I described my own journey with the Apple Watch, from smartwatch skeptic to daily user, in a four-part diary (parts one, two, three and four). My uncertainty was less to do with the specifics of the Apple Watch and more to do with whether there was a role in my life for any kind of smartwatch.
But there are those who have been holding off for another reason: they steer clear of first-generation Apple products of all kinds. Their thinking is that the 1st-gen model tends to have a bunch of glitches, with the 2nd-gen product not just getting those worked out but also adding significantly to the functionality too.
This is a perfectly reasonable viewpoint, with significant historical evidence behind it – from the original Macintosh onward (one could even say from the Apple I). But with Apple having added a whole bunch of functionality to the existing Watch via watchOS 2, has the company managed to give the first-gen refuseniks enough reason to reconsider … ?
We outlined on Monday the main new features added – with screengrabs and video – and it’s a lengthy list. Apple describes the Watch as its most personal device yet, and I think that’s a description which very much applies to its applications. What one person finds crucial may be irrelevant to someone else. For that reason, the features I highlight here may or may not be the ones that persuade you to take another look, and you may not agree with my classifications, but let’s see …
Small deals
Apple added a few things I consider pretty minor, but they do still add slightly to the appeal. The city time-lapse watch faces, for example. Minor, but a sign that more watch faces are likely to be added, and for a device selling itself as much on fashion as functionality, more choice in how the device looks when you turn your wrist can only be a good thing.
The “Time Travel” feature, allowing you to flick forward in time to see upcoming appointments, weather and so on. Again, trivial, but still a handy feature that makes the watch a slightly more convenient device.
Nightstand mode, similarly, offers a minor improvement in usability when used as a bedside clock. For some, it might even be enough to allow them to dispense with their existing clock.
But nobody who was holding out is likely to change their mind over such minor enhancements.
Medium deals
I would put a bunch of the watchOS 2 features into the ‘medium deals’ category.
I said that time-lapse watch faces were trivial, but I think the two photo faces – Single Photo and Photo Album – are more important. A tiny watch screen isn’t the best of ways to sit and scroll through photos, but seeing a photo of your partner, or your kids, every time you glance at your watch is a nice touch. I can see that holding reasonable appeal, and was surprised that such a seemingly simple feature didn’t make it into the original version of watchOS.
Similarly, with the Friends screen. While nobody wants to store hundreds of contacts on the watch, twelve was always too restrictive, especially as they had to mix friends, work colleagues and other numbers you might call frequently, such as a local minicab company. Having two or three screens of categorized contacts does make the Watch a lot more useful as a means of contacting someone.
Native apps, too, will make a significant difference – hopefully ending the delays I complained about previously.
The ability to reply to emails directly on the watch – either with a canned response, as per Messages, or by dictating to Siri – could be a big-ish deal for some. I’m mostly desk-based, so can’t see myself making too much use of it personally, but for someone who is on the move a great deal and receives a lot of email requiring only short replies, this could be very handy.
Maps with mass transit support similarly. The ability to navigate by wrist taps is very convenient (and safer in sketchy areas, with no technology visibly in use), and this makes it significantly more useful for those who live in big cities and thus avoid driving whenever possible. Support for Activation Lock will also help reduce theft fears – another feature that should definitely have been there from the start.
Adding store cards and merchant rewards to Apple Pay makes the Watch more useful as a method of payment. Not something I’ve been able to try yet in the UK, but looking forward to doing so next month.
Proper support for third-party workout apps could be a medium deal for fitness fans. Everyone tends to have their own favorite app, so the ability of the watch to log data from all apps will definitely make it more appealing.
Finally, in the medium-deal category, I’d place haptic feedback from third-party apps. It’s one of those small-sounding things that I think could make a big difference to those who care primarily about a small number of apps, like third-party IM apps. A haptic tap is more discreet than a sound, and can also be felt in noisy environments, where an audible alert might be missed.
Big deals
Two enhancements that are, to me, big deals – one addressing passive use of the watch, viewing information, the other interacting with it.
Passive viewing first. To me, any smartwatch is mostly about at-a-glance information. That’s the real selling-point: instead of having to pull your phone out of your pocket to see what an alert was, or check your next appointment, you can simply glance at your wrist.
