I’m Dumping My Apple Watch

I can’t believe it has come to this, after not even two full weeks, but I either have to dump my Apple watch and go back to my Fossil watch, or I’m literally going to have to buy a 2nd Apple watch because the battery life issue is ruining the entire Apple Watch experience for me.

By having a 2nd watch, I could keep one on the charger, and then each day or so swap the watches, so one would always be charged.

I am not kidding.

How did it come to this?
It hit me this morning, when I woke up and my watch was just about dead. I put it on the charger for a couple of hours and went about my morning, but I noticed that during that two hour block I looked at my empty wrist about 5 times. The fifth time, I really needed to know what time it was, and my iPhone was charging on the other side of the house, so I had to find my iPad just to know what time it was.

A couple of days ago, it was when it went dead at work because I had forgotten to charge it and my charging cable was back at home. A few days before that it was when I went to look at it after waking in the middle of the night but it was dead (I really like knowing the time if I wake up…do I have 15 minutes left to sleep or three hours? I even made a special Apple Watch clock face just for when I go to sleep).

These are all my fault for not monitoring the battery life of my Apple watch closely enough, but I don’t want to have to baby sit the battery on something I’ve never given a second thought to in my entire life. Watch batteries had been something I had to replace every four years, but now I’m worrying about my watch battery every single day.

I know it sounds like a “1st world problem” but I’m already worrying about my iPhone 6’s battery charge (so much so that I’m now carrying a Mophie), and my iPad, and my MacBook Pro’s battery, and I needed another thing to worry about charging like I needed a hole in my head. I’m sure over time I could condition myself to monitor the watch battery status more closely, but the problem is…I don’t want to. This watch is supposed to make my life easier — not give me something new to worry about charging each day.

Besides telling time, the Apple Watch really does just one main thing…
It keeps me from having to dig my iPhone out of my pocket. That’s really its main advantage, and that’s great, but I’ve just replaced one minor inconvenience (pulling my iPhone out of my pocket), with a bigger inconvenience (losing the use of my Apple Watch for two hours at a time every day or so).

Aren’t there other options?
Sure. I could buy a clock for my nightstand, and that way I could charge my Apple Watch all night every night. I just don’t want to do that. I want a wrist watch like I’ve always had. I could buy another $40 charging cable and keep it at work, so I’d have one at home and one at work, so the whole “battery ran out at work thing” wouldn’t happen again, but then I’d have to take off my watch at work for a couple of hours each day. I don’t want to do that either. There are probably other compromises and workarounds, and I hate to say it but the one that makes the most sense is:

…to buy a second Apple watch.

That way, one of the two would always be charged. When I wake up in the morning each day (or before I go to bed each night), I would just take the fully changed one off the charger; put it on my wrist, and put the other one on the charger to get fully charged. It’s too perfect. Except of course, for the price.

I already bought the cheapest one they make — the $399 sport version. I wanted the Stainless Steel version for $700, but I just couldn’t mentally spend that much on a watch (I never have — that kind of money is reserved for guitars). ;-). So, I couldn’t pull the trigger on the $700 Stainless Steel model, and today I’m doubly glad I didn’t.

So, if I bought a 2nd Apple Sport Watch, I’d be at around $800, but then I’d have to order the black sport band separately (I’m still waiting on the original black sport band I ordered on pre-order day), and that was another $50, so a 2nd one would make a total of $100, which would bring my total Apple Watch investment (for two of the cheapest ones they make, but with black sport bands) to…

$900. Plus tax.

That’s a lot just to make my one Apple Watch not stress me out.

As for the rest of the watch…
I’m perfectly happy with all the rest of it. I love the screen. It’s slickly designed overall. The apps are pretty clever. It’s well-thought out and solid, and it’s fun (and fun is worth a lot to me), but after using it for about two weeks, I realize what I use it the most for is…a watch, and I don’t need a watch that requires me to baby sit the battery or buy a second one to make up for the really bad battery life.

That’s why I’m dumping my Apple watch
So, today I’m going back to my simple $85 Fossil watch (seen below), and the next time I’ll have to worry about the battery is probably sometime in 2019.

 

 

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230 comments
  1. The Pebble smartwatch works with Android and IOS and it only has to be charged once a week. Plus its waterproof and can be read in bright sunlight, thanks to its kindle like screen technology. Just saying…

    1. I was about to say. It’s not a flashy as the Apple watch, but Pebble has a pretty huge following because it’s still really handy and the battery actually lasts. And I think they just came out with a color version.

      1. I have both the kickstarter and the steel, battery usually lasts between 5-7 days, for both of them.

      2. Nissan Leaf costs 1/4 the price of a Tesla Model S. Both get you to the grocery store & back. Function over form.

    2. I had the original Pebble (Original Kickstarter version) and my battery rarely lasted more than a day. I never felt that I was doing anything excessive with it. When I talked to the folks at Pebble, they said that was normal for many people.

    3. Right, but what are the chances that he’s going to want to charge this once a week? If he can’t be bothered to care about the battery life and charge it now, it just means he’ll be complaining slightly less often.

  2. Having used various smart watches now and still forgetting to recharge them after having 4/5 full days of charges, I knew the Apple Watch wasn’t going to be practical in the real world. I feel for you Scott. People who wanted one without having to wait 2 months for stock had to buy on a whim hoping it’d be good.

    If you’re interested in a solid smart watch with lots of battery and a way to receive notifications, look at the new Pebble Time Steel. It’s not out just yet, but that looks like a great piece of kit. Mine is on order :)

  3. It’s nice to get a REAL user experience and not the always fawning apple press experience. I was hoping apple finally did something right but it sounds like I won’t be getting one. Perhaps when they get to apple watch 3 or 4. It’s like with iphones, after many years the first iphone that lasts a full day (and sometimes 2) is the 6+ i got last year. Frankly i dont understand their need for such tiny phones. I would pay a lot more for an iphone 6 “normal” that’s twice as thick due to extra battery’s and only having to charge it once a week :P

  4. You should look into the Citizen eco watches. They’re solar powered and time is set automatically by radio. (Or whatever technology it’s called. I haven’t set my time or changed a battery in years.

    1. I have a Citizen also I wear it 24/7 I have had it for 8 years and never set it or changed the battery it and it is super accurate.I love these idiots that buy Rolex and the latest fad watches,for absurd prices do they go into a restaurant or bar and hold up their arm and say,”see I was stupid enough to spend lots of money for this”

  5. The scenario you describe sounds like someone complaining that they have cavities because they forgot to brush their teeth every day. My knee-jerk reaction to your situation is Well, Duh! Most people do not wear their watch 24/7/365. If you do, then clearly an Apple Watch is not a good fit for your needs. Did you not realize prior to purchasing your watch that probably daily charging was going to be required?

      1. It’s a smart watch lol. Of course you would need to charge it. Battery life could be better though but I heard the battery life is not as bad as everyone claim to be though.

      2. Well, if you were used to using a regular land line phone then I can see why you’d think having to charge a “phone” is silly… But regardless of whether you have to charge a smart watch every night or every week, a smart watch (any brand) is to a “regular” watch (that just tells the time) — just like a smartphone (any brand) is to a regular land line phone.

    1. Yup, wear my 24/7/365. Take it of to clean it every once and again. Most people I know wear their watch like that as well. I will never get a Apple Watch for the exact saem reason as Scott. A watch is to tell time and the landscape on my arm is pretty minimal. I owna Fitbit charge now that I wear. I use it mostly as a watch and partly as a fitenss tracker. I charge it once every 5 days and that’s about my limit. Apples mistake was calling it a watch. That’s like calling the iPhone a watch. If something has time and fits on your wrist, it’s not technically a watch; it’s a smart device with time keeping capabilities. By the way, my brother in law bought one since he needed a watch and had an iPhone. He thought it was really cool until he had to keep taking it off to charge it all the time. RETURNED! Side note: Most people that I know who don’t wear their actual watch 24/7 are people, like myself, who remove it to shower. I also go through the “hassle” of removing my clothes before I shower so it’s really not a big deal

      1. You take your clothes off before you shower?
        When do you have time to do the laundry?

    2. A similar analogy is the guy who complains that his car no longer runs because it’s out of gas — because the driver refuses to fill the tank when the gas gauge is on “Empty.”

