Since it’s Friday and I’m sitting here doing about a million emails and other various tedious work, and because it has been several weeks since my last Thread, I thought I’d send one out to see if folks have questions about the new iPhone (I have the iPhone 11 Pro Max) or new Apple Watch (I have the Titanium Edition Apple Watch Series 5). Go ahead, distract me :)
Do you think it still matters to have the latest and greatest Apple devices (ie overpriced titanium Apple Watch)? Are the differences between models getting smaller and smaller, and now it’s mostly blind consumerism, that is harmful to us and our planet?
I went in this year thinking it was an obvious non-upgrade year for the Apple Watch. But the always-on screen changed the equation, for me, at least. I do not think you need the newest iPhone if you have last years, or possibly even the X before that. The camera is better. But overall it won’t be that much different.
Now that there’s an always on display, can you think of anything missing on the new watch in your opinion. I find it a struggle to imagine what they might have in the pipeline, other than the holy grail non-invasive blood sugar sensor.
Also, I think I could imagine a time where I’m carrying an IPad and a Watch and no iPhone. I’d love to read a long form post of your thoughts on that idea. ;)
Good question and yes, one probably worthy of a longer post — when can we really go iPhone-free (assuming you have an iPad for actual real app usage)? Will jott down some thoughts... Native Sleep tracking is definitely one. Maybe a better walkie-talkie...
Yes, I use an app called Pillow, which I think does a pretty good job. It for the most part correctly knows when I go to sleep and wake up. It doesn't always capture all the times I wake up in the middle of the night (usually from a baby crying), but it will if I physically get up, of course. The rumors suggest this will all be very similar to what Apple will do themselves sooner or later.
As for charging, I usually charge right when I wake up and feed the baby, etc through when I shower. This usually gets me back or close to 100%. Given the battery life issues with the 5, I also sometimes charge at night when I'm reading, before I go to sleep.
Great to hear this, I also started using Pillow and have been super impressed, but this made me hesitant to try any other sleep apps, as I already had a nice data log going in Pillow! XD
I always here people talk about Sleep++ but Pillow seems so beautifully elegant in its design that I got hooked. I look forward to seeing Apple’s solution.
LTE at least in metro NYC seems better. Battery's the best since the 3G in my experience. IIRC, the 4 was the first iPhone that barely lasted a day. This morning's charge looks like it'll take me at least till tomorrow evening.
Beyond the ones mentioned below, I should probably give the "Siri" face another try. I liked that one when I first used it, but it's so far down my carousel of faces I switch between. I also like the "Air Quality" complication, which we sadly need with more regularity here in the Bay Area :( The "Moon Phase" one is great-looking, but I don't get much utility out of it. I should probably try more third-party ones. What else do people like?
Of the new ones, I really like "Numerals Duo" (the big, fat hours/minutes face). For most days, I still use "Infograph Modular" which seems to be the most customizable for what I want: calendar, weather, timer, health, date, and yes, time.
Thoughts on battery life for Watch? I love the always on display but battery life seems much shorter than for Series 4 Watch despite what I think is the same claimed life on Apple specs page.
Yeah, it's not great, to put it mildly. I complained about this on Twitter a couple weeks back and there seemed to be pretty clear agreement. I do *think* the latest .1 WatchOS push helped a bit, but it's clearly worse than the previous two iterations of the watch. This still isn't a deal-breaker in my mind, I can still get through a day (just with very little room to spare now) and I do love the always-on screen (disabling it seems to help save battery life, of course). https://twitter.com/mgsiegler/status/1177810051483881472
A tip for improving battery life. Leave on the Always On screen, but turn off Raise to Wake. Depending on your needs, having complications updated once a minute is plenty, and if most of your looking at your watch is to check the time then you don't need to light up the screen (assuming the dimmed setting is bright enough- it is for me and I don't have great eyesight). Just tap the face or the crown to activate everything.
Plus, I always find it distracting when my watch lights up from random movements- this takes care of that.
This is a *great* tip. I actually find the raise-to-wake too generous with when it thinks I’m trying to get the screen fully on, so I will definitely use this!
I wish more people knew about it. Even with lots of complications and 60 minute workouts, I'm never below 40% at the end of 16 hour days of use. At first I thought the data in complications would go stale, but they definitely update once a minute. After 3 weeks of shutting off RTW, I'll never turn it back on.
As noted above, not great. A little bit better with the first .1 software update, but definitely a lot worse than the Series 4 and even 3. Clearly, the always-on screen takes it toll, no matter what clever tech Apple has built to try to combat that issue. Still, it’s not a deal-breaker for me.
