First my circumstances; I'm retired, knocking on the door of 60 years old. I live alone on my small farm which I purchased for my retirement to keep active and health.
My initial purchase of the watch was encouraged by my daughter concerned about what would happen if I had a bad accident, who would know? I'm sometimes up a tree with a chainsaw, sometime on a mower on steep slopes, my farm has its share of deadly snakes - you get the picture.
Security
This gets a big tick from me. The Apple Watch has 'Fall Detection' built in and a simple internet search shows it has saved lives. The concept is that if you fall down it detects your fall, activates the watch with vibrates on your wrist and asks if your ok. If there is no response within about a minute the phone rings emergency services and your emergency contacts. Now I've set mine off at least a dozen times in the last year so I know it works and each time i've been able to answer the question "Are you ok" and then did you "fall down" or you 'didn't fall' which helps the phone learn your actions I guess. This that set mine off were like jumping on a shovel to get it through some tough grass, using a pile driver to bang in a star picket, and trying to break a concrete block with a sledge hammer. All good, I know it's there, I know it's working, I feel safe.
Health and Activity
Now I'm not a fitness 'nut' by any means, usually 30 minutes of activity is followed by a celebratory beer or wine. I doubt I've seen a gym for 30 years other than in a TV commercial about safe distancing for Covid. However I have become interested in the Fitness App which simple records you Calories burned, about of Exercise each day and the Hours you have been awake. It does heaps of other stuff but I'm fixated on the energy I'm using and am I getting some exercise each day which it somehow works out from your heart rate I guess. There is a little laser in the back of the watch when you put it on your wrist that measures stuff - that's my technical explanation anyway.
So I've had my watch a year and gradually it has been telling my I'm working a little less each day - What Tha? It's summer, the days are longer and the bloody grass grows faster, I'm going like a machine. I'm out on the whipper snipper, sweating like a pig, 2 hours of swing that thing back and forward and I do 9 minutes of exercise - F%#k That.
So for some reason it it hits me - If i work hard on the farm 7 days a week, a burst of a couple of hours of hard work each day, maybe, just maybe, the watch thinks that's just me, my base line. So I knew I was going to do some whipper snipping, dig 4 post holes then use the push mower and finally a little hedge clipping so i set the phone to measure it and an 'activity' within the fitness App. Ha Hah Ha 209 minutes of activity - baby I'm back. My retirement plan to work to keep fit and health has been confirmed.
Weather
A nice to have - I use a weather App that shows the location of my device on the rain radar map which allows me to make quite an accurate calls if a storm is going to hit or miss. To a farmer this is quite important for such things as spreading fertiliser, bringing in crops and moving live stock. With the watch I've got used to not caring a phone as it just gets in the way, left in the sun or the screen cracked in my pocket. The weather app I use is not available on the watch but if it was that would be great. I also play a bit of gold and the weather app bing on the watch would also be great when out on the course.
My hate
Long sleeves, when wet from rain or sweat start working the bloody watches touch face screen. Even an agapanthus leaf will activate functions. This is a pain in the bum when you start autodialling people. If I waring a rain coat or a long sleeve shirt in the sun and sweating, then the watch is in my pocket or back in the house on the kitchen bench.
My Summary - yep get one. The security in the 'Fall Detection' is worth it alone without out the many other functions.
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