Apple Announces watchOS 2 With Native Apps, Third-Party Complications, and More

[AppleScruff1]

Not true.

In the store where I live, there was a special line to purchase iPhones. You could enter this line at any time of the day, and there were always phones available. Maybe not the size, color or carrier you wanted, but there were always phones available.

Well, I stated what happened in MA with both phones. I never heard of a single store that had the 5S or 6 available for purchase everyday on a walk in basis. You had to be in line before the store opened each day and if you were lucky, you got a phone. There are hundreds of threads supporting my experience, at least here in the US. If that was the case for you in the US, it was a rarity.

 

[bbeagle]

Well, I stated what happened in MA with both phones. I never heard of a single store that had the 5S or 6 available for purchase everyday on a walk in basis. You had to be in line before the store opened each day and if you were lucky, you got a phone. There are hundreds of threads supporting my experience, at least here in the US. If that was the case for you in the US, it was a rarity.

My store is the Buffalo Walden Galleria store.

I walked right up on like day 3 and bought a Gold AT&T iPhone 6. I checked in every afternoon for 3 or 4 days until I could get my wife the model she wanted.

I think the iPhone 6+ was only available for Sprint whenever I asked, and my wife only wanted a 16gb black AT&T model, and those were hard to come by. But it only took 3 or 4 days until I found hers.

Anyways, the real point is that it was possible to walk in and pick up a phone (maybe in your case you had to line up early), but you COULD get one. Right now, it's still impossible to get a watch at any Apple store.

 

[JustThinkin']

do you have one? i have one - it works great and definitely functional - i rarely have to pull my phone out of my pocket or laptop bag. works great and works anywhere on my work campus - the phone often stays tucked away in the office - sometimes the car if i park in wifi reach. And i can answer calls via wifi etc.

Fair enough - if I had one I might think differently. In fact I might come to really like it. But much of what I do on my phone wouldn't work on it simply because of its screen size. I suppose if Siri were perfect it would help (in lieu of a keyboard), but you can't be talking out loud everywhere you go either.

 

[JeffyTheQuik]

I don't get this - if you buy some bluetooth headphones you don't get to pair them before you buy them. If you already had a pair of bluetooth headphones I am notsure you could pair them with the display phone...

WALL OF TEXT WARNING
I say this with respect for you and your comment, a pair of headphones is much different than the watch. The headphones take streaming data and play a sound in your ears, and do so for $70 with no waiting in line (in line online... sounds like a synth pop group and there is a reasonable expectation of what it does. There may be a feature or two that you may not use (pairing between two devices, or something like that), but, in general, they are used for one thing: playing audio. If you don't like the headset, pack it up and take it back to wherever you bought it. (Mrs. thequik and I have done so on many occasions, especially in the early Bluetooth days)

The watch is a different beast, as it is a new item; it is a limited computer on your wrist, and answering questions, fiddling around with it, and just exploring it are what we, as consumers are used to with computers. An important question to people plunking down $400 for a watch is this: What does this do for me?

For computers and/or iPhones/iPads/iPods, that's a pretty easy question to answer, as they can put the Apple apps on there, so you can see Pages, Numbers, and Keynote, as well as Photos, iTunes, and iBooks, and make a decent start to answer that question.

For the iPhone, it's a phone, plus a whole lot more, and with 500 million (or whatever the number is) out there, a friend has one, and can tell you all of the greatness it has. The same with iPods and iPads.

For the Watch, we're still at the "hey, it's a $400+ watch, and a..." Not everyone is a marathon runner, has a friend with one they can send a heart to, or has a card or a place nearby that takes ApplePay. Even if they did, that friend needs the watch to it, and there is the crux of the problem. Until they have them in stores, people have to buy them on faith, and hope their hopes are fulfilled.

The good news is that I am happy with my watch. Strangely, I want to exercise more with it (I try to walk at least 7 miles/day, and today, I biked to work using the workout app), and record the data.

After 8 days, here are my observations:
Some things that I have done with it that are much easier:
1. Pay for stuff. Double click the home button, bring the watch to the reader, and you're done.
2. Use it as a remote for the Apple TV. I used to use my iPhone, but this is a lot easier. I just connect it as I'm going to the room that has my Apple TV of choice, and there I go.
3. Tell time. I guess that's what a watch is supposed to do, right? The multiple selection of faces also helps, so whatever mood I'm in, there I go, from Mickey to a chronograph, I just force touch, then swipe to the one I want.
4. Exercise with it. I use the workout app, because I want the workouts to go into my health app (one place, on my phone, rather than 14 different apps with their own database is the way to go. You hear that, CalorieKing?)
5. Messages. I have my calendar appointments texted to my phone, and this way I can look at them as I am going to the conference room. (there is a good reason why I don't just have them in my calendar, so please understand that this is intentional)
6. Use as a remote for music coming in my headphones. From I heart radio to general music, it's just more convenient than pulling out the phone, searching, and then activating the app.