I use Chrome for Google products (Gmail, Calendar, Docs, etc) and Safari for everything else. There’s no question: MacBook battery life is so much better if you just use Safari.
If your phone is close to your Watch while it's on your wrist (say, near your keyboard), do you get Message notifications? I find that my phone doesn't buzz if they are close together...and sometimes BOTH do not buzz.
Yeah this is very hit-or-miss with me. I mean, I get it, this is a complicated issue, to say the least. But yeah if my devices are close by, weird things start happening with notifications.
Is there really any reason to buy the Apple Watch, Titanium or otherwise??? I'm trying to get even less distracted, and aside from logging my cycling miles, it seems like it will be just another distraction (see what I did there?)
In general, the only two main reasons, in my mind, to buy an Apple Watch are fitness and notifications. The first one is obvious, as you note. The second depends on the type of phone user you are. I love getting notifications, in real time, to my wrist. But I know many people hate this. And it stresses them out more. So it comes down to how much you fall into #1 and/or #2 bucket. If you fall into both, you should obviously get it. I will say that I do believe I use my phone less because I pull it out less thanks to the Watch.
I’m a huge fan of using the watch to set reminders and timers in addition to fitness and notifications. I love being able to set a quick reminder without typing or pulling out my phone, and cook almost every day so timers on my wrist is a key feature.
The only reason I have mine is for running and travel. Whenever I can, I switch back to a mechanical watch. But for running (and swimming and biking) it's the best device I've tried, even better than dedicated fitness watches like Garmins.
How is the Taptic Engine on the titanium edition? I’ve only ever had stainless steel but have heard aluminium has a much stronger tap, especially in early generations.
I both heard this and experienced it, as I got an aluminum Series 3 a couple years back. I think they’ve done work to make it more standardized along the lineup, but hard to know without buying/having multiple versions of the watch to test, of course. I think the engine seems good on the Titanium version. No better or worse than what I noticed with the last version I had (Steel).
Per another thread here, I don’t notice the difference weight-wise. It does look nice, but also not all that different from steel unless you get up close... Honestly not sure it’s worth the price premium for most people.
Yes, just for at-a-glance time telling. I’m using it all the time — I actually have to keep reminding myself it’s here now! But per the other threads here, there is obviously a battery trade-off for this. I still think the feature outweighs the negative...
How does the weight feel? I run a lot with my aluminum 4 and wondering if the bump up to titanium will be hugely noticeable. I’ve always found stainless steel to be too heavy.
This was actually the main reason I went with Titanium over Stainless Steel, given that the specs noted it was lighter. Well that and just wanting to try something different. Honestly, I can't notice the weight difference. I had a stainless steel model before and it seems about the same in regular usage. But I'm also not a big runner, so maybe you'll noticed the slight loss in weight a bit more...
On the new Watch: If you get buzzed for a notification while your wrist is "away", when you move your wrist to read the notification, will it be there already or will it take some time to appear? (I know that it won't display when your wrist is facing away)
Yes, like Tom, I often notice is there, but faded at first until the screen comes fully on. The other issue I constantly have is getting a second notification (since many are batched together) to show up reliably. This is a tough problem, I know, but I wish there was a more graceful way to do this...
Hey, thanks for doing this! Do you know if the Apple Watch Series 5 has passive NFC capabilities like the iPhones XS, 11, and 11 Pro? I cannot find the answer anywhere! Thanks!
Twitter! And they had one for a while, but then killed it :( That said, it wasn't great anyway. Maybe if you could just pin one specific list of a small number of accounts you really want to check all the time...
This tactic sadly did not work with my wife. I have gotten her two Apple Watches. She wore the first one for maybe two weeks. Then second maybe two times, period. Phone still wins. Your mileage may vary.
What recipe are you going to use on your iPhone to make lunch for your kid tomorrow?
The Uber Eats app?
Do you think it still matters to have the latest and greatest Apple devices (ie overpriced titanium Apple Watch)? Are the differences between models getting smaller and smaller, and now it’s mostly blind consumerism, that is harmful to us and our planet?
I went in this year thinking it was an obvious non-upgrade year for the Apple Watch. But the always-on screen changed the equation, for me, at least. I do not think you need the newest iPhone if you have last years, or possibly even the X before that. The camera is better. But overall it won’t be that much different.
Now that there’s an always on display, can you think of anything missing on the new watch in your opinion. I find it a struggle to imagine what they might have in the pipeline, other than the holy grail non-invasive blood sugar sensor.