So I think something that sounds small – support for third-party complications on watch faces – is actually huge. I mentioned in my diary series that I stick exclusively to the Modular face precisely because it maximizes the amount of data I can see at a glance. So far, I’ve been limited to the fields Apple allows me to view, but being able to import data from third-party apps will substantially increase the utility of the watch to me.
On the interaction side, I think teaching Siri new tricks will make a very big difference. I’m a huge Siri fan, using it as my preferred input method for most things I do on my phone, so perhaps I’m biased – but to me, asking Siri to display a Glance is a lot quicker and easier than swiping up then sideways until I reach the one I want.
But even those who are only moderate Siri fans are, I think, going to be won over by Siri’s new-found ability to control HomeKit devices. You walk into your home, raise your wrist and tell Siri to switch on the living-room lights and turn up the AC. That, to me, is the closest thing yet to a killer app for the Watch.
Is it all enough?
Personally, I think the big deals plus the medium ones are sufficient to at least give the first-generation avoiders pause for thought.
But I do recognize that while software enhancements are one thing, hardware improvements another. And nobody outside Apple knows yet what the new hardware may offer. The smart money has to be on an extra sensor or two. Maybe better battery-life (though honestly, the only times I’ve run out of power before the end of the day were when I was getting up at 5.45am and going to bed at midnight – not something I intend to make a habit).
Will there be visible differences? A slimmer model is always a possibility. Despite my first impressions, compare the Apple Watch to most conventional watches, and it’s not thick. It’s about the same as many, thinner than some. But if the iPhone and iPad has taught us anything, it’s that mass-market consumers want slim devices – and Apple works hard to cater to their tastes.
Buying a 1st-gen product is a gamble. But then so is buying at any other time: there’s always going to be a better model next time around. For me, I think buying the Sport model with Sport band is a reasonable compromise. You get the benefits of the watch today – with the enhancements added by watchOS 2 – but will have something easily resellable and won’t have so much invested in it that you’ll cry when Apple announces the next one.
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and the net cost considering that it will certainly have a trade in value is probably 50%. So if you think it’s worth $200 for a year or so, don’t hesitate. Just the ease of pinging your phone is worth that.
I buy first gen Apple products for collector value. In fact, I buy at least one of whatever Apple is selling, but I just cannot pull the trigger on the watch. I have tried it on, played with it, etc, but, to me, it feels like a handcuff. There is a freedom in not having anything on your wrist.
I felt the same, having not worn a watch for more than a decade, but you forget it’s there within a few days.
See, I’ve been wearing a watch with some regularity for the last several years. There are two days since April 24th that I have not worn my Apple Watch, and both days I’ve been struck by how often I used the functionality provided by it. The ease of dismissing notifications and filing things away into the “Eh, don’t care right now” mental category without engaging with my phone is huge and completely underrated by anyone who hasn’t integrated it in to their life.
Playing with it and trying it on is not a substitute for using it for a week or two and then making your decision.
I haven’t worn a watch for twenty years, but I bought the sport watch which is really light, and I forget i’m wearing it until I use it. I love it. I didn’t wear it for two days because I didn’t have a charger, and I missed it. I still use it primarily just for seeing the time.
I’m interested in seeing if Apple Music’s offline downloads extend to the Watch. If I could create a playlist on my iPhone and transfer it to my Watch, I could go for a run with brand new music and leave the iPhone home.
Yep, it looks like that should work fine.
I’m not jumping on board yet. I’m waiting for more sensors (rumored to be left off Watch 1.0) and more independence from the phone. Plus it looks a little thick to me. I waited for iPhone to be on Verizon (iphone4), which to me was worth the wait – I’ll likely wait until Watch 3.0 to think seriously about getting the watch – but since I normally don’t wear one and I use my phone for most things the watch just seems superfluous right now. Now if I could take it running/biking and get heart rate and GPS/map with NO phone, that would be a big deal.
You can run w/o the phone. You won’t get GPS data, but after you calibrate the watch, it’s pretty accurate at calculating distance, steps, pace.
They better fix the massive battery drain issue with OS 2. I used to be able to go all day and still have 30% or more juice left. Today, 4 hours into the day, I am already down to 60% juice left.
this is the normal with pretty much any beta, but as a developer i’m sure you probably already knew that.
They will… it’s a beta.
watchOS 2 will have a lower battery life in the final release as well. Apps will be working directly on the watch, which means far more CPU load on the watch and decreased battery life.
