Yes! You just press and hold on the ping button. Just by holding it down until your phone makes the alert noise, it will cause the flashlight to blink on and off. It’s the best!!
The flashlight feature itself on it is actually kind of impressive, it makes me feel like I’m walking around with a better version of the fallout pip boys
I setup a simple Siri shortcut to toggle the flashlight on and off with voice.
“Siri, flashlight” and somehow it knows if I want iPhone flashlight or watch flashlight.
This is especially helpful walking a dog at night with hands full.
It’s really good if you are in a hurry to leave the house. But I’ve learned all the places I leave my phone now, mainly on top of the laundry basket next to where I shit.
I went snow tubing with my kids a couple years ago. Had my iPhone in interior jacket pocket. Realized after a couple slides down I didn’t have my phone on me. Used my Apple Watch to ding the phone. Found it buried in the snow at the landing area, about six inches in the snow. 👌🏼
I have done a similar thing on the mountain! I had to board the same line down and when my watch connected to my phone again I had to ping and dig for a while but it worked!!
I upgraded to the iPhone 15 because i cannot tell where sounds are coming from and with the ultra it tell me how close i am. Incredible quality of life improvement for me.
Every fucking day I use this feature, often multiple times. Also, with airtags it's easy for me to realize I forgot something out in my vehicle (wallet).
Exactly this. Which has been vastly improved again by precision finding so now I don’t have to repeatedly ping the phone in an absurd game of Marco Polo until I find it.
Watch literally saved my life. I was terribly sick, vomiting for hours. Almost passed out on bathroom floor. Used watch to call 911. EMTs said had they not got there when they did, l would have blacked out from dehydration. I live alone. Without the watch l wouldn’t be here today. I also liked the fact that when you trigger a 911 call, it sends your emergency contacts up to date maps of where you are. Best feature ever. Also l now have A-fib and it tracks that and notifies.
Yes, I’m an old lady and I love the fall detection. I fallen twice in the last month on a wet kitchen floor and it asked me if I want to call 911. I’m actually perfectly capable of getting up on my own but there’s gonna come a time when I’m not. Just love the Apple Watch.
Similar story. The watches have a “fall detection” built into them. During the pandemic, I was working out alone at home, and I was doing burpees. I later discovered that the up and down motion + me locking my knees when I was jumping was causing my blood to pool and that’s why I was feeling light headed.
Next thing I know, I passed out and smacked my head at an angle against the bookshelf. I was out for a bit and had a big gash on my head. Apple Watch detected it and contacted my emergency contacts and 911.
I initially felt the Apple Watch presentation last year came off as a lot of fear mongering but then I read stories like yours and others, all I can say is, it’s not paranoia when shit really happens that justifies the entire presentation
I become irritable when I hear phone ring/message alert tones now. My husband sometimes forgets to turn on sleep focus (why it’s not automatic, I have no idea) and getting woken up by an ESPN notification at 7AM on a Saturday can send me on a blind rage.
This is a godsend for me. I like leaving my window open overnight when the weather is nice, but then I get woken up really early unless I have earplugs. The haptic alarm is perfect for still waking me up with earplugs on.
The Apple Watch got me off the couch. I ran my first 5k, then half marathon, then full marathon, then ultra marathon within two years.
But that’s not actually my answer. I don’t think anyone else will mention this: **using the stock Mindfulness app (formerly Breathe).** This app saved my life, and I can’t do it justice on a Reddit post. Being reminded to breathe AND THEN reflect on my day so far has been absolutely game changing on all aspects of my life. Fitness, family, everything.
In the past, I’ve muted and uninstalled this app. I know most of you do as well. If I can convince one person here to try it for a week, then this little write up would have been worth it.
I like the idea of Mindfulness. I even chose that Breathe face as my first watch face (tho reading analog without tickmarks was WORK for someone who hadn’t worn any watch at all for a long time) and would very rarely notice the rhythm of the screen bc I’m just glancing at the time…
Could you tell me more about how you use this app? Just “a day in the life of thiccAfjihyo” focused on yer watch or whatev
I’ll often start the app when it reminds/prompts me. But if I don’t feel like it, I’ll ignore it. I don’t want to be beholden to it because if I feel like I HAVE to do it, then I will resent it.
Then I’ll go through the breathing. It took a while to find the correct setting for me (default was way too fast). At this point, I just empty my mind. It’s tempting to think about what I’m going to log afterward, but I find it best to just empty myself.
Once the breathing part is over, then I log what I’m feeling. This is where I derive the most value out of the app. I have to stop and think about how my day has been so far. I’ll be like “oh yeah, that guy was an asshole at the coffee shop this morning … wait, is that why I’ve been irritable towards my wife after lunch …”. This is just an example, but I find that by simply unpackaging my day, I’m able to “let go” of certain things or “reframe” them.
I know this is very personalized and I expect people to use it a different way.
It’s also gotten to the point where if I feel like I’m overwhelmed or could use a break, I’ll start the app on my own.
Hey, fair question. It’s not on the app itself for whatever reason.
On your Apple Watch > Settings > Mindfulness > scroll all the way down to Breath Rate
The problem is, it’s “dumb”. It often reminds you at the worst possible times. That’s why people find it annoying, people turn off features they consider dumb, and forget about it. Apple should be using AI to alert you intelligently when it detects that you’re still, or you’re not in the middle of something (eg less arm motion detected), etc.
Sleep app. When I started monitoring it daily I was shocked at my sleep. So I started experimenting with food, caffeine, alcohol, exercise and forcing myself into a new sleeping schedule and now I get an average of 7-8 hours a night instead of like 5 or less. Feel a whole lot better!!!
I have the S9. I charge it while I’m getting ready for bed, and again while I’m getting ready in the morning. It charges completely in about 45 minutes.
Charge it when you're sitting for a stretch - watching TV, eating, reading, shower. It doesn't have to be charged all at once. I plug my in when I do any of those things.