Also, I think I could imagine a time where I’m carrying an IPad and a Watch and no iPhone. I’d love to read a long form post of your thoughts on that idea. ;)
Good question and yes, one probably worthy of a longer post — when can we really go iPhone-free (assuming you have an iPad for actual real app usage)? Will jott down some thoughts... Native Sleep tracking is definitely one. Maybe a better walkie-talkie...
Do you use a sleep tracking app? If so what do you recommend? And what’s your charging strategy for getting the battery through the day and night?
Yes, I use an app called Pillow, which I think does a pretty good job. It for the most part correctly knows when I go to sleep and wake up. It doesn't always capture all the times I wake up in the middle of the night (usually from a baby crying), but it will if I physically get up, of course. The rumors suggest this will all be very similar to what Apple will do themselves sooner or later.
As for charging, I usually charge right when I wake up and feed the baby, etc through when I shower. This usually gets me back or close to 100%. Given the battery life issues with the 5, I also sometimes charge at night when I'm reading, before I go to sleep.
Great to hear this, I also started using Pillow and have been super impressed, but this made me hesitant to try any other sleep apps, as I already had a nice data log going in Pillow! XD
I always here people talk about Sleep++ but Pillow seems so beautifully elegant in its design that I got hooked. I look forward to seeing Apple’s solution.
Where are you taking your iPhone for the Thanksgiving holiday?
Good question! I'm up for Ann Arbor to watch a certain game... Might be cold though! #GoBlue
Is the camera the best new feature of the iPhone 11 Pro
Absolutely yes. Battery life is second.
LTE at least in metro NYC seems better. Battery's the best since the 3G in my experience. IIRC, the 4 was the first iPhone that barely lasted a day. This morning's charge looks like it'll take me at least till tomorrow evening.
+1: What is your favorite face and complications set up?
Beyond the ones mentioned below, I should probably give the "Siri" face another try. I liked that one when I first used it, but it's so far down my carousel of faces I switch between. I also like the "Air Quality" complication, which we sadly need with more regularity here in the Bay Area :( The "Moon Phase" one is great-looking, but I don't get much utility out of it. I should probably try more third-party ones. What else do people like?
What's your favorite watch face, or do you use several? I switch between two infographs, loaded with complications.
Of the new ones, I really like "Numerals Duo" (the big, fat hours/minutes face). For most days, I still use "Infograph Modular" which seems to be the most customizable for what I want: calendar, weather, timer, health, date, and yes, time.
Thoughts on battery life for Watch? I love the always on display but battery life seems much shorter than for Series 4 Watch despite what I think is the same claimed life on Apple specs page.
Yeah, it's not great, to put it mildly. I complained about this on Twitter a couple weeks back and there seemed to be pretty clear agreement. I do *think* the latest .1 WatchOS push helped a bit, but it's clearly worse than the previous two iterations of the watch. This still isn't a deal-breaker in my mind, I can still get through a day (just with very little room to spare now) and I do love the always-on screen (disabling it seems to help save battery life, of course). https://twitter.com/mgsiegler/status/1177810051483881472
A tip for improving battery life. Leave on the Always On screen, but turn off Raise to Wake. Depending on your needs, having complications updated once a minute is plenty, and if most of your looking at your watch is to check the time then you don't need to light up the screen (assuming the dimmed setting is bright enough- it is for me and I don't have great eyesight). Just tap the face or the crown to activate everything.
Plus, I always find it distracting when my watch lights up from random movements- this takes care of that.
This is a *great* tip. I actually find the raise-to-wake too generous with when it thinks I’m trying to get the screen fully on, so I will definitely use this!
I wish more people knew about it. Even with lots of complications and 60 minute workouts, I'm never below 40% at the end of 16 hour days of use. At first I thought the data in complications would go stale, but they definitely update once a minute. After 3 weeks of shutting off RTW, I'll never turn it back on.
Yeah I mean raise-to-wake was a key to the device before the always-on screen, of course. But now it’s far less vital. Just turned it off!
Hi MG. How has the battery life been with your series 5? Thanks and have a good weekend!
As noted above, not great. A little bit better with the first .1 software update, but definitely a lot worse than the Series 4 and even 3. Clearly, the always-on screen takes it toll, no matter what clever tech Apple has built to try to combat that issue. Still, it’s not a deal-breaker for me.
Chrome or Safari?