Yes but it’s see how much lower before we burn it in a fire shall we?
I don’t think you can “get” the Watch until you own it and then “own” it. You have to set up the complications, glances, and apps that suit you personally. I’ll provide an example.
It was time for the Apple WWDC keynote which we intended to watch on our TV. My modular watch face center complication was set to calendar so “Apple Keynote 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM” was the central message on my watch face. Further, I bothered to set a timer that would end at 1:00 PM so I had a countdown to when the event would start, and an alarm set to 12:45 PM. There was no way possible for me to forget. Obviously this can be done for any sort of important event one might obsess over.
As showtime approached and my wrist was tapped with time to prepare I turned on the TV with the TV’s remote. I then used my Watch to change HDMI sources for the TV, to wake the TV and select the Apple Events app and then then switched to the SamMote app so I could control the TV’s volume level. I found it very convenient to occasionally control everything from the Watch instead of keeping handy and grabbing other remotes.
That was one use case set up for my purposes. There are obviously many many other conveniences, but as I said, you cannot know what it really can do for you until you explore and customize it for your personal preferences.
I don’t think anyone will “get” the AWX until they want to buy:
Not only:
1. A smartwatch
But also:
2. A decent watch for everyday use
3. A real fitness tracker
Yes, yes, blah blah blah, it’s expensive, and so on, and it doesn’t have 8GB of RAM, or a GeForce, this people will never get it, that’s why so many people want/bought this watch and so many people don’t get it…
Ben Lovejoy and others are too limited to understand that people want things besides phones and laptops…
Price point is still too high imo… but I did back Pebble Time on Kickstarter and am considering selling it when it shows up for a profit and possibly putting that towards an Apple Watch.
People say this, but it’s hard to justify in my opinion. I don’t know in which way you mean “price point is still to high”, so I’m not arguing with you, just want to point some things out.
First things first, one cannot use the Steel model (we won’t even talk about the gold edition) as a price point comparison. Price points are relative to the competition typically, unless you mean ANY smartwatch isn’t worth $400. If you mean ANY smart watch isn’t worth $400 to you, that’s totally fine and a valid personal opinion. Don’t have to read any further. :)
Otherwise, keep reading:
The reason we should’t use the Steel model for comparison is because there is no equal to it. I don’t know of any single other smart watch that has a sapphire crystal and that alone adds a lot to the total cost. Its the biggest reason I gave MKBHD a thumbs down on his review, because he made the whole review sound like it’s just not good enough for $700. But that’s only because he opted for the $700 steel and sapphire model, which has no direct comparison in the market. It’s not a fair point to make, you are paying for more expensive MATERIALS with that model. So lets just talk about the base Sport model which can be fairly compared against the competition since, for example, the Moto360 is also aluminum and non sapphire glass (arguably the best competitor at this point). MKBHD’s review would have been fair if he used the $400 Sport model.
So the Apple Watch Sport costs $350/$400 depending on size. Since all the competition only has one size, and it’s closer in size to the 42mm Apple Watch, we’ll just use the $400 price point.
So why does the Apple Watch cost $50 to $150 more than the competition?
Note: I’m not using the clearance price of the Moto360 but rather the brand new price – it’s nearly EOL so using it’s current EOL pricing isn’t fair. When the Moto360 2 comes out at a higher price with better hardware, this entire comment would need complete revision of course.
1) better screen – by all reviews and personal accounts, the Watch has the best screen by far.
2) better haptic feedback – by all reviews, the “taptic engine” on the Watch is far superior to all others
which just vibrate without much, if any, modulation. It is an important feature when the point of the
device is quick notifications.
3) better physical customization options – there are a lot of band options and the system for swapping
them is better than dealing with traditional push pins. Important since a watch is also a fashion
accessory.
4) more powerful – the Watch has the most powerful hardware and is the most
capable of all the smartwatches, current non-native app lagginess aside (being corrected in OS2),
and has the most storage capacity with 8GB overall and more accurate pulse metering than most of
the competition (according to Consumer Reports).
All these points do bring additional costs and it’s obvious the Apple Watch provides more technology and therefore it also costs more. So one can fairly say “I just don’t want to spend that much on any smart watch”, but I disagree with anyone who says “The Apple Watch is just too expensive compared to the competition” – because you do get more for more money. This might mean it’s not for everyone, but Apple never races to the bottom. I admit, the experience needs improvement – they rushed it out to meet the fall deadline, but the Watch will become the fully realized benchmark for the smart watch industry as soon as watchOS 2 arrives on it.
