Apple Watch Series 3 Review - Four Months Later

The Apple Watch Series 3 Nike+ Edition 

I've always been curious with smartwatches. Are they just hype from the tech world or a helpful everyday companion? To know the answer I chose to get one myself. Since i've been using an iPhone as a daily drive for years now I got an Apple Watch Series 3 in 38mm and I've been using it for a few months now and i have a lot of good and bad things to say about this very specific smartwatch. Here are some of my thoughts:

Build Quality

The Apple Watch without the band

It comes in two sizes available for the Apple Watch Series 3, the 38mm and 42mm. I chose the 38mm one because it fits my wrist just right unlike with the bigger 42mm looking like a huge sci-fi communicator on my wrist and it's a bit cheaper too. The stealthy Space Gray case also looks really good. This is also available in Silver and Gold if that fits your taste. The 38mm is just my personal choice when it comes to the watch size. If you want a bigger display that would also be great.

The back of the Apple Watch exposing the heart rate sensor and eject buttons for the watch bands

This specific edition or version i have is the Nike+ Edition which is aimed at people who does exercise a lot and even athletes. This version is made of anodized aluminum material making it very light and compared to the stainless steel versions of the Series 3. The Nike+ Edition comes with the Nike+ Sports Band in black made of a very durable kind of rubber called fluoroelastomer. The special sports band has lots of holes on it for better breathability.

Nike+ Sports Band in black

If you like to customize your watch band Apple made it very easy to swap it for another. At the back of the watch simply press the small buttons to loosen the lock of your band and slide the bands outward and slide the new ones you have. You can purchase lots of Apple Watch bands made with different materials from directly from Apple and third parties too.

(Left) Showing the speaker mainly made for notification alerts and Siri. (Right) The Digital Crown and a physical button for multitasking and Siri.

The two other sides of the watch provides more features and functionality. The most obvious one will be the side with the Digital Crown. It almost like having a mouse scroll since it's mostly used for scrolling long menus up and down. The crown also serves as the way to zoom in or zoom out some of the contents on the screen like with Photos and Maps app. Pressing the Digital Crown will take you back to the App selection screen and a press and hold will summon Apple's voice assistant, Siri. The other button below the crown when pressed once shows the multitasking screen while a press and hold will show emergency options just like your Medical Information and SOS.

Display

38mm with a huge wrist

A lot of people are getting confused when it comes to the sizes of the Apple Watch. Most people are mistakenly referring the 38mm and 42mm as the length of the watch and band vertically. It's actually the size of the display or screen. Millimeter is used as measurement for the mechanical watches' watch face. Apple used the same measurement instead of the usual inches from used with smartphones.

Apple Watch Series 3 with the 'Simple' watch face in use

This specific 38mm version comes with a 390x312 screen resolution. That's 303ppi or pixels per inch which is enough for a smartwatch. The pixels are not noticeable at all if you look at the screen at the right distance. Of course when try look very near the screen you will notice the pixels. As a device meant for displaying information in a glance that is fine.

Just for additional information if we convert the millimeter to inches that's going to be 1.5 inches for 38mm and 1.65 inches for 42mm. To compare, an iPhone 8 has 4.7 inches of screen size. That size is indeed very far but let us not forget that this is not a smartphone but a smartwatch.

Features

watchOS. (From left) Nike+ watch face, App selection, Control Center and Notifications

Pair and customize your Apple Watch with the built-in 'Watch App' on your iPhone

Apple Watch comes with watchOS which is like iOS for smartwatches and just like iOS it has its own set of apps. The apps are automatically installed after pairing within the built-in 'Watch App' on your iPhone. For instance, if you have Spotify installed on your iPhone, once paired, the watchOS version of the app is automatically installed.

(From left) Nike+ Digital, Nike+ Analog and the menu after doing a force touch to customize watch face

Most of the features of the Apple Watch are mostly made for health and productivity. Of course we got the main function of a watch which is to tell the time. Speaking of time, Apple did include a very limited selection of watch faces. With this Nike+ Edition i got in particular they added the Nike+ Analog and Digital watch faces as exclusives to the edition.

The Watch App on iPhone. (From left) My Watch menus, Customizing a watch face, Many watch faces to choose from 

If you don't like the current watch face you can change it from the Watch App on your iPhone or on the Apple Watch itself by simply doing a force touch on your current watch face. After applying a bit of pressure to the screen it will show more options. Now, just swipe right to see the other watch faces to choose from or customize the complications with your current one. If you want to choose and customize a new watch face template simply tap the (+) sign. Complications also supports third party apps so you can have them as an option too.

