Using Apple Watch 6 for Three Days... A Nagging Coach That Makes You Move and Look at Your Phone Less

Clear AOD Screen Outdoors... Convenient Custom Watch Face Settings
Perfect App Integration... Less Phone Checking Thanks to Notification Alerts
Battery Lasts 18 Hours, Full Charge in 1.5 Hours... iPhone Battery Drains Quickly
Walking and Running Auto-Tracked... Only Sleep Time Recording Available, Disappointing

Wearing the Apple Watch aluminum model with a Solo Loop band. The screen is clearly visible even outdoors in broad daylight. When the outdoor walking workout mode is set, heart rate and exercise time are recorded.

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] The question "Will it be more convenient if I get an Apple Watch?" often appears in iPhone communities. Even though I use an iPhone, I had delayed purchasing one due to my habit of treating watches merely as accessories. I borrowed the officially released Apple Watch 6, which launched in Korea on the 29th just before the Chuseok holiday, and used it for three days. While using the Apple Watch, I found myself looking at my smartphone less and felt motivated to move more. It felt like having a nagging companion constantly checking whether I was moving enough or washing my hands properly. The sleep and health measurement features were somewhat disappointing, though.

Connect by bringing it close to iPhone... Customize the watch face as you like

After turning on the power, simply bring the iPhone close and the connection will be completed immediately.

The Apple Watch 6 I used was the aluminum (Space Gray) 40mm case paired with the newly released Solo Loop band. Instead of adjusting to fit the links, this band fits perfectly to your wrist size. Contrary to my worries about it tearing, it stretched very well, making it comfortable to put on and take off. The Braided Loop is said to be even more flexible. I usually wear my watch on my left wrist, and having the digital crown on the left side was not uncomfortable at all. You can change the watch face by pressing firmly on the watch screen, and you can customize colors or modular components (weather, schedule, etc.) as you wish from the face gallery or the watch itself. I also recommend setting different modes for weekdays and weekends, using a watch face-only display on weekends.

To use the Apple Watch 6, you need an iPhone with iOS 14 installed. Simply turning on the watch and bringing it close to the iPhone allows immediate recognition. When the setup menu runs, options for personal or family setup appear, but the 'Family Setup' mode is not yet supported in Korea. Family Setup allows linking a child's Apple Watch to a parent's iPhone, but it cannot be used until Korean carriers support it. After personal setup, activate exercise and activity modes, enter gender, height, weight, etc., enable the blood oxygen mode, and complete app synchronization to finish preparing the Apple Watch for use.

You can also check the notification that your coffee is ready at Starbucks on your Apple Watch.

The most convenient aspect of using the Apple Watch was its seamless connectivity. You can control various apps such as KakaoTalk, Starbucks, Danggeun Market, and Bugs directly from the watch. You can check notifications after ordering coffee, read messages from Danggeun Market, and control music playback, skip tracks, or adjust volume from the watch. Listening to music during exercise without an iPhone is a big dream, but this feature is only supported in the Apple Music app. Even without carrier connection, the watch connects via Bluetooth, allowing you to answer calls on the Apple Watch.

Increased battery capacity and reduced charging time... Sleep tracking is disappointing

Activate the blood oxygen saturation measurement function and wait for about 10 seconds for the measurement to complete.

The battery life is 18 hours, which is 6 hours longer than the Apple Watch 5. The time to fully charge the battery has also decreased from 2.5 hours to 1.5 hours. While the Apple Watch battery itself is not an issue, using both AirPods and the Apple Watch connected caused the iPhone battery to drain faster than before. The Always On Display (AOD) of the Apple Watch 6 is said to be 2.5 times brighter than its predecessor, and I had no trouble viewing the screen even outdoors on a sunny day. When walking outdoors for about 10 minutes, the Apple Watch asked if I wanted to start 'walking mode.' Its recognition speed was slower compared to the Galaxy Watch 3. The Apple Watch automatically recognizes walking or running, but when cycling indoors or outdoors, you need to set the exercise mode for accurate measurement.

The blood oxygen saturation measurement feature was newly introduced in the Apple Watch 6. An infrared sensor on the back of the watch measures the oxygen level in the blood, with 95-100% considered normal. The measurement method is simple: just stay still during the measurement. The levels may drop when visiting high-altitude areas, experiencing extreme stress, or maintaining a state of intense tension. Even without intentional measurement, the Apple Watch automatically measures during sleep and inputs the data into the Health app. Apple is researching correlations between this data and asthma, but this does not mean that data measured by the Apple Watch can be used by doctors for diagnostic purposes. It is only for reference.

Blood oxygen saturation is measured by the infrared sensor on the back of the Apple Watch, which detects the amount of oxygen in the blood. A reading of 95-100% is considered normal.

After wearing the Apple Watch and sleeping for two nights, I failed to record sleep data on the first night because I did not activate the sleep function, but on the second night, 'sleep time' was recorded. The watch did not recognize the Chuseok holiday as a holiday, so sleep time was recorded based on weekday settings, showing that I woke up early even though I slept much longer. Compared to competitor products that analyze sleep stages, this was somewhat disappointing. Before going to bed, the Apple Watch 6 and iPhone reduce sleep disturbances by automatically dimming the iPhone screen and silencing notifications on the watch. Upon waking, it provides a briefing of today's schedule and weather, which is convenient. I was worried that having a smartwatch would expose me frequently to emails and notifications, making daily life bleak, but it definitely helped me look at my smartphone less. Encouraging me to get up and move more often is a nagging that no one else could do.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.