Apple Watch Etiquette

[Exile714]

So, we're just one day away from the first Apple Watch deliveries. We're all excited. But as the front line in adoption of this new technology, we have a moral duty as well.

We need to make sure we don't look like jerks using our watches.

If we want people to adopt this technology, there can't be a stigma associated with its use. Think Google Glass, or Bluetooth earpieces...

So, what etiquette rules should we follow? I'll start with the obvious one: don't go around talking to your wrist unnecessarily. It's probably going to be harder for the listener to hear you, so you'll talk even louder to make up for it (cell yell). I know some people crave attention, and other just want to play with their new toy, but please be considerate when using the voice dictation, phone call and Siri features.

Ok, any other suggestions? Or maybe you disagree with me and think we should all go around yelling at our wrists like a Dick Tracy minus the Tracy?

 

[frankeliason]

Big difference is no camera possibly recording you.

The biggest key is pay attention to those you are with! Since the phone so many conversations occur while people are staring at their phone. I am hopeful that the watch will change that (or make it less obvious).

 

[c1phers]

I'm going to be walking around like this guy all the time!

 

[Piggie]

This has already been spoken about elsewhere.

A Smartwatch like this could be THE highest level of rudeness we have yet to experience yet.

Why?

You have your phone in your pocket, and you are chatting to someone.
Because you are polite, you choose to ignore your phone, and leave it in your pocket.

All good.

So, now wear and Apple watch, and have it tapping you on the wrist, or the screen light up with something, are you REALLY going to be able to resist glancing at your watch as you are in conversation with the other person.

I'd get pee'd off REALLY fast speaking to someone who kept glancing at their watch.

Be honest, We can all see this happening and becoming a problem for many.

 

[John6Plus]

i'm going to be walking around like this guy all the time!

image

how did he get the space gray!!??

 

[tkermit]

So, now wear and Apple watch, and have it tapping you on the wrist, or the screen light up with something, are you REALLY going to be able to resist glancing at your watch as you are in conversation with the other person.

Yes. I don't think the screen will light up by itself without you rotating your wrist first. As for the tap, it would be less disruptive than a phone buzzing in my pants...

 

[ZMRoach]

This has already been spoken about elsewhere.

A Smartwatch like this could be THE highest level of rudeness we have yet to experience yet.

Why?

You have your phone in your pocket, and you are chatting to someone.
Because you are polite, you choose to ignore your phone, and leave it in your pocket.

All good.

So, now wear and Apple watch, and have it tapping you on the wrist, or the screen light up with something, are you REALLY going to be able to resist glancing at your watch as you are in conversation with the other person.

I'd get pee'd off REALLY fast speaking to someone who kept glancing at their watch.

Be honest, We can all see this happening and becoming a problem for many.

From my experience with both Pebble and Android Wear, you get used to the whole notifications on the wrist after some time and can ignore them when it is unnecessary/unacceptable to look.

It all comes down to setting up notifications so that you really only get notifications on your wrist that are important to you, and then a little bit of self-control.

 

[John6Plus]

The biggest thing I need to be mindful of is looking at my watch. I'll have to get used to ignoring it; it's better than having my pocket ding and buzz, but control, control, I MUST LEARN CONTROL.

Uh.

Constant watch glancing is an ingrained signal in our culture for, "Jesus will you shut up I need to get out of here." I still always apologize or explain if I take out my phone while talking to someone, something like, "I am fully engaged in our interesting conversation about the use of magnets to reduce hairballs from your cat, I am just going to google it right now so that I can prove you are wrong and humiliate you in front of your friends."

That's much less rude.

 

[sterl320]

Isn't this... an exact copy of a thread made eons ago?

 

[bbeagle]

So, now wear and Apple watch, and have it tapping you on the wrist, or the screen light up with something, are you REALLY going to be able to resist glancing at your watch as you are in conversation with the other person.

Why would a tap on the wrist vs a vibration in your pocket be different?

The VIBRATION in your pocket is something the other person can hear. Or, if the sound is on, a 'ding' of a text message or a ring-tone of a call coming in. Both are distracting.

The TAPS can NOT be heard by the other person you are having a conversation with. It's MUCH more discrete.

It will just take a few days training to know, here is a tap, I'll wait for the appropriate time to look at it... instead of a vibration where the other person will say, 'Do you need to get that?'.

 

[mattopotamus]

From my experience with both Pebble and Android Wear, you get used to the whole notifications on the wrist after some time and can ignore them when it is unnecessary/unacceptable to look.

