The Apple Watch is coming. The “next big thing” from Apple arrives on April 24, bringing a host of interesting new features and apps along with it. While not everyone is sold on Apple’s wearable device just yet, there is a great deal of interest in the latest product to come out of Cupertino. The new gadget won’t arrive on store shelves for more than a month, but when it does become available it will bring some ground breaking new functionality that could make it the latest must-have product from Apple. Here are 5 ways using the Apple Watch will change your life.
Give Your iPhone a Rest
There is no denying that smartphones have had a major impact on our lives. They help us to stay in contact with friends and family, they keep us updated on the latest news and weather, and they help us navigate our way across town. But by providing a constant string of notifications and status updates they have also become quite intrusive in our lives. As a result, many of us are constantly looking at our phones, often at the expense of the conversations and activities that are happening around us.
By putting notifications onto our wrists the Apple Watch will change this behavior to a degree. Having those messages appear on the small Watch screen will make them less intrusive, and will allow us to stay up to date with important information without having to continually take out our phones. The Watch will even allow you to make quick responses to text messages too, eliminating the need to use your phone even further.
New Ways to Communicate
The Apple Watch will be capable of receiving standard text and email messages of course, displaying those items directly on its high resolution display. You’ll be able to send quick responses to those notes using on screen prompts and voice commands, although you can choose to seamlessly switch over to the iPhone to complete a message at any time. Apple’s wearable gadget can even make and receive phone calls using its built-in microphone and Bluetooth connection to the iPhone. Watch OS even lets you build a friend’s list for quick access to the people that you want to be in contact with most often.
You’ll also have a slew of new ways to communicate with other Watch owners as well. Those options include custom animated emoji icons, sketching simple images on the screen, and using the Force Touch option to send a tap (or your heartbeat!) to someone you are close to. These fun new methods of interaction promise to give us new ways to express how we’re feeling at any given time.
Get Fit!
With its integrated heart rate monitor, and ability to track movement, it is clear that Apple wants the Watch to be at the center of your workout routine. When paired with an iPhone, the Watch is capable of tracking speed, distance, and intensity of a workout, while fitness-focused apps will give users the ability to chart their progress, and set goals, over time. The Watch will even be able to tell when you have been sedentary for too long and suggest that its time to get up and move around. These features will make the device an important motivational tool for sure, which could have a dramatic impact on your overall health.
Changing the Way We Travel
The travel industry already seems to be embracing the Apple Watch, which has the potential to substantially change the way we travel. For instance, a number of airlines are already creating apps that will allow the Watch to check into our flights, display mobile boarding passes, and provide notifications of schedule or gate changes. Better yet, Starwood Hotels has indicated that its app would allow customers to skip checking-in at the front desk altogether and go straight to their rooms instead. The Apple Watch’s built-in NFC transmitter – mainly used for Apple Pay – will serve as the room key, granting access at any time of the day or night. Apps from Expedia, Uber, CityMapper, and others will provide similar functionality for when we’re traveling away from home.
If you’re a frequent traveler, chances are the Apple Watch will become your new best friend. Its ability to display notifications and status updates will likely prove invaluable while on the road, providing quick and easy access to the information you need without having to pull out your iPhone.
General Convenience
Apple has packed a lot of features into the Apple Watch that will provide a great deal of convenience for users. For instance, you can control your music from your iPhone, which will come in handy when listening on a wireless speaker for instance, or while working out. We also know that Apple has created a remote app for the Apple TV too, allowing users to control that device from the Watch as well. The Watch can even act as a remote control for the camera on your iPhone – complete with live view on the small Retina display – giving users new options for taking selfies.
Other convenient features include the ability for navigational prompts to be sent to the Watch, providing drivers with cues on when to turn, as well as the option of accepting phone calls on the wearable device too. Siri integration could prove incredibly useful as well, and I’m sure that many will appreciate the included Calendar, Photos, and Weather apps too.
The point is, the Watch will be life changing just for the mere fact that it puts so much convenience right at your finger tips. You won’t need to pull out your phone, unlock it, navigate to the app you want, and wait for it to load up. These features will be available right on your wrist, and it will be faster and easier to access them from there.
Oh yeah. It tells time too.
Also Read:
6 Apps We Want to See on the Apple Watch
5 Things We Now Know About the Apple Watch
4 thoughts on “5 Ways the Apple Watch Will Change Your Life”
As an aging boomer who lives alone, I want the iWatch as a safety tool. Remember the commercial “Help, I fallen and I can’t get up?”. I rarely have my phone with me moving around the house or yard. But I will have the iWatch with me. Beats a necklace with a button.
I hadn’t event thought of that as a use for the Apple Watch Linda. Makes sense though, and would be a perfect way to stay in touch. You don’t even need to be close to your phone provided both are on the same WiFi network.
Six Reasons: You’ll be out 500 bucks while at the same time padding Apple coffers.
To be fair, the Watch does start at $350, which really isn’t that expensive for a nice watch. In fact, the fitness watch that I use when running (with built in GPS), cost more than that, and doesn’t do half of the stuff the Apple Watch is capable of.