The Timer Complication Simplifies My Life

eThe Apple Watch hasn’t caught on in a big way where I live, so people feel the need to comment when they see me wearing one. The first question is always, “Do you like it?” After I respond in the positive, the second question is always, “Why?”

There really isn’t a simple answer to that question. I gave a detailed response in an article I wrote for AppAdvice. But over time I hope to expand upon that question even more through a series of articles right here. I’ll detail the many awesome little things that make the Apple Watch experience special.

Complications are huge for me. I rarely bother keeping any app on my Apple Watch if it doesn’t have a complication. I use the Modular face so that I can maximize the number and size of my complications.

The timer holds the bottom center complication spot on my Modular face, especially this time of year when I’m drinking a lot of hot tea.

I drop my tea bag into my mug and say, “Hey Siri, set timer for five minutes.” Add hot water and walk away. I don’t worry about coming back to cold, bitter, forgotten over-steeped tea; the Apple Watch will let me know when my tea is ready. If I wonder mid-steep if my tea is almost ready? A quick peek at my watch will tell me, since the complication shows how much time is left on my timer down to the second. If I don’t want to use Siri, I tap the complication and use the digital crown to set the timer instead.

The timer is also very handy when cooking and baking. When I’ve got my hands covered with flour and I need to set a timer, a quick instruction to Siri and I’m all set. I’ve even, on occasion, stopped the timer with my nose to avoid getting food on my screen.

Is a simple timer a ground-breaking feat of technology, or “the reason” to buy an Apple Watch? No, of course not. But it’s one of many small conveniences that feed my love for the Apple Watch.