Keep calm and Apple Watch on

It took me a few minutes to get used to using the Apple Watch. At first I came at it as though it were an iPhone that Apple had shrunk down so it could fit on my wrist. Since, intellectually, I knew what pressing the digital crown and the hardware button would do, what tapping icons and the software buttons would do, that's what I did. Then an Apple representative sent me a tap message. I saw it. I felt it. And I stopped.

Demo areas aren't real life. The product you're experiencing isn't yours. It isn't connected to your accounts, it doesn't have your data, and it isn't set up to your personal tastes. You're also surrounded by people and noise, you have limited time, and you want to try out as many features as you can. It's tough to keep the context in mind, to set your expectations accordingly, and to try and extrapolate a product's demo to its real-life usage. It's what leads to day-of reaction stories that are sometimes very different to week-in review pieces to months-in review pieces.

The Apple Watch, so interconnected as it is with the iPhone, made this especially true. It made it so tempting to just hunt and peck around, to try to get at everything. Then, as I said, it very literally tapped me out of it.

The digital crown and the button aren't directly analogous to the Home and Sleep/Wake buttons on the iPhone. Force Touch has no analogue on the iPhone (at least not yet). Trying to use the Apple Watch like an iPhone works about as well as trying to use an iPhone like Mac. (Or trying to use the original iPhone like an old-school BlackBerry or Treo.)

Yes, you can go and seek out all the features if you really want to. Apple made it possible. But the watch really wants to bring those features to you.

Think of it like the difference between iOS 7 and iOS 8. In iOS 7, if you wanted to edit and post a photo to a new social network, you had to take the photo, switch to an editing app, open the photo, make your changes, save it again, maybe repeat the process in another editing app or two, then go to a sharing app, open the photo, and post it. In iOS 8, you just have to take the photo, apply the photo extensions, tap the share extension, and you're done. Likewise, you can answer iMessages in a banner notification and pull down a calculator widget no matter where you are.

You can still do things the old way if you really want to, you can still hunt down features, but iOS 8 fundamentally changed the way things work — it decoupled interface and switched the interactivity model from pull to push. It made you stop having to go track down features and started bringing those features to you.

The Apple Watch does the same thing, only more so. You're not really going to access messages by pushing the digital crown, spinning it around the carousel, tapping the icon, and then typing something out. You're going to get a short look, decide if it needs your immediate attention, and if it does, reply right from the notification. You're going to raise your wrist, say "Hey Siri", and send a message right from there.

Notifications and, to some extent Siri, not icons, are going to be the primary portal to apps and activities.

If deeper, longer-form interaction is needed, you'll absolutely still be able to do it. You'll be able to tap and spin and swipe and otherwise move through glances and apps and do almost anything you want to do. You'll even be able to use handoff to continue an especially deep or time-consuming activity on your iPhone, the same way you can handoff from your iPhone to your Mac today.

That's the advantage of Apple staging convenience and complexity. You can do more with an iPhone than ever before, but you still can't do everything you can do on Mac, and some things you certainly can't do as efficiently. You can do a lot of very important things, however, and do them even more conveniently. And that means you don't have to go running back to your Mac as much as once did.

With the Apple Watch you'll also be able to do a lot, but not everything you can do with the iPhone. You'll be able to do some very important things, however, and even some unique things, even more conveniently. And that'll mean you won't have to go reaching for your iPhone as much as you do now.

That one little tap on my wrist in the demo area reminded me of all that, and reoriented me as well. The experience I was having wasn't "first run" it was "first play". It was what most people will do when they strap on their Apple Watch for the first time — you'll play with everything, all at once, as much as is humanly possible.

Then you'll stop playing with it and just start wearing it. You'll stop working for it and it'll simply start working for you. And it'll be yours, connected to your accounts, set up to your tastes.

The Apple Watch isn't an iPhone any more than the iPhone is a Mac. Computing has moved from the server room to the desktop to the laptop to the pocket and now onto the wrist. Every time that's happened, every time it's moved to a new, more personal place, those of us who were used to it in its old place have become slightly anxious, we've become subject to our own expectational debt.

