Why do you purchase an Apple Watch over other brands?

Things I do with my GPS Only Series 4 Apple Watch:

• It tells time, date, day of the week

• Every iPhone alarm, appears on my wrist, where you can acknowledge it, dismiss it, etc…

• I like the iPhone 3rd party “Alarmed” app (http://yoctoville.com), for my alarms

• Ring.com door bell can display a static image on the Apple Watch

• Weather (this gets used a lot)

• MyRadar 3rd party app will display radar image

• MyRadar and WeatherBug 3rd party apps will send you weather alerts

• Make/Receive phone calls

• Make/Receive FaceTime audio calls

• Use Walkie-Talkie to other Apple Watches anywhere on the planet

• Silence phone ringing by pressing the digital crown (great for SPAM calls)

• Send & receive iMessages

• Send & receive SMS TEXT

• Say “Hey Siri, 14 and a half minute timer”

• Say “Hey Siri, remind me when I get home to do xyz”

• Say “Hey Siri, message my wife/husband/Susan/George/etc…”

• Say “Hey Siri, start Outdoor Walk”

• Say “Hey Siri, end workout”

• Say “Hey Siri, find my iPhone”

• Say “Hey Siri, flashlight”

• Use a 3rd party garage door opener app and device (such as MyQ)

• You can check your calendar

• Read your email

• If you need to take an iPhone picture where you cannot see the screen, use Apple Watch Camera app as a view finder/shutter release

• 3rd party Ocean’s Tide app for beach visits

• Hand washing reminder and timer

• Unlock your Mac (I do this several times a day)

• Unlock your iPhone when you are wearing a mask

• Track your exercise and physical activities

Since my Wife got her Apple Watch, we have been able to reliably iMessage each other, as she never keeps here iPhone on her person.

If my Apple Watch was lost, stolen, or broken, I would order a replacement as fast as possible, as I would miss it so much.

Marketing aside, Apple Watch is not a fitness tracker. It’s closer to an iPhone — a computer with extensive networking capabilities — that fits on your wrist. It can track fitness data certainly, but that’s not its central usage pattern for many folks. Or for how the Watch was designed and built, as there are other capabilities provided.

Apple Watch can operate fully standalone including (when equipped) initiating and receiving cellular calls, but is more commonly used with its paired iPhone, and often borrowing the power and hardware capabilities of the paired iPhone. And Watch provides a way to perform many common iPhone functions without retrieving your iPhone from where it is stored. Including rejecting spam calls, and controlling music playback, for instance.

In full-power usage, Watch Series is usually charged once a day, while Ultra series can usually charge every other day.

Apple Watch pulse oximetry support is currently disabled in newly-imported watches in the US due to an ongoing legal dispute. I’d assume that oximetry on a Canadian purchase would be disabled in the US, too. Oximetry works on existing watches pre-import block.

As for importing it, Apple warranties are country-specific, not international.

If you are looking for a purpose-built fitness tracker, there are other fine choices.

ps: Watch display brightness: series 7 is 1000 nits. Series 9 is 2000 nits. Ultra 2 is 3000 nits. The Ultra 2 flashlight mode — having been on the receiving end — is seriously bright.

The better Water resistance than most watches. Current Series 9 Watch is water resistant to 50 meters.Better screens. I live in Florida, so very near the water and water resistance is important.

I’m at the beach and can see the screen, even on the brightest days. What good is a watch with a ton of features, but you can’t see the screen? I get an important text, but can’t see it. What run 100 yards to shade and still try to see the screen? No thanks.

I just don’t get the battery charging issue. I charge my Watch every day for an hour or so. But if battery life is your most important challenge, then by all means, get a Watch that has great battery life. Just understand the compromises in screen brightness on Watches with extended battery charge life. Great screen and fast processing power to run apps requires more power and that increase the need to charge your watch more often.

The other reason I use an Apple Watch is I own an iPhone. Apple offers such connectivity between their devices and apps it brings a simplification to my use of technology.

Plenty of great watches out there. Check a few of your tops choices out at your local merchants and pick what best fits your needs and lifestyle.

Hello Dah-veed,

One more cool thing on Ultra2 Watch is I can see my screen fine in the bright Texas sun and the Watch will dim a little when I'm not looking at to save battery power. Just turn on "Wake on Wrist Raise" in the Watch app "Display & Brightness"on iPhone. Also my watch screen is set to "Allways ON" and I can still go two days on a charge and the Sleep app will turn the screen off at night. Kinda Cool🤠

If you live in the US it's useless to buy an Watch in Canada just for the SPo2 function unless you never intend to update the watch.

The moment that you update the watch in the US that function will be disabled.

M1 Mac mini, macOS 14.5;  Watch, series 7 GPS/cellular, watchOS 10.5; iPhone 12 Pro, iOS 17.5; TV 4th Gen, tvOS 17.5; HomePods, audioOS 17.5 and Airport Express w/ Airplay 2

I’m at the beach and can see the screen, even on the brightest days.

Which watch do you have? I can't see the display on my Series 7 when I'm in bright sunlight!

I’ve a Gen 1 Ultra, series 8 got brighter screens as I recall, and Series 9 received screens as bright as Ultras. If seeing the screen is higher priority, I’d suggest updating, maybe this fall. 😀