Its success is no accident
The iPhone lives in my pocket, but only the Apple Watch constantly touches my skin. It even joins me in bed, a level of techno-intimacy I do not afford to other gadgets.
This deep relationship has built slowly over the last decade. While I’ve been impressed with Apple’s smartwatch almost from the moment it was unveiled in in September 2014 and certainly from the moment I first wore it in March 2015 (it finally shipped in April of that year), I did not envision wearing it constantly or how it would change many of my core habits.
There is a distinct difference between how I relate to my iPhone and my Apple Watch. Picking up my best iPhone is like diving into an activity and information lake. I go deep and far, swimming around and engaging with a half dozen or more apps, collecting mail, perusing social media, and Slacking late into the night. The Apple Watch gets regular glances for the time, and when its tapic engine buzzes my wrist, alert notifications.
It’s more of a passive relationship, and yet it does move me. I’d argue it’s moving millions.Stand up!
With sitting now acknowledged as «the new smoking», the Apple Watch’s daily nudges to Stand Up have changed my habits. It’s true, I sometimes ignore its entrities, especially at inopportune moments like when I’m at a Broadway show, at the movies, or maybe just sitting through another Apple product launch event. I can’t deny, though, that I do feel that twinge of guilt every time I dismiss the message and, more often than not, I stand.
It’s helped me track my activities in ways I didn’t think were possible or that mattered.Lord of the Rings
Apple turned Activity Rings into a thing, and the act of closing them is something of a competitive sport. I admit that I do not pay much attention to the intricacies of each ring (Move, Excercise, Stand), but I do feel a twinge of satisfaction every time I close one of them. Closing all of them releases almost as much dopamine as getting dozens of likes on an Instagram post, which means I’m now subconsiously chasing that high.
I know when I haven’t closed my rings, or rather, Apple Watch reminds me that there’s still a chance to hit that goal.Working it out
My Apple Watch has changed how I exercise. After decades of doing it without any kind of tracking, I’m now hooked on the stats.