Yet every time, over time, we've come to not only accept them, we've come to depend on them.

I have no doubt, for me, the same will be true of the Apple Watch.

Rene Ritchie
Contributor

Rene Ritchie is one of the most respected Apple analysts in the business, reaching a combined audience of over 40 million readers a month. His YouTube channel, Vector, has over 90 thousand subscribers and 14 million views and his podcasts, including Debug, have been downloaded over 20 million times. He also regularly co-hosts MacBreak Weekly for the TWiT network and co-hosted CES Live! and Talk Mobile. Based in Montreal, Rene is a former director of product marketing, web developer, and graphic designer. He's authored several books and appeared on numerous television and radio segments to discuss Apple and the technology industry. When not working, he likes to cook, grapple, and spend time with his friends and family.

87 Comments
  • It will be interesting come April 24th to see how many Apple actually sells. I will be getting one, but for me it is easy - I use a withings pulse health tracker and I use it as my watch, no brainer. Outside of that I am not really sure why people will be jumping at the bit to get one. From what I have read, it's not as intuitive as other Apple products and takes time to understand all the touches, scrolls, swipes, etc. The Apple machine will be in overdrive and I am sure they will sell quite a few, but will be interesting to see a year from now, if this will be like the iPhone and iPad where they were sworn to never succeed and be as successful, or if this will be an ill fated venture........
  • Sadly, I don't think Apple will ever make a product anymore that it an "ill-fated venture" as you say or that "fails" per se. Their numbers are just too large now and their profit margin is so large, that the R&D money is paid back by pretty much the first quarter sales. Even if the Apple Watch is a "flop" it will still make them boatloads of money, and they will still sell millions of them. That's how Apple works. They could literally make gold-plated dog turds, and if even if only one out a million of their customers buy one, they just made millions of dollars on it, paid for the R&D, and the wrap up costs as well. Their very popularity now MASKS their failures. Which means that those at the top of Apple, will gradually get out of touch with what people want and what sells. Having literally everything you make be popular is actually a kind of curse. It will probably bring them down in the end.
  • If being popular is the result of making great products that people want to buy then I say bring on more great products.
  • I disagree.. if anything, the media often overhypes any failures under a magnifying glass. They push out products and refine them just like any product company would. They did that with the iPad, iPhone, iPad, Macbook Air (2008 was abysmal, but it was a starting point), etc etc. This is a fist gen device.. While they took their time to refine it, you can bet, their obsession with thinner, lighter, etc will play into the next generations of this watch.. you can probably imagine it will follow the iPad and iPhone form factor schedule. Keep same form-factor for 2 years, then see a redesign, thin new version, etc. Regardless, I don't think of any companies products as failures unless they FAIL to refine said product in future generations. You truly only fail when you give up and don't learn from past mistakes...
  • I primarily meant *financial* failure as something that would be impossible for them now, but also product failure to a lesser degree. The iPad mini has been awful for several years now, as has iTunes (for even longer) and the Apple TV interface. I think it's relatively easy overall to find things that Apple has "failed" at lately, whereas in the Jobs era they were very few and far between. I disagree about the media as well. I see the conservative, tabloid media as being perpetually "against" Apple (that's what being conservative is all about after all, being "against" stuff), but that's nothing new. The tabloids are against pretty much everything and live for negative news. They are the ones that push all the "smash-gate," "antennae-gate" BS and so forth and always will. The "serious" media, especially the Tech media is overwhelmingly on Apple's side. While average users have been astounded, shocked, and offended by the pricing of the Apple Watch overall for instance, the media is currently devoting it's whole cycle to how great the Apple Watch is and almost no one (except the ever-negative tabloids), is even mentioning how outrageously overpriced the thing is. So the opinion of the actual consumer is in that case, being mostly ignored by a complicit and very supportive media as far as I can see.
