I received my Apple Watch in early May. I was anxious, but in retrospect, a lot of what drove my purchase was a severe fear of missing out. I definitely wanted the watch, but I also wanted to be a Cool Kid™.

My first impressions were positive. The screen wasn’t as finicky as I had expected it to be. The battery life was not an issue. I was quickly hooked by the activity rings. I wanted to fill all three every day, and went out of my way to do so.

I was left wanting, more than anything, third-party complications and improved responsiveness from Siri.

I’ve worn my watch every day since I received it. The only times I haven’t had my watch on are when I’m going to a formal event. Then, I wear a Citizen that Erin got me as a gift. Unlike some friends, I haven’t given up on it.

I am not, however, using my watch in the way I expected.

The things I generally do with my watch are:

• Check the time
• Check incoming notifications
• Use a very limited set of third-party apps; generally:
  • Carrot Weather (including their complication)
  • Fantastical (including their complication)
  • Deliveries
• Send text messages with Siri
• Mess with the Now Playing glance
• Ensure I hit my stand goal every day

On the surface, that’s not a long list of operations. They are, however, more useful than the short list would lead you to believe.

If nothing else, at least I’m standing at least a minute at least twelve times a day. I’m ashamed to admit, I’ve largely given up on the move and exercise goals.

Siri has also gotten a lot better, in combination with me getting more used to just soldiering on with my queries before the screen actually catches up. I dictate far more text messages than I’d care to admit to Siri.

The thing that I love most about the watch is notifications. My iPhone has been silent since May. I’ve never had the ringer on since I got my watch.

Insignificant as this may seem to be, it actually isn’t. The Apple Watch has allowed my iPhone to transition from being a personal device to being a private one. That’s a really profound change. More so than I expected.

I really like my Apple Watch. I wouldn’t go so far as to say I love it, but I like it enough that I don’t plan to stop wearing it anytime soon. I’m very curious to see what the next revision brings to the table wrist. I don’t suspect I’ll be itching to upgrade… until I hear how much thinner and faster it is. (In this case, Apple should be trying to make things thinner.)

Overall, I can think of many ways to spend $400 that may suit someone better than an Apple Watch would. However, I am very glad that I got one, as it really does improve my life, at least a bit.