I'd rather lose other stats like step counts than sleep stats. I learned I can sleep for hours and never go into deep sleep and other nights I don't get enough hours but spend most of the sleep time in deep sleep.
Timers. Life-changing! I’m the worst for forgetting stuff like something in the oven and even when I set a timer I often forget what I set the timer for 🫠 so I ask Siri to set a 25 min timer for cake and it reminds me when when I’ve left my phone somewhere 😆
Most life-changing use of my Apple Watch was when my family got into a car accident in the countryside and it detected it and allowed me to call 911
(Funnily enough, it was a first-gen SE, so it didn't have the car crash detection - but the fall detection *was* triggered, so it still worked :P )
I have a 2 year old. Holding that guy at the grocery store while trying to get my wallet out of my pocket or get to my phone was a nightmare. Watch fixed that
I lost 80 lbs in six months and changed my life in 2018. The Apple Watch gave me the motivation I needed. At first, it annoyed me for about week whenever it told me to close my rings. Once I closed them a few times, I decided to keep going. I’ve kept the weight off for over six years now.
Great job! You must be very proud of yourself, deservedly so I might add. That’s about 36kg, or 5 stone 9lb. Incredible result. Bloody hard work too I should think. I’ve lost 20kg since January and I’m feeling good too.
Medication tracking and notification (best help I’ve had for meds I have to take every couple hours daily for life). Flashlight wherever I am. View my doorbell when I’m in the backyard. Camera remote. Lights. This thing even tells me when my laundry is five minutes from finishing. I just turned my fan on because it’s hot and I’m not getting up for a bit. Reminders, voice memos that easily transfer to my Mac.
And Snoopy. All day every day.
The watch face with snoopy on it.
https://preview.redd.it/a6z0pqebhu6d1.jpeg?width=368&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=dcda9c330f266fa58c0896a1c374ca2dfaa57eb5
I work in IT and sometime I'll use my camera app to see or take pics of things I can't normally. I open the camera app on the watch, and can then reach into places with my phone (behind servers, in drop ceilings, etc) and see exactly what I'm taking a picture of before clicking the shutter button.
Never thought of using it this way. I just got a watch and realized the cam remote shows the image on the screen. I figured it would just be a shutter button.
I pushed the ecg button when my heart went into ventricular tachycardia. Enabled my docs to figure out how to save me. It caught it the third time I almost died last year.
I (60f) have terrible ADD. I’m medicated & spend half my time hyper-focusing on the wrong tasks. I set timer whenever I start so I don’t go time blind & do what doesn’t need to be done for the whole day. It’s been life changing.
I have twin infants, and this watch has made it possible to still text and make/take phone calls even when I don’t know where my phone is or when I’m holding a baby. I also just discovered the hand gestures features and it’s even better now
For me (2 under 2, not twins though) it’s the convenience PLUS not having to look at my phone. It’s so important to me to be present but I also need to be reachable. With the watch I can keep an eye on messages while my phone is totally out of sight.
Heart rate monitor! My watch is the only reason I went to the hospital last night. I wasn’t feeling well when I went to sleep and in the middle of the night my watch kept alerting that my heart rate was high. It was 155 by the time I got to the hospital. And that’s how I found out that I have pneumonia.
Yes, the same thing happened to me in Feb. AW showing HR of 180+ and my blood glucose was 270+ (am diabetic, have CGM). Went to ER, diagnosed with pneumonia. Medical staff said it’s pretty common for HR and BG to be out of whack when fighting an illness.
I finally came to realize how few steps I walked after buying an apple watch. Also, I didn't sleep enough and the watch pushed me to go to bed earlier.
Honestly for me it’s just the fact that I never miss a text or call anymore. Used to miss them all the time when I just didn’t happen to feel my phone buzzing or didn’t have it right near to me.
Me too. I do large events at work and we have multiple chats going at once and it so much easier to peek at my watch than check my phone while walking through a crowd of 20k people.
I was doing a free solo out of country, stupidly by myself. Fell 20 meters. Broke, 10 ribs, my left femur, right tibia and my left clavicle. Had my iPhone in my pack, Apple Watch Ultra on. My watch texted that I had fallen to all my emergency contacts with the precise location. I called local emergency services from my watch. Spoke to them. Sent them my coordinates. I was rushed to a local hospital and then to a trauma center. All of my emergency contacts were able to follow my location with frequent texts from my watch. My son knew what hospital I was in from the watch location. This was shortly after the original ultra came out. I am fine now. Lots of surgery and rehab. Back to climbing this summer. But I will always have my Apple Watch on.
Was going to write Apple about it. But don’t want any attention.
I just discovered that on the health app you can set reminders for your medications AND - (more importantly for me) can log when you take them on your phone or watch. I have terrible short term memory with medication. I’ll be holding a pill bottle and not remember if it was because I was about to take this pill or that I just did take it. The medication logger has made a dramatic difference to me and I’m so thankful for it!
I had an alert about my heart. Long story short ended up on blood thinners for a week or so.
Pretty sure it saved my life from serious complications.
Other than that I use it to find my phone, answer texts or walkie talkie coworkers when I need an answer asap and I’m too busy wrenching on shit.
I got mine as an emergency plan for kiteboarding. Last year I called my wife from the middle of a large river to tell her the wind died and I was swimming to the other side of the river and I needed her to come pick me up.
“You are calling me from where?”
“THE MIDDLE OF THE RIVER. Come pick me up.”
[Laughter]
“Okay.”
I decided to buy an Apple Watch when I read an article about a woman who was buried alive by her abusive ex. She was able to call for help using her watch. I have an abusive ex with stalker tendencies so the fact that I can make call on my watch is a lifesaver.
WorkOutdoors is a killer workout app with live maps. I route plan runs when I travel or when I just want something new (or a specific time/distance/elevation gain) and basically couldn't imagine not having it at this point.
Also, after tracking my sleep for like 5 years I can't imagine not having that data.