  • There was plenty of failure in the Jobs era. iTunes is Jobs era, as is the ATV interface. Jobs almost didn't put iTunes on Windows which would have crippled iPod sales. The G4 Cube. There are others. What's gone is the Jobs reality distortion field. As for financial failure, you may be right but I think Rene would point out that, as a company, they're very resource constrained (in terms of engineers) so they're not going to want to spend time on poorly products that turn into distractions. It will be interesting to see where the Watch goes. I suspect if the Watch doesn't live up to the hype (well, inevitably it won't) the whole sector will be in trouble.
  • "While average users have been astounded, shocked, and offended by the pricing of the Apple Watch overall..." yeah, if you had some data to back that claim up, that'd be greaaaaat....
  • "yeah, if you had some data to back that claim up, that'd be greaaaaat...." Exactly. Plus why would anyone be offended at the price of the Edition when they Apple offers plenty of lower-cost options? It's like all the complaints about the one port on the new Macbook...don't like? Buy something else!
  • Or those at the top have been doing this for so long that they now have incredible amounts of experience and know how to make these products amazing and not fail, whereas the rest of us have other jobs and lives and are essentially just monday morning armchair quarterbacks making wild speculations on things we have yet to really touch?? ;)
  • I guess this kind of goes with the thinking that Apple only makes bling, they don't make anything real or any real quality, it's just flash. It's a tired old mantra. Personally, I believe that Apple makes both bling and high quality in an amazingly, near-perfect balance. I am an Apple fanboy (obviously), even so, I can tell you there are a few key things that drive me nuts about some of their products, but, is that so surprising? No manufacturer makes anything absolutely perfectly just for me. But, Apple comes the closest when it comes to personal computing and related devices. Why people are trained to think in such diametrical opposition to this I will never understand. If you don't like Apple products, then you don't like them. No big deal. But there is such animosity of those that do ... it really is an enigma. Liking, and even loving, Apple products is only natural. Their stuff is great, inside and out.
  • It's based on a false assumption that apple just sells smoke and mirrors instead of quality products. The same crowd refutes the value of design as part of technology because it's "soft" and "arty" and the antithesis of technology and they can't grasp how apple makes those things an integral part of the technological continuum. The same folks used to argue against the value of the GUI because they didn't want computers to be easy to use since you're not *really* using a computer if you're not on the command line
  • "Sadly, I don't think Apple will ever make a product anymore that it an "ill-fated venture" as you say or that "fails" per se." You should buy some Apple shares so that you never have to feel sad about this again.
  • NOW that is an excellent point. In fact Marco Arment, one of my idols, said something similar a month or so ago. Apple is so big, and deservedly so, that their shortcomings are often swept underneath the rung of their massive sales.
  • I can't wait to get one. I guess the best way to experience this will be to try one on in an Apple Store. But in your limited time, did the difference between the aluminum and steel models change your experience? Did the taps feel different, the difference weight on the wrist make it feel more or less meaningful, the digital crown twist different, etc? Is price the only reason someone would prefer a Sport vs a Watch with rubber band?
  • +1
    If Rene doesn't answer, you'll be able to find out for yourself in a month. Sent from the iMore App
  • I admitted that much above when I said I should just try one on at the Apple Store! But I was hoping to see some comparisons between the models just to know which one I should be dreaming about!
  • I think Rene is on to something here. I like the way he contemplates the overall effect of just what personalisation really means in the Apple watch. A great article!
  • "Bah, typical fanboy bs regurgitation!!!" ;-)
    I absolutely agree, articles like these are why I read iMore & participate in the conversations. Sent from the iMore App
  • I really like the representation of Apple as "staging convenience and complexity." There is a trade-off between accessibility and productivity - one that companies like Microsoft continue to fail to understand. For them, it's doing all things on all devices; for Apple it's about terracing the experience and putting the device you *need* in front of you with pointers (and tethers) to the device you want. That device used to be on your desk or in your laptop bag. The Apple Watch completes the continuum of "pure productivity" and "pure accessibility" in a way I think few people understand today. Great take.
