I Went Without my Apple Watch for Two Months – 5 Reasons it Didn’t Go Well

When the Apple Watch Series 6 was released, I bought it.

This was a couple of years ago now, and up until then, I had an Android-based watch. It was the Huawei GT and I loved it because of its nice, round traditional watch format. Meanwhile, I found the Apple Watch’s square, rounded soft shape to be off-putting.

Also, the price of the Apple Watch was something that I didn’t want to stomach.

I bought the Huawei GT watch because I wanted to see if having a smartwatch was really all it’s cracked up to be, with the intention that I’d eventually upgrade.

I did upgrade to the Apple Watch Series 6 and bought the Red Edition, which I loved for its vibrant color.

For me, the Apple Watch is the fulfillment of a lifetime of wanting something that I can step out of the house with and have everything I need without having to carry phones, wallets, and accessories.

Pair that with some AirPods Pro and you’ve got the perfect out-and-about technology ensemble.

After buying the Apple Watch 6, I started to realize all the benefits. It took a little while for these benefits to become clear to me, but they eventually did as I got more confidence in stepping out with just the watch.

The ability to have music on my runs without a phone and be able to change that music using my data plan without having to download them was awesome.

As a dad with a busy family, I also loved that if my kids would call or text, or if anything urgent comes up, I’d get a notification right away.

At the end of last year, my wife’s Samsung Sport Watch died. As she isn’t overly concerned with technology, I offered my Apple Watch for her to borrow for a while. Then we’d see how that worked for her and if she’d like to switch to an Apple Watch.

At first, she showed some reluctance because of its fit and form, but after a couple of weeks of wearing it, she decided that she liked it and wanted to keep it. So this left me watch-less.

Because she didn’t want her own new watch, I had to live without my Apple Watch for a while to see what it might be like after two years of having it and then suddenly not having it.

It didn’t go well, and it only took two months before I went out and bought the Apple Watch Ultra.

And here are some of the reasons why I found it surprising that I missed the Apple Watch so much.

1. Portability

The first reason is all about portability. It’s about being able to walk out of the house, and if you forget your phone, then you’ve still got everything you need – communication, music, notifications, and a wallet.

This means that there’s nothing you can’t do unless you find a retailer or a store that still won’t accept tap-to-pay payment methods.

It’s nice having that secure feeling that if you walk out of the house with only your watch on your wrist, any emergency or any activity you want to suddenly embark on, including any fitness activities, can be handled by the watch.

This well-rounded feeling is something that I’ve gotten quite used to.

Having a busy life meant that I enjoyed the security of knowing if I had forgotten something, that the watch would probably cover what I needed.

2. Getting Reminders

The second reason I found it difficult to operate without the watch, which sounds a little bit sad, is its ability to add reminders and notifications to my life.

I had become so accustomed to raising the watch and speaking or pressing the crown and getting Siri to add reminders for me.

That could be a reminder of something I needed to do at work or at home. Or it could be a significant calendar event for me, my kids, or anyone else in the family.

When you’re busy, there’s also that peace of mind that you can add something to your schedule or calendar, and the watch will remind you promptly.

It’s a wonderful way to keep your head clear of clutter and that uncertain feeling that perhaps you might’ve forgotten something.

3. The Ability to be Contacted

As much as I’d like to go off the grid more often, as a father with younger kids and a busy wife and a busy life, I don’t like the idea that if my kids are somewhere and need me, I’d miss their call or notification.

The thing I noticed in the two months of only using my phone is that I’d often miss calls or text messages because I’d be in meetings or involved in something at work.

Or I simply had my phone in my pocket and on silent mode.

Knowing I’d immediately get notified if my kids contacted me because they suddenly needed me has always given me peace of mind. Although this doesn’t happen too often, it’s comforting to know that they can easily reach me when needed.

Perhaps they’re sick and need to come home from school, or they need to discuss something with me, or they’re at a sports event and no one else has shown up or they need to be picked up – just to name a few scenarios where my kids would need to contact me urgently.

There’s a whole range of reasons why my family or anyone might try to contact me. And as someone who’s usually busy during the day, it’s nice knowing that I can easily be contacted when needed.

4. Fitness

Going to the gym with your AirPods and a phone is far less enjoyable than going to the gym with AirPods and the Apple Watch.

I love being able to leave my phone elsewhere and control music just from the convenience of my wrist in conjunction with my AirPods Pro.

In my opinion, this is an awesome feature and one of the coolest parts of the Apple Watch if you’re into sports and fitness or outdoor activities.

I’ll do a review on the Apple Watch Ultra separately, but its ability to do wayfinding is pretty awesome.

So whether I’m stepping out of the house for a quick run or heading to the gym, as long as I’ve got my Apple Watch and AirPods Pro, I’ve got everything I need for a great workout.

It can track all of the fitness activities and control all of the music in one spot.

5. Health and Well-Being

I’m doing this one separately because the health and wellness functions on the Apple Watch are more than just about tracking a workout.

Being able to stay motivated during days when I don’t exercise, where I can watch my rings and see what kind of activity I’ve had during the day, is a great reminder to keep my general health and wellness up.

The EKG and blood oxygen monitoring aren’t something that I use regularly, but knowing that the watch keeps an eye on me in the background and I can always check things is a good feeling.

Even if a walk during lunchtime at work happens, I can always the wellness tracker on. The watch will also remind me to turn on the tracker when it detects that I’m taking a walk.

And this just keeps me tuned into my overall health and wellness, not to mention being able to go to the gym, power up fitness activity, and have all of that information tracked just from my watch.

So for two months, I found it pretty annoying trying to exercise without really knowing how my health and wellness were.

Now here are a couple of cons and why having the watch back is less enjoyable.

The number one reason, and it’s kind of because I feel like the Apple Watch is a necessary evil, is that while all those notifications are important and helpful, it’s still annoying getting them.

While I love not having to grab my phone to look at new notifications, even glancing at my watch can seem rude in the presence of others.

If you don’t have your notifications curated, meaning you’ve turned off a lot of notifications that aren’t important, then you can get a lot of notifications during the day.

I’ve just turned it down to messages, phone calls, my Ring security notifications, and a couple of others. I’ve turned off email notifications because it just goes all day long.

Another annoying thing after wearing an analog watch for two months is just the need to keep charging it.

I have a Seiko Sports 5 Watch, which I love. It’s one of the cheapest Bond watches you can buy.

It was so nice to wear that without worrying about charging and knowing that I had at least the time and a pretty good-looking wrist.

The Apple Watch Ultra needs far less charging but still needs charging, and this is something I still lament.

Final Thoughts

So after two months of going without my Apple Watch and noticing these small conveniences disappear, I have given way to the need and bought an Apple Watch Ultra.

I bought the Ultra because I still wanted data and the watch. Plus I love its form factor much more than the Apple Watch Series 8. It’s just a little bit tougher, less rounded, and it’s new.

It also has some fantastic features, and I’d love to try those out next time I go four-wheel driving or hiking off the grid. The wayfinding looks very cool and the battery life is much better.

And also, I look forward to taking it surfing and swimming and seeing how the water temperature function works, even though that’s complete overkill for me as a recreational water sports individual.

I guess Apple Watch is just part of my life now.