It all comes down to setting up notifications so that you really only get notifications on your wrist that are important to you, and then a little bit of self-control.

this. Not to mention, you can just glance and it and be done with it.

 

[McDaddio]

So, what etiquette rules should we follow? I'll start with the obvious one: don't go around talking to your wrist unnecessarily.

Ok, any other suggestions? Or maybe you disagree with me and think we should all go around yelling at our wrists like a Dick Tracy minus the Tracy?

Ok, side rant, but I never really understood why this is an issue...although I suspect why.

People complain when people talk on their cell phones on the train, public transport or walking down the street.And yet, they don't complain when you talk to someone sitting next to you on the train or while walking down the street.

Why? In the olden days it was because cell phones were expensive and it tended to be business/rich people and the class-warfare "they think they are special" attitude combined with some jealously.
But now that it is ubiquitous, I think it is because they can't hear the other part of the conversation. They are being excluded from being able to eavesdrop.

 

[Piggie]

Why would a tap on the wrist vs a vibration in your pocket be different?

The VIBRATION in your pocket is something the other person can hear. Or, if the sound is on, a 'ding' of a text message or a ring-tone of a call coming in. Both are distracting.

The TAPS can NOT be heard by the other person you are having a conversation with. It's MUCH more discrete.

It will just take a few days training to know, here is a tap, I'll wait for the appropriate time to look at it... instead of a vibration where the other person will say, 'Do you need to get that?'.

I'll tell you my feelings.

If I'm speaking to someone, and their phone buzzes, a notification or a text message and they ignore it, and I know they are ignoring it, as I'm talking to them, I am pleased. I feel like they are being respectful, and placing me, the human being standing in front of them, above the device in their pocket.

And of course, it's easier to be able to ignore a phone in your pocket, than it will be to just twist the wrist and look down.

It's going to take a LOT of self control for many to not do this.

 

[redman042]

Good thread. Don't want the non-Apple fans out there to think of us like these guys.

 

[AbsoluteMustard]

I'm going to be walking around like this guy all the time!

Image

Drunk?

 

[JohnApples]

I'll tell you my feelings.

If I'm speaking to someone, and their phone buzzes, a notification or a text message and they ignore it, and I know they are ignoring it, as I'm talking to them, I am pleased. I feel like they are being respectful, and placing me, the human being standing in front of them, above the device in their pocket.

And of course, it's easier to be able to ignore a phone in your pocket, than it will be to just twist the wrist and look down.

It's going to take a LOT of self control for many to not do this.

And that's a valid concern, but that's if you assume the person does not have self control. And I'm sure there will be some that don't.

But I've worn a Pebble for about 6 months now. At first, yes, I want to check my wrist at every notification. It was new, it was a bit strange, and it was kinda cool. But like everything, I got used to it.

It will be the same for me with the Apple Watch, and I'm sure the same with many others. A tap is no different than a vibration is terms of getting my attention, except that the tap is supposedly only known to me.

Whenever I'm in a situation where I feel I shouldn't be "rude" or be checking notifications at all, I'll simply put my Pebble/AppleWatch on Silent or Do Not Disturb. As does my friend with a Moto 360. It's really not as much of a problem that people make it out to be, at least not that I've seen personally.

 

[redman042]

Ok, side rant, but I never really understood why this is an issue...although I suspect why.

People complain when people talk on their cell phones on the train, public transport or walking down the street.And yet, they don't complain when you talk to someone sitting next to you on the train or while walking down the street.

Why? In the olden days it was because cell phones were expensive and it tended to be business/rich people and the class-warfare "they think they are special" attitude combined with some jealously.
But now that it is ubiquitous, I think it is because they can't hear the other part of the conversation. They are being excluded from being able to eavesdrop.

I think it's something more fundamental than that. I sat in a restaurant the other day and a guy was sitting alone with his food, talking to someone on his bluetooth. It caught my attention and continued to be noticeable the whole time I was there. Other people at other tables were talking to each other, but their conversations didn't grab my attention. It was just background noise to me. Why the difference?

First, people on the phone always talk a bit louder. They are compensating for the limitations of the microphone. Maybe not necessary anymore with today's technology, but they do it. Second, it just looks a little weird for someone to talk to thin air. I've known about Bluetooth technology for years now. I use it myself (though not to the degree this guy did). But despite that, seeing it hits me as a little off. Kind of like watching the Polar Express and looking at the eyes of the 3D characters. Just a tad unnatural.