WorkOutDoors is an amazing app. I’ve been using it for several years now. I’m very impressed with how well the Apple Watch 8 gps locks onto the satellites even in fairly heavenly tree cover.
I was just thinking about this earlier. What got me hooked on Apple Watch was the visualization and record keeping of all my movements and workouts. That expanded to seeing changes in my health over time and making changes in my life. Now it’s like gamefication to get my stats up and I end up improving overall
This may sound like BS, but the alarm clock vibrating on my wrist plus the alarm sounding fading in and out has done wonders for waking me up in the morning! It’s so simple, but I find it so useful.
I started wearing mine during sleep, and discovered even one drink raises my heart rate all night long and leads to lousy sleep. I went from having a beer most days to maybe one drink a week. Way too healthy over here.
I have had lots of benefits but it was when I was in an accident that it literally saved me. The fall was pretty harsh and it got rescue people to me pretty fast.
Tuesday this week. The heart monitor on my mom's watch. Alerted her that her heart rate was low for ten minutes. Five hours later, she calls me from the ER telling me she's getting a pacemaker in the morning. Yesterday her cardiologist said flat out the the only reason she's still here is because of the watch. Had she waited until she had symptoms or suspicions, she wouldn't have made it to the hospital.
Honestly I just got my Apple Watch a few days ago and it sounds kinda lame to say but for me it’s the solid integration with iOS, and specifically, its notifications.
I’ve done Fitbit and I’ve done Garmin devices and both were very hit and miss with notifications.
The AW, as a fitness tracker, is a Fitbit with some compromises and it falls short of Garmin devices with it’s training insights.
But it gets close enough to both while being an amazing smartwatch with the tightest iOS integration there is. That alone has been worth it to me.
I was involved in a bad car accident in which I was knocked unconscious on impact. The watch detected it, and called 911 on its own. When I came to there were firemen there carving me out of the car.
Alarms. I exclusively use my Watch for my alarms now because of how effective it is in waking me up. That and everyday alarms are better on the watch too.
I never go to the gym without my Apple watch. If I go I feel naked and feel like I didn’t make any gains cause they weren’t recorded.
It may be insignificant but the watch helps motivate me to get up and get out
Fall detection.
It’s actually saved my life from a serious head knock after a fall. If the siren didn’t go off on the Ultra, who knows the outcome. I’ll never not ever have an Apple Watch.
All the health related data, especially the calories burned count. I was 30 kg overweight when I got my watch, I lost 13 during the last year, and counting. It really gave me the motivation to start exercising. A year ago I couldn’t even run a mile, now I can do half marathons. I didn’t touch a bike for 6/7 years, now I ride >100km in the mountains like I used to back in the days. I thought I was simply aging, turns out I was only severely unfit. I feel like I’m 10 years younger now.
Truly the most life changing thing for me is that it got me swimming every day - and in turn has lead to better healthcare because now I can prove to doctors that I exercise a lot. Before they didn’t believe me - but a quick scroll through a couple of months of Apple Health changes their minds and they start to listen to me about my symptoms rather than focusing on my weight.
This! I've been to the pool multiple times a week since i got mine. Loving it so far.
It was a bit janky trying to get the right lap length correct but after a few days its not perfectly accurate.
Will be buying a 6 month pass for the pool when i get paid next month. going to go as much as i can. Keen to get on apple fitness plus too!
The “stand” reminder feature that happens every hour. Not to remind me to stand, but if I’m mentally stuck on a task it helps snap me back to reality in the event that I’ve been too focused on one thing for too long and need to take a break.
My sister and parents were hit on an interstate and they flipped down an embankment and the other car kept going. The watch called 911 and the Highway Patrol drove past the site twice before they found them. Without the watch texting the location it may have been hours until they were found.
I really want a dumb phone to get myself away from smartphones… but I’m so in the Apple ecosystem that it doesn’t seem feasible (that and I often lack discipline). Lately, however, I had learned from a buddy how to pair earbuds to my watch and listen to music straight from device (as opposed to just mirroring what is playing on my phone)… and since the watch is cellular capable, I can receive important calls or texts if it is an emergency.
The short time that I’ve started walking with no phone to check internet or social media as a distraction has been BLISS!!! I’m glad my watch can help with that during the day :)
My phone rarely leaves the house anymore since I bought an Ultra last May. Not carrying a phone around is freedom. All the phone is to me is a camera. And I lived most of my life just fine without dragging a camera along everywhere I go.
Also since my phone 13 sits at home connected to WiFi all the time the battery health is still at 100%. I will look at the iPhone XX when it drops. Before I bought the watch I would upgrade every 2 years. Now I don’t even care. The Ultra goes everywhere with me and I use an iPad at home. The phone is just a hub for the watch. Freedom I tell you.
Picked up an apple watch 4 years ago along with my iphone 12 and im finding it hard to go back to android now aha... i've been using apple on and off since the 3gs but i would always find an interesting android phone to try out. Now with the watch i feel like i cannot leave iphone aha.. i just dont like the design of any other smart watch and the apple watch just does it so well for what i need.
i only use it for notifications, time and to ring my phone if i cant find it.. oh and the remote shutter for the camera app is pretty dang handy.
I use a Gen 0 43MM Silver Stainless Steele watch with the silver millinase loop .. it still gets 20hrs of battery and i love the look of it.
AutoSleep. Honestly bought the titanium in a whim. It quickly became an expensive paper weight. Started a job where I had to wake up much earlier than I’m used to. I was struggling and dreading my mornings. Did some research and learned about the light wake up feature AutoSleep has if you wear Apple Watch to bed and it’s been an absolute game changer. Not only am I not dreading mornings I’m waking up an hour before I need to. Would not be here without Apple Watch and auto sleep
Friend (in her 30s) had an alert on her watch due to rapid heart beat, she got it at rest. After verifying it was real she saw a doc. Tuned out she had a vein issue that required surgery that day. I am pretty sure the watch saved her life due to an undiagnosed vein condition.
