The stupidest tech purchase I made, ever, was an Apple Watch. Useless piece of shit.
this post was submitted on 12 Sep 2026
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I’ve never seen anyone come up with anything even slightly useful for any smart watch.
$500 bucks to learn that your heart rate goes up when you exercise and to start each day being told your sleep wasn’t perfect. Wow what awesome actionable information thanks
Oh you paid a thousand bucks for the one with the built in altimeter that gives you the exact same information printed on the trail map? So cool, wow so we really did go up the mountain and then back down, who could have known. Oh my god it even remembers where we parked the car?
having a map on your wrist is helpful, not $500 useful but useful.
It's what got me my POTS diagnosis. No doctor would even listen to me unless I brought in my own data (60bpm lying, 80 sitting, 110 standing, 130 walking). Obviously I shouldn't have to pay $500 just to do their job like that, but it changed my life for the better, personally. Now I have medications that help
That’s awesome, genuinely. I’m glad things worked out well in the end
But did they require that information to come from a $500 smart watch? Simply heart rate monitors can be had for $20. For sitting/walking/standing you can check your own pulse for free in a few seconds with a timer or any clock that has a seconds display
They wanted the ECG recordings. Since it came in fancy PDF form it added some legitimacy. They didn't care about anything I said at all, but being able to show actual evidence like that was a big deal. Just like, hey this is actually real, stop ignoring me.
I dunno if other heart rate monitors would give the same level of data. It was also good for setting up an alarm when my heart rate goes above 190bpm (dangerous), but I don't need it anymore because I know what that feels like now. I still keep it around just in case though.
Mine's probably a unique case though. But I also saw a study that 7 people around the entire world got diagnosed with atrial fibrillation from the watch's warnings, which is a tiny number overall; but I wasn't included in that study either so they probably missed others too.
The main thing I use mine for is being able to check notifications without having to grab my phone. I already enjoy wearing a watch, so the time, date, temperature and any other bonus info I want can be there too.
That’s about where it stops though. It should be a mostly passive device. I don’t think the design of fiddling with buttons and talking to it are reasonable. It should tell you information, not take it.
Hey if you simply enjoy it that’s awesome. My main problem is really just the marketing angle where people end up believing the watch has unlocked the ability for them to go for a walk around their neighborhood
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Of my day? Nah, not gonna happen.
Just any parts of your day you spent near ppl wearing one of these.
Or any of the others that'll have a shittier implementation than Apple's.
My pebble watch only listens to me if I ask it to:)