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Apple Watch Series 1&2 |OT| Better, Wetter

Hutchie

Member
Cheers guys, may get apple care next month and then do the repair. Seems to be the cheapest option. Plus the scratches arent to visible in the dark.
 

mrkgoo

Member
Cheers guys, may get apple care next month and then do the repair. Seems to be the cheapest option. Plus the scratches arent to visible in the dark.

There's a time limit on when you can purchase Apple Care + - it's like 60 days or something from first purchase. It's not meant to be an "after damage" solution, but rather more like insurance. You pay for the care, and in event of damage, you're covered.


I thought for the phones, that if you purchase after, they want a picture of the device or something to make sure you haven't damaged it already. Or maybe they just have a time limit on when you can use it after purchase, I forget.
 
There's a time limit on when you can purchase Apple Care + - it's like 60 days or something from first purchase. It's not meant to be an "after damage" solution, but rather more like insurance. You pay for the care, and in event of damage, you're covered.


I thought for the phones, that if you purchase after, they want a picture of the device or something to make sure you haven't damaged it already. Or maybe they just have a time limit on when you can use it after purchase, I forget.

Phones and Watches are both 60 days. If you take it into the store to buy AC+ after the fact there's an inspection that goes along with it, so it can't be already damaged. Over the phone I think they just run diagnostics, I'm not sure. Seems like an easy way to scam AppleCare so I don't know if there are any other precautions
 

Hutchie

Member
Damn im over the 60 days now as i bought late october! Watch works fine so i could just have a look at getting a cover instead.
 

mrkgoo

Member
Phones and Watches are both 60 days. If you take it into the store to buy AC+ after the fact there's an inspection that goes along with it, so it can't be already damaged. Over the phone I think they just run diagnostics, I'm not sure. Seems like an easy way to scam AppleCare so I don't know if there are any other precautions

Thanks for clarifying.
 
I'm considering buying a series 2 Apple Watch, mainly for tracking weight lifting at the gym and mapping my hikes outdoors.

The watch would also be a nice upgrade to my ancient iPod, which I still use to listen to music and podcasts at the gym... or so I thought. Apparently to get music on the watch you have to have it sync from your iPhone– is that true? Is there really no way to sync music directly from my Mac? I don't carry any music on my iPhone, nor am I interested in doing so. It's way easier to manage my library from a real computer.

Also, to confirm: is this insane workflow still the only way to get podcasts on the Apple Watch? That's just crazy. Is there any app that solves the problem of easily getting podcasts on the watch? I did some searching and there were mentions of Overcast, but I don't think it helps with sync. Maybe this is just an area Apple closes off to developers? I'm a believer that Apple makes quality products, but sometimes their blindspots are maddening.
 
I'm considering buying a series 2 Apple Watch, mainly for tracking weight lifting at the gym and mapping my hikes outdoors.

The watch would also be a nice upgrade to my ancient iPod, which I still use to listen to music and podcasts at the gym... or so I thought. Apparently to get music on the watch you have to have it sync from your iPhone– is that true? Is there really no way to sync music directly from my Mac? I don't carry any music on my iPhone, nor am I interested in doing so. It's way easier to manage my library from a real computer.

Also, to confirm: is this insane workflow still the only way to get podcasts on the Apple Watch? That's just crazy. Is there any app that solves the problem of easily getting podcasts on the watch? I did some searching and there were mentions of Overcast, but I don't think it helps with sync. Maybe this is just an area Apple closes off to developers? I'm a believer that Apple makes quality products, but sometimes their blindspots are maddening.

The Watch isn't its own thing, it really is an accessory to an iPhone. So all data has to come through there, yes. And yes that is the method to get podcasts on the watch, there is no way for a third party app to do it since other apps can't store that kind of data on the watch itself
 

hirokazu

Member
No, I mean to mute notifications for a single chat/group.
In the iPhone app, you can do that.
I was wondering if it's possible to do that through the watch, as it would be terribly convenient when a group starts spamming and my wrist starts vibrating non-stop. :p
If you mute the group in the iPhone app, it won't show up on the Watch. But you probably want it to show up on the iPhone and not the Watch. I ended up removing WhatsApp notifications from my Watch entirely instead.
 

