Apple hyperbole not backed up in reality

[profmjh]

In another thread someone was being slated for complaining that he didn't like the new multicoloured rings complication. (Apparently, unless you're complaining about famine, disease, pestilence or war, you're a bad person.)

But it did get me thinking, as much as I do now love my Apple Watch, the options and customisability are surprisingly limited. It's Apple's way or the highway. It may be Apple's most personal product ever (hardly difficult: they mostly make computers – how personal could they be) but it's still not that personal.

This does strike me as either lazy or complacent or arrogant of Apple. The choice of watch faces is really very limited and the customisation options are not as wide as they could be. Disappointing in a product with a premium price and that has been hyped to the max.

Whoops. I criticised Apple. The unforgivable sin. I'm now an Enemy of the People.

 

[jabingla2810]

Nothing wrong with criticising Apple, they aren't perfect.

Apple have allowed a degree of customisability, but in their usual controlled way. 'it's Apple's way or the highway' has been a term used ever since Jobs return in 1998 (?)

Apple make a lot of design decisions on the users behalf, and most of the time it's what makes their products really great. For example, not allowing Flash on the iPad. Nobody else had the courage to say 'we don't think supporting Flash makes a great product, so we're gonna leave it out.'

So Apple makes these big design decisions on behalf of the customer. Some of which you will agree with, and others you won't, and if you don't agree with a lot of them, they're are plenty of other products out there to use. Apple has been this way for over 15 years now and they are doing ok.

Android Wear supports thousands of custom watch faces, some of them quite nice, but a lot of them are garbage. And to create a meaningful brand you can't be associated with garbage.

Do you think Hermés would partner with Samsung on a watch? Not in a million years, because it would devalue their brand. Apple keeps control just enough to make sure whatever you pick for a watch face, it looks good.

Apple partnering with Hermés shows the road they are going down with the Apple Watch. And it's not the road Android Wear is going down.

Which road you want to be on is solely upto you. There is no right or wrong road. Just different roads.

 

[roadbloc]

It's Apple's way or the highway.

This has always been the case with Apple, I wouldn't expect it to change anytime soon. And yes, its a valid reason not to like their products. Some people desire more freedom with their tech.

 

[profmjh]

@jabingla2810

Thanks for responding.

Since you mentioned Steve Jobs, surely he would look at the current selection of watch faces and say – at best – they're limited: they're all a bit samey. With the design genius at Apple, you'd think they'd have come up with some more options. The hands on Utility, Simple, Colour and Chronograph are all the same! All the actual clock watchfaces are round: on a rectangular watch!

There's surely a happy medium between the nightmare free-for-all of Android and the control-freak we-know-best of Apple. After all, Apple does get it wrong. iOS9 is almost an admission of that. As others haves observed, many of the ground-breaking, world-changing, life-saving changes introduced in the new OS have been available on other platforms for a while. (Or look at the "new" Apple TV. What? You can play Crossy Road on it? Really? If only Amazon Fire TV had thought of that. Oh. Wait.)

 

[Jakeycov]

They have to draw a line somewhere. Otherwise we'd have thousands of features for everyone. Yours, mine and everyone elses... all different and competing for attention. I think they strike a good balance between customisation, simplicity and consistency. I think it's tough, but it is necessary for a global consumer product. It's served them very well in the past and I don't think they'll ever go down the Android route of infinite customisation. It's just not wanted by the audience they sell to. It's sometimes frustrating, but there are plenty of other options out there... plenty of companies trying to offer everything to everyone. Apple is not one of those companies thank goodness!

 

[matrix07]

I don't understand the point of this thread.

 

[jabingla2810]

I agree, the new watch faces are a bit limited, and I think they should branch out a bit more.

I think it's a balancing act, because they obviously want things to be consistent for developers making these complications.

And I agree with the original post too, they don't always get it right. The new colour timer complication on the Utility watch face seems ugly to me and I don't like it. I wish I could change it back.

 

[Jakeycov]

@jabingla2810

Since you mentioned Steve Jobs, surely he would look at the current selection of watch faces and say – at best – they're limited: they're all a bit samey. With the design genius at Apple, you'd think they'd have come up with some more options. The hands on Utility, Simple, Colour and Chronograph are all the same! All the actual clock watchfaces are round: on a rectangular watch!

No, I think Steve would have made the Apple watch even more restricted. Tim is a much more open CEO to everything from charity, product and agreements with partners etc. Steve was famously flippant.

 

[maflynn]

Since you mentioned Steve Jobs, surely he would look at the current selection of watch faces and say – at best – they're limited:

Back in the day, there was a burgeoning theming community for OSX, Apple aka, Steve Jobs updated OS X to make it virtually impossible to easily theme the OS.

Look at the iPhone, where can you alter the UI? I'm not sure you can make that comment that Jobs would allow more watch faces or more customization when most of his time at Apple was the opposite.

 

[profmjh]

My point is that Apple bills the Apple Watch as "our most personal product ever". Yet all the clockfaces with hands are essentially the same.

This is not about preserving the integrity of the design. This is not about opening the floodgates to millions of mediocre alternatives. It's about offering the customer a choice of different, elegant options. Apple is perfect capable of this. It has made a decision not to offer that choice.

