I use the silicon band when working out, otherwise I purchased a leather band for it.
I don’t notice the thickness or size at all, and I have the 44mm.
Rather I appreciate the size on my wrist. Thinner would be an improvement, but I don’t find anything aesthetically I pleasing about how it currently sits.
And regardless, the benefits that come with it are some that I use daily in tracking my excercise and performance progression, including my heart rate tracking and cool-down.
And like most Apple things when you’re just so completely tied into the ecosystem— it just works with my other devices.
And I relatively trust the privacy of my health data between the watch and my phone. So there’s that.
I can see how they wouldn’t be for everyone. And I still appreciate finer mechanical watches but they are much further out of my price range :)
It's like a wedding ring or any other piece of jewelry — you get used to it in short order.
I didn't wear an Apple Watch for a very long time because I though they were too bulky looking. But I got was as a gift, and failed to even notice it was there after just a few hours.
I assume an Apple Watch gains most of its size and shape to maximize battery space.
FWIW, an Apple Watch is less than half the size (and 1/10th the price!) of some of the watches worn by a certain class of "celebrities" these days.