah, it's an on/off toggle. I toggle it off, it still shows up.

 

[cakefoo]

Proactively sharing a solution to a minor problem I had.

If you send an email to a non-existent address, you might get an "Unsent Message" notification that stubbornly reappears when you try clearing it from the notification center on the watch. To get rid of it, you have to tap the notification, and it'll say Try Again or Cancel. Tap Cancel.

The notification looks similar to the MAILER DAEMON email, but it's really just a prompt for action.

 

[mrkgoo]

Yes so it's using Apple Music.

So does Apple Music now refer to that whole app now and not just the service? I've never turned it on and I actively toggle off "show Apple Music" in my settings.

It does say my music is "downloaded" though, signifying its local.

You can also turn the crown to scroll through the dock, which I find much easier than swiping. But it really irritates me that the dock doesn't scroll vertically. The hardware and software don't feel in sync there because you're turning something physically but it's moving on the screen in a perpendicular direction. With interface issues like that, I continue to feel that they've got a B-team of designers working on the Watch.

I see what you mean. It does make sense. But the horizontal axis is the shorter one so you feel it's scrolling faster. Plus the idea of a dock is horizontal like the phone and Mac.

It's all obvious that they are still figuring all this out, but I'm happy they are because the watch is starting to feel more focussed than before.

 

[streetsahead123]

I never really used Siri on my iPhone but using it to play music and send texts on my Apple Watch is super satisfying. It's also much more accurate than I thought it was. It understands exactly what I'm saying almost all of the time. I always assumed the speech-to-text functionality was mediocre because my mom uses it to text me and her texts are always nonsense haha.

 

[eyeball_kid]

I see what you mean. It does make sense. But the horizontal axis is the shorter one so you feel it's scrolling faster. Plus the idea of a dock is horizontal like the phone and Mac.

It's all obvious that they are still figuring all this out, but I'm happy they are because the watch is starting to feel more focussed than before.

Honestly I think it scrolls so fast it's hard to see what's flashing by, so I'd be fine with a slower cadence. But uh, my Mac has a vertical Dock (you can change this in Prefs). It gets out of my way on the side, and allows for more vertical room on widescreen monitors where vertical space is at a premium.

Yeah watchOS 3 has better UI overall, but it still feels pretty clumsy in places. It doesn't feel like there were "a thousand no's for every yes" on most features. Just not well thought-out. But at least the Watch doesn't feel like I'm using a prototype anymore.

I never really used Siri on my iPhone but using it to play music and send texts on my Apple Watch is super satisfying. It's also much more accurate than I thought it was. It understands exactly what I'm saying almost all of the time. I always assumed the speech-to-text functionality was mediocre because my mom uses it to text me and her texts are always nonsense haha.

I use Siri on the Watch mainly to start timers ("Set a timer for 17 minutes") which is way easier than going to the app. It's nice for Reminders too ("Remind me to take my plane ticket when I leave the house")

 

[PhoncipleBone]

Yeah, Siri is great for timers. Been abusing it while cooking or grilling. It is great.

 

[Giolon]

Well, I'm through my first 24 hours with my Apple Watch and it's safe to say that so far I love it.

I've been driving around in a rental car on a trip, so it's been great to have directions show up on my watch since I don't have any where in the car to put my iPhone where it's easily visible while driving. Instead I get a little tap on my wrist and a notification on the watch w/ map showing me where to turn. It's brilliant!

I also used the watch for an exploration walk I did today. That was pretty cool - it marked out my path on the map in the Activity app afterwards.

Siri dictation works really well, but so does Scribble!

I was at a wedding and it was nice to be able to just glance at my watch to see notifications that were coming in instead of having to pull out my conspicuous phone.

I do wish that there were more watch faces that managed to combine looking cool and functionality. So far, the Modular face is the one that can serve up the most information that I want available at a glance, but it's so blandly functional. I guess I shouldn't complain too much since it's giving me exactly what I want it to, functionally. Apple should open up the Watch Faces to 3rd party devs.

Using the Now Playing app to control my music is pretty nice too. It was great on the airplane so I wouldn't have to pull my phone out of my pocket to stop or adjust the music.

My primary complaint so far is that the watch face won't turn on when I rotate my wrist if my wrist isn't almost entirely horizontal.

 

[PhoncipleBone]

My primary complaint so far is that the watch face won't turn on when I rotate my wrist if my wrist isn't almost entirely horizontal.

If the screen is off, you can rotate the crown to slowly turn the screen on.