      Let’s forget the fact that you have to charge this watch each night for now… Let’s say this watch needed to be charged once a month (and clearly stated that up front), but Kelby refused to do so (charge it once a month) — and then he complained it didn’t last long enough… Everyone would think this guy had a screw loose!

      Well, not much different here.

      1. I guess his problem really is: he had a watch that was the equivalent to a solar powered car, of which he had to swap the battery every four years. Now he has a gas-guzzling SUV that he has to refuel everyday. It can do so much more than the solar car, but man, is it ever a pain to get in the habit of constantly fueling.

        He sounds more like a solar car kinda guy, from the article.

      2. Yes, a solar guy I guess…

        But regardless, this whole notion of charging something at night being a hassle is truly one of the most whiny things I’ve ever heard, because it takes no more than 3 seconds to take the device off and stick it on the charging magnet.

      3. To that, I do not disagree with you. It’s simply a change in habit, like when you first got a smartphone and had to start charging it daily, compared to a feature phone you only had to change every few days. Some people just do not do well with change. :-)

    3. I wear my watch all day every day. I never take it off, for more than 5 minutes, even sleeping. I wear it in the shower. Is that not normal? I thought it was.

  6. Thanks for the feedback on the battery and all the info. Not sure if it’ll help with all the trolls saying you sold your soul to Apple or not, but it’s interesting for me to see someone as invested in Apple’s ecosystem as you thinking about dropping the watch. Makes me think twice about having one.

    Thanks for the great heads up Scott!

  7. Don’t you have to charge your iPhone every night? I can only just get to the end of the day before my phone needs a charge. So why not just put your phone right next to the watch and charge them at the same time at night when you go to bed?

      1. Smartwatch or not, I never sleep or shower in my watch. Why the fark would you leave a watch on your wrist 24/7? I have never known anyone who doesn’t remove their watch daily.

      2. People that never remove watches from their wrists like bacteria, accumulated dead skin cells, watch “tan lines” and the smell of old socks on their moist, sweaty wrists.

        I left my Oakley Torpedo watch on for a few days and practically needed Ajax cleanser, bleach, and rubbing alcohol to remove that smell from the watch band AND my wrist. Blech!

  8. Like any Apple product, wait for the 3rd release to get the product right (and I’m an Apple fanboy). But for now I’m skeptical about the whole smartwatch thing. I’ve tried various smartwatches (except the Apple Watch) and I still can’t find a real killer feature for them, that could convince me to deal with the usually ridiculous battery life. In the end I think I’ll stay with my nice automatic watches, that don’t even have a battery :)
    Thanks Scott for the feedback anyhow, it’s good to have a real world, not biased feedback.

  9. This is the main reason I won’t buy an apple watch. Even though it’s not yet available (but very soon) the Pebble Time looks to be a very nice alternative option. It’s not as pretty or sleek but looks quite intriguing and the time is always on.

  10. Good for you!!!! I love those apple watch commercials but I have android. And I love my android watch. It holds a charge for a couple of days but I mostly use it as a watch too.

  11. Another viewpoint from a happy Apple Watch owner: Mine is charged overnight on my nightstand about 6″ from my head. I lay down in bed, put it on the charger, and put it back on when I wake up. If I need to know the time in the wee hours of the morning it is right there. The battery has had plenty left each night…nowhere near to depleted. I have more trouble getting through the day with iPhone 6+. I did buy a couple of spare chargers, a worthwhile investment for convenience, like multiple lightning cables for my iPhone and iPad. I have had more than one Pebble watch but the bluetooth was always disconnecting from my phone until it wasn’t worth the trouble. My Apple watch has been working flawlessly and as I get up to speed on how to use it, it becomes more and more convenient. At one glance my watch face is set to tell me time, date, day of week, current temperature, moon phase, the next item on my calendar AND status of battery charge. It knows the correct time and date no matter what the time zone without having to be reset. I have taken phone calls on it, checked incoming messages and emails (and replied to them using dictation), and set timers and alarms using Siri on a regular basis. I’ve also used it to ping a temporarily misplaced iPhone. On a recent flight across the country my TripIt app sent me gate updates directly to my wrist. And I impressed a gate agent by displaying my boarding pass from my watch. Plus it is beautiful and more comfortable than any watch I’ve ever worn (42mm stainless w/Milanese band). That’s enough to make me happy without even using all the other apps, current and in the pipeline, that will expand its usefulness. I’m delighted with my Apple watch, not dumping it and not selling it on eBay at a profit!

    1. If you think it is the most beautiful watch, then you have never owned or wore a time piece named Omega Seamaster. Plenty of difference between the two I will agree. The important one for me is you wear a watch as I wear a time piece!

      1. I’ve had an Omega Seamaster – beautiful watch! But beauty can also be how a watch functions. I’m not throwing out my collections of beautiful watches or time pieces, I’m just adding another to the collection – one that functions beautifully and like no other.

      2. Actually she just said it was beautiful…and more comfortable than any watch….

        It’s quite funny seeing this as I used this as a comparison to the Hasselblad Stellar vs Sony Rx100. One is a camera for taking pictures the other is a fashion accessory. Whilst I would never buy this camera, I think it gets ridiculed maybe more than it deserves. If people can spend huge amounts of money on a watch that does nothing more than tell the time, why can’t people buy this over priced camera that does little more than take a photo. Both are ridiculously expensive fashion accessories for people who are more interested in aesthetics than functionality. Nothing wrong with that, but one is considered cool the other is a laughing stock.

  12. Didn’t Apple say that one would have to charge it every day? It sounds like you are unwilling to do that and expecting it to do something Apple never said it would do.

      1. So true, i think people need to build a “bridge”, everyone is so highly “strung” and getting their “neck” in a knot. They need to “pickup” and get on with things.

      2. In the sometimes divisive world of Internet comments, it’s good to know that when opportunity presents for some good groaner puns we’re all in one a-chord.

  13. Scott, you should ask Dick Tracy what kind of watch he uses. We never saw him complain about battery life as he was rounding up criminals, and making phone calls from it back in the 40’s! :-)

    –John

  14. To be fair, all of the reviews (including Apple’s) did say that this device would require daily charging, so if one wanted a watch that didn’t require daily charging, this definitely was not the device. Again, all of the reviews about the Apple Watch were very up front about the battery life.

  15. I don’t have an issue with the battery as much as I have an issue with its wishy washy waterproofing limitations. I want to jump in the shower, pool and ocean without having to worry. For now, I have been taking my Apple Watch off to do any of those things. I’m keeping mine though… for now.

      1. Good luck with your Watch! I read about cleaning the crown with water and watched the daring video of water proof testing FoneFox did in Australia.

        It’s Apple’s confusing statements about avoiding exposure to water under certain conditions that are the source of my worries.

        I do understand that most of this is legal CYA language, but here’s what Apple says in their User Guide:

        “The following may affect the water resistance of Apple Watch and should be avoided:

        • Dropping Apple Watch or subjecting it to other impacts.
        • Submerging Apple Watch in water for long periods of time.
        • Swimming or bathing with Apple Watch.
        • Exposing Apple Watch to pressurized water or high velocity water, for example, showering, water skiing, wake boarding, surfing, jet skiing, and so on.
        • Wearing Apple Watch in the sauna or steam room.”

      2. Consumer Reports dropped it in 3 feet of water for 24 hours, and it still worked after that time. My husband has been showering with his (not on purpose :) several times since he got it and no problems. But yes, I’d like to be able to go swimming and stuff with it.

