This week, I said goodbye to a friend, my OG Apple Watch; the same watch I reflected upon in detail two years ago. (Note: I referred then to the watch as a Series 1, but it was actually too old to even have a positive integer) It was a good life; where even at its old technology age of five, the Apple Watch Series Aught gave me enough battery life to cover extended waking hours, motivating workout tracking, and a strong notification vibration. At the end, however, it was not dwindling battery life or forced obsolescence that ended the watch but rather structural degradation, and now I grapple with what life looks like in a post-Apple Watch world.

Survived by an iPhone XR with a cracked screen, an underpowered Macbook Air, and a new AppleTV 4K, Apple Watch brought years of fitness motivation and incessant notifications to its initially skeptical owner. While the apps did not always load quickly enough, and Apple Pay only occasionally worked, there was comfort in its presence, knowing there would not be a notification missed or a workout unrecognized. The band could be swapped to accommodate any style of dress, and the watch face could adapt for class or personality. Apple Watch was a flexible tchotchke that would develop into a more personal way to engage with technology.

Where does one go when such a familiar (watch) face is no more, when its service is done? Will a void develop where once there had been not-so-subtle vibrations? If exercise is not recorded by wearable technology and documented in an app, does it even count? These are the existential questions that face an Apple Watch wearer as they trek once again into a non-Apple Watch existence. For this mourner, there will be a return to traditional, timeless timepieces and exploration of other wearables. There is no illusion that any substitute will suffice, though there is concern around the dependencies and expectations that develop because of the watch’s presence. Is now the opportunity to shed the acceptance of technology being so ubiquitous and continually present? Will I survive without the notifications that keep me alert in a world that demands immediate recognition of inquiry or comment? These are uncertain times, and now I do not even have a digital compass on my wrist for guidance.

The OG Apple Watch will be missed. Its functional window was known to be closing, but the departure is still sudden and unexpected. The retirement did not occur on our terms, and it feels as though we have unfinished business. Alas, what is cannot be changed. So I say with finality, rest well, sweet watch; the memories and data will remain and forever be your legacy. Perhaps one day, your brethren will again adorn my wrist.