  • Totally agree with you, but I think it kind of pleases the brain to want to implement features from one computer-like device into the other computer-like device. So you need someone that is willing to start from the user and work you way towards technology instead of doing what seems obvious, i.e.: cram a computer in there, slap it on your wrist, on your face or wherever and it will solve problems and make sense, because magic!).
  • I just wonder where it'll be advantageous to use this as opposed to using your phone....Someone staring at their watch in a meeting room will eventually get just as many looks as someone on their phone, because either way you're not paying attention.
  • I like the Apple Watch and intend to get one, but I still think Apple has made a mistake ("mistake" in the sense of screwing their customers, not actually anything that will affect their sales), on the pricing. I think they got so carried away with the materials in the design of the Edition watch, that they let themselves go crazy on the more "affordable" versions as well. The Steel didn't have to be 316L stainless steel with ceramic bits added etc. etc. The Aluminium didn't have to be "super hard" or have ceramic bits added to it either. NO ONE WOULD HAVE CARED if the Apple Watch and Apple Watch Sport were made out of "regular" steel and "regular" aluminium. Especially if this fact made them $100 CHEAPER. Furthermore, why not, for instance, carve the Sport model out of a block of polycarbonate like the Apple TV or the iPhone 5c? Wouldn't that make the Sport model even CHEAPER? The bottom line for me is that there were many completely acceptable options for casings that would have kept the price of the base Apple Watch down to the same level as other entrants in this market. WE COULD have got an Apple Watch for under $200, but instead, Apple has decided we are all rich white Americans that actually WANT to pay more for our stuff. They've totally gone off the deep end if you ask me.
    They are not the same company they used to be at all.
  • I think it's risky but very interesting from a marketing perspective. It'll be fun to watch. The prices are fine. Apple has always operated at the high end. They've basically redefined the smartwatch market and have set the ceiling. I don't really consider the edition watch worth following though. It's just for show but is part of what I was talking about in the first sentence.
  • Well I won't get into the details, because every time I've mentioned this I get shouted down, but what they are doing with the pricing on the Apple Watch is very different in fact from the kind of pricing they've done before. Its' a completely different model for them. They have basically stopped pricing things the way they always used to (costs plus SUPER healthy margin), and switched to a model that's more like (costs plus SUPER healthy margin, plus THOUSANDS extra for ... fashion?). They have basically changed their pricing to the way most RETAIL does their pricing, which is "Whatever we can get people to pay, and however we can do that, it's all okay." Now if you are an arch-capitalist you might think this is great or fine, but it's the OPPOSITE of what Apple has always done and the opposite of what Apple has always said about their pricing. They have essentially broken the contract between themselves and the consumer in regards the idea that there is a relationship between the product and the price. That the price reflects a fair deal and is rationally related to the cost of producing the thing, even if the profit is high. Apple has always charged a great deal for their products. I can't remember a single "debut" product that Apple has made that didn't start at roughly double the price of the current market average. But the WAY in which they price things and the rationale of it seems to have changed rather drastically with the Apple Watch.
  • Well, I ignore the edition watch because that is a departure and is their fashion statement, secret weapon for marketing and making the others seem like bargains, or whatever. The other watches are fine though. The bands? I've no idea since I'm hardly an expert at that kind of thing. I've heard they're in line with typical watch bands. Apple hasn't lost their knack for making you want to spend more than the base or entry level product though that usually has some kind of major shortcoming whether it's anemic storage or RAM. No leather or steel straps with that 349 watch that probably looks like a joke with the rubber band strap on. You better spend another 149. But then, why not spend another 150 and get the steel?
  • I'm not trying to justify the pricing here. In fact, I really don't think I can justify the purchase as much as I'd like one (I think - I'm really not sure about that level of connectedness). But I think the watch is a different kind of product than the phone or PC. They're positioning it as a fashion item and pricing plays by different rules in that sphere. E.g. the Edition price is not based in reality but purely in conceit.
