The Apple Watch Series 3 serves a lot of purposes besides being a watch. It’s also a phone (although not a very capable one, yet), an exercise tracker, a GPS, an email machine, etc. The Series 3 with cellular capabilities has given another whole layer to the Watch and critics are taking notice.

Jason Cipriani of ZDNet gave the Series 3 a four-star review, noting that the Series 3 Watch is much better than the original Apple Watch, and it’s even significantly better than the Series 2. He pays $10 a month extra for LTE service for his Apple Watch and thinks it’s worth the price.

Some have had mixed experiences with the cellular aspect of the Apple Watch. But where it really shines, especially when using the Series 3, is speech recognition. Sometimes, this could be a lifesaver. An example is when driving on the highway and receiving a text message that needs immediate attention. This author answers the message by talking to the Watch, and the speech has been accurately translated to text 99 percent of the time. There is no need to try to type in letters while driving on the highway. It’s dangerous, and, in many cases, texting while driving has lead to unnecessary deaths.

The Apple Watch helps make your life easier. Featured image credit: Daryl Deino

You want to answer an email? Don’t type the email. Instead, answer it with the Watch using your voice. Even if your response is somewhat lengthy, you’d be surprised how well the Watch types out the email instantly after listening to your voice. From time to time, you’ll need to make a correction. It’s also true that the Watch may not be suitable for transcribing a five-minute email response. However, the feature is still beneficial.

Another time speech recognition is beneficial on the Watch is when you suddenly need directions. You realize you are very low on gas and need to go to a gas station right away? All you have to do is look at the watch and say, “Hey, Siri. Please take me to the closest gas station.”

You need walking directions to Taco Bell? All you have to do is move your mouth close to the Watch and say, “Hey, Siri: Walk to Taco Bell.”

Yes, you can do these things with the iPhone. But you have to reach into your pocket and take the iPhone out. It’s not as intuitive. Besides, as mentioned earlier, the speech recognition works better on the Apple Watch than the iPhone. This has always been the case, but it’s even more true with the Apple Watch Series 3.

Pretty soon, the Apple Watch will become the Dick Tracy watch we always fantasized about. We’ll be able to use FaceTime with our family and friends on our wrist. But for now, the Apple Watch is still pretty spectacular, especially with the advanced speech recognition features.