Why I don’t wear an Apple Watch | Even though I think they’re great

When Apple launched their first Apple Watch back in 2015, it was arguably one of their best presentation videos ever made. Watch enthusiasts may not agree with me but I do feel Apple did some truly innovative stuff with it and I was enough of a fan that I got myself one shortly after. It served me well for almost 4 years before it finally became unusable due to how slow it had gotten and how its battery wasn’t able to hold a charge anymore. 

Although I loved all the conveniences and lifestyle features that it gave me, I made the decision that I would not be replacing my Apple Watch in the near future. Here’s why:

I Am a Watch Enthusiast
If you’ve been around my YouTube channel or my blog, you’ll probably have noticed that I am in fact a watch enthusiast. I collect automatic watches and I even do reviews of them on my YouTube channel and blog. Now I’m sure there will be some enthusiasts among you that will be up in arms about the fact that I actually got an Apple Watch previously despite being a watch enthusiast, but hear me out. 

I believe that the Apple Watch has about as much impact on the history of watches as any other iconic watch. It was almost like the second coming of the quartz crisis in how it rallied massive interest in the smart watch market and even threatened traditional watchmakers. Plus, I love tech as much as I love the craftsmanship and ingenuity that goes into a well made mechanical watch, so I was genuinely curious about what Apple’s new smart watch could actually offer.

One thing I did learn while I was wearing my Apple Watch daily however is how it really made me neglect the rest of my collection due to the conveniences and features it offered me. The convenience of barely having to take my iPhone out of my pocket anymore and the fitness tracking features were really addictive. Apple had effectively made an accessory that many people would be compelled to put on every single day due to how well it enhances the experience of their existing Apple products.

When my Apple Watch finally gave up however, I took the opportunity to give my old collection the love it had been deprived of. I eventually realised that I didn’t really miss what the Apple Watch offered me and it was at most a “nice to have” rather than a “must have”. That experience alone made me fall in love with watches even more and my collection has effectively doubled since then in the last two years(I hope my fiancé doesn’t read this).

Apple Watches Are Disposable
Another harsh reality that I encountered is the fact that Apple Watches are indeed disposable. Now this may not mean much to non watch enthusiasts but for us collectors(or me at least), every watch I own has a story and a sentimental value behind it. Whether it was given to me or simply just something I really saved up for or even just one that I bought on a whim out of impulse, it has a meaning. Mechanical watches also do last pretty much forever if properly taken care of. I rotate between several mechanical watches and any one of them will only require a service many years after a smart watch becomes obsolete.

A smart watch on the other hand, just like any other computer, simply cannot last forever no matter how well you look after it. I still have my original Apple Watch with me but there really isn’t any way to make it work like it used to because it’s simply gotten too slow for the current software. It breaks my heart but the reality is smart watches simply aren’t something that you can keep forever or pass down to the next generation.

I’d Still Recommend Them Sometimes Though
That’s not to say I wouldn’t recommend an Apple Watch at all, quite the contrary really. As the title suggests, I do think Apple Watches are great pieces of tech and there are many people to whom I would recommend them. 

As a watch collector, I have to face the reality that quite a lot of people actually don’t care about watches at all and many of them don’t even use a watch to tell the time anymore. For people like that, I think an Apple Watch is a great accessory(assuming they already use an iPhone) as they would be gaining a whole lot of convenience and health tracking features without actually giving up anything(apart from $500-$700). 

To be able to check your messages, e-mails, notifications(and even the time) without having to reach for your iPhone is honestly far more impactful than it sounds. Not to mention constant monitoring of your vitals such as heart rate or even fall detection which can automatically alert emergency services, to say an Apple Watch is simply a fashion gimmick would be quite unfair. It is a high functioning piece of tech and does indeed have its place in society.

My Conclusion
Now I’m a big fan of Apple products. No I’m not blind to their shortcomings nor do I care about the status of owning their stuff, I just really agree with most their design and product philosophies. But I’m also a big fan of traditional watches. 

I love the history behind the brands, the craftsmanship, the development of their utility and their inner workings. Wearing a watch is like wearing a piece of art to me and there are so many different pieces to be admired(and collected).

Wearing an Apple Watch for full effect requires you to wear it pretty much all the time and this would simply take away the enjoyment of all the other timepieces in my collection. Having also realised that the conveniences it offers aren’t really something that I miss after I stopped wearing it has only further cemented my decision to not neglect my watches anymore.