This review was born out of curiosity. I didn’t use a Smart Watch at all. My problem with this kind of watches is that they do not have adequate battery life. I do not want to have to charge my watch every day or every two days, so I ignored them until now.

But at the moment I am interested how an Apple Watch would fit into my current Apple ecosystem. I am currently using a Macbook Pro 2016 15″, an iPad 2018, an iPhone 7 and Apple AirPods first generation. And I am not interested in an Apple TV or a HomePod.

As I do not own one, I lent the Apple Watch Series 1 from my partner which I gifted her for Christmas 2017. She is using it nearly every day and likes it. But she used it without pairing it with her iPhone or iPad because she said that this feature was getting onto her nerves 🙂

This blog entry will not be on about how to set up an Apple Watch, but on how useful it is in every day usage with all my Apple devices. These are my devices:

Apple Watch Series 1 with watchOS 5.2.1 – 38mm

It is the GPS version without the possibly to call via LTE

It is the GPS version without the possibly to call via LTE MacBook Pro 2016 15″ running MacOS Mojave 10.14.5

iPhone 7 128 GB running iOS 12.3

iPad iPad 9.7″ (2017) with 128 GB running iOS 12.3

AirPods first generation from 2018

Unlocking iPhone and iPad with the watch

It is not possible to unlock the iPhone or iPad with the watch. This is something I don’t get. When I can unlock my MacBook via the watch, then why not my iPhone and iPad? Very strange decision.

Unlocking the watch via iPhone

When the watch is in proximity to my iPhone it the watch is unlocked automatically. When not, it is locked, this is very convenient.

Unlocking my MacBook with the watch

My MacBook Pro 2016 has an integrated fingerprint reader which allows quick and easy authentication. That is usually no problem for me. Except for the first time after I boot up the computer, when I am forced to type my password in! How does this change with the Apple Watch?

I had to enable unlocking of my Macbook in the system settings. Now when I leave my laptop and lock it and then return, it does not automatically unlock when I am close to it with the Apple Watch. I first have to press a key on the keyboard or tap on the touchpad or click on my external mouse to wake the Macbook up and then the Apple Watch makes a loud “unlock” sound and the laptop is unlocked. That is a nice gimmick, but it is not really faster or more convenient than putting my finger on the fingerprint reader which automatically wakes up the Macbook and logs me in.

Messaging, mails and calendar

What I really like about the Apple ecosystem is that iMessages are synced to my iPad, iPhone and MacBook. This is so practical. When I am working on my Macbook messages appear directly on the Macbook, well done :-.) In this scenario the Apple ecosystem is very helpful.

My main scenario for messaging is WhatsApp and iMessage. I often get messages and then have to pick up my iPhone, unlock it and read the message. With the watch I can do this directly on the watch without picking up the phone.

There is no dedicated WhatsApp app for the watch. But WhatsApp messages are signaled as normal messages on the Apple Watch and you get notifications and can read the messages, dismiss them or give a standard answer like yes, no, I will call you later, … or answer by using Siri to dictate the message. The same goes for iMessages.

Reading mails and mail notifications on the watch also works seemlessly, no complaints here. The watch can also display the number of unread messages and emails on the lock screen. I dont want to share too much personal data, so on the left image you can see how my email inboxes are displayed on the watch and on the right my messages. When you click on an entry, you get the details.





Calendar reminders appear on the watch and can be read there. Via Siri I can also add calendar entries. In this scenario the Apple Watch is very well integrated, I have to say.

Navigating with iPhone, AirPods and watch

I tried navigating via Google Maps and Apple Maps on my iPhone in different ways. Using only the iPhone for navigation is very uncomfortable because I have to constantly unlock my phone, watch for my actual position, I disturb people around me with the navidation instructions, … That is not a good solution.

Sadly on the Apple Watch you can only use Apple Maps for navigation and not Google Maps which I find superior here in Germany. Google Maps also offers the possibility to download maps for offline use which is quite handy in areas with bad internet reception.

So, how is the experience with Apple maps? Well, when navigating using only the AirPods, things are much more comfortable than when you navigate only with the phone. The navigation instructions come directly into your ears and you can leave your phone in your pocket theoretically. But this does not always work. I often get into situations where it is not clear to me in which direction to go because the map data is not correct or the given description of Apple maps is confusing. In these cases I still have to pick up my phone, unlock it and have a look at the map.