Wasn’t comparing to competition pricing. Smart Watch prices are too high across the board IMO. Realistically the lifespan of these wearables is less than that of our Smartphones. They will receive much greater abuse due to being on our swinging wrists. The tech is pretty virgin and will advance quickly. Resale will likely suck because the next models will have much better specs and design. Also the competition is going to get pretty fierce which will drive innovation and price drops. All this makes me conclude the price point is too high especially for the base model. The higher priced models with their “premium” materials are ridiculously priced. Guess Apple didn’t like seeing those luxury aftermarket businesses making stupid money off covering their devices with gold and diamonds.
Apple should have mirrored the design and materials of their iPhone line up. Apple Watch C made with various colorful plastics for the base model priced at $150 and Regular Apple Watch made with silver, grey, and gold aluminium for $250. Toss in Fancy bands for $50 and I think Apple would have had a more reasonable product. At those prices you’d see EVERYONE with one. They’d be one under every xmas tree this holiday.
Apple could hit these price points IMO given their impressive supply chain and mass manufacturing ability. Also the iPod touch is currently selling for $199 and iPad smart covers sell for about $40.. The Apple watch isn’t that much different than those. Sure it has a few newer components but those do not warrant the current price.
Part of me expects to see Apple either announce a cheaper base model plastic Apple Watch (C) or lower the price of the current models like they did with the iPhone when it first came out… Maybe Apple is holding odd on a cheaper one till production and supply chains can be ramped up. That way a C model could come out and create insane sales numbers for the holiday shopping season.
I don’t buy that you can’t compare the price of a steel watch, just you have to account for their being differences, which is no different to any product on the market. Sony has a steel watch at $399 AUD. Apples cheapest steel watch is $799 AUD, and for a band that closely resembles the look of the Sony you’re looking at $1399 – $1499 depending on display size for the link bracelet. Thats a grand more.
Sure you get the sapphire display etc, but thats a huge jump on the competitions price, and the Sony isn’t even the cheapest option.
The comparison looks far more dismal though if you compare the various Apple watches to one another. Using the above prices, there’s a $600AUD difference between the sports band and the silver link bracelet in the steel family. That $600 buys you nothing except a different strap, and nullifies any debate one can make regarding sapphire displays, haptic feedback etc. that you might make when looking at the competition. My disappointment with Apples pricing wasn’t so much with the base models, but the fact they placed such a stupid premium on various straps.
The one redeeming thing is that in time third parties will release straps, so there will be the option to go out and but their probably for a fraction of the price Apple is charging for theirs. For now though I find it very hard to defend Apple on their pricing of the watch lineup so far as prices associated with the straps go. I can get the premium on the gold, but the other models not so much.
Some people around here are not familiar with the watch industry. Apple doesn’t just compete on price you should know that buy now. And the link bracelet is not just a different strap it’s a serious piece of well made hardware and you’re going to pay for that. If you look at some of the review from traditional watch guys you’ll see them singing praises about the various watch strap qualities.
The “refuseniks” will always find a reason not to jump on board. “I’m not buying one until it has a USB port” or “I’m not buying one until it charges wirelessly” or “I’m not buying one because I like the ability to check my email from ten other different built-in apps” claims will always be there. I have had an iPhone since day one, just got my WATCH yesterday and have had iPads since the first month they were out and Apple makes some amazing products. I can also admit that Samsung, Nokia, Sony, etc. also make some amazing products but I’ve never seen someone pull any device, other than Apple, out of a box and start using it within a few minutes because they just aren’t as user friendly.
I’m quick to criticise Apple when I need to on here, but nobody makes buying, opening up and using as exciting as Apple. I’m 42 years old and bought my first iMac couple of years back and I swear it was like going back to the Christmas’ of my childhood when I started opening up the packaging. I’ve bought a couple of upgraded models since then and I get EXACTLY the same feeling. It’s crazy.
The Apple Watch is a great product from Apple, My only gripe is I don’t know wearing things on my wrist. Guess that makes me a refuseniks ;)
*don’t like not don’t know (gosh wordpress has the worst comment system there is; please switch to Disqus guys, it’s painful down here)
“Proper support for third-party workout apps could be a medium deal for fitness fans. Everyone tends to have their own favorite app, so the ability of the watch to log data from all apps will definitely make it more appealing.Proper support for third-party workout apps could be a medium deal for fitness fans. Everyone tends to have their own favorite app, so the ability of the watch to log data from all apps will definitely make it more appealing.”