Blackhead

Redarse
Also, to confirm: is this insane workflow still the only way to get podcasts on the Apple Watch?
How to sync podcasts with Apple Watch April 28, 2015

there is currently no way to sync podcasts, which is something Apple will likely address in a future update...

Again, this is just a workaround. Apple will likely allow to sync podcasts in a more straightforward manner in the near future. In the meantime, this will have to do...
:lol
:D
:)
:|
:/
:(
...

That's just crazy. Is there any app that solves the problem of easily getting podcasts on the watch? I did some searching and there were mentions of Overcast, but I don't think it helps with sync. Maybe this is just an area Apple closes off to developers? I'm a believer that Apple makes quality products, but sometimes their blindspots are maddening.
The Watch isn't its own thing, it really is an accessory to an iPhone. So all data has to come through there, yes. And yes that is the method to get podcasts on the watch, there is no way for a third party app to do it since other apps can't store that kind of data on the watch itself
Forget third parties for a moment; Apple themselves develop and release an podcast app installed by default on every iPhone. It's mind boggling that this official podcast app can't sync with the Apple watch. How out of touch are Jony Ive et al with their users' needs?
 

nicoga3000

Saint Nic
So my wife wants an Apple Watch. I figured you guys could help me figure some stuff out.

How resilient is the face to knocking around?

Can you text from it?

Is there a refresh expected soon?
 
The Watch isn't its own thing, it really is an accessory to an iPhone. So all data has to come through there, yes.
If data can be sync'd from an iPhone, so I can listen to music without the iPhone nearby, then there's no technical limitation that prevents Apple from sync'ing data from a Mac too. It's bluetooth either way.

I get that there are way more iPhones than Macs in the world, but it's a blatant omission. I guess it's just another sign of Apple neglecting the Mac in favor of mobile, which is very frustrating because I love the Apple ecosystem. I just want to run it from my Mac, not my phone!
 
Forget third parties for a moment; Apple themselves develop and release an podcast app installed by default on every iPhone. It's mind boggling that this official podcast app can't sync with the Apple watch.
Yeah, it's an insanely frustrating omission. If they allow sync for music, they should allow sync for podcasts. The fact that changing the file metadata's media type makes the sync possible is dumb. Shiny new toys are supposed to make life easier, not remind me of iTunes file transfer hell before iCloud was a thing.
 

nicoga3000

Saint Nic
Considering that the series 2 came out just in September 2016, it's highly unlikely there will be any hardware changes for a long time.

Excellent.

What about texting and glass durability?

Also, does anyone have an opinion on the screen size? It's only a few mm, but it's worth wondering about.
 
What about texting and glass durability?

Also, does anyone have an opinion on the screen size? It's only a few mm, but it's worth wondering about.
I'm not sure about texting and durability since I don't have one, I'm just considering buying one. Hopefully someone else can answer you more definitively.

However, I think you can text replies from the watch using voice dictation via Siri, or canned replies. But the watch doesn't have its own cellular connection, so your phone needs to be nearby.

For sizing, I recommend you just go into an Apple Store, Best Buy, etc, and try one on, assuming this isn't a surprise for your wife. You can also do a virtual wrist sizing via Apple's app "Apple Store", but I haven't tried it.
 

hirokazu

Member
Excellent.

What about texting and glass durability?

Also, does anyone have an opinion on the screen size? It's only a few mm, but it's worth wondering about.
Screen size is fine on the 42mm. I have the stainless steel, glass is currently scratch-free, but like any other watch with sapphire glass, it'll probably shatter if it gets dropped. The aluminium uses some ion exchange glass thing.

Scribble is great for sending short texts, and there are some quick reply options. Easier to pull out the iPhone for longer messages. Can't imagine how terrible it was before Scribble was introduced.

Unfortunately not all messaging apps or apps in general have it. For example, the only way to search in the Maps app is using voice and it's a woeful experience.
 

jts

...hate me...
The single thing that bothers me the most about the Apple Watch needing to be charged every night is that I can not take advantage of the silent alarm, which is awesome (I've used it before with a Jawbone bracelet, and with the Apple Watch itself, but not overnight).