The Activity App on the iPhone. (From left) Activity History, Workouts and Awards

For fitness, the Apple Watch also includes the Activity App which tracks your daily Movement, Exercise and Standing hours. These three categories are illustrated using rings and you need to close them everyday to earn certain rewards like virtual medals. They gamified everything when it comes to your activity to motivate you more to move and exercise which is really satisfying. Your iPhone will also receive its own Activity App which syncs the same information you have on your Apple Watch.

Some of the fitness related apps

The Workout App is another core app where in you can set a specific physical activity you like and you can start a timer with this app. When started, you can see the app tracking the distance you traveled, your heart's beats per minute or BPM through the green light projected at the back of the watch and active calories as well. The watch also sends data to your Bluetooth tethered iPhone through the Activity app that will pop-up right after pairing your watch with you iPhone. It even shows a map of the path you went through during your workout if it's not a stationary one.

Some of the third party applications. (From left) Spotify, Pokemon Go, Merriam-Webster and Soundhound

The Apple Watch includes its own App Store with a lot of apps coming from third party developers. Some examples are Evernote, Spotify, Facebook Messenger and even more in the works. It even has a couple of games that you can play directly from the watch just like a Flappy Bird-like and the Pokemon GO companion app. The future of the app support on this platform is indeed bright.

Another things to add is the Taptic Engine (Vibration Motor) inside this thing. I have to say Apple is the king of haptics even beginning with the iPhone 6S years ago with the same tech. I'm so impressed when it comes to the notification vibrations and specially when using the watch itself as an alarm clock. That vibration doesn't fail to wake me up.

Battery Life

Apple Watch being charged in the dark with the inductive charger. It's almost as good as a wireless charger

I'm pretty impressed when it comes to the battery life considering that it's always connected to my phone. With the battery lasting for more than a day or two after a full charge is great but to compare it to the competition with the likes of the Samsung Galaxy Watch, which lasts more than four days without being charged. Charging time takes around two and a half hours from 0% to 100%. I personally think the charging time is really slow considering its 279 mAh battery size. The watch comes with a inductive charger that works like a wireless charger making the Apple Watch very easy to charge. Simply place the watch on top of the magnetic charger and it's being charged.

Convenience

You can spin PokeStops and hatch eggs with the Pokemon Go Companion App. Now that's less phone usage!

Aside from being a watch and the picture above of myself having ease playing Pokemon Go, another reason why the smartwatches exist is for its convenience when it comes to a few things. One thing that the Apple Watch does best is with notifications. You don't have to pull up your iPhone anymore if you want to know why it vibrated or rang. You can also reply to text message directly from the watch thanks to the dedicated iMessage or Messages app. The app includes the scribble keyboard where you can write each letters by drawing the letter on a space provided which is good enough for short replies. Voice dictation, ready made phrases and emojis are also made available for quick replies.

(From left) A message inside the Messages App with many ways to reply, List of messages, Phone App and dial pad

Not only you can receive and reply to text with this watch you can also receive and make calls directly from the watch itself. The biggest downside of taking and making calls from the watch is you looking like someone straight out of a sci-fi movie trying to communicate with your comrades. Anyway, it's great for emergency use if you can't really reach your phone in your pocket.

Other features for convenience and safety (From left) Siri, SOS options when long pressing the button below the crown and the Apple Maps app.

Please do remember that the Apple Watch is not a smartphone replacement. It's only a companion for your iPhone. There might be a Cellular version available but considering the battery life, the scribble keyboard and the tiny screen. It's not convenient at all to use it as a standalone device.

Final Thoughts

The Apple Watch under the sun

The Apple Watch Series 3 is overall a great product to someone who's very enthusiastic with new tech. It might not be for everyone but the Apple Watch really does help mainly when it comes to your fitness. The gamification of the Activity App is great making normal brisk walks fun and makes you feel that you have something to work for. Your phone notifications being shown on the watch instead of pulling it out of your pocket not only boosts productivity but provides more safety as well. If you're using an iPhone then this will enhance your overall experience with Apple's ecosystem and definitely appreciate the convenience it serves. To conclude, it's not necessary to have a smartwatch today but to have one means you have access to new kinds of technology and experiences that helps with our everyday life in so many ways. 

Gabriel Anciano Wednesday, March 20, 2019 Reviews