The Apple Watch has been on my radar for a while now. As a 40-something with three young kids, a full-time job and house that no matter how much I clean never seems to look any tidier, I need all the organisational help I can get. Also a regular gym-goer, I've been after a device to track fitness and, ideally, monitor my cycle and symptoms that hint strongly I'm either in or rapidly approaching perimenopause.
Already taking a top spot in our round up of the best fitness trackers for women, I was sure the Apple Watch had everything I'd want in a smartwatch. However, the high price tag and uncertainty as to whether it would add any real value to my life made me hold off on buying one.
But when I came across this brilliant deal, which knocks £130 off the Apple Watch Series 8 at John Lewis, I finally took the plunge. And I never thought I'd say this about a device other than my phone, but now I'd be lost without it.
The Apple Watch packs much of the functionality of a phone in a more compact, convenient, less likely to lose design. In a very short space of time, the Apple Watch has made my life so much better – keeping me connected but without losing myself to a screen all day, giving me more headspace, uninterrupted time with my children and helping me do daily life more efficiently. Here are seven reasons I wish I'd bought an Apple Watch sooner...
Shop Apple Watch Series 8
Apple Watch Series 8 | RRP: £339 £469
John Lewis dropped the price of this Starlight-coloured, 41mm Apple Watch Series 8 with GPS and cellular by £130 at the end of November – and the impressive deal is still on.
Apple Watch Series 8 | RRP: £329 £469
If you're looking for something a little brighter, the John Lewis deal extends to the Apple Watch Series 8 (Product) Red - with an extra £10 off too!
1. It reduces my screen time
I wish I could say I could survive without my phone, but I can't. I fully admit I rely on it too much and use it too much. My main resolution for 2024 is to become less reliant on my phone, and specifically use it less when I'm with the kids. While I don't want to swap one device for another, I'm finding the Apple Watch offers me a new found freedom from my screen.
My phone is vital to me to contact and be contacted – mainly in relation to the children – and it goes everywhere with me for those reasons. However, this also means I'm often distracted by the plethora of other functions a phone offers – messages, social media, online shopping etc.
My watch still enables me to be contacted, and contact others, and it has a lot of the other stuff too. But the size of the device means I have no desire to use it for anything else. Being attached to me physically, I have also found I am much more likely to filter out notifications I would usually leave turned on my phone.
My Apple Watch allows peace of mind to leave my phone at home and enjoy my surroundings, rather than mindlessly burying my head in a screen. I've listed a few other things the Apple Watch is great for here, but I'd be happy to have invested the money in one for this reason alone.
2. It's proving invaluable for my health
Having two babies in close succession in my early 40s, at the same time as entering a time most commonly associated with perimenopause has meant my cycle (and hormones) have been all over the place for the last few years.
When the Apple Watch 8 was released, it came with a focus on women's health – specifically a new skin temperature sensor to estimate the likely day of ovulation and improve period predictions. But the Cycle Tracking does so much more, including being able to log other symptoms, as well as body temperature, which is particularly helpful for this stage of my life.
The device not only makes capturing this information really easy, but the data it has collected is helping build a picture of my overall health, and my GP to monitor any reoccurring symptoms.
While the Apple Watch should not be used to replace medical care, I also found the ECG feature really helpful recently when suffering from heart palpitations. I could already feel there was an irregularity, but the confirmation the Apple Watch provided was the push I needed to make an appointment with a doctor.
3. It means I need less 'stuff'
I'm at a time in my life when I leave the house with what feels like the kitchen sink, just incase one of the kids is thirsty, hungry, needs changing, has an accident, all of the above. So anything that means I have less to carry and have more hands free is a win in my book. With Apple Pay set up, my Apple Watch means I don't always have to take my wallet or phone, which might seem like something simple, but genuinely makes all the difference, convenience-wise.
4. It finds things
As much as I hate to say it, my phone goes everywhere with me. To the gym for my music, the supermarket for my shopping list, the kids' bedroom for the torch to help retrieve the world's smallest toy from the world's smallest gap. But in the madness of life and three small people who find it a 'fun' game to hide Mummy's phone, I often lose it. And when I do, I can guarantee it's always on silent so the simple solution of calling it to find it suddenly isn't so simple.
Probably one of, if not the, most used apps on my Apple Watch is 'Find My'. My phone and Watch are connected, so I simply tap Find iPhone on my watch and it makes my phone play a sound, even when it is on silent. I cannot tell you how many times I have found my phone using this feature in the last few weeks alone.
This function would also work with Apple AirTags, which I've also just purchased to put on my keys as they too have a habit of disappearing. Find My is brilliant if you prone to losing things (or have small people who take great pleasure in hiding them), and is a great security feature too. Should you have an Apple device stolen, with this previously enabled you can see its exact location (even when switched off) .
5. It motivates me to move
I could talk for hours on all the fitness functionality the Apple Watch has. It's one of the devices biggest selling points, and one of the main reasons many people, me included, buy one. It can give you really detailed insight to your physical ability and performance, as well as the best times to train, rest and recovery needed.
But it's not just for athletes, the Apple Watch has features you can switch on to help boost your overall wellbeing in simple but very effective ways. You either love or hate the 'Time to Stand' reminders, which prompt you to move for at least one minute for 12 different hours in the day.
As someone who sits down at a desk all day and often forgets to move for hours, I'm a big fan of this feature. Not only does it get me away from my desk and some blood flowing back through my legs, I love the highly achievable goal to be less sedentary each day (and little pat on the back it gives me when I reach it). You can also really easily track your daily step count, and set a realistic goal for the amount of calories you want to burn each day.
If you're after a tracker specifically for fitness, but don't need all the bells and whistles of an Apple Watch, our round up of the best fitbits is well worth a look. They have all been tried and tested by our very own fitness editor, so you can easily see which model is best for you.
6. It's like having my very own PA
I often feel like my head is going to explode with everything I have to remember. But now, using Siri on my Apple Watch, I simply instruct the voice assistant to remind me of my to-do list day-to-day, at the times I'm most likely to action them. When it comes to easing mental load, this has been a game-changer for me.
7. It tells the time
Forgive me for pointing out the obvious, but this one was a surprise for me. I was so distracted by all the other fancy things an Apple Watch can do, I totally overlooked how helpful I would find having it's main purpose of telling the time so readily available again. For so long I relied on digging out my phone to know the time, and in doing so, would no doubt be distracted by social media in the process. Being able to simply just know the time, and not lose any in the process, is a huge benefit for me.
FAQs
Which is better, a Fitbit or Apple Watch?
The answer to this really depends on what you want one of these devices for. They are both high-quality wearables, however the Fitbit is, as the name suggests, designed specifically to track health and fitness.
Earlier in the year our fitness editor conducted a thorough Fitbit Inspire 3 review, and scored it a solid four out of five stars. It's highly affordable, much more so than the Apple Watch, and so if fitness if your focus, and you're on a budget, the Fitbit is the way to go. For more information, head to our Fitbit or Apple Watch article to see how each device measures up.
The next thing I'll be exploring on my Apple Watch is sleep tracking – although with three young kids under the same roof, I'm already dreading the results. But I'm hopeful the Apple Watch sleep tracker combined with a sunrise alarm clock will give me the best chance of more consistent, quality sleep.
