As I have big wrists and my eyes aren't getting better, I like a larger screen a lot. But for me, the most important update might be, that the screen now updates every second instead of every minute in the "inactive" mode. I do use the seconds display of any watch a lot when timing short things, especially when cooking. Whenever I want to watch the seconds, with my current watch I have to keep shaking my wrist to keep it active. Having a seconds display all the time is the big step to make it a real watch. I hope they also add a digital watch face with seconds display.
I would have like a bit better run time - as the CPU is getting more efficient, I hope Apple is downplaying any enhancements. With my 7 series Apple watch I do still get 24 hours of run time (wearing it at night) after 3 years, so it is just sufficient. But a bit more would add safety margin.
A future Ultra 3 would be tempting with a longer run time and especially the red "night vision" watch face. I would so much like to have it on the plain Apple watch - clearly that is an artificial limitation.
With my 9 my watch sometimes falls off my charger as a result of it being 3D printed and my watch having a rubber case on it. The result is sometimes I don’t get a good charge for a day or two and it chugs along. On the newer watches it presents the option to charge to 80% and stop to extend the battery cycle life.
I think you’ll be pretty happy with the incremental energy efficiency gains.
One of the stupid activity/sport faces has a digital seconds display. I wish there were a better one. I think Modular + digital seconds complication is probably the closest, but it doesn’t give HH:mm:ss like it should.
You can add digital or analog seconds to most of the faces that accept complications. I use the Solar face with the analog seconds view, which is larger than the complications.
I used to use smartwatch timers a lot. I bought a couple magnet timers to throw onto my fridge instead. Best $3 purchase I've ever made. Just smash the buttons, hit it, and go about your day.
Agreed, the UX of a magnet timer on the fridge beats using any kind of smart device for the task of setting kitchen timers. Most of them start a simple count up if not programmed for a specific duration, so you can watch the seconds.
Most magnet timers also remember the last duration, so if you use the same timer a lot for the same task (tea, for example), it’s literally a single button press. The same operation on any kind of smart device contains a staggering number of steps, each of which requires cognition and attention.
Magnet timers are also super cheap, so you can get another one if you have two favorite durations. A simple solution meets a simple problem
For me it is quite simple: if a watch has a seconds hand, I wand to be able to see it :) So I consider this change really an important part of "always on". I hope, they adjust most watch faces not to hide parts any more in idle state.
Well, shaking the arm will do the trick. But I really look forward to have the seconds hand visible all the time. The always-on display was a huge step for the Apple watch and this enhancement completes it, as all hands keep visible all time. I hope, that affects all watch face elements which were hidden so far.
I would have like a bit better run time - as the CPU is getting more efficient, I hope Apple is downplaying any enhancements. With my 7 series Apple watch I do still get 24 hours of run time (wearing it at night) after 3 years, so it is just sufficient. But a bit more would add safety margin.
A future Ultra 3 would be tempting with a longer run time and especially the red "night vision" watch face. I would so much like to have it on the plain Apple watch - clearly that is an artificial limitation.