August Garry

I will be the first to admit that I am not an expert linguist. I was a Russian major in college and even spent a few months in St. Petersburg (the one in Russia), but I graduated college in 2011. By 2022, I had forgotten almost everything I spent four long years learning. And back when I was learning Russian, I had the benefit of long-tenured professors teaching clueless college students all six Russian cases. I’m not a natural language learner, either! My father took five years to graduate college because he couldn’t get through his German requirement, and I inherited those skills.

I got my first cellphone when I was around 14. It was my father's, actually; I just got to carry it when I went anywhere without my parents, and he didn't want it in the first place, so it became de facto mine. It was a Samsung SPH-N400—an old Samsung flip phone. In any case, what I had was a little blue block about two inches wide and four inches tall with a retractable antenna and a bright green screen whose pixels you could count on your fingers. It had the game Snake and it took me 30 minutes to draft a single text message—a capability I didn't even know the phone had for the first several months it was in my possession. I loved it dearly.

It's hard to believe it's been ten years since the first-generation Apple Watch debuted. At first equal parts derided and celebrated, the Apple Watch has since all but taken over the world. From features like water resistance to blood oxygen tracking and car crash detection, Apple's self-described "most personal device" has evolved a lot over the years. Let's take a look at all Apple Watches in order from the original to the Series 10.

I frequently call my Apple devices lifesavers. I would miss 99 percent of my appointments without the help of my iPhone alarms, but it may be a bit of an exaggeration to say I would die without my HomePod. There was no hyperbole needed for many of you who wrote in with stories of when your Apple devices saved the day! Once again, you came through with some amazing tales of your iPhones, Apple Watches, and AirTags coming to your rescue. I will reproduce several of them here, edited for space and clarity.