So is an Apple Watch worth it?

[Warren Zevon]

  I have a little chunk of money to burn after Christmas and am considering purchasing one of these.

  I know you can receive messages and phone calls with one, but what else can you do?   I've read about the golf apps that help with yardages and whatnot.  Are you able to activate your camera on your phone from it, like if you were going to video your swing?

[iacas]

I love mine. Use it every day, every hour I'm awake. You don't have to get the cellular model (you also can get one and not activate it if you don't want to use it) to use it for phone calls if your phone is nearby.

Though early models of watchOS and iOS didn't support triggering high-speed video from the watch, they added that capability sometime in the intervening several years, and it works wonderfully. Makes a very easy way to record your swing.

TBH, for me, if I use it only for notifications, my fitness/stand tracking, and setting some timers, it's worth it IMO. There are a lot of other things you can do with them, too.

[mchepp]

Does anyone know if there is a GPS app that works with the phone? Would be another use that I could find useful.

[iacas]

9 minutes ago, mchepp said:

Does anyone know if there is a GPS app that works with the phone? Would be another use that I could find useful.

There are a bunch, no? Not sure what you're asking.

Do you just mean a generic GPS app, not a golf-specific one?

[jamo]

I got a non-LTE Series 3 few months ago and wear it just about every day. I take it off when I get home from work but put it back on for workouts. I use it mainly for notifications and fitness tracking. I almost never use apps, but it's nice that they're there. I like the way it looks and feels and I'm really glad I got it. 

[mchepp]

20 hours ago, iacas said:

There are a bunch, no? Not sure what you're asking.

Do you just mean a generic GPS app, not a golf-specific one?

I was asking for golf specific ones. Sorry for the lack of clarity. I use SwingxSwing. It's decent but wonder if anyone else used something that utilized the GPS in the watch itself. I think the SwingxSwing is still using the GPS in the phone. 

[iacas]

4 minutes ago, mchepp said:

I was asking for golf specific ones. Sorry for the lack of clarity. I use SwingxSwing. It's decent but wonder if anyone else used something that utilized the GPS in the watch itself. I think the SwingxSwing is still using the GPS in the phone. 

I Googled and found this: http://blog.golfshot.com/use-apple-watch-r-series-2-built-in-gps-with-golfshot/ .

[Missouri Swede]

11 minutes ago, mchepp said:

I was asking for golf specific ones. Sorry for the lack of clarity. I use SwingxSwing. It's decent but wonder if anyone else used something that utilized the GPS in the watch itself. I think the SwingxSwing is still using the GPS in the phone. 

Same question just a few days ago, and my reply:

 

[NM Golf]

Love my Apple Watch. I have used it with some golf GPS apps, but TBH they didn't work as well as my Garmin GPS watch so I stick with it. I use it much like the previous posters do, notifications and health/fitness. Since I got mine, my wife, daughter, and mother have all gotten one. They love it too.

[Missouri Swede]

1 hour ago, Missouri Swede said:

Same question just a few days ago, and my reply:

 

Hmm. I may have to redact how the GameGolf watch app provides distances.  I had thought (based on previous observations) that it was reading the watch location.  I went out today near a local golf course to double check.  Leaving the watch in my (warm) car and heading out closer on foot, the yardage didn't budge, so it looks like it relies on the iPhone location (and not the watch gps, as I previously wrote).

 

[mchepp]

2 hours ago, Missouri Swede said:

Hmm. I may have to redact how the GameGolf watch app provides distances.  I had thought (based on previous observations) that it was reading the watch location.  I went out today near a local golf course to double check.  Leaving the watch in my (warm) car and heading out closer on foot, the yardage didn't budge, so it looks like it relies on the iPhone location (and not the watch gps, as I previously wrote).

 

Yeah, this was my concern. I will sometimes leave the bag quite a distance from the tee and it would be better to utilize the GPS from the watch itself. 

[Warren Zevon]

Well, my watch was finally delivered last night.  I think it’s pretty damn cool.  I always wondered how many steps I put in during a shift at work.  So far, I’m at just over 8k with half my shift to go.