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Apple Watch Review Roundup: The 'World's Best Smartwatch', But 'Not For Everyone'

So apparently Apple told the Verge a software update was coming, at least one to improve the speed of 3rd party apps. I know the Verge once re-scored a Nexus phone review when Google released a software update for the camera. I wonder if they'll update their Watch review after this software update.
 
I loved the reviews, they just saved me £500 buying the steel with classic buckle.
I now realise this device isn't for me and I can thank the verge for their honest review.
I'll stick with just my iPhone for now.
 
I'll wait for actual reviews from Endgaget or Ars or similar. But the trends so far are about what I have expected
 
GizmoDVD said:
All the naysayers probaby either don't use a watch or refuse to believe their $4000 Omega is now 'worthless'.
Click to expand...


There seems to be a lot of people in this category. I love my Omega and it's not going anywhere but I still think it won't see much if any use once this lands. For me the concept of wearing a watch that does more than just tell me the time is very appealing. But I also seem to pull the phone out to check little things I can do on the watch supposedly quicker. So we'll see.
 
If it was only about the battery, then pebble would rule. However, since its not...pebble is a chuck of *****. Ugly, horrible screen, couldn't use vibration notifications unless I wanted everyone around me to hear it. In the end I only used it as an extension of the joint when I was out running with the Runkeeper app. And even then it's only occasionally.

There is a slight benefit to having to charge the apple watch daily (saw someone else bring this up and I had the same issue). Becuase I didn't use the pebble consistently everyday, the battery would run out at different times. Often it would be out of battery when I went to go use it. Since the apple watch needs charging daily, I'll just charge it next to my iPhone nightly since I don't wear a watch to bed ever.

Could I hAve done the same with the pebble watch? I suppose. But why would I want to check on it daily if I didn't use it daily. I know I'll be using the apple watch daily.



Quu said:
Compared to the Pebble that battery life is pretty bad. Compared to normal watches that battery life is terrible.

I mean we're not going to sit here and say 18 hour battery life is an upgrade over 6 months on a normal watch or 7 days on a pebble are we? Lets be real here, charging is an inconvenience and if you forget to charge your Apple watch even once before you go to bed you will be wearing a dead paperweight the next day at work.
Click to expand...
 
Marco123 said:
I loved the reviews, they just saved me £500 buying the steel with classic buckle.
I now realise this device isn't for me and I can thank the verge for their honest review.
I'll stick with just my iPhone for now.
Click to expand...

...for now. ;)
 
I am retired and work in a local hardware store. For about $1.69 I can put together a snappy velcro wrist band for my iPhone 5s. I am sure that someone is developing a Apple Watch app that will make my phone act like a Apple watch. And I only need to carry around one device.
 
I think people lack perspective, and now expect so much from Apple that it is getting ridiculous. No one could meet that type of hype.

The original iPhone itself was WAY less useful than the gen1 iPad was, or the gen1 Apple watch will be. It was a terrible cell phone, dropping calls left and right. It had no ecosystem to speak of, a pitiful camera, and a super high price. There were no high speed data networks to support its internet functions. It was essentially a touch screen ipod that could make calls.

People screamed that the iPad was a useless product too, a giant iPod with no reason to exist.

It's funny that most of the reviews state it's the "best smartwatch" to date but yet that isn't enough for people to call it a positive review.
 
"notifying me of digital events as soon as they happened, and letting me act on them instantly, without having to fumble for my phone.."

So now we're fumbling for our iphones?

Hilarious.. Just last week the iphone elegantly fit in our hands and slid in eaily from any angle. But now we're fumbling for them.

Gimme a break..
 
thekeyring said:
I was talking today to someone who was considering an iPhone but didn't want to become "one of those people always checking their phones". I tried to gently remind them that it doesn't have to happen. If you think you're checking your phone too much, check it less.

I find it frustrating when Im talking to someone face to face and they pause the convo to reply to a text. Unless it's exceptional circumstances, don't I - by being present - outrank the absent person in terms of importance?
Click to expand...

Well said. My rule is that my iDevice cannot come out in live company unless all of the rest of that company has theirs out. They have to be (IMO) rude to me before I can reciprocate that rudeness. If they or I are more interested in communicating with others not present, why aren't we meeting with these other people instead?