So much that I'll probably look for what cheap options are there in the market just for that. Don't even care much for sleep tracking, sound based sleep tracking is enough for me.
 

Blackhead

Redarse
the Apple Watch needing to be charged every night

does it really?

How to wear your Apple Watch 24/7
The TL/DR is to charge your Apple Watch in the morning while you get ready for your day (take a shower, get dressed, etc) and then again in the evening while you get ready for bed (brush teeth, put on pajamas, etc). Then put your Apple Watch in Airplane Mode while you sleep.

Your Apple Watch probably needs less charging time each day than you think...

... benefit of wearing your Apple Watch all night is that you can easily set completely silent alarms to wake you up. I really like being able to be awoken by a gentle tapping on my wrist and get out of bed without disturbing my wife. Just make sure you mute the chimes before you head to bed.

p.s. Also check out AutoSleep
 

Quonny

Member
I tried wearing my Watch to bed the first night, but the thing is too bulky and tugged when I tucked my hand under my pillow or moved around.

Plus using it on my nightstand with a stand makes it my new alarm clock.

Every night "set alarm for X AM" and it's set.
 

jts

...hate me...
does it really?

How to wear your Apple Watch 24/7


p.s. Also check out AutoSleep
Oh cool, thanks. I can definitely give that a try during next week. My fear is if reaching just about 80% daily will be enough, considering I've been getting to evenings on about 30% when I use the workout function. But it's worth a shot 👍
I tried wearing my Watch to bed the first night, but the thing is too bulky and tugged when I tucked my hand under my pillow or moved around.

Plus using it on my nightstand with a stand makes it my new alarm clock.

Every night "set alarm for X AM" and it's set.
Yeah, it is a bit bulky and I like the Nightstand feature too. Every time when I wake up mid-sleep I automatically give a little shake to the bedside table to know what time it is lol
 

pbsapeer

Banned
Not sure what to do. My iPhone 6s is being sent off tomorrow for the battery shut off repair. Do I unpair my Apple Watch and leave it basically useless or just leave it and don't unpair it and at least let me use it as a watch...
 
I tend to watch a film most evenings when I get in so put the watch on charge then which is always enough to get it back to 100%. I wear it for about 22 hours a day now, the silent alarm is such a nice way to wake up I can't go back.
 

Vuze

Member
You guess reckon a Gen 1 Watch would be worth it still as a first smart watch? Or should I aim for Series 1/2? Thing is, I'm just not sure how long they'll support it, how much I'm gonna use it etc
 

nicoga3000

Saint Nic
So we ordered a Series 2 38mm for my wife today from Best Buy. Stock is still low but we should have it Wednesday!

What are some cheaper alternatives to the sport band? She wants a turquoise one. We got Apple Care just becuase her work means she may damage the glass within the 2 years or whatever. Are cases or screen protectors a necessity?
 

Chorazin

Member
So we ordered a Series 2 38mm for my wife today from Best Buy. Stock is still low but we should have it Wednesday!

What are some cheaper alternatives to the sport band? She wants a turquoise one. We got Apple Care just becuase her work means she may damage the glass within the 2 years or whatever. Are cases or screen protectors a necessity?

Amazon has TONS of watches! Take your pick.

Nah, unless she's a wrist banger she shouldn't need any. The glass is real strong.
 
AutoSleep is basic (without the corresponding HeartWatch), buggy and has a design that takes a little while to get used too but it works well, bugs aside, and has a lot of potential.
 
I bought AutoSleep but found the interface atrocious. It's only $2 so whatever but still disappointing

AutoSleep is basic (without the corresponding HeartWatch), buggy and has a design that takes a little while to get used too but it works well, bugs aside, and has a lot of potential.

The interface is terrible, but all I was really looking for was to capture accurate sleep data and have that pushed into the Health app. For that purpose it seems to work well.
 

nicoga3000

Saint Nic
Just posted this on Reddit:
My wife just got a S2 watch and decided to go for a run today. Afterwards, the sweat had built up under the band and on the back of the watch.

My first question is if sweat is going to cause any sort of corrosion or damage to the watch and/or band? Should she shower with it to clean off the sweat? And if so, will soap cause damage to the watch/band?