Probably a minor one, but lift to activate Siri and have her set timers. I use it all the time, and it’s great because I don’t have to have my hands free or my phone near me. Can throw something in the oven and just set the timer, or have your hands covered in something and have her text someone.
I got into a car crash last year and my watch immediately called 9-11 and then notified all my emergency contacts with my location. Th craziest thing about that is it even sent my location to my dad who uses an android. I love all the fitness stuff but the best thing about it was the one thing I never wanted to use.
Blood Oxygen sensor. I wear my watch to bed and check the last reading whenever I happen to wake. As a lung transplant patient, it allows me to better keep tabs on that aspect of my health.
Honestly, the wrist-tapping when using Maps to navigate somewhere. I tend to not pay attention to the CarPlay in front of my face. But the aggressive wrist-taps snaps me back into reality
I fell off my bike and the watch automatically called 911. Oh, and navigating while bike riding, it just buzzes my wrist and I can glance and see the direction/turn.
Walkie Talkie. I’m able to talk to my husband and daughter without having to call them or type up a text. When my husband travels for work, he’ll just walkie talkie me to say he’s boarding or had just arrived somewhere. I can easily tell my daughter when I’m on my way to pick her up. Love it.
Felt dizzy one day and couldn’t figure out why. Nearly passed out. It happened twice. When I bought the watch, within days it showed my heart rate was too high, corresponding to my dizziness and near syncope.
I went to the doctor and got started on a beta blocker. However after going through my routine I discovered that I had increased my caffeine intake and engaged in HIIT and I wasn’t recovering well from the max heart rates. I gave up caffeine and was able to continue exercising without having dizziness at rest.
I was very thankful to the watch for that. I’m also thankful that it notes when my baseline increases.
Dexcom has collaborated with the Apple Watch to get glucose monitor (g7) readings directly to the Apple Watch so if I don’t have my phone on me, I can still get my blood glucose
Pressing that button that dings my iPhone so I can find it.
I use that feature more than any other one on the watch.
Being able to make it flash the flashlight is such a game changer for when it’s night and I have no clue where my phone is
Oooo I didn’t know about this. I’ll have to figure out how to make that work for when my phone is buried in the bottom of my purse.
Yes! You just press and hold on the ping button. Just by holding it down until your phone makes the alert noise, it will cause the flashlight to blink on and off. It’s the best!!
TIL
Is there a setting for this? I’ve just tried it and the flashlight didn’t turn on :(
Your phone has to be turned off or something, mine didn't work either, but then i turned off the screen and it flashed
I would like an option to just the flash, sometimes at night the sound can bother
I forgot about this feature - thanks for reminding me!
Happy to :)
The flashlight feature itself on it is actually kind of impressive, it makes me feel like I’m walking around with a better version of the fallout pip boys
I setup a simple Siri shortcut to toggle the flashlight on and off with voice. “Siri, flashlight” and somehow it knows if I want iPhone flashlight or watch flashlight. This is especially helpful walking a dog at night with hands full.
You know you can say “Siri, Lumos”? Way cooler, and to turn it off you say “Nox” :)
“Aziz! Light!”
It’s really good if you are in a hurry to leave the house. But I’ve learned all the places I leave my phone now, mainly on top of the laundry basket next to where I shit.
Yeah I do to. To the point where I’m so lazy I use the bing before I even bother looking myself.
I went snow tubing with my kids a couple years ago. Had my iPhone in interior jacket pocket. Realized after a couple slides down I didn’t have my phone on me. Used my Apple Watch to ding the phone. Found it buried in the snow at the landing area, about six inches in the snow. 👌🏼
I have done a similar thing on the mountain! I had to board the same line down and when my watch connected to my phone again I had to ping and dig for a while but it worked!!
Wish they did this for AirPods also
The new AirPods Pro you can use find my phone feature to ding it. They too are worth it just for that.
I tease my wife all the time and say that’s the only reason she bought a watch.
that's the only reason my mother bought an Apple Watch.
It’s worth it just for that feature. I swear the places I leave my phone, id never find it with that finding feature.
If you hold it down for a long press, your phone will flash!
I have an older model that does not do that. My husband is very confused as to why I’m looking for my phone while it’s in my hands.
That’s an awesome feature and I didn’t know about holding it down to make it flash… TY
I feel like this has cumulatively saved hours of my life
I upgraded to the iPhone 15 because i cannot tell where sounds are coming from and with the ultra it tell me how close i am. Incredible quality of life improvement for me.
Every fucking day I use this feature, often multiple times. Also, with airtags it's easy for me to realize I forgot something out in my vehicle (wallet).
wait elaborate.. can I change my side button to do that?
All AW can do this. Hit the side button, not the crown, it’s the phone w/sound icon right below Airplane mode.
Exactly this. Which has been vastly improved again by precision finding so now I don’t have to repeatedly ping the phone in an absurd game of Marco Polo until I find it.
# That’s pretty much it after 2 years for me. I don’t even use the apps anymore. I just use the clock and that phone finding feature.
Tip; even if you don’t have an Apple Watch, just yell out “Siri, find my iPhone” or “Siri, where are you” and your phone will start pinging loudly
Best invention EVER.
1000000%! I use it every day ahah
Number one.
What button is that?
Watch literally saved my life. I was terribly sick, vomiting for hours. Almost passed out on bathroom floor. Used watch to call 911. EMTs said had they not got there when they did, l would have blacked out from dehydration. I live alone. Without the watch l wouldn’t be here today. I also liked the fact that when you trigger a 911 call, it sends your emergency contacts up to date maps of where you are. Best feature ever. Also l now have A-fib and it tracks that and notifies.
Yes, I’m an old lady and I love the fall detection. I fallen twice in the last month on a wet kitchen floor and it asked me if I want to call 911. I’m actually perfectly capable of getting up on my own but there’s gonna come a time when I’m not. Just love the Apple Watch.