  • Thousands extra for fashion? You are referring to the limited Edition gold Watch. That one doesn't and shouldn't be counted in your analysis, it's a limited edition and not a normal part of the lineup, even though Apple makes it seems so (which I believe is a stupid marketing fumble on their part). Do not look at the limited run Edition, it's going to be purchased by less than 0.01% of Watch buyers, it's an anomaly and a very strange idea Apple is trying that I agree is absurd. But it shouldn't be viewed as some cultural sea change at Apple, at least not yet. As far as the "normal" real lineup, their pricing seems perfectly in line with how they do pricing. There's a $50 up charge for the larger size - perfectly reasonable since it's more material, larger screen, bigger battery... and a $200 up charge for the stainless steel + sapphire model - again, completely reasonable since stainless steel costs more to machine than aluminum and sapphire costs much more as well. So what's the problem? The bands vary in price depending on the band. A high quality steel watch band for $500 is not at all unusual. Sure there will be cheaper 3rd party steel bands, but the difference is in the quality and precision of the components. There's nothing different here or opposite. It sounds like you are bored and really reaching to make some grand point. I'm speaking in a normal tone here, not shouting you down either. :-)
  • Apple from what I know has always tried to make their products top notch and use better materials. What product have they ever made was cheap? Yes they probably could have toned it down some but like all other first GEN products Apple has made have been on the higher end of cost. Round 2 will hopefully come down some once they see what this one will do. A watch needs to be more durable since it will get hit a lot.
  • I agree with you, not only does Apple price at the high end of the market they are pricing it like a watch not an electronic device. There are watches that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, and spending $500 on a watch is not out of the ordinary. The prices look high, but I understand what Apple is doing with their prices.
  • And people need to keep in mind that the competition doesn't have a sapphire crystal, therefore, the $550-$600 price on the Watch.
    Also the competition doesn't have digital crowns, taptic feedback, some lack retina quality screens, and some even lack storage (the Watch has 8GB)... thus the $350-$400 price on the Watch Sport.
  • Wow, not only racist, but ignorant! They're using stronger steel and aluminum so customers don't complain about how there are gashes all over their shiny new device
  • Well it seems you do not understand Apple at all. The "no one would have cared" part is what differentiates Apple from the rest. Apple makes the best highest quality products (with appropriate price tags) because they want to, because that's always been their mission and company culture thanks to Steve Jobs. They made the inside of the products look a specific way, to be pretty on the inside even though no one might ever see it. It's what's missing in the world of cheap garbage consumer goods and Apple is that niche market (which happens to sell a boat load ironically) that does care about every detail. I'm happy to pay an extra $300 over the price of something like a Moto360 because of all those details like harder ceramic coated steel, a sapphire crystal, a taptic feedback motor, the digital crown, etc... If you don't like the price, then you don't have to buy it. But Apple isn't going to make a cheaper product because that's not their mission or reason for existing. There's plenty other options out there, especially given all the talk of Android Wear eventually being iPhone compatible.
  • Apple doesn't make junk. If you want junk, get an Android watch.
  • This is gen 1. What if the next release offers an "Apple Watch C"? Same tech as the gen1, but a case made of plastic ... err ... Hardened polyastimercarbonitanium?
    The first iPhone was no different. Nor was the first iPad. They tend to use last year's mode as the next year's budget option.
    .
    Besides, plastic watches scratch and break easier than hardened metal & hardened glass. My pebble would be trashed if I didn't make a conscience effort to avoid bumping things, and the ZAGG invisible shield for accidents. Sent from the iMore App
  • you misunderstand apple -- they've been a "premium" grade product in the world of CE for very long time. the fit & finish of their iPhones is legendary.
  • Gazoobee sounds to me like you really don't understand Apple and/or capitalism. Or choices.
  • Great article. This has convinced me not to get an Apple Watch. If there is something that I do not need during the day is more distractions and notifications going directly to my wrist is just that. I have turned off almost all notifications on my phone. I want to be able to focus on my work and having somebody "tap" me is going to be so distracting. Sure, I might be able to turn off those features, but according to this article, that's the purpose of the Apple Watch. My iPhone is for my convenience, not for everyone else's. I'll turn off the ringer and let my calls go to voicemail at my convenience.