This is a HUGE deal. It changes the fitness tracking game. With access to these sensors developers will be able to do stuff most other devices would never even try since they do not have big enough resources. It will make all fitness only devices pale in comparison (like “feature” phones did in the past) Also I’ll be able to use my favorite apps and not locked into one. This changes the game, should be under the big deals
Ive never been a first generation adopter because i was a kid without a job for the products ive actually been alive for. Im 19, when the iPhone came out i was 11, i didnt have money then, but i saved up for an entire year to buy the iPhone 3G and i loved it. When the iPad came out i was 13/14? I still didnt have a job, so i was not able to get it and once the iPhone 4 came with the retina display i knew it would come to the iPad eventually, so i waited, i got a job and when i was 15/16 i got the New iPad (3rd gen w/ Cellular). At this time i had a MacBook Pro and i had just gotten all of my Apple products from each category.
I have put aside money for an Apple Watch and and Apple TV about a year and a half ago (about $2,000) for when they come out, (Who really knows about the TV now?) and so that i would have the money when i am away at college. (No this is not all of my money, it is only a small portion of my money, the rest is in savings and for car payments)
I am happy to say that i love my watch, i have never been able to wear a watch in the past. I have Android as well and i have a LG G Watch R and man is that thing uncomfortable, it really worried me about the Apple Watch, but wow, i never realize im wearing the watch until i get a notification or i need to know the time. Everyone ask what i use it for, and really its for fun and notifications (basically nothing haha), but i love it, its not about fashion for me, or showing it off, its about convenience more than anything, yes im a tech enthusiast but its not all about that. I have iOS 9 and Watch OS 2 and wow they work great together so far and i can’t wait for them to work even better together. Im just not sure if Watch OS 2 is the thing people are looking for, once App devs can make their own watch face and sell it, i see it being a bigger hit (i didnt get that they could do that from the Keynote, maybe i just missed it if it was mentioned?)
I’d like to add a field for ‘outdoor run hilly’ vs ‘outdoor run flat’. My Watch tries to learn but it’s confused by these two very different types of running. Running without iPhone if you always run without the iPhone could be ok if you always run road for instance.
A stand alone strava app (that adds to Activity) will turn it from a non-starter to a viable option for Garmin users. As long as a stashed iPhone is acceptable.
Watch 2 hardware will HAVE to include a GPS chip to really compete.
I’ve had really good accuracy doing a hill run vs flat run. Other than GPS, I would really like a lap function in the workout app.
I bought a swatch in 2009 and it’s still running with the same battery, charging a watch every 12 hours or so feels like back to the 1800’s. I have forgotten to take the swatch off when diving as deep as 10 meters and it’s still running. Until Apple finds a way to extend battery life and make them waterproof, these devices are as useful to me as a toy I’d find in a box of cereal. Have a nice day
can your watch tell you the weather? can it tell you when the next bus is? How about how many calories you’ve burned? Take a phone call when your out in the back yard and your phone is inside? List goes on and on and don’t tell me I dont need that my phone can do that, because your phone can tell the time but you decided to also where a swatch watch.
Reply (to title): not for me.
While overall the Watch is in the right direction, I won’t be buying one until it can do a few days on a charge (or maybe if a strap comes out that allows microUSB / Lightning charging, so that we don’t have to carry the stethoscope along).
I go out on short (2-3 day) trips very often, both for business and pleasure, and having YET one more thing to keep in mind while out and about is NOT ideal, whether that is putting the stethoscope in my bag or remembering to charge the damn thing every night.
From any smartwatch I expect phone/sms/email/messenger notifications, health monitoring, Shazam (!!!) and very little else. The first one that brings all that with a few days’ worth of battery life and is stylish (read: Apple Watch, LG G Watch Urbane, Moto 360, Huawei Watch etc.), I’m buying it.
I find it not an issue. I mean I NEED to charge my phone every night, so its not a big deal to also plop the watch on the charging disc. I ended up getting a $20 4 port usb changer so I don’t have to worry about looking for multi plugs in hotels
I think so — but not for a few months after 2.0 comes out. Once there are a lot of 3rd party apps, doubters will jump on board.
