Why I got rid of my Apple Watch

I’ve had my Apple Watch for 4 years…now what? I know…GET RID OF THAT BISH! No need to upgrade, no need to try another “smartwatch,” it’s just time to move on. It’s time to start detaching myself from much of the technology that I’ve come accustomed to. It honestly feels like my life has been controlled by technology for many years now. Now don’t get me wrong, at one point I was totally in love with my Apple Watch. When I first bought it, I would still wear my old faithful Fossil watches; I just couldn’t let them go. For the last two and a half years, I have solely worn my Apple Watch. I proudly still have a series 1 and I never felt the need to upgrade. The only reason I would’ve is if something happened to mine. I know that they’re new additions to each model, but this is enough for me. Hell…it took me almost two years to utilize many of the features that I had on this one.

I will admit that I was a little nervous to purchase a smartwatch at first. I just felt that it was a little too much. I just needed a watch to tell time and glance at the date real quick. Oh yeah…and also to coordinate with my outfits as well. I’ve always thought that having a smartwatch was just another way for them to track us. And by them…you know who I mean. Another thing that made me weary was that smartwatches reminded me of a sports watch, like a Casio or Timex sport watches from back in the day. I guess they still sell them, but they were very popular when I was a kid. I tried to get into the Casio G-Shock watches that were brought back some years ago, but I ended up selling the ones that I bought. I just couldn’t get into them. I would have rather them brought back Swatch Watches personally, but that just me. I’m sure many who have smartwatches regardless probably didn’t give it a second thought, and if you did you just didn’t care. One day I was in Best Buy. I kept walking back to the Apple section. After the third time walking over there I just told myself to go ahead buy the damn thing. Being an Apple fanatic, it only made sense for me to finally buy one. This was almost a year after the watch came out. Prior to buying the watch, I wore nothing but Fossil Watches. It’s the only brand of wristwatch that I’ve worn since high school. I mean…yes…I could still wear them, however, I felt this obligation to wear my Apple Watch every day. If I need to coordinate with what I’m wearing, I could just change the band. I decided on the 42 mm size in space gray. It was a universal color other than the other face options of silver, gold and rose gold.

During the first year, I honestly didn’t utilize all of the features that the watch had. I used it just to read text quickly, see who’s calling, count my steps throughout the day and of course…telling time. I remember telling someone that I’m really confused as to what to do with this watch. One day I just sat down in front of my MacBook and watched videos and tutorials. I honestly had no clue that I could read emails, use Apple Pay, use wallet, pay for my Starbucks, get directions and so much more. I wasn’t aware that it took your heart rate. I wasn’t aware that it had a feature that would help with relaxation using a breathing technique, and I didn’t know that there was an app that would tell you when it’s time to drink water with a water tracker (this is a lifesaver for someone who is prone to dehydration like myself) so that you can get however many ounces you need in a day. There’s also a coaching feature that lets you know how many more steps you need to burn so many more calories. Good to know…and no…I still didn’t use anything else on the watch.

After a while, I didn’t like many things about the Apple Watch. I started getting irritated and bothered. These were things that bothered me before, but I thought that I would get used to it after some time. FYI…I never got used to any of them. The constant buzzing on my arm was getting old. I was having trouble reading things on the phone even with my glasses on. The sounds the watch made were so annoying. Then I started getting suspicious. If I was in my car during a certain time of the day, it would predict where I was going. There were just so many things with the watched that weighed against me keeping it. Now I’m not saying that I don’t recommend them. I’m not saying that they’re not worth the price. However, I do suggest to only get the watch if you’re going to use the watch for all of its capabilities. It was just wasn’t for me. I know that four years is a long time, but I tried y’all. I really did! I had to get rid of the watch so that I could take more control over things going on in my life. Letting machines run me was making me very lazy and feeling like I had absolutely no control. First and foremost, this is definitely a mental thing for me. It was fun while it lasted, but now I’m back to my faves…Fossil watches.