Replies

I can't for the life of me think of a reason to start wearing something like this.

I can think of three potential serious uses without even trying hard:

Health/fitness monitoring - while my phone is almost always with me when I'm out, a watch would be with me 100% of the time, and will do a better job therefore tracking my fitness stats. Plus, I can leave my phone on the sidelines during soccer practices I coach, for example, and still get credit for the extra few thousand steps I'm going to take without having to worry about the bulk and weight of a phone while running around.
Home automation - when I'm home, I'm less likely to have my phone physically on my person. If I'm not actively using it, it's likely on a nearby table or plugged into a charger. So, in addition to the health/fitness tracking (see above), as home automation becomes more prevalent, having a device always on my person to control the system (actively or passively) makes more and more sense. I've been predicting for a year that home automation will be the Apple Watch's "killer app", and I stand by that prediction.
Apple Pay - Granted, this is more of a convenience situation, but being able to make payments by essentially just waving your hand rather than going for a wallet or phone will be very convenient in some cases (especially if you're juggling kids and/or the objects being purchased at the same time).

When I exercise... whether it's walking, bicycling or swimming... I don't monitor or record anything... I never have. I can tell when I'm getting exercise without a gadget telling me if I am. My belt tells me if I'm putting on a few pounds and need to swim or walk more... so does my mirror.

Home automation: not an issue for me. I arm the alarm when I leave using my key fob (can use an app on the phone if I prefer, but the key fob is easier). Turning on the pool lights or spa jets can be done easily with the phone.

If I want to turn on/off the light in a room, I have conveniently mounted electrical switches on the walls I can easily flip with little effort. Wall switches are so easy to use my wife can do them without any instruction, so can the maid or house-sitter or anyone. Besides... the extra exercise in getting up to flip a switch is good for me... being too sedentary isn't good.

Apple Pay: whipping out a credit card is real easy... probably much easier than firing up some app on a phone or a little watch. I can also leave the card on the bill to be dealt with while I go hit the john in preparation for leaving the restaurant. Splitting the tab with friends is easy too.. we both plop our cards down and it's dealt with by the waiter.

Don't get me wrong... I have always been a friend of cool gadgets and technology. But we seem to have reached a point where stuff like this is really a matter of "solutions in search of a problem". None of this stuff is "needed" by anyone, and it's really a stretch to even suggest that any of it is even useful or time-saving.

I can think of three potential serious uses without even trying hard:

I saw another big one this morning on the news. . .

Wearing a health tracking device to help you know your exercise levels will get you a discount on your health and life insurance policies. One company is so convinced of the benefits they are providing a cheap tracking band for their policy holders.