  • Amazing one article on the Interwebs has "convinced" you to not purchase an  Watch.
  • Were you planning on buying the Watch before? Why? You can still buy it for those reasons. Rene's purpose doesn't have to be your purpose. Although you could set it (and communicate with friends) to only receive emergency communications. Maybe it's your fitness device or your remote control or your way to get quick data/calculations from Siri.
  • Troll of the day! I wish we had an award!
  • Rene, I wish I had $1 for every time someone on imore commented on an article with "Too expensive."
  • Why do you think infty is a troll? The poster gave a credible reason for not purchasing. Even thought your article was great. If someone doesn't agree with your position they are a troll? Posted via the Android iMore App!
  • How in Holy Hell was that trolling? Because he disagrees with you? His response was rational, with his feelings and opinions to back it up. Just because someone doesn't drink the Apple koolaid like you do, it doesn't mean they are trolling. And thanks for deleting my comment. You know who else liked censorship?
  • In this case, Rene, I agree with the poster. Excellent and insightful article as usual, but watching the Keynote I had real internal conflict. Want one because, well, it's cool and useful and Apple. Don't want one because there's no escape from being connected.
  • His comment was reasonable, but it might look like trolling because he didn't have to post such a comment. It doesn't add to the discussion really. It would be like me going to a blog about cats and stating I'm not getting a cat because I'm allergic to them in the comments. What's the point of that?
  • So you are saying it's NOT trolling. But it might look like it because the person didn't have to post. Brilliant! Not! Posted via the Android iMore App!
  • I really just want want for telling time, tracking workouts, and receiving notifications from my phone only from my wife and my boss--that's it. No one else gets to tap me on the wrist. Sent from the iMore App
  • Weird...All I see is that "Derek Tapped You"...No article is rendering on my 5s.
  • Ben Thompson's latest Stratechery piece sums up my feelings on the watch right now very nicely - for the current iteration, the primary selling point is push interaction, which does not appeal to me nearly enough to buy one. As more devices around us become capable - the ballyhooed "Internet of Things" - the watch becomes much more attractive as a hub for those interactions, and Apple's loyal customers who will buy anything Apple - not an insult - make it uniquely positioned to defeat the chicken-and-the-egg problem of getting such a hub on customer wrists. I may have zero desire for a watch today, but as more of those devices come online, I expect the watch to get more and more attractive. Sent from the iMore App
  • Hey, I'm wondering where the first comment went! I guess someone didn't like it...
  • Anyone who's used a smart watch before knows exactly what you're talking about in this article. If I forget to put on my pebble before leaving the house I feel inconvenienced. Oh, no I have to turn my notification tone back on and listen??? Sent from the iMore App
  • I'm the same. If I forget my Pebble in the morning it affects my whole day. I can't check messages easily in a meeting by glancing at my wrist. I can't control my music when I teach my Zumba classes after work. And, yes, I will say it, glancing at my wrist to find out what time it is is pretty darned fast! I will be happy to trade in my Pebble for an even more functional Apple Watch.
  • "Computing has moved from the server room to the desktop to the laptop to the pocket and now onto the wrist." Bingo. The "killer feature" of the Watch isn't the digital crown or health monitoring (although those are both definitely near-killer features.) The killer feature is convenience. No need to fish your iPhone out of pocket or purse when it rings. That could save quite a lot of time in the long run, and will definitely reduce the chances of dropping your iPhone as you try to catch that call while dragging it out of you pocket. And maybe there will be a slight reduction in what I call the "techno-trance." Groups of people sitting together at a table, say at lunch, all staring down at their iPhones or other devices. I'm sure that will still happen to a certain extent, with iPhone and Watch. But the Glances interface is designed to provide a small, quickly-understood notification an an event or bit of information. Not to provide a paragraph of text or complex drill-down interface. So the techno-trance might be shorter.
  • The health monitoring has a lot of potential, especially in the next generation or so of this device. Consider that researchers have figured out how to monitor glucose levels by shining light on the skin - this device already has the right sort of sensors (though not the specific sensors needed), so a future version could feasibly monitor blood glucose levels. At that point you've got a device that millions of diabetics would want. Health monitoring, to me, is the biggest advantage of smart watches.
