Yea. I use it every day now. I’ve set up my widgets so that I can see the information I want than I just raise and double tap through them to see what time looking for. I’ve also been doing the double tap to dictation to respond to texts without having to touch the screen. I’ve also use it to pause/play music or podcasts while doing dishes so I don’t have to dry my hands off first

Plus Double Tap, which I’m surprised isn’t being mentioned here more. It’s literally a brand new, hands free user input method that is bound to be a major part of the user experience in updates to come, especially since the gesture was borne out of the new Vision Pro UI/UX. Given that only the S9 and Ultra 2 support it right now, those are the only two models that are more future proofed against Apple’s future UX plans

So I know that price is the motivating factor here but a watch isn’t like a phone you swap out every couple years. I would definitely not buy a previous years model, and further, after getting a S9 myself, I think the new Double Tap gesture is going to become a major user input tool going forward, and I wouldn’t want to buy something that I’m planning on using for the next five years that cannot do what is bound to be an integral part to the UI/UX in subsequent OS updates.

I’d do whatever you can to splurge for the 9, just to future proof your purchase as much as possible

I Have had no issues getting a heart reading when it’s just making contact with skin. It doesn’t need to press into your body.

Same. If I’m wearing my watch, I’ll actually leave my phone in another room. If I get an urgent call or text either from work or my mother, I’m reachable, but otherwise I’ve tailored the notifications so that only things I really need to know about when they happen will chime on the watch, and the rest I just see when I go back to my phone. Definitely has made an improvement