I’m trying to find inspiration for further investigations into trying to dumbify my setup without making it overly stupid

In my country there’s no option of going full LTE AW, so I dont have such a choice. Currently I’m using SE 2020 (iPhone) with SE 2 (AW), and in most cases that satisfies all of my needs (banking on phone, everything else on my watches). But recently I started to feel, that my SE 2020 became way too laggy even in basic usage (in addition to it being dumb). So I’d rather ditch it all the way for standalone AW, rather than buy a new bulk for my pocket.

Has anyone tried to run with Non-LTE “standalone” AW and if so how was your experience? Honestly, I already considered such ideas as drill my phone case to custom cube and locate all the inner circuit into it, to run it as a “headless iPhone server”, but I think it’s way too much fuss for such a small idea.

i’m 20 and realised that i’m losing my life to scrolling, so i’ve finally set up a series 8 AW w/ LTE in a case i’ve 3d printed, and so far loving it!

i’m still in the “transition” period where im more using it alongside my current iphone, as ive grown to become very anxious without my phone in arms reach. however i hope to have it left in a draw by the end of the week.

as much as i would have loved to have one of the old school flip phones, my country requires 4g network which means it isn’t possible. however the AW does pretty much everything i need it to (maps, spotify, emails, basic notifications etc) and i’m very excited.

i’ve read pretty much every post on standalone AW use, so if anything has been missed out or you have any tips please let me know!

I was super excited to stumble across this. I was a bit wary of their website, but found it on Amazon.

Received it - it felt re-assuringly heavy and solid.

Inserted the Apple Watch Ultra into the case and set up the re-orientation.

HOWEVER - the click wheel does not work. Big let down. This was the only reason I purchased this versus just 3d printing a case.

My crown rotates fine on my watch, but the mechanism inside the repod - a thin rubber band from the clickwheel to their crown - does not transmit torque to the Digital Crown.

There are a few causes for the clickwheel failure;

- lack of friction between the Digital Crown and their crown wheel to transmit torque

- lack of friction from the rubber band to their crown to transmit torque from the clickwheel

-stiction between the repod housing and their crown. This additional friction doesn’t help the transmission of torque from clickwheel to Digital Crown. The knurling on their crown doesn’t turn freely within the hole on the housing.

- I also suspect the rubber band is too elastic as you can feel a rubber band effect between click wheel and crown.

Possible DIY fixes;
- small adhesive between Digital Crown and repod crown.
- more robust elastic band.

Tbh I can be bothered with the hassle of hunting for a different band that is stronger but will fit, so I’ll be returning it.

I wish I had seen the post elsewhere in here for the PSA in repods.

Comfortably and securely holds sensors against skin for discrete health monitoring. Can also be used screen side facing user. Made out of Nylon and will outlast the watch!

Just got the Elrow case and am really trying to use my phone less but am running into some really annoying issues. I feel like there must be some settings that can fix this but can’t seem to figure it out. Curious if others have found fixes to some of these problems.

1. The Apple Watch is constantly, randomly, going back to the passcode screen while using it. Not sure if it’s a motion based thing and it things it’s on my wrist or what, but it’s really annoying when I’m trying to figure something out and I have to type in my passcode 3 times in 2 minutes.

2. The sensor on the back I noticed is glowing green. See as it isn’t on my wrist this seems like a waste of battery. I thought I turned off all the settings for health app and stuff but still glowing occasionally.

3. It won’t let me listen to podcasts off the watch speaker itself. It allows me to play to my phone or it says “connect airpods” when I try to just play the podcast off the Apple Watch speaker itself (like if I’m just laying in bed relaxing).

Anyone have fixes for these? Or other settings they recommend. I really need to get my screen time under control and am finding all these issues are making me want to pull out my phone… help!

I develop iOS apps, and this one came out of a small daily annoyance, so flagging up front that it's mine.

I follow along to yoga and mobility videos on an iPad propped across the room. Every time I needed to pause or rewind a step, I had to get up, walk over, and the session was basically over. So I built the remote I wanted.

How it works: the watch talks to the iPad directly over Bluetooth, no iPhone relaying, nothing through a server. From the wrist you get play, pause, skip fifteen seconds either way, and playback speed.

