SillyMochi

Hot Take: Apple Watch is highly over-rated and over-priced

Apple devices are often aspirational, and have a history of being perceived as being over-priced and over-rated products, that people only buy for flexing.

I don’t feel this way about the baseline iPhones and MacBooks - the later being the best no-nonsense personal computing device for the average person, imho.

But even after several years of them being around, I can’t see the value in paying 40-45k for an Apple Watch. (The Ultra line is different concern altogether, but also isn’t targeted at everyday users.) It does a very limited set of things, and has an abysmal battery life. Even the interacting is clunky and tedious.

Sure there are fun gimmicks like walkie-talkie and fitness ring leaderboards. But it doesn’t really justify the price.

A Fitbit Charge or Inspire can do good fitness+sleep tracking and basic phone+app alerts for a third of the price, or lesser.

And if you’re not big on fitness, other manufacturers have decent enough smartwatches to keep you entertained.

Even so, I’m seeing almost everyone around me getting Apple Watches lately. And I don’t get why.

Would like to hear from present/past owners of Apple Watches about their experiences. Is it a worthwhile purchase?

8mo ago

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FluffyCupcake

Amazon8mo

Ah, looks like I can give you good inputs.

Btw, you concluded against Apple Watch first and after that asking the views. Do you want us to support your hypothesis or wats the expectation?

Background - I am big Garmin watch fan and using it since 2017. My primary use case of garmin is long distance running, swimming.

Since 2023, I started doing functional trainings more seriously. Tracked my heart activity more seriously as post covid news scared everyone around. I will add some of the use cases which I found better in Apple Watch against Garmin -

Garmin is round dial, hurts ur wrist during weight lifting. Apple sits comfortably inbetween.
Functional workouts are tracked more effectively, despite so many third party apps, Garmin never took indoor activity tracking seriously.
Using maps on watch is seamless, especially when you are driving 2-Ws or cycling.
Taking calls especially short calls is so easy on Apple Watch.
I just need to switch the band and Apple Watch is ready for formal events as well. I had to change Garmin.

These are some of my use-cases, see if any of these work for you. Good luck!

SillyMochi

Stealth8mo

Hi, thanks for the detailed response.

First, to address the point about asking for views after expressing my own opinion - the last two paras of my post touch upon this

I very much feel it’s not worth it. But I’m seeing lots of people around me getting these watches. So, wanted to hear from people on GV about what works for them (if anything). I always like to hear opposing takes to my own as it helps me improve my understanding on any issues. :)

Now getting to your take on the Apple Watch, it seems your usage is very much driven by a strong focus fitness. Garmin watches are in a higher price bracket and considered to be for people serious about sports and fitness tracking. So being a previous user of that, I assume you’re serious about tracking fitness-related information.

It’s interesting to learn that despite being around for a long while, they’ve left gaps (like indoor tracking) where Apple has overtaken them - thereby creating a strong alternative for fitness-focused customers.

My own usage in the scope of fitness is limited to sleep tracking and step counts. Don’t workout too regularly - so advanced tracking isn’t very important to me.

Also, didn’t realise that two-wheeler driving can benefit from maps on a watch. I see how it can come in handy (no pun intended), but I worry about having to take one hand off the handle to check updates. I guess a phone holder for the handle might be safer. But that comes with its own risks.

But in any case, thanks for your detailed response. It’s much appreciated. :)

SillyMochi

Stealth8mo

Also, sorry for skipping over your feedback about the form factor. The round watch hurting your wrist during workouts and the inability to swap bands for a different look - these are legit concerns of a Garmin that the Apple Watch addresses.

But thinking from the perspective of an average person (someone who never had a smart watch before - or isn’t very serious about fitness), Apple Watch itself still feels like an indulgent purchase instead of a value-based one.

GroovyBoba

X (formerly Twitter)8mo

Lots of people I know use it for health and fitness tracking and others who just use it for showoff. My main complaint with it is the abysmal battery life and no clue on what to do once the battery dies due to degradation.