  • Can't wait to get one, Sport Black on Black
  • Those are going to be sold out so quick..
  • I'm really hoping (and I already emailed Tim Cook about this lol) they will eventually have a (RED) sport band. The Space Grey Sport with a red band will look great I think!
  • This is clearly going to be the biggest seller, right? Sent from the iMore App
  • Yes
  • I want one NOW.....that's all I have to say.....Oh, and great article, Rene!
  • I'm super excited by the taptic engine and how that opens up a new world of interactions for designers. I'm saddened when people don't realize the potential of new interactive methodologies and feedback mechanisms. I'm looking forward to Rene's review.
  • You are saddened? Very odd thing to be sad about. I do hope it all turns out OK for you. Posted via the Android iMore App!
  • You know what will happen? People will start getting phantom taps, just like when you think you feel your phone vibrate in your pocket, but it hasn't. Eventually, everyone will get sick of thinking they got some message, and just turn off all that stuff. It'll be fun at first, and then a nuisance.
  • "We look at the present through a rear-view mirror. We march backwards into the future." - Marshall McLuhan
  • Wow... that's deep. That guy sounds like an idiot. He's basically saying... "We should not learn from our past..." What a moron.
  • He is not saying what you think he is saying at all. Google Marshall McLuhan and you'll discover he is no moron. Posted via the Android iMore App!
  • Not getting one. The features and style are nice, but I need battery. I wish they had a Microsoft Band with Android Apps and Apple Watch style. Posted via iMore App
  • Smartwatches aren't meant to be used like Smartphones, that wouldn't make sense. The screen is too small. The way they are meant to be used is more or less compatible with current battery life tech given the size of the thing. I think judging it now, or even in the first week after people own them, is too soon (because people will be playing with them so much initially, the battery life will be compromised by all the extra fiddling that won't happen later). I really think people should hold off on so much judgement until a few weeks after release and the dust settles. Your average use might be very different from the testing standards or others' use.
  • Without trying to come off as a "troll", I'll just say that for the price they are charging, I can't justify buying it to solve any problems I don't have. If I were wealthy, I might consider getting it just to tinker with and such. I think the closest thing that I could possibly benefit from - taking price into consideration - would be the Microsoft Band. But even then, it would be a stretch.
  • You are such a troll. JK. ;-) I dont think you have to be wealthy to want to buy an Apple Watch or need to solve any major problem. I am sure we have all bought something just because we wanted a new toy. I think many minds will be changed once the thing is out in the wild and people start playing around with it. Have a great day Deoypher44.
  • They are not just smart watches. They are Watches. Just like any other luxury watch. Apple made sure it was not called smart watches. This is not a gadget.
  • I am just curious (not trying to be a "fan boy"... Do you really need to be wealthy to buy the sport watch? If you can't afford the $350 to $400 range then what would it need to be priced to get you to buy one? Sent from the iMore App
  • My point is that I don't need this watch at all. It solves problems I don't have. So, if I was going to drop money on something just for the heck of it, I would need more money than I do now to waste it. Sent from the iMore App
  • Fair enough. I just get sick of everyone stating that this thing is outrageously priced (they are referring to the $10,000 watch). And they forget that there is a $350 price point. Sent from the iMore App
  • I just hope everyone uses their brains and keeps in mind that all the initial day 1 or week 1 battery life impressions will be mostly wrong (besides true scientific benchmark tests). Because on day 1, everyone will spend a far above average amount of time just playing and fiddling and setting up and changing and re-changing everything about the watch, thus killing the battery in the process and then screaming on all the blogs "the battery life sucks!" when it's dead by lunchtime. But when they get used to it and the novelty wears off and it just becomes a normal part of their daily lives, it'll most likely easily last a full day. I just hope everyone keeps that in mind...
  • That image with "Derek tapped you" on the watch... reminds me of poking on Facebook. Totally useless. Does anyone poke people on Facebook anymore?? Did anyone ever? Stupid.
  • Fugly. The watch is F.U.G.L.Y. Period. Sent from the iMore App