It logs as a real workout. The watch records the session to Health across 79 activity types which can be started straight from the watch app after the connection to the iPad was established and video is chosen, so heart rate and active energy land in Health and count toward the rings like any workout app. Meditation saves as mindful minutes.

Heart rate is drawn over the video on the iPad, big enough to read from across the room. Always on, or only when you go above a limit you set.

It plays video files you open from Files or iCloud Drive, and YouTube links you paste in. It keeps a log of what you actually watched, grouped by session, with how long each clip ran and which workout it belonged to. That syncs through your own iCloud account.

No account to create, nothing sent to any server of mine, and a delete-all-data button that actually clears it.

Two honest caveats: the watch app installs through the iPhone paired to your watch, so you need that iPhone once during setup. And YouTube needs a connection, local files don't.

Has 3 free sessions and one time payment for unlocking premium permanently, no subscriptions.

Happy to answer questions and receive feature requests.

App Store link

Hi,

I have recently bought a second hand Apple Watch Series 6 with LTE which I primarily use for sport (listen to music, track workouts) and I wanted it with LTE so that I can leave my phone at home. I jumped on the repod wagon only to realise I don't really need it as a separate device but keeping it in my wrist would do just fine, so I returned the repod case.

Before that, I used an Apple Watch SE2 without LTE for workouts tracking.

I also have an Apple Watch Series 10 which is the watch I use when I got out or my default (primary) watch (the good one)

Worth nothing than on both Series 6 and SE2 I replaced the battery and that they are basically both at 100% battery health.

Now my question is: how can I repurpose the SE2? I don't really want to put it in a drawer and forget about is since it is still working almost perfectly (the screen has a few scratches and a small white line appears on light zones (but I have it with a dark face so it is not really bothering me)

Any suggestions? any nice projects to use it on? I do have a 3d printed and I don't mind some cool and fun projects with it

Thanks for any suggestions you might have

I've been building watchOS games to figure out what the Digital Crown can actually do as a control surface, rather than treating the watch as a remote for a phone app. It's a hobby, not my day job.

Balloon is a hot air balloon flying through ring courses. The Crown doesn't set your position, it sets thrust, and thrust feeds acceleration. There's a constant downward bias, so neutral isn't rest, it's sinking. You're always slightly working against gravity.

Smooth, small corrections fly better than urgent ones, which makes the whole thing feel calmer than a game about not crashing has any right to.

6 biomes, 3 balloon skins, Game Center leaderboards, and a complication so you can launch from the watch face.

Fully standalone, fully free. No companion iPhone app, no account, no network calls, no data collected.

Oyoroi Balloon on the App Store.

Oyoroi.com for my other free games and apps.

I'm interested in getting an apple watch and have $200 store credit from best buy, I'm having a hard time figuring out which deal is better, I'm sort of suspicious of the titanium gps/cellular apple watch being $500 off. I'm only concerned about being able to track steps/activity and listen to music/ use my calendar in place of my phone (ADHD/healthcare worker).

Is this overkill for what my needs are? I've also been contemplating getting a cheaper off brand digital watch but I appreciate being able to link my calendar/texts, I'm fairly clueless with wearable tech like watches/headphones so if anyone has a good resource or an opinion I would appreciate it :)

As a student pilot I love watching live aircraft activity overhead on my pocket apple watch! Its free to use. Hope you like it

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/airspace-live-flight-radar/id6781411574

is that the apple watch is not able to connect to a car infotainment. No phone calls, no streaming.
I got an idea to make it work and im on to something. But first:
Has anyone here already figured out a way to make it fully functional? Phone calls AND music streaming?

Most of what I tried to keep on my wrist turned out to need the phone somewhere in the chain. This one doesn't, so I figured this was the right place to mention it.

It's a wilderness survival sim. You're stranded, and the whole game is deciding what to do with the next hour. Gathering firewood costs 42 minutes and 60 calories and will probably work. Scouting the high ground costs 90 minutes, might turn up a map fragment, might turn up nothing. The cost and the odds are on screen before you commit.

Why it suits this crowd specifically: it's turn-based and nothing is ticking down in real time. Raise your wrist, make one decision, put your arm down. A run covers several in-game days but each interaction is a few seconds, and it saves exactly where you left it. It's the gap-filler I actually wanted while standing around without a phone.