  16. See if goal zero has a battery/cord you can clip on your person and charge it as you wear it. They have them to handle cell phones and lights and cameras….

      1. Being a watch is ONE function of the device, it does a lot more. But, if it can’t be trusted to always also show the time for several days without shutting off the many additional features it apparently has some engineering optimization to go through. :) I know a lot of pickup truck owners who have extra fuel tanks in their bed or hidden away in the sidewalls – they do exactly what you said. It’s not that unusual … :)

        My guess is Apple is doing a bunch of work in the background finding ways to extend the operational time on a charge, it seems most smartphone and tablet companies have done so as well as usage patterns became more clear and new, improved chip level devices come on the market.

        Goal Zero does a lot of off-grid charging and small, flexible solar panel gear, friend is the past CEO. Their headquarters is just around the mountain from me in Draper UT. Good company, good products. A lot of photographers who spend time off-grid should look at their gear to recharge batteries, laptops, cellphones etc. when off grid.

  17. I guess I don’t see the charging requirements as being a problem. I have an Apple Watch, and have no trouble whatsoever with the battery lasting throughout the day. I keep the charging cable on my nightstand, and simply charge the watch while sleeping, just as I do with my iPhone.

  18. Even if the second watch wasn’t prohibitively expensive, I doubt that you could pair two watches with the same phone. I’m pretty sure it’s a 1-to-1 mapping only. I have a Sport and like it. Charging the battery everyday is a pain, but you get used to it. I would love to use it to wake me in the morning without bugging my wife, but I don’t as I leave it to charge while I sleep. I’m still holding out hope for some killer apps / use cases, but like you find it mostly a convenient way to get notifications at a quick glance without fishing out my phone.

  19. I joked with a friend of mine that I had a spoof idea for all the Apple Watch fans. I stand that holds the watch and shakes to simulate keeping an automatic watch wound. Maybe I should go ahead with my patent application and design plans!

  20. Scott, I bought this for mine, https://store.griffintechnology.com/watchstand

    It’s the Griffin Watch Stand. You run your cable up inside and then just drop your watch on it at night. It also has a curved lip at the front, to place your iPhone. So you can now have your iPhone charging in landscape, in clock mode, and eliminate your problem of needing to see what time it is in the middle of the night.

    I’ve never been able to sleep with a watch on, so for me, taking it off each night to charge it, isn’t a problem. But I can see how it might make some people frustrated. All I can say is you’ll get used to it. Then it will be second nature and you’ll be fine.

  21. SIMPLE – Retire. When someone asks me what time it is I say, “What difference does it make! ” If it’s dark, it’s night or storming, If it’s bright it’s daytime! Look I am a watch collector (up to 32), I never know what time it is, they all say something different!!!!! Here’s an idea, be a renaissance man, keep struggling with the Apple Watch, and carry a classic pocket watch on a gold chain, just don’t forget to wind it!!!!

    OK, seriously, want to know what time it is? It’s time to kiss your wife, hug your children, tell a friend how much they mean to you, thank a stranger, smile at someone you don’t know, hold the door for an elderly person. Tell your co-workers how much you value them, tell a military person or policeman you appreciate their service, and be thankful for all God has blessed you with, it’s time for all of us to spend more times on our knees, and for me to take a nap……whew I’m worn out!

    1. Yes! Bill you have it exactly right. I retired just over a year ago and I don’t miss the alarms, yes plural, going off in the morning. Those two beside clocks now just let me know if I have slept enough when I wake up, and even then I sometimes ignore them and just sleep a while longer.

    2. Honestly, I was right there with you through the first half of the comment. The second half of the comment sounds like some cliche line you copy and pasted out of a chain email–almost to the point of sounding unnecessary.

  22. I’m impressed with my Apple Watch battery life. When I put it on the charger next to my bed every night, it still has about 30 percent. It seems like I’m constantly using it. I run with it, listening to music from it. We are at the beginning of a revolution. Time travel back to 2007. This is like saying you are dumping your original iPhone because your Blackberry has better battery life. It’s only going to get better!

  23. Scott, is the Withings Activité (pop) smart enough for you ? It is a “real” watch with some extra. No need to charge, you just replace the battery every 8 months (according to Withings), completely waterproof, I swam with it in the ocean, no problem at all. And of course I take it in bed with me :D

  24. It seems that a lot of the comments come from people who didn’t really get what Scott was saying. He didn’t buy the watch thinking that it would run for a week before charging. He knew all about it before he bought it. The issue is that he didn’t think it would really be an issue until he put it on his wrist and wore it for a while. The act of charging is more of an inconvenience than he thought it would be. Everyone has their own acceptable thresholds for stuff like this. Many of you who own the watch don’t see it as a problem. All he was saying was that, for him, it is and it isn’t the time keeping solution he thought it might be. Not all tech works for everyone and sometimes you don’t know until you jump in and give it a try.

    Hmmm, I wonder if he will post that sucker on eBay.

    1. How much of an inconvenience can it be to take off your watch before you go to sleep and put it on your nightstand?! Does he sleep with his clothes on because it is too much of an inconvenience to take them off?!

  25. Well, if you would ask us first, you would know that before even buying it ;) Smartwatches ain’t for everyone. And… even amongst smartwatches, there’re far better looking, fat better working and far longer working ones out there (and, far cheaper…)

  26. Really Scott? You are so accurate in the “First World Problems” statement.

    If all you want is a watch, go back to your Fossil. I’ll be happy to purchase your Apple watch from you. As out friend Terry White says, “If you have to be on the cutting edge… be prepared to bleed”

      1. For some people it is… For others it isn’t. The point I was making was that new products sometimes have drawbacks. The Apple Watch has to start someplace just like all other smart watches have. Early adopters get both joy and sorrow in the product they choose.

  27. I wondered how long this would take. I noticed the battery life, or lack of discussion from Apple, and thought, this is just another device I have to remember to charge every night. My nightstand is already seriously cluttered with chargers and idevices. There’s a certain point where convenience becomes inconvenience and I think the Apple Watch just crossed taht line with its lackluster battery life. Why couldn’t Apple have used kinetic energy to power this watch? They have the resources and definitely have the money to develop this into something really huge for the idevice market.

  28. I feel your pain sir. Technology should not create barriers. It’s a balancing act. If technology can solve a problem without creating a new one then it’s perfect and we love it. If technology solves a big problem but creates a smaller one then it’s still probably worth adopting. But when a technology solves a problem but creates a bigger one then it’s a net loss. It’s then hard to justify adopting it.

    Of course the worst scenario would be to adopt and maintain the use a technology that didn’t fit simply because you were welded to the brand not the product. Sadly the reality is that in this age of slick advertising and clever marketing, far too many of us suffer for the brand. Whether that be wearing horribly uncomfortable shoes, clothes that don’t fit or a watch that’s stopped telling us the time.

  29. I’m sorry, Scott, this is one of the most ridiculous complaints I’ve ever heard. It sounds like the woes of a spoilled teenager. What’s even more surprising/disappointing is your reputation for being tech savvy. Every mobile device Apple produces needs to be charged overnight.

  30. With computers, tablets, phones, wall clocks, clocks on the microwave, oven, coffee pot, car and not to mention plug in clocks I find this rant unbelievable. Could you really be that dumb to not think you’d have to charge it up every few hours? Here’s a thought disable wifi on it and the battery might last longer. I’m astonished at the money people waste and then bitch about it.

  31. This format doesn’t work for everybody, that’s fine. After 2 weeks I still absolutely love my Apple watch, and wouldn’t trade it for anything (except a next gen Apple watch :). I’ve gotten into a routine where I charge it first thing in the morning, and it only takes a little over an hour to charge in the wall. So basically while I’m getting my son ready for school, eating breakfast, and then after he gets on the bus it’s done. I also work from home, so I’m not on the go nearly as much as you are. Some mornings I don’t even need to charge it immediately, it depends what I’ll be doing that day. But it doesn’t bother me.

