I like to think I’m ‘down with the kids’ when it comes to technology and that I’m on top of new things launching, but in truth technology actually scares me a little, or maybe just overwhelms me with it’s capability. I’m the person who won’t connect to the ‘cloud’ because I don’t really get where all my things will go and I still don’t understand what the ‘cloud’ actually is. I also don’t update apps when I get notifications because my brain tells me that they are going to fill my phone memory even more and maybe give my phone a bug. Totally ridiculous, I know!
Anyway, you can imagine how I felt when I heard about the Apple watch launching… it just sounded WAY too futuristic for me and I worried that if I had one it would take over my life. As I’m typing this, my Apple watch, yes the one that I now own has just tapped me to tell me to move, as I’ve been sat at my laptop for 50 mins straight. So as you can see, I’ve gone against my initial worries and have been putting the Apple watch to the test for all things health and fitness.
MY APPLE WATCH SPORT REVIEW: FAVOURITE FEATURES
The Apple watch has SO much going on, I could write paragraphs and paragraphs, but I thought I’d make it slightly easier for you guys to digest with some bullet points about the best bits…
- One of the best things for a fitness lover is that you’re always wearing your fitness tracker and can track a workout or turn on your heart rate monitor at the touch of a button… OR just by telling Siri “start a 5k outdoor run” – how awesome is that!
- I’ve just order myself some wireless headphones, so am looking forward to not having my iPhone in my pocket while I run and not having a wire for my hands to get caught in. I can link my headphones to Apple Music and listen in peace without the wire nuisance… or the issue of my iPhone not quite fitting properly into the pocket in my leggings!
- Apple Pay was one of the main features that I originally thought I’d never use, as it felt too intrusive in my life, but I’m totally hooked! From a health and fitness point of view I’m a huge fan of it, as I no longer have to worry about my card or cash getting lost while I’m running and I also have the luxury of running somewhere and then hopping on the tube or bus to get home. This isn’t because I’m lazy and can’t be bothered to finished my run, it’s because I always run better if I’m running to a destination, rather than doing a loop. Just a quick swipe of my watch on the Oyster or card machine and I’m on my way.
- In the same way that you have apps on your phone, you can sync any compatible fitness apps to your watch too. This is great for health and fitness as there are SO many we all use. Some of the apps I mentioned in my favourite travel apps work on the watch and will count towards your daily activity when you use them. You can also have apps like MyFitnessPal on your watch and could add it to your home screen, so that you’re always conscious of your meal plan if that’s something you want reminding about.
- This is a little one for the Instagram lovers amongst you – the camera control! You can set you phone up and control the camera from your watch, which is a dream for me when it comes to taking yoga photos… although sometimes it’s tough to use the watch whilst upside down! 😉
- The Stand Up feature on the watch is another of my favourites. At 50 minutes past every hour it’ll tap your wrist, reminding you to stand up and wander around for at least a minute. We spend so much times sat at desks and computers and we get so sucked in to a piece of work, we forget how important it is to keep the blood flowing around our body.
HOW MUCH?!
I think one of the other big turns offs for me (before knowing anything about the watch!) was the price tag. The Apple Watch Sport costs £299, which yes, there’s no denying that it’s not cheap, but when you think about spending around £150 on other fitness/running trackers, plus what you’d spend on a nice watch for daily wear, you’re probably not too far off £299. I definitely think it’s worth the money after experiencing how much it has to offer. I’m currently loving my antique white sports band, but I’m thinking about ordering the metal links bracelet for a classier look when I’m not training. It’s the best multi-purpose bit of wrist candy I’ve ever owned!
WHAT I’VE LEARNED
The biggest thing I’ve learned is that I decide how much the Apple watch takes over my life and how much I want to rely on it. This is the thing that worried me most at first, as I’ve had fitness trackers in the past that measured my sleep and I got obsessed with knowing my sleep pattern, to the point that I dreamt about it! Not cool. Over Christmas I might decide to change my activity goals slightly, as I want to have a more relaxed few weeks, so I love that I can easily do this via the Watch app on my phone.
So, here’s to getting my blood flowing all day long, Siri helping me start my workouts and a nice relaxing Christmas! If you have any questions about the watch just comment below and I’ll do my best at getting all technical with you!
Find out more about the Apple watch here.
Love, Cat x