Inconvenient Truth #1:
The Apple Watch Is Really Small
I was shocked at how small and slight the Apple Watch felt on my wrist. I’m a larger guy (6' and built like a linebacker who retired and got a little fat) and when I tried the 42mm Apple Watch Sport on, I thought it was the 38mm. I thought it was tiny and there was some mistake. It is the smallest watch that’s ever been on my wrist.
But wait! The 42mm Apple Watch isn’t that small, right? I mean, it’s 42mm and lots of mens’ watches are around 40–44mm nowadays. Here’s the problem with that, and I think Apple has put a little marketing smoke and mirrors into play here.
Most watches are round. When a manufacturer says that their watch is 42mm, it’s the diameter across the case of the watch. Depending on the exact type of watch, it’s usually 42mm all the way around. However, when Apple says that the Apple Watch is 42mm, they’re measuring it from top-to-bottom. From side-to-side it’s
only 35.9mm wide which is tiny in the world of men’s watches and actually closer to a woman’s watch size. Here’s a true-to-scale comparison between the 42mm Apple Watch Sport and some other popular men’s watches.
Most popular men’s watches now are 42mm-46mm measured as a diameter across the watch face. Some watches by Diesel, Guess, Fossil and other “mall stores” are actually much larger, sometimes up to 50mm wide or larger. Bigger watches are very popular now. Unfortunately, the Apple Watch isn’t large at all. Men who are used to wearing 42mm round-faced watches will definitely notice that the 42mm Apple Watch sits smaller on their wrist than they’re accustomed to. Men who are used to wearing 44mm watches (or larger) may think the Apple Watch feels more like a little kid’s bracelet than a substantial and expensive watch.
I was thinking a little more deeply about this size perception issue, and I think one reason that the Apple Watch’s diminutive size struck me is because in all of Apple’s marketing materials it’s portrayed as larger than life. Look at this still from the introduction video.
See how gigantic the digital crown looks? In real life it’s
absolutely teeny tiny. I could hardly make out any of the cut-in little ridges when I used an Apple Watch in person. It’s very small and requires precise fingering to turn it while wearing one. Here’s another one from Apple’s website.
These hyper zoomed-in detail shots subconsciously set me up to think the Apple Watch would be big with all tiny details visible. I was very wrong. The watch itself is extremely slight. I wish it was larger, felt heavier on my wrist, and had a larger screen. Maybe that’ll come in a few years.
Here’s a final comparison shot between the Apple Watch and the Motorola 360. The Apple Watch looks absolutely tiny by comparison.