  32. I love “1st World Problems.” Here is my simple solution to yours. Put the charger for the Apple Watch on your nightstand. Now, when it is time for bed, take the Apple Watch off and change it… AND put your Fossil watch on while you sleep. Tada! Problem solved, and minimal disruption to your life.

    Or… ditch the Apple Watch. I could not do it either if it required daily charging.

  33. Scott, There is a watch band that has an energy source that keeps your watch charged all the time, you just have to charge the band every few days. i also found my watch battery last longer after the first couple of weeks – I am used to it and dont have to play with it or show it off to everyone all the time See you in August at PSW!

  34. Scott, If you buy one of those batteries that has a usb connection for charging your iPhone you could route a lead down your sleeve (like the strings mums use to stop toddlers losing their gloves) and charge the watch while its on your wrist. I know this is the selective colour option but like seeing you admit to one of those I’d love to see a photo of you with a white usb running down your arm from the battery pack in your top pocket!

  35. Mr. Kelly, want to gift your stressed watch to a teacher? We can’t afford those things but like everything else, I want one even though I really don’t know how it works or what it’s really supposed to do…

  36. As I charge my iPhone nightly, I just added charging my Apple Watch to this routine. I actually have found that I have about 30% juice left in the evening on average, better than I expected.

    I’d just buy a stand and put it by your bed.

    Of course, if that isn’t satisfying for you and you plan to sell it, I bet you can get a pretty penny for it. Or, I bet your son would like it for a graduation present! :-)

  37. I’m reading comments defending the Apple Watch (“Not sure what your problem is: Mine still has 30% when I go to charge it every night”) and I have to chuckle – You still need to >>> Charge It Every Night. Such a useless life hassle for yet another modern distraction disguised as a necessity. My $12 Wal-Mart wristwatch has told the time for two years now with no charging, and I’ve never owned an iPhone at all – and I’m still alive to tell about it, if you can believe that!!

    Mankind, the greatest species on the planet, being enslaved to four-hundred-dollar pieces of technology, lol.

    1. Spoken like someone who insists on being completely unaware of all the great capabilities and conveniences that current mobile devices bring into our lives. Benefiting from technology doesn’t equal enslavement. The $12 Wal-Mart watch you are so proud of will never advance healthcare, expand someone’s creative abilities and career opportunities, allow children to learn topics they otherwise wouldn’t and interact with the world, and all the other beyond-measure capabilities modern mobile devices can be extended too. The chuckle here has to be about people who think becoming and remaining a dinosaur in today’s world is an admirable quality. Please don’t even consider a fanboy claim either because I don’t own an Apple Watch and have no desire to buy one but archaic, unsubstantiated thinking begs to get called out.

      1. It takes two hours to wind a wristwatch?

        “Haters gonna hate, I suppose.” You’re so street, Chuck.

      2. If you put down a self winding watch for long enough for it to stop, it would’ve had time to charge if it had a battery in it. Don’t wear your watch 24/7. That’s what clocks are for. You aren’t going to want to answer your texts in bed from your watch, so just take the dumb thing off.

    2. A good point. I go with a solar powered watch that sets it’s time each night via a radio signal from an atomic clock. For a watch to keep running out of battery is just nonsense. I fear that blowing hundreds of pounds on something that’s a poor substitute for a wrist watch and a smartphone is clouding peoples judgement. Still release anything with a partially eaten fruit logo on it and some people will just but it regardless.

    3. I haven’t slept with my watch on since I was twelve. I have a Seiko self-winding watch (with a spring!) that I inherited from my Dad, and we both used it the same way: when we went out, we’d pick it up with all the other going out things, like keys and a wallet. I’d give it a couple shakes to keep the spring wound and check to make sure the time was right (sometimes it had been too long since I’d last gone out, so I needed to set the watch! Horror!) and that was that.

      Wearing a watch 24 hours a day is weird, even if it never needs charging.

  38. Worried about battery life? Buy a Pebble. I’ve been happy with mine for years, and just recently picked up a used Pebble Steel off a friend. Minimum 5 day battery life. Charge it one night when sleeping.

    The smartwatch is still just as useful and productive, if not better. Soon version 3 of the OS will come out and more fun will come.

  39. I wear my Apple Watch 16 hours a day and still have on the average a 65% charge left when I take it off to charge overnight before going to bed. I don’t know what Scott Kelby is doing with his. Who sleeps with their watch on at night anyway? I use the alarm on my iPhone to awaken me and it’s also charging overnight.

    1. Who sleeps with their watch on? Everyone who uses a watch as a watch, not simply as a fashion accessory. The people I know who wear a watch for function can easily go years (I’ve gone closer to a decade personally), without ever taking it off.

  40. Apple says the battery is supposed to last around 18 hours between charges. I place mine on the charger every night, just like I plug in my phone, tablet and laptop every night.

    I’ve taken every watch I’ve ever owned off at night. Most people do. So it’s no big deal to stick it on it’s magnetic base. Heck, my Pebble (the original Kickstarter version) would rarely last more than a day between charges, so charging smart watches every night isn’t anything new.

    The lowest my watch has gotten since launch day was 35%. That day I was up from 5am until 1 am and had a 45 minute workout to start the day. (with the watch in workout mode). I took at least a dozen calls on the watch, responded to a ton of texts and felt like I was getting some kind of notification every 5 minutes or so. Plus, I had my two-year old tapping the screen every couple of minutes for a couple of hours so he could see Mickey Mouse “dance.”

    Yes, your complaint is a first world problem “My watch’s battery is dead because I didn’t charge it.”

      1. Who are you again? Nobody. Just a grammar whore. Grammar mistakes do not qualify me as ignorant. Look it up in the dictionary dumbass. This article is garbage and should be removed. You must be his Ignorant Body Guard. Go troll somewhere else. I am far from ignorant.

  41. It’s the first watch Apple made, maybe its internal software will get an update to manage battery life better in the forthcoming weeks. Maybe the next generation will have invisible solar panels 😀 or recharge itself through movement. The screen power consumption could also surely be improved. I’m confident connected watches will make it

  42. Scott,

    I really appreciate that you take the time to share your experiences with all of us. You post more great content to this blog than any other I read and I’ve learned a ton from you. Please don’t stop.

    It takes guts to post a negative experience with an Apple product but publicly sharing your experiences, as you’ve done on numerous occasions, can drive better products in the long run. It also helps your readers make informed decisions in regards to their purchases.

    So, as you read the negative comments below (some ridiculously so), please know that there are MANY of us out here who appreciate what you have to say and are thoroughly appreciative of the MANY things we continue to learn from you. Thank you!

    1. It does take courage to bash it because all of the fanboys will rush you. You’re absolutely correct.

      I don’t own one. I down own other Apple products. I find it useless and needlessly expensive, as have others.

    2. In case you didn’t read his post, his “negative” experience is that he can’t wear AND charge his watch at the same time. He says he actually really likes the product.

      Here’s your summary: Guy really needs watch on while he sleeps ***so he knows what time it is when he wakes up.*** Looks at several “solutions” but the simplest and most cost effective one (get cheap night stand clock) won’t work so he dumps watch.

  43. Scott, consider giving it another week or two. I’ve had mine for a couple of days now and constantly find new uses for it. There have been cameras that I’ve wanted to give up on during the first week – they ended up being good friends.

  44. To me, the good thing about being excited about something and then finding out it’s sort of a disappointment, is the lesson I learn. As good of a teacher you are, I’m sure you have similar thoughts. No one, not even you, can make the right choice every time! :)

  45. you could develop the charging bracelet for Mophie, provide juice to it without removing the watch. then you’d have to wear something else….fail. Oh well, like others mentioned, the battery will probably get better over time. Apple watch 2 or 3 might hold up. My 6 plus battery kicks butt so I hope the 7 or whatever is next does even better.