Second question - she needs a pair of wireless bluetooth headphones to run with. She currently can only wear the original earbuds from Apple (not the new elongated shape). Those are the only ones that apparently stay in her ear. Are there any decently priced headphones anyone can recommend for us to look into?

Anyone able to weigh in?
 

Quonny

Member
Just posted this on Reddit:


Anyone able to weigh in?
They're meant to be sweat on, but I wear mine in the shower every week or so just to clean it off. Even S0s and S1s can be worn in the shower technically, even though it isn't recommended. If sweat ruined a fitness tracker it wouldn't be long for the world.

The second part, I dunno.
 
My wife just got a S2 watch and decided to go for a run today. Afterwards, the sweat had built up under the band and on the back of the watch.

My first question is if sweat is going to cause any sort of corrosion or damage to the watch and/or band? Should she shower with it to clean off the sweat? And if so, will soap cause damage to the watch/band?

Second question - she needs a pair of wireless bluetooth headphones to run with. She currently can only wear the original earbuds from Apple (not the new elongated shape). Those are the only ones that apparently stay in her ear. Are there any decently priced headphones anyone can recommend for us to look into?

Anyone able to weigh in?

Can't help you for the second question but for the first, she should clean the watch after a workout to prevent damage to the watch and to avoid skin irritation (https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204522 this is also a set of instructions about how to go about cleaning the watch and bands). I would think that realistically, sweat probably won't damage the watch given that as an activity tracker it is going to be expected to come into contact with sweat, but cleaning it is definitely a good practice anyway, if only because you don't want the watch to end up smelling of sweat over time. One thing to note is that if your wife goes swimming, she should rinse it using warm water after a workout. You just need to swipe up to the control centre and select the water droplet to expel any water from the speakers after it gets wet (you can also select that before you wash it if you'd like, as it will lock the screen and prevent accidental presses as water goes over the screen).

As it's a series two, it is okay to use it in the shower, but it is important that you avoid contact with soaps or gels to avoid loosening or damaging the seals over time and degrading the water resistance (https://support.apple.com/en-ie/HT205000). Personally, I'm wary of using it in the shower due to the presence of steam, soaps/lotions/body wash, the temperature of the water, and the velocity of the water, but it is listed as okay in the support articles and there are people who have been using both the original and Series 1/2 watches in the shower since release, so your mileage on this may vary.
 

nicoga3000

Saint Nic
Thanks guys - I'll forward the info along to my wife. I was a bit concerned with steam and soap, so glad I'm not alone.

Where do you live? I have some JBL Everest 100 headphones that are great.

We're in Indy. Did a search on those...They seem nice, but $100 to test them out seems steep. Considering how particular she is with her current pair (the OG earbuds that she loves), I'm wary. You can't usually try these things on at a store, can you?
 

Vuze

Member
Just posted this on Reddit:


Anyone able to weigh in?
I mean she could try the AirPods. I don't know about the new enlongated EarPods you're referring to, since I only ever had those that came with my 5S. Shape is basically the same and often the cable tugging is what pulls them out. Also while I'm not 100% positive on this, I think you can try them in an Apple Store. Might be worth a shot since the also provide a seamless experience between Apple devices which is a nice bonus.
 

pbsapeer

Banned
Thanks guys - I'll forward the info along to my wife. I was a bit concerned with steam and soap, so glad I'm not alone.



We're in Indy. Did a search on those...They seem nice, but $100 to test them out seems steep. Considering how particular she is with her current pair (the OG earbuds that she loves), I'm wary. You can't usually try these things on at a store, can you?
I bought them brand new for £40 in the UK. They might have been on sale but it's shame they're so expensive I'm the US 😣
 

nicoga3000

Saint Nic
I mean she could try the AirPods. I don't know about the new enlongated EarPods you're referring to, since I only ever had those that came with my 5S. Shape is basically the same and often the cable tugging is what pulls them out. Also while I'm not 100% positive on this, I think you can try them in an Apple Store. Might be worth a shot since the also provide a seamless experience between Apple devices which is a nice bonus.

The 4 and before had the old style headphones. The earbuds they have now are shaped in a way that won't stay in her ear.

Unrelated, can you disable the ability to hold the crown to bring up Siri? She likes having Siri available but the crown command is causing her trouble and unnecessary Siri activations.
 

