Apple Watch at 10
Today marks the 10-year anniversary of the original Apple Watch launching in the United States and eight other countries around the world.
While it seems hard now to recall a time when the Apple Watch, or something similar, did not exist, the market hasn’t always been so obvious. It was only 10 years ago that we were still wondering if Pebble would actually pan out, and all anyone wanted a Fitbit for was to get in their 10,000 steps (an entirely arbitrary number, but I digress).
When it debuted, the first Apple Watch was glitchy and expensive. Battery life sucked. Many publications, including mine, spent significant time and space wondering why anyone even wanted a smartwatch. Today, it is an Apple success story. “Since 2015 til the end of 2024, we estimate that 281.2 million Apple watches have been shipped,” Jitesh Ubrani, a device research manager at IDC tells WIRED. That’s at an estimated value of $127 billion. No wonder it has spawned a flotilla of imitators.
Though I’m frustrated with the iOS restrictions that prevent true competition, and it seems like the development experience still leaves a lot to be desired, the Apple Watch itself is a great product and probably underrated. Will there be an SE 3 soon? The SE 2 is now down from $249 to $169.97 (via Mitchel Broussard).
Previously:
- Apple Restricts Pebble From Being Awesome With iPhones
- DMA Compliance: Watch and Headphone Interoperability
- Apple Watch Sales Paused Over Masimo Patent
- Fitbit Charge 6 and Google Pixel Watch 2
- Apple Watch SE 2022
- Apple Watch Late Adopter
- Apple Watch at 5
Update (2025-04-25): Jason Snell:
How sad, then, that it’s only those two watch faces that support per-second ticks. None of the older watch faces—including the ones I use—support the feature. I don’t know what Apple’s investing in building watchOS watch faces, but it’s not enough—a major new hardware feature should be supported by every watch face, not just the two new ones introduced at the same time as the feature. In a year full of embarrassing Apple moves, this is low-key one of the most embarrassing.
[…]
There you go: 250 words about the Apple Watch Series 10. But what I really want to discuss here is Apple’s insistence that we all sleep wearing our Apple Watches. Apple’s sleep tracking features have been pushing in this direction for a while, and the addition of sleep apnea detection last fall really pushed it over the edge. You don’t have to wear your Apple Watch overnight, but Apple really wants you to.
[…]
But beyond subtle alarms, what have I gotten out of shifting my schedule and wearing the watch to bed? In the morning, I get a special “Good Morning Jason” screen that shows some facts about my day that I can’t quite remember because I am still waking up when I see it. I have months of sleep tracking data that tell me that I mostly sleep well, and if I’m curious about when I woke up in the night that information is there—last night I woke up at 3 a.m. and couldn’t get back to sleep for a while, and thank goodness that’s been logged. But I struggle to find anything actionable to do with this data.
I have no interest in the fitness or sleep features.
Since August 2015 when I had the idea for Sleep++ (long before the watch got official sleep tracking support), I have worn the watch all day (& night) in 77% of those days. More dramatically, in the last three years I’ve only had two days when I didn’t wear it at all.
The Apple Watch has become an essential part of my life and lifestyle. Wearing it has helped to be healthier and more active. It has been my companion on countless adventures and helped me navigate while hiking in my favorite places.
Almost all of my Apple Pay transactions are done via my watch. If I could pay for absolutely everything with a tap of my watch, I would be quite happy—and frankly, we’re pretty close to getting there now. I also use Apple Watch and Home Key to unlock my front door. It’s the best.
I prefer to use Apple Pay from my watch, too, but oddly it never works at gas stations. I always get an error message about checking my phone.
My Apple Watch dream was to be able to run unencumbered by an iPhone, and that dream was realized about six years ago. The cellular Apple Watch isn’t for everyone, but I love being able to leave home and know that I’m still connected if there’s an emergency.
It’s a nice idea, but I haven’t found many situations when I would want to be watch-only. Even if I’m trail running in a place where I don’t feel I need connectivity for emergencies, I like to have the phone to use its camera. Maybe if I went to the beach more.
Back in 2015, I complained that there weren’t enough watch face choices, and while there are many more now, it still feels like Apple has underperformed on this important aspect of the watch.
[…]
But the truth is, from the perspective of a decade, the Apple Watch has been a successful addition to Apple’s product line. Nothing was going to be the “next iPhone.” But the Apple Watch has been quite good at being its own thing.
What follows is me meandering through the past decade of the Apple Watch, covering some of its history, my thoughts, uses, and my impressions on a decade of this unassuming yet increasingly vital product in Apple’s lineup.
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> While it seems hard now to recall a time when the Apple Watch, or something similar, did not exist
Yes, sure… What is the next step? Apple invented time?
I used one for many years and migrated to Samsung after trying a Galaxy Watch. There's something simply right about a round clock that the Apple Watch doesn't give. I also enjoy the customization better on the Galaxy Watch, Apple's offer is simply too rigid.
Customization options are indeed too rigid. But the rectangular screen is better in my opinion. Round watch screens look like rectangular screens through a peephole on all but the watch face itself.
I find it good for notifications, quickly referencing information like shopping lists, and keeping track of weather and sun and moon phases.
It's actually useful for a lot of things come to think of it. It does seem a little underrated, even though I see people wearing them all the time.
I’ve had Apple Watch since day one and really, really like. It’s a great product. Nowadays I get more excited about new Apple Watch models than new iPhone models.
Recall that the Apple Watch was introduced as a high-fashion accessory (with solid gold jewelry options) and an "intimate communicator" for sending your tactile heartbeats to others. Its success was because it pivoted early to merely being an expensive Fitbit with notifications.
> No wonder it has spawned a flotilla of imitators.
That seems a little harsh. There's always Apple product clones but most of the leading smartwatches have their own unique aspects and features, and Apple has borrowed its fair share of features. To call this convergence a "flotilla" of Apple watch "imitators" seems completely naive.
Remote notifications and control, and looking up a limited subset of information when my phone's away somewhere (but not far, usually). And almost never for messaging or making calls, but having it in a pinch is handy. Every so often, I use it to tell time; the quarterly chimes are a nice touch, to go with the announcements from my Mac. I did enjoy the first edition of the watch, perhaps because it was such a general device for me.
What it most definitely isn't, for me at least, is a sports wearable, and I object to that narrative even if Apple are trying hard to foist me on that use case. I have a current heart complaint so now I'm seeing more benefit in heart monitoring, but it's not for my doctor. And sleep tracking is interesting, although it mostly just increases my anxiety.
Honestly, it's just a nice toy, when you come right down to it, that slightly but meaningfully increases the value of being in the Apple ecosystem. Which is, of course, exactly what Apple is looking for in a happy customer.
"While it seems hard now to recall a time when the Apple Watch"
I looked at the author's picture, and she looks older than her age, which must be no more than ten years based on this statement.
"There's something simply right about a round clock"
The appropriate design for displaying time is with hands, and the suitable shape for a watch with hands is a circle. If you primarily use your watch as a watch, then it should be round. It should be square if you primarily use it as a small computer.
But then, the Apple Watch makes for a terrible computer, given how limited it is.
“ It's a brilliant accessory for people who constantly forget where they put their phone.”
I feel seen.