  46. I solved the “what time is it?” In the middle of the night with this $25 projection clock while my Apple Watch charges each night (right next to my iPhone). I have yet to be below 30% power at the end of my day before bed. I hate wearing ANY jewelry while I sleep. The Apple Watch battery life isn’t an issue for me.

    1. A device that can only work if you have 20/20 vision or want to put the glasses near your bed, I suppose. I used to have a projection clock and it was great but that was its one big flaw for me.

      1. I’m far from 20/20 and it was a concern but luckily the numbers are large enough on the ceiling that I can still make them out without too much difficulty.

      2. I cant see six inches in front of me. I wear my watch at night. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t know what time it is when I wake up.

  47. I’m sorry Scott, but with all due respect, to get rid of your Apple Watch because you have to charge it….is lame. I’m sorry, it just is. And to say that if someone had told you before hand that you had to charge it, you wouldn’thave gotten the watch, is equally as lame.

    1. That’s not at all what I said. What I said was “If somebody told me that I couldn’t really use the watch for 2 hours each day while it’s charging, I wouldn’t have a bought it.” I have to change my iPhone, laptop and iPad each day, but I can use them comfortably and easily while they charge. I’m writing this on a laptop that is current charging.

      1. Every article written about it has said that, actually. Even Tim Cook says you’re expected to charge it overnight. (Indeed it’s one of the reasons I haven’t bought one.)

        EDIT: I now realize that it seems you’re suggesting that you didn’t realize it was not going to be usable while it was charging. Given the clear instructions (including stylized video!) on how it is charged, I am at a loss to understand how you could have thought that possible.

      2. How about you charge it while you sleep then?! What’s the point of sleeping with your watch on anyway?

  48. “I could buy a clock for my nightstand, and that way I could charge my
    Apple Watch all night every night. I just don’t want to do that.”

    are you for real? This is the most high-maintenance, consumerist article I’ve read in a long time. To think you would actually consider buying a SECOND Apple Watch before buying a clock for your bedroom is beyond ludicrous.

  49. If you knew you would have to charge it each night and felt you probably wouldn’t be disciplined enough to do that, then why invest in it?

  50. Being technologically savvy doesn’t mean that we should embrace ALL tech products! The “SAVVY” is used to sort out the crap!

    I want to wear my watch and use it, not have the “charger” wear it!

  51. I have been a long time Apple product supporter and buyer, but I just don’t get the Apple Watch. I have a Casio $24.99 digital, solar powered watch. Tells time correctly and never think about battery life. I have an iPhone 6+ and depending on the ring sound it makes, it’s either a text, email, or a sister n law which I prefer not to talk to. And I don’t have to look at it. And it has the same apps as the Apple Watch.

  52. Do you not charge your devices overnight? My iPhone is on a charger every night on my nightstand, so it’s 100% charged when I start my day.

  53. I don’t really see the point in the watch, but to each their own. I do have to say if you are not willing to take it off for a while to charge it then you must be addicted to the thing.

    1. Well the only way I would ever buy one, is if I close my cell phone account with Verizon and give up my iPhone. All tho…I don’t think I’d want to be strapped to something that only connects through wi-fi.

      I love Swatch Watches, and have over 30 of them matching my outfits, once it’s on when I get up, it does not come off until I go to bed. The whole point of a watch is to be “available” when something else ‘telling time’ isn’t.

      I don’t see how Apple doesn’t understand the concept of a watch and chose to put a type of battery in it that needs babying every so many hours. A regular watch battery lasts a VERY long time…Apple should know the “purpose” of a watch, and if this was truly a “smart watch”, it would have used the kind of battery a regular watch uses, so that people can actually enjoy using it.

      I am all for technology until it needs too many accessories, or it fails conceptually.

      1. I’m sorry, but it’s not down to the type of battery used. Normal Quartz wristwatches use small lithium button cells, about 1.5-3 volts, and they last for years because normal watches use almost zero electricity. For example my automatic watch is mechanical and doesn’t even use electricity, instead it converts body motion into mechanical power stored in a spring.

        The Apple Watch battery is lithium polymer and has enough capacity to run a Quartz watch for centuries! But in practice the battery would lose charge naturally far before it “ran out”.

        The Apple Watch needs daily charging because, like the iPhone and iPad etc, it’s a computer. With CPU, RAM and flash memory, radio antennas for bluetooth and wifi, sensors, and a backlit LCD. Battery technology simply cannot provide the energy density to provide this plethora of power/cpu/transmitter intensive features for a long time, while still fitting on your wrist. It really is a miracle that it works at all, to paraphrase Louis CK!

        It’s frustrating when people compare current smart tech to its old counterparts, and complain about having to charge it every day. It’s a watch shaped computer not a traditional watch. A smartphone is a phone-shaped computer, of course it’s not gonna last 4 days like your brick Nokia that has calls, Sms, snake, and nothing else!

        Seriously, comparing the Apple watch to a normal watch is like comparing a sports car to a horse and carriage, and complaining it can’t run off the grass you find everywhere! People have to adjust their expectations – where Apple have had success historically is minimising those compromises for us to make usable products. But it’s unfair of us to expect magic products that don’t require loads of power.

      2. In that case, why spend all this energy and resources on creating a device that can only be used for short periods of time instead of using these resources to work on something more useful?

        The old counterparts worked. I am not going to “want” a device that looks fancy, but doesn’t work as expected.

        I won’t adjust my expectations to a lower grade. “Technology” was supposed to be “smart”. I have higher expectations as a result.

        See, they made the iPhone 6 larger, (it does not fit in any of my pockets, or my hands, because my hands don’t grow bigger every 6 months, and I am not going to start wearing a purse again to fit it into it so I can miss calls while looking for it!), and they made a watch that has minuscule controls…does anyone consider our EYES when it comes to any of these devices? and how they adjust to switching from something big to something small? This doesn’t seem to be on anyone’s list of things to consider.

        If I was “Apple” I would take into consideration HOW my devices are used by my customers, and not what “I” think is cool!

      3. Oh I totally agree! I’m not giving up my automatic watches! Not the Seiko 5 I wear every day, or the Omega Seamaster I inherited from my father. The Apple watch gas got to give a killer app for people like you or I to consider switching, or at least match performance somehow, like solar kinetic dual charging, or some thermocouple that converts body heat into electricity.

        I would say that even then, I may wear my mech watches still and have the apple watch on the other wrist like a nerd! Or maybe not…

        And yes the 6 plus is too big, but they all wear glasses/contacts in Cupertino so don’t have the trouble I do squinting at my phone bleary-eyed… But I can say, from personal knowledge and experience, that Apple doesn’t really care what you or I think. They just ditched Aperture for example! They care what will sell, and make them metric shit-tons of money while being as democratically appealing as possible (across Chinese and Middle Eastern emerging markets too remember) , and as functional as they can make it as possible within the limits of current technology. For style they got the old Saint Laurent CEO on board, and retail experience they hired Angela Ahrendts from Burberry. I’m quite certain that the engineers pushed back on the YSL guy’s ideas (can’t remember his name sorry) saying that what he envisaged, while stylish, wasn’t physically possible with current tech.

        And that was the reason for my post: your expectations, while understandable, are physically impossible. Technology is always a compromise, and for smart tech that compromise is battery power. You cannot have more and more capable devices that use less power, when battery capacity has only slowly increased from the 90s.

        Chips are ever more powerful and energy efficient, but they’ll never equal single function digital, analog, or mechanical. For the sole reason that a Casio calculator watch could never render 3D graphics.

        Now that doesn’t mean we should rush out and get an apple watch and chuck out our old. Just have realistic expectations of what technology can actually do. And you’re right, being tech savvy is indeed recognising that which is extraneous to our needs and avoiding it, coz companies will sell us any old shit. I use digital cameras but still have a few film ones knocking around!

        But the problem for all the men in the world is, battery life or not… The Apple watch is as close to a Dick Tracy watch as we’ve seen so far!

