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Gear to help you along - Mark McNamee looks at Wearable Technology - part 1 of 1 2 3

by Mike McNamee Published 01/08/2015

The Apple Watch
Priced from £299 (38mm Apple Watch Sport, as tested) Available From: apple.com/uk or Apple Store

Most useful features

Discretely check and see who's calling, and even take a call from your wrist
Quickly check and reply to messages without using your phone
Access to Siri without touching phone (great in the car)
Make calls via your car hands-free, activated by Siri on Apple Watch
Set reminders and countdown timers using Siri or buttons


Other things you might use
'Ping' your iPhone if you can't fi nd it
Turn-by-turn navigation on your wrist with taps informing you
which way to turn
Remote app - to control iTunes or AppleTV playback

Limitations
iPhone compatible only

What's it like to wear?

Surprisingly comfortable, and doesn't feel heavy, despite what the
specified weight might suggest. The silicone rubber strap is soft and
doesn't trap as much sweat as a typical Casio rubber strap.


Fitness/Activity tracking
Yes, this is all covered adequately, if that's your thing. By default it also taps you if you've been sitting down for 50-60 minutes continuously, reminding you to stand up and take a break.

Call quality
Caveat: You'll need to be in a quiet room to hear the caller, even on full volume. However, the call quality is remarkably good, and the microphone is excellent. The person you're speaking too often won't even realise you're not using your phone conventionally.

Where we've found it particularly useful, is quickly answering a call when you've left your phone somewhere else (eg downstairs), it buys you enough time to answer it and say hi to the person while looking for your phone/finishing what you were doing first.

Where we've found it genuinely useful is in the car. Many cars feature Bluetooth hands-free, but very few interact properly with the iPhone/Siri. Lifting or flicking your wrist (without taking your hands off the steering wheel of course) and saying 'Hey Siri' will activate the digital assistant. If you say 'Hey Siri, Call Dad', it will place the call from your phone, but connect the audio through the car's hands-free, rather than the watch. It works like a charm and is definitely safer than other methods of voicedialling.

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Contact Mike McNamee

1st Published 01/08/2015
last update 09/12/2022 14:54:37

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