I use Chrome for Google products (Gmail, Calendar, Docs, etc) and Safari for everything else. There’s no question: MacBook battery life is so much better if you just use Safari.
If your phone is close to your Watch while it's on your wrist (say, near your keyboard), do you get Message notifications? I find that my phone doesn't buzz if they are close together...and sometimes BOTH do not buzz.
Yeah this is very hit-or-miss with me. I mean, I get it, this is a complicated issue, to say the least. But yeah if my devices are close by, weird things start happening with notifications.
Is there really any reason to buy the Apple Watch, Titanium or otherwise??? I'm trying to get even less distracted, and aside from logging my cycling miles, it seems like it will be just another distraction (see what I did there?)
In general, the only two main reasons, in my mind, to buy an Apple Watch are fitness and notifications. The first one is obvious, as you note. The second depends on the type of phone user you are. I love getting notifications, in real time, to my wrist. But I know many people hate this. And it stresses them out more. So it comes down to how much you fall into #1 and/or #2 bucket. If you fall into both, you should obviously get it. I will say that I do believe I use my phone less because I pull it out less thanks to the Watch.
I’m a huge fan of using the watch to set reminders and timers in addition to fitness and notifications. I love being able to set a quick reminder without typing or pulling out my phone, and cook almost every day so timers on my wrist is a key feature.
The only reason I have mine is for running and travel. Whenever I can, I switch back to a mechanical watch. But for running (and swimming and biking) it's the best device I've tried, even better than dedicated fitness watches like Garmins.
How is the Taptic Engine on the titanium edition? I’ve only ever had stainless steel but have heard aluminium has a much stronger tap, especially in early generations.
I both heard this and experienced it, as I got an aluminum Series 3 a couple years back. I think they’ve done work to make it more standardized along the lineup, but hard to know without buying/having multiple versions of the watch to test, of course. I think the engine seems good on the Titanium version. No better or worse than what I noticed with the last version I had (Steel).
Titanium better than the steel? I have the 2 in steel and love it. It’s just so slow now.
Per another thread here, I don’t notice the difference weight-wise. It does look nice, but also not all that different from steel unless you get up close... Honestly not sure it’s worth the price premium for most people.
Good to know. I’ll probably go steel again. Thanks for the input. iPad mini forever!!!
How is the always on Apple Watch screen in everyday use? Is it truly an improvement?
Yes, just for at-a-glance time telling. I’m using it all the time — I actually have to keep reminding myself it’s here now! But per the other threads here, there is obviously a battery trade-off for this. I still think the feature outweighs the negative...
How does the weight feel? I run a lot with my aluminum 4 and wondering if the bump up to titanium will be hugely noticeable. I’ve always found stainless steel to be too heavy.
This was actually the main reason I went with Titanium over Stainless Steel, given that the specs noted it was lighter. Well that and just wanting to try something different. Honestly, I can't notice the weight difference. I had a stainless steel model before and it seems about the same in regular usage. But I'm also not a big runner, so maybe you'll noticed the slight loss in weight a bit more...
Heard anything about a titanium link bracelet? Looks a bit off with the stainless steel bracelet.
Haven't yet. That's one of the bands I've actually never tried...
On the new Watch: If you get buzzed for a notification while your wrist is "away", when you move your wrist to read the notification, will it be there already or will it take some time to appear? (I know that it won't display when your wrist is facing away)
Yes, like Tom, I often notice is there, but faded at first until the screen comes fully on. The other issue I constantly have is getting a second notification (since many are batched together) to show up reliably. This is a tough problem, I know, but I wish there was a more graceful way to do this...
In my experience when you raise your wrist, the notification is there, but faded and then (IMO a bit too slowly) fades into brighter view.
Hey, thanks for doing this! Do you know if the Apple Watch Series 5 has passive NFC capabilities like the iPhones XS, 11, and 11 Pro? I cannot find the answer anywhere! Thanks!
That's a great question. It's also one I don't specifically know the answer to -- but I believe the answer is "no", sadly per this: https://www.reddit.com/r/HomeKit/comments/d2cxm4/background_nfc_apple_watch_series_5/
Wow, thanks for this. Very, very upsetting!
Twitter! And they had one for a while, but then killed it :( That said, it wasn't great anyway. Maybe if you could just pin one specific list of a small number of accounts you really want to check all the time...
Try Chirp for the Apple Watch. It is free and works great.
This tactic sadly did not work with my wife. I have gotten her two Apple Watches. She wore the first one for maybe two weeks. Then second maybe two times, period. Phone still wins. Your mileage may vary.