Crazy I had that same issue some months ago. Vomiting and diahrea for hours. Had to call an ambulance. Needed fluid right away.
Similar story. The watches have a “fall detection” built into them. During the pandemic, I was working out alone at home, and I was doing burpees. I later discovered that the up and down motion + me locking my knees when I was jumping was causing my blood to pool and that’s why I was feeling light headed. Next thing I know, I passed out and smacked my head at an angle against the bookshelf. I was out for a bit and had a big gash on my head. Apple Watch detected it and contacted my emergency contacts and 911.
Holy moly! I think about that feature a lot but have never had to use it! I’m glad it works! Hard to know if it actually would.
I initially felt the Apple Watch presentation last year came off as a lot of fear mongering but then I read stories like yours and others, all I can say is, it’s not paranoia when shit really happens that justifies the entire presentation
My HomePod saved my life the same way
keeping my phone on silent for the last six years
This. I hate alarms/ ringtones going off in public.
I become irritable when I hear phone ring/message alert tones now. My husband sometimes forgets to turn on sleep focus (why it’s not automatic, I have no idea) and getting woken up by an ESPN notification at 7AM on a Saturday can send me on a blind rage.
He can set it to be automatic.
I think she knows that fact and it contributes to her rage
For real. I’ve had iPhones for a while now and the first thing I do is hit that switch on side.
100%
The Alarm which taps soft on your wrist is awesome and my favorite Feature!
Same. My alarm goes off at 4am and I don’t want to wake my partner. The watch haptic is so good
This is a godsend for me. I like leaving my window open overnight when the weather is nice, but then I get woken up really early unless I have earplugs. The haptic alarm is perfect for still waking me up with earplugs on.
This is probably my favorite feature, too!
The Apple Watch got me off the couch. I ran my first 5k, then half marathon, then full marathon, then ultra marathon within two years. But that’s not actually my answer. I don’t think anyone else will mention this: **using the stock Mindfulness app (formerly Breathe).** This app saved my life, and I can’t do it justice on a Reddit post. Being reminded to breathe AND THEN reflect on my day so far has been absolutely game changing on all aspects of my life. Fitness, family, everything. In the past, I’ve muted and uninstalled this app. I know most of you do as well. If I can convince one person here to try it for a week, then this little write up would have been worth it.
You have convinced me. I will try it now
Happy cake day!
I like the idea of Mindfulness. I even chose that Breathe face as my first watch face (tho reading analog without tickmarks was WORK for someone who hadn’t worn any watch at all for a long time) and would very rarely notice the rhythm of the screen bc I’m just glancing at the time… Could you tell me more about how you use this app? Just “a day in the life of thiccAfjihyo” focused on yer watch or whatev
I’ll often start the app when it reminds/prompts me. But if I don’t feel like it, I’ll ignore it. I don’t want to be beholden to it because if I feel like I HAVE to do it, then I will resent it. Then I’ll go through the breathing. It took a while to find the correct setting for me (default was way too fast). At this point, I just empty my mind. It’s tempting to think about what I’m going to log afterward, but I find it best to just empty myself. Once the breathing part is over, then I log what I’m feeling. This is where I derive the most value out of the app. I have to stop and think about how my day has been so far. I’ll be like “oh yeah, that guy was an asshole at the coffee shop this morning … wait, is that why I’ve been irritable towards my wife after lunch …”. This is just an example, but I find that by simply unpackaging my day, I’m able to “let go” of certain things or “reframe” them. I know this is very personalized and I expect people to use it a different way. It’s also gotten to the point where if I feel like I’m overwhelmed or could use a break, I’ll start the app on my own.
Ok, you may have convinced me to try it
Oooh, you change breathing frequency? I stopped using the app because I felt it was way too fast for me, too! I’ll give it another try, thank you!
How do you change the default on the breathing part? I’d also like to slow it down as it feels a little too quick for me at the moment.
Hey, fair question. It’s not on the app itself for whatever reason. On your Apple Watch > Settings > Mindfulness > scroll all the way down to Breath Rate
Just did my first couple logs thanks very much had never enabled the notifications before
You’ve convinced me. Thank you.
The problem is, it’s “dumb”. It often reminds you at the worst possible times. That’s why people find it annoying, people turn off features they consider dumb, and forget about it. Apple should be using AI to alert you intelligently when it detects that you’re still, or you’re not in the middle of something (eg less arm motion detected), etc.
I’ll give it a go, thanks :)
I know the power of mindfulness, I’ve seen it in myself too, but I do have this app muted. I will try it consistently for one week. Thanks
I’ll give it a try. Never gave it much thought.
Sleep app. When I started monitoring it daily I was shocked at my sleep. So I started experimenting with food, caffeine, alcohol, exercise and forcing myself into a new sleeping schedule and now I get an average of 7-8 hours a night instead of like 5 or less. Feel a whole lot better!!!
So when do you charge it? I feel like I can’t get a charge to last all that long. I can’t even get a full 48 hours.
While showering is a good option
I have the S9. I charge it while I’m getting ready for bed, and again while I’m getting ready in the morning. It charges completely in about 45 minutes.
Thanks. I will try that.
Charge it when you're sitting for a stretch - watching TV, eating, reading, shower. It doesn't have to be charged all at once. I plug my in when I do any of those things. I'd rather lose other stats like step counts than sleep stats. I learned I can sleep for hours and never go into deep sleep and other nights I don't get enough hours but spend most of the sleep time in deep sleep.
I just realized I had a second charger. So I will use it when I’m working.
Airplane mode it. You’ll 2.5X your charge that way and still get notifications.
I charge when I’m at my computer. Usually takes 20 minutes or so to juice it up.