      4. “Your expectations, while understandable, are physically impossible.”

        Now they may be, I won’t speak for the future. In the mean time, I will continue to enjoy all my Swatch watches, which I can match with my outfits color wise, and will continue to add to my Swatch collection until something comes out that not only has good battery life, but also changes colors so I can match.

        LOL I had to Google the “Dick Tracy” watch! LOL What was the battery life for that one! (hahahahahahahaha)

        It’s hard to accept a compromise from Apple. Their products in general are far superior to everything else(IMO don’t let the dogs out…LOL)…I just think they launched this one a bit too soon…(I am a tech geek myself, and can see myself buying Apple gadgets no problem, but they do have to make sense in my lifestyle and how “I” use technology…

      5. You said earlier that you take off your Swatch at night. Do you understand that you can use the Apple Watch exactly the same way? You just have to set it down on the charger instead of a random place on the dresser, etc.…

  54. Check out the Microsoft Band. Way better battery life and moves all notifications to your wrist so your phone can be in another room or stay in your pocket on silent mode. Gps, heart rate monitor, sleep tracker, silent alarm. Its also private because the display is under your wrist. $199 Shabang!

    1. Got one myself. It is a good fitness band/watch. However, just about (not all) are Apple fans on this site. So, Scott to buy a Microsoft product will not happen. Case in point, saw him a while back with a Nokia phone (Windows Phone) and only mentioned it was 41MP camera. Saw it once and since never saw it again. Microsoft on this site is really a bad thing in general.

  55. Well. I really need “something to make me not get the iPhone out of my pocket” and I CARE about battery.
    A friend recommended Pebble. Does it work? I mean. 7 days battery life with the compromise of touchscreen and heart rate?
    All I need is “vibration notifications”.

  56. Scott, consider giving it another week or two. I’ve had mine for a couple of days now and constantly find new uses for it. There have been cameras that I’ve wanted to give up on during the first week – they ended up being good friends.

  57. I’ve had mine since April 24th. I’m just beginning to see all the cool things that it can do. Yep, you’ve got to charge it. I remember people complaining about the iPhone when it first came out that it wouldn’t hold a charge for 4 days like their previous cell phones. But, the iPhone was 10 times the phone doing 10 times the stuff. Pretty soon, everyone got conditioned to charging their iPhones each night, no big deal.

    I understand the watch’s main purpose is to tell time, just like the iPhone’s original purpose was to be a cell phone. But just as the iPhone turned out to be a personal mobile computing device, so too will the Apple watch morph into unexpected uses.

    Here’s one that I didn’t expect: I loaded my shopping list for Costco onto my iPhone using Omnifocus. My shopping lists are contextually and geographically aware. So when I walked into Costco, I raised my wrist and asked Siri through the Apple watch to launch Omnifocus. The app came up on the watch screen and I was expecting to have to scroll through the menus on my watch to get to my shopping list. To my surprise, the app launched and immediately brought forth the shopping list because it realized we were at Costco! Pretty darn cool. From then on in, I just had to raise my wrist to see and check off my shopping list.

    It’s going to be a learning curve for all of us, but if we treat the Apple Watch as just a watch then we might as well just treat the iPhone as just another cell phone. They are both so much more.

  58. I understand. I have most things Apple but took a pass on the watch. First, the sports model didn’t feel as good on my wrist as my present link bracelet watch. It’s really expensive. It will be obsolete in a year. Also I didn’t want something else to charge every night. My wife and I have an iPad and iPhone (each) that we charge as it is. My present physical watch has run for years on wrist action and keeps essentially perfect time.

  59. Spigen already has a stand for the watch in which the charger fits perfectly and the watch is elevated with the front facing any direction you want. My stand got delivered today and it is trivially easy to charge the watch, while having it available all night to view it. I’m sorry, but I expected that there would be times it would not be available to view, but even that is a non-issue now. Apple never misled anyone about the charge time, and if you looked at the pictures before the device shipped, the charger shape and size would have been self-evident. There are at least two other charger stands that will be available before the month is out, the really cool one is from Elevation Labs here in Portland. The Spigen is available from Amazon for less than the cost of a second charger cable.

  60. So sorry, Scott. I grok.

    Technology is great, but *I* own my things, they don’t own me. My iPhone 6 is wonderful technology, but then so’s my Seiko titanium quartz watch that goes around 4 years on a battery. I guess I can accept that it has gained one second in the last two weeks since I reset it.

    I too drooled over an Apple Watch. Mine was the black stainless for more than I really wanted to spend ($1,100), but it was mine. Gorgeous. Then I heard the battery life was 18 hours. I was gone. There’s no way I’m being owned by watch, I don’t care who makes it.

    Apple blundered on this one, big time. We’ll see how this unfolds for Apple over the coming months.

  61. I still say that the Pebble watch has the best balance of functionality for me and battery life. I find that after a while that I really just use it to tell time. Notification of messages got annoying after a while so I turned that off anyway.

  62. WOW! I’m so glad to have read this. Mr. gazillionaire reserves that kind of money for guitars? And what? So OCD that knowing the time every five minutes is essential? If you added up all the time you spent looking at your watch and put it to better use – like meditating or praying – who knows how much more peace of mind you might have!

  63. I agree with Scott. What does an Apple watch give me that my 30 year old self-winder doesn’t? Pretty much nothing. I like technology — I have the latest cameras, build my own gadgetry with Arduinos and am looking at automating my homebrew koi pond with homebrew Arduino, XBee, and Raspberry Pi. But, I don’t believe in buying technology simply for technology’s sake and I certainly don’t want any expensive high-tech devices that are less useful than their lower-tech predecessors.

    Oh, and by the way Scott — I just spent that $900 you spoke about on a new Gretsch 5622 in Georgia Green. Wonderful and thoroughly beautiful guitar; it plays way better than you’d expect for $900. And it brings me much more pleasure than any charge-it-once-a-day watch ever could. (It does need better pots, though.)

  64. A lot of people think it’s really dumb to have to charge a smartwatch, Apple or otherwise, every night. I’m frankly sympathetic to that idea. But everyone who has read even a single article about the Apple Watch knows you are expected to charge it every night. Just about every article written about it says so. Apple’s CEO says so.

    So if it is indeed dumb there is one thing dumber buying one, and then refusing to follow that charging practice.

    No, there’s something dumber than that: buying one, refusing to follow that charging practice, and writing an article sharing your frustration when that doesn’t work out for you.

  65. I really do not understand the problem. If it is charged right next to your bed when you are sleeping, then it can be used all day without worrying about charging.

  66. Having an Apple Watch is the most stupid buy a person can make. Walking staring at your wrist ruins your reality. Dump iPhones too and get a life beyond digital doss.

  67. Here’s an idea…charge your watch you moron….and while you’re at it, charge your phone, oh and get some normal clocks in your house. I can’t believe I have to say such a simple thing to a grown man.

    Here is the reality of the Apple watch battery…I woke up at 7am, and put my watch on 8am. Here it is 5:22pm and I am at 29% remaining…that’s actually low for me; but, you have to consider what I did today. I walked 12 miles in activity tracker mode, used it to purchase items, to control my music, reply to several messages, monitored my heart rate and many other things I probably didn’t think to much before doing them…all while my phone was in my backpack on a hiking trail. Not too damn bad.

    Put on your big boy pants, stop whining, and charge your watch.

  68. I can’t blame you for wanting new technology to accommodate your needs, rather than the other way around.

    For my part, I haven’t worn a watch in years, but the Apple Watch has me curious. Charging every night doesn’t seem like it would be a problem. I thought it might be when I got my first iPhone, but it was easy enough to remember. I’m not going to wear a watch when I sleep, so I’d be taking it off anyway, hooking it to a charger seems like a small added accommodation.

