The Apple Watch: A Verdict after 30 months

The Apple Watch has been a phenomenal success, catapulting the Apple Watch from nothing to #1 in Watches sales of about $6 Billion, overtaking Rolex in just a few years after its first product introduction. I bought one in January of 2017 and have been wearing it for 30 months. Here is my verdict as a consumer.

Pros:

Works well with the iPhone with hundreds of functions. I like the modular watch face which is customized with date, time, location, weather, workout counter, battery life, and workout button. The workout tracking functions give you detailed records. I particularly like the weather and location functions.

I can also answer any calls from the apple watch without opening up my iPhone.

For a swimmer, it can record how many yards were done in whatever strokes, the average heart rates, and total laps and speed. It will remember your entire workout history for years.

It tracks your heart rate, stand time, move time, #steps, workout time, and calories burnt.

Cons:

It cost me >$400 for a Series 2 which seemed expensive (though prices have gone lower). 

A regular Apple watch band will set you back $80. I bought an aftermarket silicone band for $15 but it lasted only a few months.

The battery life is about 1 day and I charge it every evening. I need to remember to bring a different charger while traveling.

A quirk on the cardiac function:

I often wondered why my heart rates were going up to 160 while I was swimming and discovered that if the wrist band was loose, it would over-count the pulse rates because the watch was flopping around.

Final verdict:

I have grown used to my Apple watch and wear it continuously for more than 2 years. I still missed my Casio watch which cost me $39 and has a 10-y batter life. I also rememmber that my Fitbit which can track my steps, total calories, and sleep time without any prompting.

 I understand that Huawei offers many fitness watches that have similar functions and sells under $100. They also have battery lives measured in weeks. Also, Xiaomi just introduced a new generation of an exercise watch band for ~$40 with a battery life of 20 days.

So competitions for the Apple Watch are everywhere.