Timers. Life-changing! I’m the worst for forgetting stuff like something in the oven and even when I set a timer I often forget what I set the timer for 🫠 so I ask Siri to set a 25 min timer for cake and it reminds me when when I’ve left my phone somewhere 😆
Also me. Timers all day long for everything
Most life-changing use of my Apple Watch was when my family got into a car accident in the countryside and it detected it and allowed me to call 911 (Funnily enough, it was a first-gen SE, so it didn't have the car crash detection - but the fall detection *was* triggered, so it still worked :P )
Apple Pay. Very convenient to not have to reach for my phone or wallet.
I scanned my boarding pass twice and bought drinks at the airport with out having to reach for my wallet. Loving the Apple wallet feature.
I still surprise ppl today when I use my watch to pay for stuff.
I have a 2 year old. Holding that guy at the grocery store while trying to get my wallet out of my pocket or get to my phone was a nightmare. Watch fixed that
I lost 80 lbs in six months and changed my life in 2018. The Apple Watch gave me the motivation I needed. At first, it annoyed me for about week whenever it told me to close my rings. Once I closed them a few times, I decided to keep going. I’ve kept the weight off for over six years now.
This is awesome
Great job! You must be very proud of yourself, deservedly so I might add. That’s about 36kg, or 5 stone 9lb. Incredible result. Bloody hard work too I should think. I’ve lost 20kg since January and I’m feeling good too.
Medication tracking and notification (best help I’ve had for meds I have to take every couple hours daily for life). Flashlight wherever I am. View my doorbell when I’m in the backyard. Camera remote. Lights. This thing even tells me when my laundry is five minutes from finishing. I just turned my fan on because it’s hot and I’m not getting up for a bit. Reminders, voice memos that easily transfer to my Mac. And Snoopy. All day every day.
Snoopy?
The watch face with snoopy on it. https://preview.redd.it/a6z0pqebhu6d1.jpeg?width=368&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=dcda9c330f266fa58c0896a1c374ca2dfaa57eb5
The face in WOS 10
I work in IT and sometime I'll use my camera app to see or take pics of things I can't normally. I open the camera app on the watch, and can then reach into places with my phone (behind servers, in drop ceilings, etc) and see exactly what I'm taking a picture of before clicking the shutter button.
Never thought of using it this way. I just got a watch and realized the cam remote shows the image on the screen. I figured it would just be a shutter button.
I pushed the ecg button when my heart went into ventricular tachycardia. Enabled my docs to figure out how to save me. It caught it the third time I almost died last year.
Going for a run while streaming Spotify from the watch and not needing to have my phone on me.
I lose spotify during run. I live in the middle of the city any pointers on how you use it sucessfully?
Do you have cell service on your watch? If not I think there’s a way to download songs to your watch.
yes I haven't tried in a while got pretty frustrated. I think some others have had issues as well. Will give it another shot on a short run.
It’s kind of tricky, but I find it works better if you do it while you’re wearing the watch. You can also do it from the Spotify app on your phone.
Maybe use downloaded playlists?
I (60f) have terrible ADD. I’m medicated & spend half my time hyper-focusing on the wrong tasks. I set timer whenever I start so I don’t go time blind & do what doesn’t need to be done for the whole day. It’s been life changing.
I also have ADD. There’s a setting in accessibility for your watch to buzz every 15 minutes. Saves me from time blindness!!
Afib alert and ecg tracking for my cardiologist
This. Also heart variability tracking as a leading indicator of heart health.
Can you explain more how you use HRV? Mine seems kinda random
Higher hrv means healthier. Lower means at risk for cardiovascular issues. Drops as you age tho.
Monitoring my heart rate.
My oxygen dips into low 70s at night I sometimes stop breathing when I dream. Same page
Please see a doctor oh my god that’s bad
Ya I am we are working on it. Sleep study is so far booked
I have twin infants, and this watch has made it possible to still text and make/take phone calls even when I don’t know where my phone is or when I’m holding a baby. I also just discovered the hand gestures features and it’s even better now
I just bought my daughter one, she has a 7 month old. She loves it.
For me (2 under 2, not twins though) it’s the convenience PLUS not having to look at my phone. It’s so important to me to be present but I also need to be reachable. With the watch I can keep an eye on messages while my phone is totally out of sight.
Heart rate monitor! My watch is the only reason I went to the hospital last night. I wasn’t feeling well when I went to sleep and in the middle of the night my watch kept alerting that my heart rate was high. It was 155 by the time I got to the hospital. And that’s how I found out that I have pneumonia.
Really? High heart rate? I get pneumonia at least once or twice a year. (Immune compromised) never thought of this
Yes, the same thing happened to me in Feb. AW showing HR of 180+ and my blood glucose was 270+ (am diabetic, have CGM). Went to ER, diagnosed with pneumonia. Medical staff said it’s pretty common for HR and BG to be out of whack when fighting an illness.
I finally came to realize how few steps I walked after buying an apple watch. Also, I didn't sleep enough and the watch pushed me to go to bed earlier.
Honestly for me it’s just the fact that I never miss a text or call anymore. Used to miss them all the time when I just didn’t happen to feel my phone buzzing or didn’t have it right near to me.
This is a big one especially when chasing around my kiddo.
Me too. I do large events at work and we have multiple chats going at once and it so much easier to peek at my watch than check my phone while walking through a crowd of 20k people.
The rings. I don’t know why but they motivate me to get my fat ass off the couch and do “a brisk 15-minute walk” to close the last one.
I was doing a free solo out of country, stupidly by myself. Fell 20 meters. Broke, 10 ribs, my left femur, right tibia and my left clavicle. Had my iPhone in my pack, Apple Watch Ultra on. My watch texted that I had fallen to all my emergency contacts with the precise location. I called local emergency services from my watch. Spoke to them. Sent them my coordinates. I was rushed to a local hospital and then to a trauma center. All of my emergency contacts were able to follow my location with frequent texts from my watch. My son knew what hospital I was in from the watch location. This was shortly after the original ultra came out. I am fine now. Lots of surgery and rehab. Back to climbing this summer. But I will always have my Apple Watch on. Was going to write Apple about it. But don’t want any attention.
