Apple Watch 10 Years Later: Features That Changed Everything for Me
I wasn’t sold immediately Apple Watch. But five years ago, it warned me of serious health issues and acquired a permanent place on the wrist. Ten years after its release, the Apple Watch is still far from flooding other wearables Fitness tracker It was a hit on the market.
Not only did the Apple Watch become a companion to the iPhone, it took several years to find its foothold. Over the past decade, similar health tracking devices from companies such as Samsung, Google and Ura have since strengthened competition. march Report Counterpoint research reveals that Apple Watch shipments fell 19% in 2024 due to increased competition and fewer upgrades. Nevertheless, the Apple Watch remains in the spot as the world’s best-selling smartwatch, and currently has a lineup that includes Series 10, Ultra and SE.
For many people, including myself, it has become a way of making data personal and meaningful. It’s an easy way to monitor your loved one. And perhaps most importantly, it was a literal life-changing person.
See this: The Apple Watch features I’m back in 10 years
Very memorable “One more…”
As rumors about the Apple Watch, or as most people called it, “iwatch” simmered long before its release. In 2014, fitness trackers and smartwatches such as the Fitbit, Jawbone Up, and Samsung Galaxy Gear Watch were already on sale, competing for people’s wrist locations. I liked testing these early trackers and watches. I was not a wearer of watches or bracelets in the first place. Most early smartwatches did not provide enough incentive to wear them.
Tim Cook will be presenting his Apple Watch in 2014 at his iPhone 6 keynote address.
Then, in September 2014, Tim Cook unveils the Apple Watch During the keynote speech of iPhone 6 (It arrived at the store on April 24th, 2015). I remember having my first Apple Watch in the demo room after the announcement and thinking it was the best looking smartwatch I’ve ever seen. However, it wasn’t a big compliment given that most Pre-Apple Watchwearables had no fashion appeal and a more practical vibe. The Galaxy Gear cried out “geek gadgets” with a bulky camera and clasp microphone on the strap. Cult’s favorite Pebble Watch It looked more like a plastic toy than a timeless piece. (Sorry, Pebble fan.)
That first Apple Watch appealed to me on several levels. It was Apple’s first new product category since its launch in 2010 Original iPad. It was also the first major technical event I featured as a journalist. In the end, in me CNET en Español’s Apple Watch ReviewI concluded it was a lovely iPhone buddy, but I wasn’t sure it was necessary.
Turning Point: When my heart skips the beat
By the time Series 4 Features like LTE and onboard GPS have helped Apple Watch begin to be freed from its dependency on iPhones. I haven’t worn it every day yet, but one feature changed it.
“We had this turning point in Series 4, where the sensors leapt a little forward. We had an advanced motion sensor that allowed for autumn detection, and an electric heart sensor that could provide ECG apps.”
This coincided with releases of other cardiac features, such as high and low heart rate alerts, and irregular rhythm notifications that used the watch’s optical sensors to notify the user of signs of atrial fibrillation, a potentially life-threatening condition of the heart.
In December 2018, I was at UCSF Medical Center with Dr. Gregory Marcus, a cardiologist. CNET Story – Compare with a full-scale medical grade electrocardiogram at a hospital. The last thing I expected was for the Apple Watch to catch something extraordinary about the rhythm of my mind.
But it did.
The Apple Watch was able to catch the irregular heart rhythms that were displayed on hospital ECGs.
The hospital EKG monitor had 12 leads attached to my body, but at the same time I used my index finger with my digital crown to read ECG on my Apple Watch. Marcus signalled something on the machine – a small irregularity that disrupts the stable melodic rhythm of my mind. I looked down and a small wave from the same place appeared on the screen of my Apple Watch. My mind was literally skipping the beat.
At the time I was amazed at what this meant. However, after some research and follow-up visits, Marcus concluded that my early ventricular contractions were neither serious nor permanent. It may have been caused by lack of sleep and stress. After all, I was a new mother of one year old.
My story took on unexpected personal turns and I felt completely different about tying Apple’s technology to the wrist. If it is strong enough to surface such a subtle heart condition, what else can it show?
By Christmas that same year, I bought an Apple Watch for both my parents. They are in their 70s and live in El Salvador. I wanted them to have an Apple Watch if they weren’t physically there to see them, at least to let them know if something was off.
My over 70 parents use their Apple Watch to track fitness and monitor their health.