    The reason I haven’t bought an Apple Watch is that I’m not persuaded of its value FOR ME. I am not one of those busy people who needs to check their phone every 5 minutes, nor do I want to be. If I were, the value would be obvious, but I’m not. So…

  69. In his YouTube/Periscope video about this issue, this guy actually tried to wear both the watch AND the magnetic charger.

    Sorry, but you really have to question someone’s intelligence if he tries this as one of his “solutions.” The other solution (buy 2 of them) is even worse.

    All this because Kelby doesn’t want to take his watch off while he sleeps. Regardless of the product — if it says up front that the battery “LASTS ABOUT 18 HOURS OF TYPICAL USE” the vast majority of people will come to the conclusion that it has to be charged at night. For 99.9999999999% of people who want this thing, charging while you sleep isn’t a problem.

  70. Batteries are probably the greatest impedance to tech improvements. If we could store a ton more energy, or incredibly reduce power consumption, it would cause a tech renaissance.

  71. Troll-ish. Who are Scott Kelby’s current sponsors? That’s all you need to know… Too bad that Scott Kelby is no longer reliable…

  72. I cant say that personally I would go for the computerized watch… I feel like all the things it does I can either go with out or do on my smart phone. But even then I cant say that I have heard of them lasting all that long weather it be android or apple. Your article affirms my stand point. Hopefully for your case (cuz you seem really apple oriented) they figure out a way to have solar panels on them and have a gyro like charging system.

  73. I am striving to be the “LAST kid on my block” to get an Apple Watch. So all you cool kids, hurry, buy them up and work out ALL the bugs for ME!

  74. Wow. First, if you think the Apple Watch is a watch, you’re doing it wrong. It’s not a timepiece, it’s a small computer you wear on your wrist, that also happens to tell time.

    And WTF? Charging it is an issue? Mine finishes every day with at least 30-45% battery left, depending on my activity level. If you want to charge it at night and still see the time at night, just put it on the charging cable on your night stand. You want to see the time when you wake up in the middle of the night? Just pick it up and put it down again. Sheesh. This article is a bunch of bullshit for the sake of being anti-Apple rather than being anything that is a real issue.

  75. Have you tried the Mophie black sport band which triples the battery life?

    Not sure if that has been invented yet … but it sure sounds like there is a need. :)

  76. So you actually contemplated getting a second Apple Watch but didn’t consider the option of just wearing your Fossil (or any dumbwatch) at night while the aWatch charges?

  77. I can’t avoid the sense that Scott is sort of trolling us here. I mean, “I’m dumping my Apple Watch” is such a click-baity title, and Scott’s a very savvy social media guy.

    If you read anything at all about the Apple Watch ahead of time, you could not miss the fact that it’s not designed to be worn 24/7, and Apple is upfront about the 18 hour battery life. Scott’s a pretty savvy gadget guy too, so I just can’t imagine that this was a surprise to him. Or did he plan on sprinkling it with pixie dust that would change the battery specs?

    The downside of all this is that it creates the impression that the Apple Watch has problematic battery life, even if you use it as designed. This is the opposite of my experience, and it’s the opposite of almost everything else I’ve read from actual users. I have the 38mm, which is supposed to have shorter battery life due to its size, and I’ve had zero problems getting through a full day and evening of use, including a workout. That was actually a pleasant surprise.

    Of course if you want to leave your watch on for days, or don’t want to think about charging, then battery life is a problem. But given that we know this upfront, why buy an Apple Watch at all? Scott says, “I want a wrist watch like I’ve always had.” Why on earth would someone who feels that way buy an Apple Watch? I have to say, the whole thing reads like FUD.

  78. Why on earth would you spend $399 on a watch. Yes, it can run apps, on a 1.5 inch screen. Thats just rediculous…. Iongest i’ve ever worn a watch was for 3 months. And, it was a normal watch. But seriously, buying a “smartwatch” for $399 is, no offence, one of the stupidest things to spend your money on. And, you have an iPad and an iPhone as well????!! Thats more than a thousand dollars wasted on a brand name. Get a life, and an android, which has battery life, as long as its not a Samsung. (I could rant about this all day, but i’m tired.)

  79. I haven’t chaged my gshock battery in over 5 years
    Anyway, SmartWatch of anykind, good battery or not, will further fuel our addition to “social” apps and internet. It’s already hard to put down our phones, a SmartWatch is not gonna help

  80. for who is going for sports you can go to garmin epix of fenix3 the best Multisport Training GPS Watches with Altimeter, Barometer and Compass.
    Garmin watches are very strong to use in all places/times and support many sports.
    you can also install many faces, widgets and apps.

    for me i have garmin epix and i use it for swimming, running and as gps map when i need

  81. You take enough grief for equipment change overs and software updates… Why would you step into this big stinky pile of horse pucks?

    It’s almost as though you’re looking for it.

  82. Wow. The amount of hateful trolls in your comment section is staggering. You seem like a nice guy, so I’m sorry you have to deal with all of that.

    Maybe this kind of small tech is better saved for when Tesla gets its new batteries into everything? ^_^ Battery life/weight has always been a major issue. I hope that we’re on the road to solving that, though it may be a while before we can “set it and forget it” for smart devices.

  83. Another person comparing a traditional watch to the Apple watch. The Apple Watch is a computer miniaturized on your wrist. I really don’t understand how difficult it is to remember to charge it when you go to bed. We’ve been charging gadgets for years now. Get with the times.

  84. OK. Enough is enough,

    I just wanted to say to the people who claim this is a “little wearable computer”, that IF that’s the case, then it better work like a computer and not a toy that needs battery charges often.(e.g. remote controlled cars. I have 3 kids). I don’t need to wear a computer, I have one in front of me, with a big beautiful screen that doesn’t make me squinch when I’m looking at it! The only way I would squinch willingly would be if Peter Hurley took my profile photo!

    I have an iPhone and an iPad, both do the same things…I use my phone “as a phone” for 2% of all times! Meaning that the only reason I have an iPad is the larger screen size making it easier to read or view photos.

    Apple didn’t need to make a watch and squeeze tiny wintzy little apps into a tiny little screen! I already have issues with the keyboard on my iPhone…and my hands are very small compared to US standards!

    To those who had a need to use expletives: Great Job embarrassing yourself & your parents! You showed how you have NO MANNERS or Common Sense, or RESPECT, or were raised to UNDERSTAND that “just because something works for YOU”, that doesn’t mean it will work for others”. Those of us who are frequent Apple users have bigger expectations from Apple. Deal with it, or go to therapy. To call Scott names is beyond rude; have you met him? or you’re doing because you think the internet is some kind hood or project where people can say whatever they want without regard to common sense and manners. The “Internet” is not a HOOD! Take your HOOD behavior to THE HOOD where you came from. If you’re not going to call Scott names such as “dumb”, stupid”, and the “f-word with ‘idiot’ attached to it” in person, then don’t do it online either. You’re nothing more than a bully. I would disconnect your internet if I was your provider. All of you who’ve chosen to be this rude and use such words on Scott blog, and show SO MUCH DISRESPECT are those who’s image should be next to those words in the dictionary!

    To the guy that said that “batteries” is what has ruined the progress of computerized devices: SPOT ON. Agree 100%. Apparently “Sillicon Valley” is just a “Valley” now!

    To “wearing” it all the time: I wear my earrings all the time, and take them out occasionally to clean them up. OTHER WOMEN take them out EACH night! No way in hell “I’m” doing that BUT props to them for being THAT patient. I am not going to go around and call them NAMES because I think it’s too much work to take them out. You probably have NOTHING ELSE TO DO if you think charging a WATCH EVERY NIGHT is “cool”! It ISN’T. It’s still a WATCH. Watches are supposed to be RELIABLE.

    This is a great looking device=design wise, but one that is not functional for busy people. A gadget for the rich retiree that sits on a porch all day playing with the AARP App! An apple flop.

