The Apple Watch has only been in existence for about five years. In that short period, the world is getting used to seeing this small device on people’s wrists.
Introduced back in 2015, the Apple Watch currently has five versions (series 1 to series 5) and can be customized in several ways.
Aside from choosing different types of watch faces, you can swap out the watch band – mixing and matching all sorts of colors. Some even work with a jeweler or specialty shop to attach designer buckles and clasps.
But behind the fancy looks is a device that is very good at a couple of essential areas, specifically:
It helps crush your fitness goals
So two apps work in conjunction to help you achieve your fitness goals. One is the Workout app, and the other is the Activity app.
The Workout app does exactly what it says. Press it, and a list of workouts become available.
And there are a ton of workouts you can do, depending on the sport or activity you prefer. There’s running, strength training, badminton, barre, archery, surfing, soccer, and so much more.
As you complete workouts and go about your day, the watch continually tracks your heart rate and location. Your progress feeds into the Activity app, where you can see three rings. The red ring is for your move goal (calorie-based), the green ring is for your workout goal, and the blue ring is for your standing goal.
You can ignore the constant tracking at any time, but it can result in inaccurate readings while doing workouts.
It can flag heart rate anomalies
And speaking of heart rate, the Apple Watch is fairly decent when it comes to tracking heart rate. While wrist-based sensors are not as accurate as chest strap sensors, it does the job well enough.
The Heart Rate App can show your current heart rate and plot it out in a neatly organized graph. You can also see your resting heart rate as well as your average heart rate when you’re working out.
Once it has enough data about your heart rate, it can flag you at any time if it senses a sharp spike or drop.
All in all, this an excellent way to monitor how certain situations or environments can affect your pulse and stress levels.
It can complement your workflow
For Mac users, the watch can communicate with your computer and unlock it without having to type in the password. If you download certain third-party apps, you can program your computer to automatically lock when your watch isn’t nearby.
Beyond adding that extra layer of convenience, this can be useful if you’re reading confidential files in a public space.
Additionally, it can also act as a remote for your iPhone. When you’re playing songs or podcasts, and you don’t want to pull out your phone, you can quickly go through your library through the watch itself. From there, you can play, pause, and skip at will.
The 6th iteration of the Apple Watch is expected to come out this fall. An entirely new set of features can further improve this already functional device.