I found that stories like mine can help Apple see beyond the innovative technology of the Apple Watch and drive the company in a direction that is ingrained in health, wellness and early detection.
“It really inspired and motivated us to do more for us, continue to pull those threads, and continue to push the boundaries of what this device can do,” Caldbeck said.
Apple Watch as a diagnostic tool
Recently I caught up with Marcus almost seven years after the original story and spoke with him about how he can now use ECGs on devices like the Apple Watch to help diagnose patients’ heart conditions.
“When a consumer or user gets an EKG, you get some sort of reading. That’s not enough. “These recordings are usually stored as PDFs and sent to a medical professional. Medical professionals can use these EKGs to diagnose atrial fibrillation.”
Doctors can use ECG measurements from devices such as Apple Watch (exported as PDFS) to help diagnose patients with heart disease.
Marcus’s praise also received warnings. Having all this information, especially for heart rate alerts, can make patients worry unnecessary, even if they are healthy.
“If you’re screening a huge population, by definition you’ll get some false positive results,” Marcus said. “False-positive results will lead to unnecessary anxiety, unnecessary testing, and perhaps unnecessary treatment.”
Off-point jump to other vitals
ECG and heart rate notifications were just the beginning. Currently, the Apple Watch can flag signs of sleep apnea, overall mobility, hearing health, changes in menstrual cycles, and cardiovascular trends.
Apple Watch now has added sleep tracking to its list of metrics and can now track sleep stages.
For years I’ve relied on a travel ring to track workouts on my Apple Watch and to keep me accountable for how much (or how little) activity throughout the day. Over time, Apple has added more advanced metrics such as VO2 MAX, cardio fitness, heart rate zones, and training loads. This allows me to take more out of my training and focus on my long-term health goals. The load function of training can help you decide when to exercise. Heart Rate Zones and Notifications Push me during training. and VO2 Max and Cardio Fitness Score Please give us a benchmark to tackle. As a mom of three struggling to stomp 30 minutes for herself, that kind of focus the Apple Watch brings was key to making my workouts even more impactful.
When I warned that my fitness score had soaked me a few days after giving birth to a human, I might have had some choice words on my Apple Watch. But that was the push I needed to return to my post-babe shape after pregnancy. I’m happy to report that I’ve regained my “high” score, which I still wear with pride.
These features are not exclusive to Apple Watch. In fact, Apple wasn’t always the first to deploy. But I’m grateful for how the clock translates them into the related ones, so they don’t get lost in an infinite sea of data.
The evolution of the Apple Watch over the past decade has seen features like ECG, menstrual cycle tracking, sleep tracking, and vital tracking.
Turn your chores into something seamless
The Apple Watch has also influenced my life in other ways. I used Tech to track my menstrual cycle before debuting on my Apple Watch in 2019. The first baby used a smart thermometer to share basal body temperature measurements (indicators of ovulation and fertility) on his iPhone. It wasn’t seamless, but I hit the old-fashioned pen and paper methods, as I had to remember to do it before I got out of bed.
Once the Apple Watch introduced cycle tracking, it ditched the thermometer and started recording everything on your wrist. It may not have been that accurate as we initially did not track changes in temperature. However, the convenience of tracking my watch allowed me to be consistent and accurately identify the fertility window.
Apple added two sensors to the Watch Series 8 (and Newer) so that you can track subtle changes in body temperature. The combination of cycle tracking and recording these subtle temperature shifts helped me to better confirm my ovulation.
What really will I come back?
Series 10 Now, on my wrist it feels like the original Apple Watch SmartWatch I reviewed in 2015 (and looks like). It maintains core features that make my life easier – ping my phone (using an embarrassing number of times), it doesn’t spare me from having to dig into me Mary Poppins wallet For phone or wallet at the checkout counter. And while the battery life will last 10 years from now, at least I can squeeze over the night’s sleep before closing it.
Menstrual cycle tracking with the Health app.
Features like cycle tracking and aerobic fitness resonate with me, but I know that my preferences continue to evolve with the watch. Maybe my child gets older and I’ll get a more consistent sleep. I’m more leaning towards sleep tracking features and the new tools Apple has for the year’s watch.
The true evolution of the Apple Watch over the past decade has happened under the hood and is not a single feature. When I (and my family) come back to Apple Watch, it’s a personal way of tracking metrics related to me and intervening when it matters, like nudges to move, health warnings, or literal calls for emergency help.