Chorazin

Member
The 4 and before had the old style headphones. The earbuds they have now are shaped in a way that won't stay in her ear.

Unrelated, can you disable the ability to hold the crown to bring up Siri? She likes having Siri available but the crown command is causing her trouble and unnecessary Siri activations.

I don't believe you can.

I don't recall ever having Siri activate on mine when I didn't want it. Is she wearing the watch too far up on her wrist, so what bending her hand back is pressing on it? Even doing push-ups and yoga I'm not setting it off.
 

nicoga3000

Saint Nic
I don't believe you can.

I don't recall ever having Siri activate on mine when I didn't want it. Is she wearing the watch too far up on her wrist, so what bending her hand back is pressing on it? Even doing push-ups and yoga I'm not setting it off.

She's a physical therapist, so she's doing a lot of weird shit with her arms and hands when she works with her patients. I read online a lot of people have problems with the same thing (including during yoga and push-ups actually, ha). I wonder why they haven't built that in. It sits on her wrist comfortably and her hand presses into the button.
 
So with regards to getting podcasts on the watch I found this page which says:
Drag and drop the podcasts (MP3s) from Windows Explorer or Finder into this newly created playlist.
Now you're ready to sync your new playlist over to Apple Watch so you can hear your podcasts without a nearby iPhone.
Can anyone with an Apple Watch confirm that this is true– can I sync a playlist of arbitrary mp3 files to the watch? If so, maybe podcasts won't be a deal-breaker. Syncing a special playlist of mp3 files isn't too horrible, though it's still baffling there's no official support for this.
 
So with regards to getting podcasts on the watch I found this page which says:

Can anyone with an Apple Watch confirm that this is true– can I sync a playlist of arbitrary mp3 files to the watch? If so, maybe podcasts won't be a deal-breaker. Syncing a special playlist of mp3 files isn't too horrible, though it's still baffling there's no official support for this.

Yes, that would work
 
Have you ever done it? I'm leery of that article because it's light on details, like how does the watch know which playlists to sync? Do you have to pair your watch with your Mac first? I want to do this without using the iPhone at all.

Oh, there's no way to do it without an iPhone. Even that article uses your iPhone to actually get the podcasts on your Watch. The iPhone is the absolute only entry point and exit point for data with the Watch, there is no other way,

Through the Watch app on the phone you choose which playlists you want to sync onto the watch at any given time, so really what that method is doing is importing podcasts just as normal audio tracks into iTunes, which then get onto your iPhone to the Music app (not the Podcasts app) which you then sync to your Watch. iTunes will treat it as a song, not a podcast. It's a workaround in every sense of the word

Give up on the hope that you'll be able to sync directly from a Mac to the Watch. You can't.
 
I regret upgrading to my AW2. Strava still hasn't updated for standalone GPS running and has no plans for swim support. I should have instead just bought a dedicated Garmin watch that syncs to the services I use.

Not being able to sync podcasts via 3rd party apps sucks too.
 
To everyone who has an Apple Watch... does anyone actually think it's good for health purposes? Workouts, counting calories, stuff like that
 

Chorazin

Member
To everyone who has an Apple Watch... does anyone actually think it's good for health purposes? Workouts, counting calories, stuff like that

I like how AppleHealth ties everything together with all the different apps along with steps and heartrate info from the Watch, but if they didn't have that I'd say the watch is no better than say a FitBit.
 
To everyone who has an Apple Watch... does anyone actually think it's good for health purposes? Workouts, counting calories, stuff like that

I just bought one a week ago and once you get the health data set up and link it to your iPhone Health app, then start working out, it's addicting to get those rings to close every day. Having achievements doesn't hurt either.

Plus, there's something to be said for adding friends to your Activity app and comparing yourself to/challenging them. There should be a GAF group dedicated to that! Get a group of GAFfers going from mushy to hard as an anvil by January 2018.
 
Give up on the hope that you'll be able to sync directly from a Mac to the Watch. You can't.
Sad news but thanks all the same for your reply. It's good to know for sure, even if it's not what I was hoping for. I guess I'll look into other options and see if any other watches handle data sync from a computer any better.
 
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