Apple Watch 10

My Apple Watch 2 died last night after something like eight years of faithful service. Something in it went crunch, the screen detached from the case, and over an hour or so it slowly went white, and then black, and that was that. So, after battling with myself for another hour about the cost, I ordered an Apple Watch 10. Not happy about the expense, but I was told 1) it’s a thing I use every day and 2) the first one lasted eight bloody years.

It arrived at half past two this afternoon. That’s like eighteen hours after I ordered it? Maybe a little less? There’s a lot to dislike about Apple products and services, but that was incredibly fast and the devices take a matter of a couple of minutes to set up these days. I got the wrong band, it turns out – a sport band, argh – but it was easy to swap the strap from the old watch into this one. It’s a good few millimetres bigger than the old one, and flatter.

I’ve been using smartwatches since the day of the Pebble. Staying connected while getting the phone out of my hands (which means the phone battery runs down more slowly) has been crucial in the past, and helps keep me sane today. I doubt I do as much with an Apple Watch as most people – never used it to pay for anything, for a start – but, with a brand new one and a phone that’s only a couple of years old, maybe this one can do more for me.

I’ll be fiddling around with the settings in the days to come, but I tend to keep my watch faces pretty minimal and functional. And if you think you don’t need current weather conditions on your wrist, then you don’t live in England.