Does anyone know if the watch will support music playback thru the built in speaker in watchOS 2?
I think so..I know they said that apps will have access to the speaker…
From apple’s page: Apple Watch apps have more possibilities with watchOS 2. Apps can now take advantage of features like the Taptic Engine, Digital Crown, accelerometer, heart rate sensor, speaker, and microphone.
Typically an early adopter but not here…not until they get the battery life sorted out…24 hours is unrealistic for a watch…
No, you dont buy first gen hardware. Look at the first iPad. It was cut off from support awhile ago while the 2nd gen iPad will still get iOS 9 this fall.
It’s not adding features through software that I care about, it’s he hardware. The first gen iPhone and iPad had single core processors. The iPhone 3G and iPad 2 had dual core processors, effectively more than doubling the speed of the previous version. Apple was quick to drop the first gens while the second gens are still relevant almost 5 years later.
Thats my view also, and from what I had read was what I felt was the general consensus with most people holding back. It’s a given the software will improve, but once I buy I’m stuck with the battery and processor. With this OS not shipping until Fall this year and factoring in both the announce dates and release dates of the original Watch, I’m going to sit it out in case a hardware revision isn’t far behind.
I am accustomed to wearing a watch daily and have been wearing the AP for a couple weeks all day. These are the things I feel they need to address that I don’t think are a part of OS2:
– App layout sucks. I wish they would allow me to just do rows of 3/4 apps and ability to scroll up/down the rows with the crown.
– stopwatch can’t be started natively from the “modular” watch face like on chronograph dial, timer would be nice too
– No hourly chime option.
– Apple’s Reminders & Notes app on the watch.
– No laps in workout app
– if you go for a walk with the watch and no phone, the watch and phone will sync the steps, but if you walk with phone and no watch, those steps won’t count in the watches activity app
Top things I’d like in 2nd gen
– GPS
– Titanium version
– Thinner only if the battery will last as long as it currently does taking into account a GPS chip.
– One charger that I could use for iPhone and watch would be great having 2 is an annoyance.
the single cable would be nice — they should have just the mag adaptor part that you can plug the lightning cable into
Agree with pretty much everything you say here. I wish you could set the default zoom level of the app screen, would make it allot easier to tap on something. I’ve moved my most used icons next to the watch icon and that helps to find these apps.
I think the stopwatch will get a complication in watchOS 2 so it will at least be fast to launch.
Why they didn’t include a reminder and notes app Ii do not know. I guess the idea what you can use siri to set a reminder and a notification will popup to remind you. But I really want to see the list. Same thing with the Notes app. you can use siri to take notes. but then there’s no way to see them on the watch! Might be a little harder to do with the iOS9 notes app with the rich notes, but i still want it.
Gps would be great, but i’m not sure if its possible, the battery drain might be too much, especially if you have the heart rate sensor running at the same time.
List of siri commands here: https://www.apple.com/ios/siri/
They’re nice upgrades but I’m still not seeing a compelling reason to drop $400 (at a minimum) on an Apple Watch.
“instead of having to pull your phone out of your pocket to see what an alert was, or check your next appointment, you can simply glance at your wrist.”
How lazy can you possibly be when this statement is included in a section labeled big deals in regards to convienience? Does anyone really need another device to notify us? Track us? Send and receive emails? Make and receive calls with?
Serioulsy, how lazy can a person possibly be?
I’ve held off buying mostly because of the tech, not the software — i remember when the ipad first came out and i was a first gen adopter… but it was bulky, soso, and software was still catching up – the apps were the worst because they were mostly upscaled iphone apps
Now the apple watch is here and it seems to be the same thing – it’s quite chunky…the battery life sucks – it’s reasonable for a days use, but that sucks — all those sensors and it cant even monitor my nights sleep — the sports watch i cant use for all sports (such as swimming) — sweat and grime requires washing out the dial — even going for a jog, if i want to map out my run i have to have the 6+ on me…
I’m tempted by it because it is new, i want to see if it is useful, i like blue…lol… but the price is just too much for what it is (or what it is lacking)
Apple have done a good job to try and convince people that a days battery is enough — but i’m curious to see how long the battery lasts with the new features such as video play back, native running apps, facetime audio etc etc…
What would be nice for apple watch 2 would be a slimmer design, 2-3 days battery (at least), camera, waterproof and dust proof, larger internal memory, faster processor, better designed apps to run natively, built in GPS, more functions that doesnt require to have the phone with me at all times, supplied bluetooth headphones for calling, audio, sports etc — and of course a reduced price tag…
The processor in the watch is a custom armv7 variant…it isn’t slouchy by any means. the next step up is a 64 processor.