  • Sounds like fun, but most of what I want from this Watch I can already get from my iPhone. That's far more than I've ever paid for a watch, and it still doesn't seem to do what my old Casio Data watch did in the 80s.
  • I'll be getting a Apple Watch Sport, Space Grey. I'm a Cable guy and can't always get to my phone, so this will be great. Plus, the watch will get banged around so not going expensive is a plus.
  • Am I seeing it correctly... The only way to get the space gray stainless steel watch is to buy it with the link bracelet at the top end of the middle Watch price range? Sent from the iMore App
  • Good one Rene. I think you are spot on. Still not sure if I'm going to get a watch straight away (as the one I want is £950!!!!) but this article explains the way I like to think about how a gadget will work in my real life use. I think that the Apple Watch will become the obvious controller of a home and car within a few years. It seems like a no brainer to me. There's loads of easy criticism out there currently instead of forward thinking people with some vision. I guess that's what early adoption is all about though. ....and I've started saving. Sent from the iMore App
  • "You're going to get a short look, decide if it needs your immediate attention, and if it does, reply right from the notification. You're going to raise your wrist, say "Hey Siri", and send a message right from there." Rene, I'm a big fan of yours. But this simply isn't true. Whether in the subway, office, at a bar, countless other places, I will not be able to reply to text messages via Siri and dictation. I doubt the 38mm Watch will fit well on my wrist. So I'm going to pay $400 for a watch that lets me read my text messages on my wrist but forces me to pull out my phone to respond? Not a chance. The Watch has potential when it can do more on (especially on its own, it's far too reliant on an iPhone to do most things). I think most consumers will pass on the first-gen Watch. Not only is it extremely limited in function, it's pretty telling that Apple made such a weak argument for its 'why' argument.
  • A very balanced perspective on the  WATCH Renee! Thanks for helping us to see how it 'feels' to wear the watch only Apple can make! Sent from the iMore App
  • Unless you have tried a Pebble (Pebble Steel myself) or Android Wear, you won't understand the HUGE jump in convenience and productivity the mere fact of receiving notifications will have without having to fish your iPhone out of your pocket every time it receives a message, email, or call. The Pebble Steel literally became my triage for connectivity. The downside was the inability to reply quickly from the watch - not Pebble's fault. Still, the integration of the Apple Watch with the iPhone, and ability to make quick replies so smoothly, has already converted me from the Pebble Steel. My problem is with Apple marketing, and Tim Cook in particular. The over-emphasis on "love taps, sharing heartbeats, and Dick Tracy fandom" is sending the wrong message to the market. They need to admit the one thing they didn't really want to say - your iPhone will now stay in your pocket/purse more often than not. My bet is over time the iPhone will be relegated to time consuming, large screen intense activities, and you will begin to wonder "if only my A-Watch had its own LTE." Above all else, for all the naysayers out there, just give the notification feature a try for one week - you will instantly be hooked on the convenience and ease of handling your daily connectivity, scheduling (alarms-todo), and quick info (time, temp, scores. etc.) needs.
  • I see the benefit of reading messages on your wrist. But don't see the consumer paying $350 for that benefit. And having to manage yet another gadget. And really my phone is usually out on my desk or out when I'm in the car as it is. And that's most of my day. I can see some convenience. But, in my mind, outweighed by the price and the hassle of having another gadget to manage. IF Apple made something really simple that just did messages and had a long battery life and was priced more like an accessory than another gadget I would be in. Maybe in a few iterations a light bulb will go off my head.
  • If you want something simple, capable of just doing messages and with long battery life, check out the Pebble. I think the original is now down to $99. It is capable of more than that. I use mine in a Bluetooth security setup. When connected, my Note 3 bypasses the lock screen. Posted via the Android iMore App!
  • "In iOS 8, you just have to take the photo, apply the photo extensions, tap the share extension, and you're done." And in the process unwillingly resize your photo and lose all the precious metadata, like location and time stamp, because a) limited RAM on the iPhone makes it hard for developers to fully utilize extensions and b) there's zero quality control on the App Store to get rid of apps that mess with your photos. I can't take someone serious who fails to mention this over and over again and even is naive enough to recommend doing that. Stopped reading the article after this paragraph.