I think that's a pity. I think I'm entitled to expect more. I think Jobs would have offered more.

Look at the MacOS or iOS wallpapers. There's not just one. Apple has offered a choice. And they're beautiful and elegant and there is at least some variety. And you're even allowed to choose your own. (Which, admittedly, you're now allowed to do on the Apple Watch.)

Apple can hire – and has hired – the best designers in the world. They could offer more without the perfect walled garden collapsing into anarchy.

 

[bmac4]

I guess I might just me a simple person, but I don't mind the choices in watch faces Apple gives us. Before owning the Apple Watch, I had a pebble steel and then a Moto 360. Both offer a ton of watch faces but 95% of them were terrible. The best ones were always the preset ones. Sure with android wear you can pretty much get any watch face you would like, but it comes at a cost in quality. Most of them just looked sloppy.

Since day one, I have enjoyed the Apple Watch much more than I did the pebble or Moto 360. I think it helped that I had been using both of those and knew what to expect from a smartwatch. I think a lot of complaints are coming from people who have not used a smartwatch. They expect it to work just like the phone, which I would never want my watch to do. My first focus is telling time, and then notifications. Sure Apps are cool, but they don't make a smartwatch for me. I think the expectations for the Apple Watch are just to high.

I think Apple is trying to keep the watch clean, and opening up the watch faces would really mess that up. I am kind of surprised they even added the ability to put pictures as watch faces.

 

[profmjh]

I think the expectations for the Apple Watch are just to high.

You can blame Apple itself for that. It's keynotes are frankly bizarre. They announce things as if they have just found a cure for cancer – and the audience responds in kind.

 

[bmac4]

You can blame Apple itself for that. It's keynotes are frankly bizarre. They announce things as if they have just found a cure for cancer – and the audience responds in kind.

They are only trying to sell their product. When they announced the Apple Watch, sure they were excited about it, but they did not make these huge promises that the watch could not do. From the beginning, it look like they were making a nice time pieces to complete with mid range watches. I don't understand how the keynote made people believe the watch could do more than it can. They told everyone it was the best smartwatch, and maybe it is.

Like I said before, users did not know what a smartwatch was suppose to be. They bought the Apple Watch because it had the Apple name on it, but had no idea what it was suppose to be. They thought it would be like their iPhone on their wrist, which would never work. I can't blame Apple for people making assumptions.

 

[barjam]

My point is that Apple bills the Apple Watch as "our most personal product ever". Yet all the clockfaces with hands are essentially the same.

This is not about preserving the integrity of the design. This is not about opening the floodgates to millions of mediocre alternatives. It's about offering the customer a choice of different, elegant options. Apple is perfect capable of this. It has made a decision not to offer that choice.

I think that's a pity. I think I'm entitled to expect more. I think Jobs would have offered more.

Look at the MacOS or iOS wallpapers. There's not just one. Apple has offered a choice. And they're beautiful and elegant and there is at least some variety. And you're even allowed to choose your own. (Which, admittedly, you're now allowed to do on the Apple Watch.)

Apple can hire – and has hired – the best designers in the world. They could offer more without the perfect walled garden collapsing into anarchy.

The Jobs would have done X thing is a tired argument. No he wouldn't have. At all. He was all about curated and limited but high quality options.

Your watch faces are limited so they can do a slow rollout of the things with exclusive partnerships and such. They are also limited due to the paradox of choice (look it up). For *most* people limiting choice to fewer options will actually (paradoxically) increase satisfaction with the product. This is Apples bread and butter. Limit the users to a few well tested and refined options as opposed to a billion different areas to customize. If you don't recognize this as the way Apple does things and are confused by its application on the watch you haven't been paying attention.

 

[bmac4]

The Jobs would have done X thing is a tired argument. No he wouldn't have. At all. He was all about curated and limited but high quality options.

Your watch faces are limited so they can do a slow rollout of the things with exclusive partnerships and such. They are also limited due to the paradox of choice (look it up). For *most* people limiting choice to fewer options will actually (paradoxically) increase satisfaction with the product. This is Apples bread and butter. Limit the users to a few well tested and refined options as opposed to a billion different areas to customize. If you don't recognize this as the way Apple does things and are confused by its application on the watch you haven't been paying attention.

I could not agree more. Jobs was never about customization. He wanted to have a product that worked. Look at the iPhone. It was not until the iPhone 3GS came out, that they updated iOS to have custom wallpapers. It has been this way from day one with Apple. I can't say I did not complain about the iPhone, but the watch is something completely different. I like the fact we have limited watch faces. They all work really well, and look great. I would rather have 5 quality ones, then 100 that are just ok.

Apple is trying to makes a watch that looks like a nice time piece. I don't think they can accomplish that with a face that has superman behind the watch hands, or your favorite teams logo. It just does not say luxury.

 

[aristobrat]

My point is that Apple bills the Apple Watch as "our most personal product ever". Yet all the clockfaces with hands are essentially the same.

Apple: "Apple Watch is the most personal product we've ever made, because it's the first one designed to be worn."

Seems like you and Apple have different meanings for "personal product".