    Scott: I would shut off the comments. OBVIOUSLY, people cannot be CIVIL and POLITE and share an opinion in a proper manner. This is why I never enable comments on my blog. People can never contain themselves, and continue to use the comment sections as an outlet for being supposedly ‘politically correct’ at work/or whatever hole they’re coming from all day, and spew ridiculous statements and insults to people they don’t even know. It ALL comes from bad parenting. Obviously these are daycare generations that never benefitted from ONE ON ONE with their parents, or those who’se parents act the same way because they weren’t parented properly either. Brad never enables the comments, and I think that’s really great.

    I would really THINK before typing your next insult. Scott’s blog is not the HOOD.

  85. I speak as a bit of a smartwatch fetishist! I’ve had 2 Original Pebble’s and now a 1st Gen Pebble Steel. I have an Omate Truesmart (hideous but very practical!) a Samsung Gear Live (meh) and an Asus Zenwatch (meh again) I’m also a backer of the new Pebble Time and the Pebble Time Steel (couldn’t decide so ordered both) I can honestly say the Pebble is the one that’s on my wrist 90% of the time. I go back to it again and again. I ditched Apple a couple of years back in favour of Android, not that I dislike Apple, Android just suits my Geekiness better and as the Pebble worked with both, the decision was easy. I’m with Scott on the battery life. It’s a real pain having to remember to charge yet another device, at least daily. The problem is if you forget, which does happen, what with us being human and all that, it leaves you feeling really odd for the day ahead. My 1st gen Steel easily lasts a working week, usually more. The new Steel supposedly does 10 days. I don’t think it offers anything revolutionary but it’s practical. I agree it doesn’t look as good as the Apple Watch (in my opinion, the only one that surpasses the style of the Apple is the LG Urbane)

  86. I’m going out on a limb to predict an upcoming Scott Kelby blog entry:

    “I did a post with the headline, ‘I’m dumping my Apple Watch.’ You won’t believe what happened next!”

  87. Why is Apple making me keep up with another thing to recharge? Never really used a watch, always had a pretty accurate body clock, so this new toy is just another nuisance. Should of went with my intuition instead of keeping up with trends.

  88. Scott – I am one of your biggest fans – I have seen you live twice – own many books, recommend you often, etc. BUT you being the ultimate problem solver I can’t understand why you didn’t use this remedy: Set the apple watch on the charger and put on the watch you are now wearing for the night (takes about 8 seconds to put on and less to take off) and do the opposite in the morning. This process would run you under 5 minutes a week and you could have kept that great watch.

  89. Instead of blindly buying the Apple Watch you might have done some research first. Its been clear from the start that the battery life was going to be limited.

    It’s not the only smart watch for iOS, though. The Pebble (newest generation just released) has 3-5 days battery life and though it has fewer apps, who says you want a lot of apps for a 1-inch screen anyway? The Pebble passes notifications from the phone, so you don’t have to take it out of your pocket all the time (which you cite as the main benefit of the Apple Watch).

    There is also the Olio Smartwatch, but unfortunately you won’t be one of the 1000 people lucky enough to get one when they launch later this summer, unless you can buy one second-hand, because Olio is only making 1000 of them. It is similar to the Pebble but really nice looking (like a higher quality, smart version of a Fossil).

    Both of these options cost between 1/2 and 1/4 of what an Apple Watch with any of the nicer bands will cost you. And with the Olio you have the added benefit of exclusivity, versus being one of the 20-30 million people who bought an Apple Watch.

    Caveat emptor!

    1. “Instead of blindly buying the Apple Watch you might have done some research first.”

      Unfortunately, I think Scott is trolling us. He’s a real bright guy. The only reasonable explanation is that he’s trolling us.

  90. I’m not going to put the Apple watch down, but reading this the meter on my Pebble Steel says 30% on Sat 15:20. The battery+ app says that means I need to charge it by 19:20 on Monday, the battery is being used by 13% per day, or 7.6 days between charges. This is with full time Bluetooth connection to my phone, display on constantly, notifications for emails/sms/social media about every 30 mins during the day. Good enough for me.

  91. Coming back to smart watches and photography – one immediate benefit of this sort of tech is, as Scott mentions in his post, doing things hands free. I immediately thought of the many times I’ve been shooting long exposures and calculating shutter speeds using an iPhone app – fumbling around with cold hands and hoping I won’t drop the phone off whatever precipice I am standing on. So I decided to build one that runs on the Apple Watch (as well as iPhone). If anyone is interested – more info in the link below.

    http://samuelmcdowell.com/Apps

  92. As with any product, you cannot make everyone happy. My opinion (of your opinion) is quite simply that the Apple Watch probably isn’t for you. I have the watch and the main reason I got it is to tell time. I wear a watch every day of my life, though I wouldn’t call myself an avid watch collector. I just have always preferred to wear a watch and since I am also an Apple guy… getting the Apple Watch seemed to fit. I put the watch on in the morning as I put my wallet in my pocket and grab my keys. When I get home from work, everything (including the watch) goes on my night stand. If I leave the house again for whatever reason, everything goes back on again. Using it that way I’ve never gotten below 50% battery life.

    How do I use the Apple Watch? Well like I said, first and foremost it’s to tell time. I keep my iPhone in my pocket so the biggest (added) benefit is that I no longer have to pull my phone out every single time I hear a ding or a ring. Something comes through I can tell by my watch if it’s something I need to go immediately to the iPhone for or if it can wait till later. But to use the watch like an iPhone like some people want to? To have a FaceTime camera added? More calling, etc? Just seems a little silly. It’s a tiny screen with limited room. I think people need to understand that the Apple Watch is mainly just that – a watch. Yes, it can do other things that help you in your daily life… but it’s still mainly a watch. Not only that, but if you want to use it like an iPhone then it becomes a 2 handed device – another drawback. At least the iPhone you can use one handed.

    Regarding this article specifically? It’s also an electronic device that needs to be charged. You can’t keep your iPhone on you 24/7 and not expect to have to take it off to charge it. The watch is the same – needs charging, preferably when you are sleeping. If you can’t do that, then it’s not going to be for you. Realistically by today’s battery standards you’re not going to see any major changes to that for a while.

    I mean all this respectfully. On the internet it is hard to convey tone, so I don’t mean all of this in a d-bag sort of way. I think more people like the author of this article need to get their opinion out so people can see and really think about why they should or shouldn’t invest in these devices. So thank you for the good article.

  93. What an absolute cretin. What the hell is the point in wearing a smart watch when you are asleep. Charge at night – if you want to know the time – tap the damned screen and see the time. Then get back to sleep and wait until you wake up with your wonderful fully charged WATCH . I’ve had mine 1 month now and it has never run out of battery on me in an entire day, and like it says in the WATCH guide – “we do not advise that you wear the WATCH in bed, as the watch will need to charge during the night” (addendum) “when you are unconscious and unable to use a smart watch!!”

  94. I bought one for my wife- after a week she refused to wear it. Sold it on ebay. I also ordered one for myself- stainless steel ban – with insurance over $1,200.
    I thought my wife was nuts – but then I started using mine. Over five days I was sick of rhis thing also. Returned it tp Apple.

    I found myself flailing my arm up and down to turn on the time display- and ny arm was getting sore st the elbow- hard to read and it doesnt display messages – only a notice of a message. It should have been cocked at 45 degrees at Rubies. Unless you are a techy nerd you will find it is annoying and uncomfortable-alao the band was too small for my wrist – stupid Apple.
    Not worth over a $1,000 -and i am an Apple hardware nut-
    Iphone 6 works just fine withoit the watch interview.

  95. Scott, thanks for sharing your experience. The watch just came out in The Netherlands and I have been thinking about the very things you mentioned, putting you off the Apple watch. I bought a Pebble watch a while back and had the same empty battery experience and usage considerations, only costing a lot less money. I stopped using the Pebble and fear an Apple watch will eventually follow a similar route. I think I’ll pass on the investment.

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