So, it’s been 9 months since I purchased the Apple Watch Series 11 and I’ve been wearing it each and every day and night since then. So, given that, what do I think? Well, let’s talk about it. This is the Apple Watch Series 11 9 months later review.
This is the 42 mm aluminum Apple Watch Series 11 in jet black. And as you can see, it looks pretty good and quite thin despite how much tech is actually inside of this thing.
Understanding the Upgrades
If you have the previous Apple Watch, the Apple Watch Series 10, this one is more of an iterative or marginal upgrade over that previous version. So, it doesn’t have a new design or anything like that.
It just has a slightly better battery and a more scratch-resistant screen, which are both great. But, I still slapped a case on this thing right after opening it for that added protection. And honestly, I’m glad I did. This thing has seen a lot. The battery is also pretty good, but you’ll still need to charge it regularly. This watch can also support 5G cellular if you opt for that version, but I didn’t. I just went for the one that simply connects to my phone and that works well enough.
Daily Experience and Utility
I’ve used other smartwatches before in the past, which were very insightful showing me my sleep time, activity level, and also my heart rate. And that was great for me at the time when I was in high school, but this has taken that information to a whole ‘nother level. The Apple Watch as a device is both intuitive and also informative. Though, that information does have its limits.
With the watch, I track my physical activity, my sleep, my notifications, I answer calls with it, I control my music with it, etc. And that’s not even the full extent. I can go on and on about how I use this watch.
It’s a very nice accessory for my iPhone because it makes it so I don’t have to go through the hassle of taking my phone out of my pocket, which I know that sounds pretty first world how it’s a hassle to remove my phone from my pocket. But, when I’m sitting down, for instance, it is a real pain getting my phone out of there to check my notifications. Using the Apple Watch is just simply easier. It’s a convenience tool, but that’s not the main selling point for me.
Fitness and Workout Tracking
I bought this watch for two reasons, two big reasons. Number one, to track my workouts, and number two, to track my sleep.
This thing is awesome for tracking workouts. I exercise fairly regularly and being able to somewhat accurately track how I’m performing while exercising is such useful information. It helps me keep tabs on my heart rate and pause times, so I’m always on schedule and not slacking.
The calorie tracker is also very nice. Though it does feel like it’s over exaggerating how many calories I’m burning because my workouts don’t always feel that intense. Especially for those days where I’m really active throughout the entire day, seeing how many calories I potentially burned feels fake. It seems really high. Nevertheless, the activity tracker is a great feature for me as someone who just enjoys being active. It adds that extra little win at the end of a fun workout. I like that a lot.
Insights into Sleep Tracking
The other purpose this watch serves for me mainly is sleep tracking. And it’s pretty good. Apple introduced sleep score with this watch, which rates your sleep hygiene prior to going to bed and also your sleep quality based on some fairly easy to understand metrics. Those being bedtime, sleep duration, and time awake.
Apple also sports its other sleep tracker that assesses your vitals and goes further into addressing the quality of your sleep. So, combining those makes for a pretty insightful mix to really assess my sleep.
For instance, when I started having a more regular schedule and stopped being on call as often, I noticed my sleep score went up significantly simply because I had my consistent sleep regimen back. And in contrast, when I went on a cruise last week, which I barely slept over the four nights, well, my sleep score was not that great.
Now, there are times when even though I get an excellent or near a 100 sleep score, I’ll still wake up groggy. That does happen, but that’s just how it is when it comes to sleep tracking. Accuracy is not always 100%. I’ve developed the mindset that sleep tracking on the Apple Watch is supposed to give you an idea of how well you slept, but I can’t expect it to be perfect. I think of it as one interpretation of a broader whole story rather than the actual 100% true accounts of it.
Drawbacks of the Experience
I’d be lying if I said I don’t love having this thing and don’t enjoy using it on the daily, but it’s not perfect. It does have its drawbacks.
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Siri limitations: She’s helpful sometimes, but she’s not that good. Constantly, I have to say her name multiple times for this device to even register that I’m talking to her. And when I do, she still can’t answer half of the simple, not super complicated questions I give her. Moreover, when I ask her something and she pulls it up, after a minute, Siri will tab out and I can’t go back and see what she was showing me. So, that’s really frustrating.
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Battery life: Despite this device having an upgraded battery, I still need to charge it every day, which if you have a regimented schedule, that could work for you. But, I’m still sometimes on call, so it can be tough to charge my Apple Watch and stay wherever I’m at for half an hour. Usually though, this is negligible enough by just charging my Apple Watch as soon as I wake up in the morning while I get ready.
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Software simplicity: Apple makes some incredibly good software that’s both intuitive and simple, but it also can be too simple. Take the sleep vital tracking for instance. I can only see up to a week’s worth of my vitals on my watch. And if I want to see more, I have to pull that information up on my iPhone, which is fine. It makes the Apple Watch more of a data collector rather than a data interpreter.
Final Thoughts
In terms of the pros, there are too many to count for me. To just name a few, I love answering calls on my watch because it makes me feel like a clone from Star Wars. I love answering texts even if it takes me a hot minute because of how small the screen is. I love the activity tracking to allow me to see how well I’m working out. And I love the sleep tracking to assess my overall sleep quality from last night.
There’s truly a lot to love with this thing and there are so many different features that I still need to dive deeper into. It’s there’s a lot going on here. So, if you’re on the fence of getting one, I’d definitely check it out at your local Apple Store or Best Buy. It’s a great watch and it really is something that I would recommend to anyone deeply interested in assessing their health.
Now, there is a little bit of a learning curve to it, but after the first day, you get the hang of this awesome super usable smart watch. It works well for what I bought it for and 9 months later still works like a champ.
