Reasons to buy the Apple Watch, and which one to pick

If you had asked me just 4 months ago, I would have been totally meh about Apple products. A long-ago iteration of the iPhone whose battery life was insanely messed up had soured me off Apple, and I was firmly in the Android camp. But then I reluctantly bought the iPhone 13 Pro because of its excellent camera quality. Then, because I needed a way to find my iPhone, I ended up buying the Apple watch series 7 (one version is currently at the super low price of 329; it’s been this way since April). And that surprisingly turned out to be game-changing, from a living healthier standpoint.

Recording your activity – the challenge of closing out your stand, move, and exercise rings – is hugely motivating. You can listen to me say that and roll your eyes, but it really CAN be. One of the best things to spur me along was sharing my activity with someone else: it could be your spouse or partner, a parent, a friend, or even a circle of friends. This is how it looks when you share your activity with someone:

Here is how to start sharing:

1. Open the Fitness app on your iPhone.
2. Navigate to the “Sharing” tab on the bottom right.
3. Tap the “+” icon in the top-right corner to add friend(s).
4. The app will populate contacts of those who may own an Apple Watch, so you can tap one of those or type in someone specific in the text box.
5. You can include multiple invitations at one time, and once you have everyone included in the “To” box, tap “Send.”

The Apple watch also measures your heart rate and can populate all sorts of interesting data. Measuring your heart rate at rest and during activity is useful.

For older people, especially those at higher risk for stroke, the Apple watch’s ability to detect atrial fibrillation is useful. It can also detect falls and send out an emergency SOS. Both of these qualities make it an excellent gift for family members getting along in age – definitely a very useful gift choice when visiting home!

You don’t have to spring for the series 7 watch to get all these features: All watches will give you the fitness app with the sharing feature; Apple watch series 4 or higher can detect atrial fibrillation, and the SE version can detect both a fall and atrial fibrillation – so the SE is a good, cheaper alternative to the series 7, and is available for $229 on Amazon. Note that only the Apple watch series 7 can do an ECG.

So in summary, the two I recommend are:

Apple watch series 7 for $329

Apple Watch SE for $229

Take your pick, and hopefully start exercising a lot more!