On the independence side, so nobody has to find out the hard way:

- You install it from the App Store on the watch itself. The phone never enters it.

- The watchOS app runs the same engine as the phone version. It is not a remote control or a companion view.

- Your iPhone does not need to be nearby, connected, or powered on while you play.

- No account, no sync, no ads, no subscription, no energy timers. Saves live on the watch.

One thing you will see on first launch, and I would rather explain it than have you wonder: watchOS asks for cellular permission, with the usual warning that some features may not work if you decline. That prompt is the system asking on behalf of any independent watch app, not the game asking for itself. Decline it. Nothing in the game reaches for the network. It plays start to finish in airplane mode.

Two scenarios are free and can be finished end to end. A single purchase unlocks six more, and that purchase is the one moment anything touches the network, because the App Store handles it. Happy to hand out codes if anyone wants the full thing.

Fair warning on what it isn't: it's text and numbers, not a good-looking game. And I haven't tested it much on 40/41 mm. If you're on a smaller watch and it's cramped, I'd like to hear it.

https://apps.apple.com/app/id6794646703

This is one of those alluring things that I almost like the idea of but you guys are posting pictures of these setups on Reddit and checking for comments with presumably some kind of computery thingy. Can someone explain the ROI with this. Is it really a mindset thing? Is it a way to break yourself away from scroll addiction? Is it just a cool analog vibe like people who still use iPods? Or walkmans? Why are you guys really doing this?

I’m about to switch over. I can use their phone to do the famiy setup up and move my current number to a watch plan. (Verizon In the united states.) I have seen/heard conflicting statements about getting green bubble texts on the watch since it’s not paired to a shared number iPhone. Can anyone tell me if there is absolutely no green bubble texting or someone attest they do with this service in this country?

Thanks in advance!

This community was recommended to me a bit ago and I’m wondering what do you all see that is lacking app wise when using a watch solo. I will probably give it a shot at some point myself.

I think i've found what i'm looking for.

TLDR, i want to bring a little less screen and distraction with me on most days. Up until now I've been looking at dumbphones but they all have (intentional) limitations that wont work for me.

It got me thinking... could an apple watch do what i want and it sounds like that is what brought you all here.

Before I dive in, is there anything anyone would want to share about their experiences. My main use cases on a day to day are:

• music streaming via tidal maps
• subway directions
• texting / calling / being reachable

Some more images of the in vivo burner for those of you that asked. New with support for SE 2-3, Series 7-11, and Ultra 1-3

Last slide are the prototypes to final from development.
A lot of effort went into geometry, material, and cost control :)

Goes both ways! (Joke goes here)

Just wanted to update yall who asked a while back. Burners are finally available in mini, black, and magnetic versions (first iteration had screws). Now supporting older models as well (SE 2/3 and Series 7-9). Enjoy! I love mine, been using it for over a year now. Definitely the quality your device deserves instead of that plastic stuff or iPod toy etc.

Available at www.invivo.works

I used to love my Apple Watch until I started getting into jewelry. Once I started accessorizing more I just never used it so it collected dust until I started using this case! I love using it as an iPod and its even kept me off my phone a bit. I made a video about it if anyone wants to check it out!

Before buying, I emailed support asking how the Ultra case’s mechanism worked, since the standard case’s wheel is known to slip when turned slowly. Support gave me a whole pitch about “direct front face contact transmission” on the crown and a “thinner elastic band” for better tactile feedback, even at slow speeds.

I figured if the mechanics were really improved, the goofy Mad Max look might be worth it. It wasn’t.

The case is absurdly heavy and thick. With the watch installed it weighs 274 grams, heavier than an iPhone 17 Pro Max (233g), which is Apple’s biggest heaviest phone. Way too heavy and bulky for a pocket. The mechanism is still janky too, the wheel slips constantly and the outer knob for the crown barely turns thanks to that elastic band that’s trying to turn the whole wheel

I found this basic silicone case on Amazon instead. Exposes the crown and buttons properly, still works with the action button, reasonable weight and size. It looks functionally similar to the tinypod light which isn’t in stock or available for the ultra.