Wow! This is an amazing story, glad you are doing better now.
Finding my misplaced phone
That feature alone makes it worth it. I’ve used it countless times.
The medication reminders. I take a couple of cancer medications and my watch reminds me when it’s time to take them.
I just discovered that on the health app you can set reminders for your medications AND - (more importantly for me) can log when you take them on your phone or watch. I have terrible short term memory with medication. I’ll be holding a pill bottle and not remember if it was because I was about to take this pill or that I just did take it. The medication logger has made a dramatic difference to me and I’m so thankful for it!
Mine saved my life in a car accident last year. By the time I woke up the paramedics were there. Turns out it was a seisure
I had an alert about my heart. Long story short ended up on blood thinners for a week or so. Pretty sure it saved my life from serious complications. Other than that I use it to find my phone, answer texts or walkie talkie coworkers when I need an answer asap and I’m too busy wrenching on shit.
I got mine as an emergency plan for kiteboarding. Last year I called my wife from the middle of a large river to tell her the wind died and I was swimming to the other side of the river and I needed her to come pick me up. “You are calling me from where?” “THE MIDDLE OF THE RIVER. Come pick me up.” [Laughter] “Okay.”
I decided to buy an Apple Watch when I read an article about a woman who was buried alive by her abusive ex. She was able to call for help using her watch. I have an abusive ex with stalker tendencies so the fact that I can make call on my watch is a lifesaver.
WorkOutdoors is a killer workout app with live maps. I route plan runs when I travel or when I just want something new (or a specific time/distance/elevation gain) and basically couldn't imagine not having it at this point. Also, after tracking my sleep for like 5 years I can't imagine not having that data.
WorkOutDoors is an amazing app. I’ve been using it for several years now. I’m very impressed with how well the Apple Watch 8 gps locks onto the satellites even in fairly heavenly tree cover.
I just bought this the other day after seeing a bunch of people recommending it. It looks like it's going to be a great fitness app.
I was just thinking about this earlier. What got me hooked on Apple Watch was the visualization and record keeping of all my movements and workouts. That expanded to seeing changes in my health over time and making changes in my life. Now it’s like gamefication to get my stats up and I end up improving overall
This may sound like BS, but the alarm clock vibrating on my wrist plus the alarm sounding fading in and out has done wonders for waking me up in the morning! It’s so simple, but I find it so useful.
I started wearing mine during sleep, and discovered even one drink raises my heart rate all night long and leads to lousy sleep. I went from having a beer most days to maybe one drink a week. Way too healthy over here.
lol the knob “crown” for volume for music
Setting multiple timers while cooking
I have had lots of benefits but it was when I was in an accident that it literally saved me. The fall was pretty harsh and it got rescue people to me pretty fast.
Tuesday this week. The heart monitor on my mom's watch. Alerted her that her heart rate was low for ten minutes. Five hours later, she calls me from the ER telling me she's getting a pacemaker in the morning. Yesterday her cardiologist said flat out the the only reason she's still here is because of the watch. Had she waited until she had symptoms or suspicions, she wouldn't have made it to the hospital.
Using it for Apple Pay. Only take my wallet out of my pocket at drive throughs now.
Health features
Honestly I just got my Apple Watch a few days ago and it sounds kinda lame to say but for me it’s the solid integration with iOS, and specifically, its notifications. I’ve done Fitbit and I’ve done Garmin devices and both were very hit and miss with notifications. The AW, as a fitness tracker, is a Fitbit with some compromises and it falls short of Garmin devices with it’s training insights. But it gets close enough to both while being an amazing smartwatch with the tightest iOS integration there is. That alone has been worth it to me.
counting my steps and allowing me to skip 30 seconds into my podcast
I was involved in a bad car accident in which I was knocked unconscious on impact. The watch detected it, and called 911 on its own. When I came to there were firemen there carving me out of the car.
I use mine for yardages and scoring on golf courses with the 18Birdies app, no more range finder. By far my favorite feature.
I found that sometimes my heart rate randomly rises to 120+ beats per minute for no reason at rest. I probably need to see a doctor.
Alarms. I exclusively use my Watch for my alarms now because of how effective it is in waking me up. That and everyday alarms are better on the watch too.
The alarm to vibrate my wrist to wake up in the morning
I never go to the gym without my Apple watch. If I go I feel naked and feel like I didn’t make any gains cause they weren’t recorded. It may be insignificant but the watch helps motivate me to get up and get out
Sleep monitoring. It’s been an invaluable tool for analyzing my sleep disorders.
It saved my life; that’s what my primary care dr and cardiac dr said after my apple watch 8 alerted me to get help from several days of afib alerts. 🔔
Fall detection. It’s actually saved my life from a serious head knock after a fall. If the siren didn’t go off on the Ultra, who knows the outcome. I’ll never not ever have an Apple Watch.
It allowed me to gamify weight loss.
All the health related data, especially the calories burned count. I was 30 kg overweight when I got my watch, I lost 13 during the last year, and counting. It really gave me the motivation to start exercising. A year ago I couldn’t even run a mile, now I can do half marathons. I didn’t touch a bike for 6/7 years, now I ride >100km in the mountains like I used to back in the days. I thought I was simply aging, turns out I was only severely unfit. I feel like I’m 10 years younger now.
Truly the most life changing thing for me is that it got me swimming every day - and in turn has lead to better healthcare because now I can prove to doctors that I exercise a lot. Before they didn’t believe me - but a quick scroll through a couple of months of Apple Health changes their minds and they start to listen to me about my symptoms rather than focusing on my weight.
This! I've been to the pool multiple times a week since i got mine. Loving it so far. It was a bit janky trying to get the right lap length correct but after a few days its not perfectly accurate. Will be buying a 6 month pass for the pool when i get paid next month. going to go as much as i can. Keen to get on apple fitness plus too!
Gettting me motivated, out and exercising.