This is where the integration of the Apple Watch really makes sense. When you use the iPhone, AirPods and the Apple watch in combination navigating is so much easier. The phone stays in the pocket and does not have to be picked up and unlocked to check my position. The AirPods give me accustical navigation support. And when a situation is unclear, I can just have a look at my watch which is unlocked at my wrist and shows my actual position and directions in parallel to the phone. That is really really good and usable. That is the first time that I felt comfortable navigating and leaving the phone in my pocket in a foreign environment 🙂





So if you often have to visit places by foot or want to have a peaceful holiday somewhere else, the combination of iPhone, AirPods and Apple Watch is great. You can also leave your iPhone in the pocket when you want to make a call, receive a call or do messaging. In my next vacation I will try to put my iPhone securely in my backpack and only rely on the AirPods and the Apple Watch, I will update this blog entry correspondingly.

My only gripe with this solution is that I need to carry a lightning and a Apple Watch charging cable with me when I am abroad, whcih is very bad. especially because the Apple Watch battery quickly depletes after using it for extensive navigation!

Playing music with the watch

Hearing music in my case usually consists of streaming via Spotify. I can use my Spotify account on my MacBook, my iPad and iPhone without problems. I usually, especially when being at work, put on my AirPods and control play, pause and skipping to the next track via my AirPods. This keeps my hands free while listening to music.

I tried to control Spotify on my current device via the watch. On the watch I can swipe to a list of playlists or to your library. I can control the volume on the device playing the music, skip tracks, play, pause, it simply works.

I could control Spotify playing on my iPhone, iPad, Macbook and via my AirPods without a problem. I could also modify the volume of the music playing on the actual device by using the digital crown on the watch, very useful!

Now I can use the AirPods or the watch to skip tracks or pause/play. And via the watch I can easily adjust the audio volume on the AirPods. This is also useful when at the gym. The Airpods don’t offer a good solution to adjust the music volume, but the watch can.

One thing that is missing is that Spotify Premium on the Apple Watch cannot store offline songs and play them without the iPhone. This would allow users of the non LTE watch to play Spotify on the watch without having the phone near in the gym by only using AirPods.

I did not test Apple Music because I do not use it, I am mostly streaming. Click on an image to enlarge it.







Phone call handling

This is another area where the Apple ecosystem works very well. I can accept or make phone calls from/on my MacBook Pro, iPad or iPhone, depending on which device I am currently using. Extremely useful 🙂 I could easily call someone from the watch and also accept or reject calls, I like it. This is very handy when you do not have your phone very close to you, say when you are lying on the couch or in your bed.





Battery charging and battery status

Apples charging solution for this watch is absolutely bad. I switched to a MacBook Pro 2016 in 2017 because I wanted to switch everything to USB-C. 2 years later my iPhone and iPad still use Lightning and the Apple Watch uses a proprietary charger. So if I am abroad I have to carry my MacBook Charger with USB-C, then a Lightning cable for my iPhone and iPad and for the Apple Watch the special charging station, this is idiotic! Why can’t all of them use USB-C int he year 2019? One cable for all!

Apple did neither change all devices to USB-C nor did it provide the AirPower charging mat or something similar that would at least allow to charge iPhone/iPad and the watch on one charging station 😦 They clearly lost their way with the way the charging works across the actual Apple devices. So in this regard the Apple ecosystem clearly lost its way!

A good feature but not completely consistent is the monitoring of my devices battery status. On my iPhone I can watch the battery state of my AirPods and the AirPod case, my Apple watch, my iPhone and my iPhone Smart Battery Case.

But on my Apple Watch I can only see the battery status of the connected AirPods but not of the iPhone and maybe its smart battery case? Very strange.

And the MacBook is nearly completely out of this. I neither can see the charging status of my iPhone, nor the state of the Apple Watch on my Macbook! This is something that is really missing in the good integration of all Apple devices! Why is the Macbook left out of this? Why can’t I see all my devices on the Macbook even when they are lying next to it? Why can’t I see the MacBook battery state on my iPhone or iPad?

Siri integration

I could use Siri without problems. I can ask Siri for simple tasks like the weather for a place and a day, to let Siri calculate a route to a destination, … I could also use Siri to dictate messages or mails on the watch or answer them, works totally fine.

Apple Carplay

I tried the Smart Watch by using Carplay on VW Passat 2017 B8. I can control the display on my iPhone and the connected VW display via the Apple Watch. I could play/pause/skip music via the watch, change the palylist, … Messaging also worked on the Apple Watch and Carplay simultaneously. Apple Maps navigation also worked on all devices simultaneously. That is very handy when you use your iPhone as Carplay in another persons car.

Conclusion

The Apple Watch is integrated well into the Apple ecosystem and this is the reason why I still like Apple products despite being “burned” by the horrible keyboard and touchbar on my MacBook Pro 2016 and the stupid and clueless way in which Apple handles USB-C since 2015 up to 2019.

The watch integration makes life easier and some tasks more convenient for which I earlier always had to pick up and unlock my phone.

But there are still some areas that definitely need impovement in order to get a consistent handling of ALL devices!