 

[Future]

Well I'm pretty disappointed. Just went out for my first run with my new series 2 on a loop I've done before. The loop is 2.43 miles (calculated via Garmin watch). The Watch calculated me as clocking 1.85 miles - my 8:27 pace turned into 11:04 according to Apple. The weird thing is that reviewing the map in the Activity app, it's spot on.

Engadget said this in their review. Essentially the thing isn't that accurate by itself? They actually recommended the series 1 because of that.

 

[jts]

Someone please sell me on an iWatch! I want to want one.

It's great!!!

 

[mrklaw]

I think this is key, I honestly wouldn't recommend one of these to anybody who doesn't work out regularly. The non-fitness stuff are nice extras but aren't worth the asking price alone.

Disagree. I use mine mainly for notifications as my phone is on silent at work. Useful for reminding of upcoming meetings (little tap on the wrist reminds me to start wrapping up) and also discreet personal notifications

The activity tracking is something I wasn't bothered about, but I've found them really useful - they have encouraged me to walk to/from the station rather than getting the tube and generally increasing my activity

 

[modernlifeisANDY]

Engadget said this in their review. Essentially the thing isn't that accurate by itself? They actually recommended the series 1 because of that.

I'm going to try it with the Nike app next time around to see if it's any better. The map is spot on but for whatever reason it isn't calculating the distance properly.

 

[PhoncipleBone]

Disagree. I use mine mainly for notifications as my phone is on silent at work. Useful for reminding of upcoming meetings (little tap on the wrist reminds me to start wrapping up) and also discreet personal notifications

The activity tracking is something I wasn't bothered about, but I've found them really useful - they have encouraged me to walk to/from the station rather than getting the tube and generally increasing my activity

The discreet notifications and quick responses to things are what I use mine for mainly too. The activity tracking is just the side benefit. It has made me more conscious of moving around more too.

 

[Quonny]

I agree with Gio's Modular comments. It's by far the most useful and has a ton of information, but it's so bland and boring. I will continue to use it though because it has the date, time, weather for the day, my messages, activity, and battery life on one screen.

 

[Camp1nCarl]

I'm going to try it with the Nike app next time around to see if it's any better. The map is spot on but for whatever reason it isn't calculating the distance properly.

Yikes. Please post back on what you see. The primary reason I was picking this up would be for the GPS integration, but if it's not accurate or good that is definitely worrisome.

 

[Animator]

I think this is key, I honestly wouldn't recommend one of these to anybody who doesn't work out regularly. The non-fitness stuff are nice extras but aren't worth the asking price alone.

This. It is a fitness device. If that aspect of it doesn't interest you,you are paying $400 to read notifications on your wrist and to control the music app.

For me, the fact that it pushes me to be more active is worth any amount of money for me. I have been walking and working out more since I got the watch. It reminds me to drink water, makes me push myself harder in the pool and gym and so on.

 

[modernlifeisANDY]

Yikes. Please post back on what you see. The primary reason I was picking this up would be for the GPS integration, but if it's not accurate or good that is definitely worrisome.

Nike doesn't work without the phone - at least not that I saw today.

Used the Apple workout app for another run today. After unpairing the watch from my phone and repairing it, it was more accurate - just about spot on. However, it appeared to be constantly searching for my phone's GPS, as indicated by a red icon in the corner during my whole run. Will see tomorrow on the next run!

 

[mrkgoo]

Nike doesn't work without the phone - at least not that I saw today.

Used the Apple workout app for another run today. After unpairing the watch from my phone and repairing it, it was more accurate - just about spot on. However, it appeared to be constantly searching for my phone's GPS, as indicated by a red icon in the corner during my whole run. Will see tomorrow on the next run!

It might not be calculating distance based on gps but steps. Might help to recalibrate motion data.

 

[jts]

Nike doesn't work without the phone - at least not that I saw today.

Used the Apple workout app for another run today. After unpairing the watch from my phone and repairing it, it was more accurate - just about spot on. However, it appeared to be constantly searching for my phone's GPS, as indicated by a red icon in the corner during my whole run. Will see tomorrow on the next run!

I think it only uses its own GPS if the iPhone is not available, as the battery life is quite short on the Watch when using GPS (although tbf that's also the case for the iPhone).

 

[Darryl M R]

I'm debating between the Apple series 2 with a black sports band or black milanese band.

Any comments or reviews on these bands?

 

[The Teachinator]

My advice would be...if you're willing to spring for the Milanese... Just buy a stainless steel watch with the sport band and buy a Milanese off of Amazon. There is no perceptible difference between one that costs $15 and however much Apple's costs.