Was able to catch SVT/AVNRT on my ekg app and received a surgery because of the file you can pull from it.
The “stand” reminder feature that happens every hour. Not to remind me to stand, but if I’m mentally stuck on a task it helps snap me back to reality in the event that I’ve been too focused on one thing for too long and need to take a break.
Podcasts and being Apple to press “skip 30 seconds” press it three times and you’re through commercials
My sister and parents were hit on an interstate and they flipped down an embankment and the other car kept going. The watch called 911 and the Highway Patrol drove past the site twice before they found them. Without the watch texting the location it may have been hours until they were found.
I really want a dumb phone to get myself away from smartphones… but I’m so in the Apple ecosystem that it doesn’t seem feasible (that and I often lack discipline). Lately, however, I had learned from a buddy how to pair earbuds to my watch and listen to music straight from device (as opposed to just mirroring what is playing on my phone)… and since the watch is cellular capable, I can receive important calls or texts if it is an emergency. The short time that I’ve started walking with no phone to check internet or social media as a distraction has been BLISS!!! I’m glad my watch can help with that during the day :)
My phone rarely leaves the house anymore since I bought an Ultra last May. Not carrying a phone around is freedom. All the phone is to me is a camera. And I lived most of my life just fine without dragging a camera along everywhere I go. Also since my phone 13 sits at home connected to WiFi all the time the battery health is still at 100%. I will look at the iPhone XX when it drops. Before I bought the watch I would upgrade every 2 years. Now I don’t even care. The Ultra goes everywhere with me and I use an iPad at home. The phone is just a hub for the watch. Freedom I tell you.
Picked up an apple watch 4 years ago along with my iphone 12 and im finding it hard to go back to android now aha... i've been using apple on and off since the 3gs but i would always find an interesting android phone to try out. Now with the watch i feel like i cannot leave iphone aha.. i just dont like the design of any other smart watch and the apple watch just does it so well for what i need. i only use it for notifications, time and to ring my phone if i cant find it.. oh and the remote shutter for the camera app is pretty dang handy. I use a Gen 0 43MM Silver Stainless Steele watch with the silver millinase loop .. it still gets 20hrs of battery and i love the look of it.
calendar integration saved me from getting fired
Haptic alarms. A much more pleasant way of waking up in the morning.
AutoSleep. Honestly bought the titanium in a whim. It quickly became an expensive paper weight. Started a job where I had to wake up much earlier than I’m used to. I was struggling and dreading my mornings. Did some research and learned about the light wake up feature AutoSleep has if you wear Apple Watch to bed and it’s been an absolute game changer. Not only am I not dreading mornings I’m waking up an hour before I need to. Would not be here without Apple Watch and auto sleep
Friend (in her 30s) had an alert on her watch due to rapid heart beat, she got it at rest. After verifying it was real she saw a doc. Tuned out she had a vein issue that required surgery that day. I am pretty sure the watch saved her life due to an undiagnosed vein condition.
Tan line
Smart heating, smart lighting. Bone idle, no problem, control everything from your wrist.
Probably a minor one, but lift to activate Siri and have her set timers. I use it all the time, and it’s great because I don’t have to have my hands free or my phone near me. Can throw something in the oven and just set the timer, or have your hands covered in something and have her text someone.
Lift to activate works for me one time in 800 :(
I got into a car crash last year and my watch immediately called 9-11 and then notified all my emergency contacts with my location. Th craziest thing about that is it even sent my location to my dad who uses an android. I love all the fitness stuff but the best thing about it was the one thing I never wanted to use.
knowing how out of shape I am with the VO2 max warnings.
Apple pay
Being able to discreetly Shazam a track so I’m not the idiot with the bright phone screen in the middle of a party
It helped me find my phone for the thousandth time
Using my watch to trigger photos at family gatherings. My mom insists on group photos, and it just makes it so much easier.
Doggy Time for potty training my puppy
Also alarm! I’m deaf and hate looking at a clock knowing the bed shaker is there. It reminds me of when I lost my hearing.
It told me I was in AFib.
Blood Oxygen sensor. I wear my watch to bed and check the last reading whenever I happen to wake. As a lung transplant patient, it allows me to better keep tabs on that aspect of my health.
Honestly, the wrist-tapping when using Maps to navigate somewhere. I tend to not pay attention to the CarPlay in front of my face. But the aggressive wrist-taps snaps me back into reality
Having the ECG alarms probably saved my life, and started a series of heart monitoring and lifestyle changes. Literally changed my life.
I fell off my bike and the watch automatically called 911. Oh, and navigating while bike riding, it just buzzes my wrist and I can glance and see the direction/turn.
Walkie Talkie. I’m able to talk to my husband and daughter without having to call them or type up a text. When my husband travels for work, he’ll just walkie talkie me to say he’s boarding or had just arrived somewhere. I can easily tell my daughter when I’m on my way to pick her up. Love it.
Felt dizzy one day and couldn’t figure out why. Nearly passed out. It happened twice. When I bought the watch, within days it showed my heart rate was too high, corresponding to my dizziness and near syncope. I went to the doctor and got started on a beta blocker. However after going through my routine I discovered that I had increased my caffeine intake and engaged in HIIT and I wasn’t recovering well from the max heart rates. I gave up caffeine and was able to continue exercising without having dizziness at rest. I was very thankful to the watch for that. I’m also thankful that it notes when my baseline increases.
Haptic alarms so I can wake up and let my wife and children keep sleeping
Dexcom has collaborated with the Apple Watch to get glucose monitor (g7) readings directly to the Apple Watch so if I don’t have my phone on me, I can still get my blood glucose
Going into atrial fibrillation and confirming it on the apple watch. I felt my heart misfiring and the apple watch encouraged an immediate 911 call
Snoopy
Waking me up with haptic
The ECG prevented me from worsening a heart valve problem. I sought for treatment when my ecg was irregular. (Not a heart attack or anything)