Nah, i’m not going to return the Apple watch. Here’s why.

I bought it with the dream of walking on the beach and listening to audiobooks.

Well, it can’t do that.

So I really thought about returning my now two-week-old Apple watch.

But on balance, I have decided that its other tricks are sufficiently entertaining.

And besides, it’s summer, and I enjoy having a lightweight replacement for my regular watch.

Here’s what I use most, in order of frequency:

Texts:  as in, now I answer them promptly.  Since the only people who text me are my family and close friends, the text is usually reasonably important.  And since I am comfortable talking to my wrist (see Great Dictator), my texts are not only timely but reasonably informative.

Calendar alert:  I actually like the haptics, the little electronic cattle prod with which the watch sends an alert.  It takes a while to reduce the number of potential notifications to just a few.  That’s important.  Otherwise, you will find yourself, as I did, breaking faith with Chris Pratt in Jurassic World because the watch had to tell me that Karl-Anthony Townes was NBA draft pick #1 by the Timberwolves.  Really?  Should I care?  But knowing that my next appointment is 15 minutes away IS awfully useful.  I like the discreetness with which I am set up for promptness, not one of my strong suits.  By the way, remember to set your watch to “do not disturb” during movies!

Heart rate:  you can get a bit obsessive about this, but I do like seeing my heart rate drive to 150 during a run, and then settle back around 60.

Timer:  setting the pasta pot on to boil and then leaving the kitchen, and its timer, always made me a bit chef-anxious.  So now I use the watch to set various deadlines.

Stand:  at first I thought it was ridiculous.  I’d never obey a watch’s command that it was time to stand.  But now when the fitness monitor declares that I’ve been sedentary too long, I listen and yes, I do (mostly) get up and walk around.

Running/walking/cycling:  Just watch me rack up those miles!

Phone triage:  maybe I don’t have to talk to you right now?  I promise to call you back….but in the meantime, the watch has given me a sneak peak and I am now entirely relaxed about not taking your call right now.  Or, I am properly panicked into picking up the phone.  This feature would be higher on the list but I am not a big mobile phone user.

So that’s it.  Now that I’ve invested in a second watch charger, I know this is mine for a while.  Time will tell if it’s a summer fling.