Leave your (Apple) watch at the door | Hacker News Reader

Leave your (Apple) watch at the door

jamespember.substack.com

3 pointsjep88811 comments

Love how everyone says the Apple watch "helps" them, but does it really ?

If you need to count your steps, isnt that a pointer that you have so little spare time you cant afford to do a bit extra ?

Is the tech like this and similar gadgets really giving you more time ?

I do think these ambient AI products will have good utility. I've been testing out Grok Bot and Instinct over the past few weeks, and they definitely work. I do think consumer and ambient AI is a different kettle of fish though...

apple watch is incredibly useful for workout tracking that’s the only time i wear mine

Yeah I do agree that workout tracking is a (somewhat) rare exception, where quantification is actually good and healthy. Knowing that you're lifting heavier weights, or lowering your RHR whilst running is good. And the Watch is a handy way to do this.

Do you also count how many words you say to your kid ?

what does that have to do with measuring my heart rate and energy trends over time?

I can understand hospitals and doctors measuring these sorts of quantities for someone who is ill or in their care for a specific medical condition.

I think its sad that you have are so time poor or in a rush to do something less that you cant just walk in peace.

You are on the path to Howard Hughes who also measured and bottled all his waste.

Enjoy your life and time walking or exercise, dont measure just enjoy it. Do as much or as little as you want or can.

i take as long as i want when i go on a walk. i like seeing how many calories ive burned while walking. i also like keeping track of my workouts to see if im improving. why is this sad to you?

Its sad because people quit the walk once they think they have done the minimum goal of so many steps.

They are gaming exercise instead of just breathing fresh air and going as far or as long as they like. We are supposed to be free. Counting and auditing anything sounds more like work and not freedom.

If I'm not mistaken, isn't this feature going to be an opt-in, or at least something toggleable?

I'm not saying it makes it better, but I think it alleviates a lot of the baseline concerns

I just believe it'll become too tempting to opt in for the convenience and utility. Perhaps I would too, despite my concerns? I guess the big question on my mind is just how should we think about "the new etiquette" for this kind of thing?

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