Most of what you assert to be problems (outside of personal preference) is really software driven. watchOS *is* what makes it what it is.
So far WWDC has show us that actually make stuff for it that Apple is on point. Additionally, the internal volume of the thing is mostly battery and to get as much out of it as it does with the power class of processor that it has for as long as it does wirth multiple radios, active and passive sensors, etc etc is a real feat of engineering considering that it is carrying a 380-400 mAh battery. We just aren’t going to get the level of performance and flexibility out of hardware with “days and days” of battery life with current battery technology.
But, you know, come fall this will be all obvious when there is no “Apple WATCH 2” with Magic, but a couple revs of watchOS that further push the limits :)
It’s not that chunky, it fits under the cuff of a dress shirt which I use to judge if a watch is too thick. Slimmer design would be welcomed though. The washing out of sweat and grime is completely normal when wearing watches. Even if you were sedentary watches accumulate gunk from skin alone so they need to be cleaned out. Supplied bluetooth headphones alongside a reduced priced tag-that will never happen.
The Apple Watch is a great product from Apple, My only slightly gripe is I don’t know wearing things on my wrist ;). I’m not joking. So I will never own a watch. Hope it’s successful for them though.
I’m holding out for the Apple HDTV and Apple Car.
No. I’m still waiting for Watch 2.0 mostly because the 2nd gen hardware is usually significantly improved over the first release since Apple tends to release things like this as soon as the hardware JUST supports their vision. I also want to see what native Watch apps developers come out with in the several months after watchOS 2 is released. Finally, I wonder if we’ll see a new Watch for the holidays. Yes, I know, that would be about six months, no I don’t expect it. But I can wait a few months just in case.
While I assumed I would buy a newer version in a year, I am now wondering if the refresh cycle will perhaps be more than 1 year.
Thats what im wondering too. Though I think apple wanted the watch out before april. (Why would they even do a watch kit when native apps would be available only 6 months later), so maybe april 2016 will really be a year and half
I have to comment since I haven’t seen my thoughts reflected so far. I am an APPLE environment male mid 60’s and retired. I have no need to wear a smart watch to assist me with constant calls or notifications. I’m just not that busy with business/work type issues. A smart watch for me is an I just want it type item. Yet a watch for me must be functional. Functional for me is that my watch must tell me what time it is, day in and day out regardless of whether it is charged or not.
Yes I am interested in fitness numbers but not excessively as many I know are. So how far I walked ( I run only if being chased ) and such a nice feature but not something I am diligent about. However sensors for medical purposes becomes a major factor somewhere down the line for us all. Heart rate and O2 level would be a good start. Blood sugar level I would imagine would make the watch an immediate must have for millions.
So I have the bucks, love Apple ( My Ford has a plaque says Microsoft Powered KILLS ME ) I have worn them in Apple store love the feel, have an iPhone 5S and would love ability to use Applepay, list goes on and on. YET I have not pulled the trigger, why?
Charging a watch everyday doesn’t seem like a big deal unless you have been wearing a watch for half a century. A watch to me is a BASIC device that exemplifies the feel of, it just works! A watch that must be charged daily doesn’t just work. It works only with a charge. My watches work charged by sun or wrist movement or wind up. So if I find myself on a desert island some day my watch will keep on ticking just like Timex says, no matter.
I really want to see:
Watch if uncharged have the ability to go into a power reserve mode or self powered mode to provide simply time for at least a number of days until regular charging is restored.
Water PROOF to 3 meters more than enough would be nice. I want to wear it in the pool, intentionally or unintentionally.
And a biggie, when spending $1000 for my first one I want a guarantee from Apple that technology will be useful and backward compatible with new phones for at least 6 years, bands longer. I have had most of my regular watches for minimally a decade and still as useful today as when purchased.
I understand that many have forsaken mechanical watches as a must have relying on their smart phones. But I must say, if you go into the woods hiking relying on your gps smartphone, you have better have, and know how to use an old magnetic compass!
George in NY