Things I don't use it for:
1. Making calls. Sorry, I thought Dick Tracy wasn't too smart to have police business on a speaker phone where the bad guys could hear too. I'm not a speakerphone guy, and those people on TV and reality that hold their phone our to look cool don't really do it for me.
2. Doing e-mail. The phone is good for that.

 

[JeffyTheQuik]

I've gone in and nobody is at the watch table, I've gone in and seen a few people, I've gone in and it's mobbed.

I would EXPECT that very few people would be around the table because you can't buy it in the stores yet! Why would anyone, for any product, mob around something that's not available?

The interesting thing is that when I go in, and people see that I have the watch, 3 or 4 people (out of 30 customers) want to know my experience with it. I show them the cool things I can do with it, like the "Hey Siri" part. (sending text messages with it is a little too cumbersome. I like the way the iPhone does it... less clicky)

I show them the health stuff, and let them ask questions... I learn a lot from people by the questions they ask. In general, I paint a happy picture for those asking. I think, when I get the Dexcom share, and show them my BS (ha! gotcha! Blood Sugar) on the watch, that will add to the "cool" factor.

 

[s1m]

WALL OF TEXT WARNING
I say this with respect for you and your comment, a pair of headphones is much different than the watch. The headphones take streaming data and play a sound in your ears, and do so for $70 with no waiting in line (in line online... sounds like a synth pop group and there is a reasonable expectation of what it does. There may be a feature or two that you may not use (pairing between two devices, or something like that), but, in general, they are used for one thing: playing audio. If you don't like the headset, pack it up and take it back to wherever you bought it. (Mrs. thequik and I have done so on many occasions, especially in the early Bluetooth days)

Just for context my Sennheisser MMX550X retailed for $550. They were in a box that I couldn't open or test.

 

[zooby]

.

 

[dannys1]

Not at all.

He's confirming several reports from people all around the world that have stated a dearth of people around the watch tables in Apple Stores, even in busy stores. It means that there is no question that the Apple Watch is, indeed, a failure for Apple; all that remains is to see the size of the failure. Is it a hobby, like the Apple TV used to be, or is it a Newton-sized pull-the-plug failure?

No mention of Apple Watch numbers by Cook; if they were stellar, we would certainly have heard them by now.

Well I love mine, its a success for me, far more useful than iPad.

 

[dannys1]

As opposed to yours commenting on it?

No I think mine was doing a public service of pointing out how stupid your post was.

 

[dannys1]

But most likely you can demo the headphones before you buy them. You really can't demo some features on the watch without the phone.

You can't demo in ear headphones - I've spent £220 on in ears and £800 on over the head headphones without demoing either. I'm not sure why people are so obsessed with demoing a £300 watch, ordering it online, use it for 14 days, return it if you don't like it...there's your 14 day demo right there.

 

[dannys1]

WALL OF TEXT WARNING
I say this with respect for you and your comment, a pair of headphones is much different than the watch. The headphones take streaming data and play a sound in your ears, and do so for $70 with no waiting in line (in line online... sounds like a synth pop group and there is a reasonable expectation of what it does. There may be a feature or two that you may not use (pairing between two devices, or something like that), but, in general, they are used for one thing: playing audio. If you don't like the headset, pack it up and take it back to wherever you bought it. (Mrs. thequik and I have done so on many occasions, especially in the early Bluetooth days)

My headphones cost $340 and $1240 respectively. I didn't demo or test either.

Its pretty easy to test out any Apple product, order it online, use it for 14 days, return it for free if you don't like it. Why would you bother to even travel to a store when you get essentially a 14 day free home demo to live with it??!

I haven't played with a single Apple product i've ever bought I don't think - every single one has been online except for when my friend worked at a local reseller and got me good freebies and discounts. Thats been every iPhone, iPad and now the watch they've released since 2007 - and countless laptops, desktops and mac minis. I've never felt the need to return any of them before 14 days, but I could have, for free...even the build to order computers.

 

[s1m]

I am not sure what you can't demo on the display watch units. Sure you can't test the heart rate monitor but you can open the health app and see what it does. I never made a single phone call on an iPhone before I ordered my 3GS when it was released...

 

[ksuyen]

What I love:
1. Photo Album. Every time you raise your wrist, a different image from your Favorites, or any photo album you select, will appear on your watch face. Or Pick a special image from the Photos app on your watch and set it as your watch face. Because sometimes it’s nice to visit your favorite picture again and again
2. And now with watchOS 2, data from App Store apps can be complications, too. So you can easily check your United flight times or keep an eye on your VW e-Golf’s battery charge.
3. Apps can now take advantage of features like the Taptic Engine, Digital Crown, accelerometer, heart rate sensor, speaker, and microphone.
4. watchOS 2 adds Transit, so you can combine more kinds of transportation in a single trip. In select cities around the world, you’ll see detailed maps and accurate train, subway, and bus schedules. And you’ll get walking directions to and from your stop. So you’ll know when to leave, and how long it will take to get where you’re going.
5. Now you can use your voice to do things like start a specific workout, check your Glances, get transit information, look up a word in the dictionary, and calculate a tip.

There are other new features but these five are what I am going to use most! Exciting stuffs!