Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I waited a few months to write this review because I needed time to accept and appreciate this watch. I am a former die-hard Fitbit user and I never, ever wanted an Apple Watch. My Fitbit did it all and for a third of the price. Sure it had annoying quirks and short-comings, but it counted my steps, told me my heart rate every min of every day, and it tracked my sleep. Well, when Fitbit got greedy and moved all of the cool new features under a subscription plan I tossed my Fitbit loyalty. The first few days I had this watch I was ready to throw it out the window. I HATED it. 1.5 days of battery life? Gross! And how dare they not let me see my step count and my heart rate on my watch face?!!? I even went as far as downloading a third party app just so I could get my step count on my watch face. You know what? It doesn't work unless you want to keep a third party app up and running all day long, collecting your info and doing who knows what with it?! You know what else? You are still getting steps in even if you can't see the count 24/7. Who knew?! I no longer have a step count on my watch face and somehow I am surviving! My next battle came with my workouts. The first few days everything worked great (although I was SURE this thing was off because my calorie counts and step counts were WAY off from my Fitbit counts). The total vs. active calories threw me and I was sure I was getting short changed. After a few days my watch stopped counting calories during workouts. I could see everything working fine but calorie burn was not registering. I looked online and could find nothing about this issue, so I ended up calling Apple. PSA for anyone who plays games on their phone and toggles the phone's date settings to get more lives...DON'T. Apple forces you to keep your honesty and integrity. Toggling back and forth between dates messes with Apple Fitness. We did a hard reset and it all worked again. I have accepted that I only have 5 lives in Candy Crush and it is what it is. The Apple Watch sleep stats are utter garbage. Apple should be ashamed. Fitbit blows them out of the water there, but that is probably the only area where Fitbit wins. My certainty about my Apple Watch short changing me with my step and calorie counts? Nope! I have finally accepted that Fitbit was probably counting my arm movements as steps and it was definitely overcounting and/or double counting my step and exercise calorie burn. I use MyFitnessPal to track my food and exercise and I was surprised that active (not total) calorie count is sent from Apple Fitness. That being said, I've been stuck trying to drop that last 10 lbs. for well over a year, and now I know why. After 1 month of my Apple Watch giving me realistic calorie and step counts I've dropped 1.5 lbs. I was overeating based on my Fitbit counts and daily calorie goals! And from there, my love for my Apple Watch bloomed. The battery life is terrible but I have learned how far I can push it. The sleep metrics are so bad that I really don't mind charging it while I sleep. The workout stats are great and I like that I don't have to manually key anything into MyFitnessPal when I have both apps open and running. I love that my phone alarms and events will go off on my watch. I love that I can change my watch face to match my mood our outfit (don't judge). I love that I have Siri on my wrist at all times to take down reminders and notes as they pop into my head. And most of all, I have learned to love the activity rings. I did not realize how little I stand and move during a work day (tethered to my desk). More importantly, all I have to do is tap the rings and there is my beloved step count! This thing is far more intuitive than a Fitbit. I am very pleased with my purchase. I did not go with the cellular version because when I step away from my phone, I want to be AWAY from my phone. I have had no issues with syncing or lack of functionality. If you are on the fence and you are already an iPhone user, I recommend you give it a go.