All that said, I don't let it bother me, and I plan to utilize the Watch speakerphone occasionally. But I'm going to limit it and keep my voice low. Also I'm not sure how the little speakerphone is going to sound. That might be an unwanted attention grabber too.

 

[bbeagle]

I'll tell you my feelings.

If I'm speaking to someone, and their phone buzzes, a notification or a text message and they ignore it, and I know they are ignoring it, as I'm talking to them, I am pleased. I feel like they are being respectful, and placing me, the human being standing in front of them, above the device in their pocket.

I feel the same. It DOES show respect if someone is ignoring something and continuing the conversation with you.

But there will always be rude people. For example, have you ever been at a service desk in a store asking a question, and the phone rings, and the person answers the phone call - AND the person on the phone's question - before getting back to you? They are prioritizing the person on the phone over the person standing right there in person. It irks me when this happens.

 

[Robert M.]

Isn't this... an exact copy of a thread made eons ago?

This could be said about every thread, really

 

[John6Plus]

I feel the same. It DOES show respect if someone is ignoring something and continuing the conversation with you.

But there will always be rude people. For example, have you ever been at a service desk in a store asking a question, and the phone rings, and the person answers the phone call - AND the person on the phone's question - before getting back to you? They are prioritizing the person on the phone over the person standing right there in person. It irks me when this happens.

Oh my god this gets me every time. "Hello, corporeal being here!" I think there's a long history of phone calls being considered important that just sort of became ingrained in society. Something about tearing across the house to get that irritating noise to stop, and suddenly the phone is your singular focus.

This is rapidly changing though, at least in personal lives. We ignore phone calls more than we answer them now. A couple months ago I went through and removed TONS of notifications that used to make my phone vibrate across the table. I just left the badges on the icons, and check them occasionally. I reduced the vibration pattern and volume for phone calls and texts. I turned on automatic do not disturb for certain hours of the evening/night. I feel more in control now.

 

[KauaiBruce]

From my experience with both Pebble and Android Wear, you get used to the whole notifications on the wrist after some time and can ignore them when it is unnecessary/unacceptable to look.

It all comes down to setting up notifications so that you really only get notifications on your wrist that are important to you, and then a little bit of self-control.

EXACTLY! Those of us who had Pebble learned to handle it nicely. It will be nice now that when someone asks if it is an Apple Watch I will be able to say YES.

 

[Piggie]

I feel the same. It DOES show respect if someone is ignoring something and continuing the conversation with you.

But there will always be rude people. For example, have you ever been at a service desk in a store asking a question, and the phone rings, and the person answers the phone call - AND the person on the phone's question - before getting back to you? They are prioritizing the person on the phone over the person standing right there in person. It irks me when this happens.

Yes 100%

And at work, speaking to someone (a manager) their mobile rings, they answer the mobile and blank you.

Makes my blood boil.

But........ It's work, and I'm sure it's to go with business and is important, and I will still be there are work when they are finished.

Even though I know this, I still find it annoying.

 

[Arran]

...If I'm speaking to someone, and their phone buzzes, a notification or a text message and they ignore it, and I know they are ignoring it, as I'm talking to them, I am pleased. I feel like they are being respectful, and placing me, the human being standing in front of them, above the device in their pocket...

That's a great point. Particularly when you're face-to-face with a client who you're billing your time to. It shows respect for them and it gains their respect in return. Always good for repeat business.

One extreme example of this was a large meeting I was in many years ago. A consultant's new phone rang LOUDLY. Reading the room, it could've instantly soured a valuable relationship, but he recovered it well. Disgustedly, he pulled the phone out of his pocket, ripped the battery out and then dropped all the bits on the table. He got admiring laughs and brownie points for making his position abundantly clear.

Nowadays, OTOH, I sit in very expensive meetings and watch other attendees playing with their personal technology - startled and lost when a question comes up for them. It's quite offensive.

 

[whatos]

It's not the watch, it's the person wearing it.

Apple typically attracts some vain ego centric, narcissistic people. It's what made Steve Jobs so attractive to them. Why he served as their God.

They'll delight in showing off their watches. Apple has them as their greatest advocates.

 

[Dub1ous]

Just use common sense.

If I'm hanging out with my buddy in my basement watching TV, we'll mess around with our phones anyway, so no big deal.. If I'm out to dinner with my girlfriend, I'll be paying attention to her.

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It's not the watch, it's the person wearing it.

Apple typically attracts some vain ego centric, narcissistic people. It's what made Steve Jobs so attractive to them. Why he served as their God.

They'll delight in showing off their watches. Apple has them as their greatest advocates.