It is so unlikely that any text or call is so important that we must receive it as soon as it is made. Almost nothing. The whole world got by for thousands of years without getting "what R U doing?" texts as soon as they were sent. It's not different now... just too many of us prioritizing unimportant communications as important. For the odd & rare examples where getting the message in real-time is important (bona-fide emergencies, etc), I would (wild) guess there are more than 99% of other messages that could wait hours or days with no consequence whatsoever.
 
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AdonisSMU said:
Pebble didn't even exist as a concept before the rumor mills were rife with the possibility of an Apple Watch a number of years ago. Ok... The pebble watch doesn't do nearly as much as the Apple Watch and the graphics suck.
Click to expand...

Graphics suck. That's all you got?

For $99, the Pebble has +95% of the Apple Watch functionality and only needs charging once every 5-7 DAYS !

You will be lucky to get one day out of your Apple Watch.
 
GizmoDVD said:
I wonder how many people here complaining about Apple's watch even own a smart watch. I do, and the Apple Watch looks amazing. After being stuck with a Pebble for close to 2 years and a Metawatch before, I know how important a smart watch actually is. Now I can get the best one on the market.

All the naysayers probaby either don't use a watch or refuse to believe their $4000 Omega is now 'worthless'.
Click to expand...

Funny post. How is someone's Omega watch now "worthless?"

"Stuck" with a pebble. What struggles you've had. ;)

AdonisSMU said:
Pebble didn't even exist as a concept before the rumor mills were rife with the possibility of an Apple Watch a number of years ago. Ok... The pebble watch doesn't do nearly as much as the Apple Watch and the graphics suck.
Click to expand...

You're not serious, right?
 
The reviews may not be as positive as some had hoped but I don't see enough in any of them to make a decision whether to buy one or not. I think the only change to my approach will be to not order one until I can see one at an Apple Store. If that means I miss out on the first round then so be it.
 
was really surprised to start seeing reviews this morning. only read the Verge's review so far (though I don't typically since they banned me lol)

I typically Find that The Verge's writers have Apples...

err

they're constantly extremely biased towards Apple in most reviews. (for example, they'll penalize one device for being too large at 5", but then say how apple's move to large device revolutionizes the industry).

I was expecting Nilay to have almost a sexual fascination with it.

But even he didn't. He looked like he was trying to dress it up as pretty as possible, but even couldn't get around a few of the glaring problems that many people have worried about.

UI interaction is sometimes confusing, cumbersome and doesn't always make sense.
interaction isn't as simple as it could be because of the button and crown not always responding the same way in every situation
laggy performance. (though Apple promising a fix)
slow to update apps.

the thing that interested me was what the "fashion" side of The Verge said about it. Which seems to be the biggest problem. Fundamentally, Apple made a device that is well built, and extremely well crafted, but a fashion accessory it is NOT, despite Apples marketing efforts. it still looks like a square screen on a watch band, even if done well, it's not a piece of fashion

the question now is did Apple overreach in what they expected the market for this to be? are they really going to be able to sell a million of these "gold" versions at 10,000? are they even going to be able to sell the normal version at $500 when fundamentally, it doesn't do anything really different than $300 alternatives?

time will tell. V2.0 will likely be a much much better product. But Nilay makes a great point whether you think he's biased or not. If its still quicker to pull otu your phone to do something, then the watch doesn't offer a real solution to any problem.
 
GizmoDVD said:
All the naysayers probaby either don't use a watch or refuse to believe their $4000 Omega is now 'worthless'.
Click to expand...
You're delusional. The biggest difference between the Omega and an Apple watch is that the Omega will still be valuable many years from now, while the Apple watch will be worthless a couple years from now. Enjoy having instant notifications a couple feet closer to your face, but recognize it for the fad gadget it is.
 
Read a bunch of these, no doubt an excellent product , though the unanswered question is , are wearables the way forward. Seems both android and apple devices have the Same hurdle to overcome .
 
The iPhone replaced my old phone, agenda, ipod, calculator, tomtom (gps) and many other things.

The iPad replaced a whole lot of books and the need of places to store them.

The :apple:Watch would only add a device...
 
The Verge review video seemed thoughtful and well done. It has helped temper me a bit. Something that I enjoy is owning first gen Apple gadgets and being an early adopter. On the other hand, The Verge made some really good points about waiting for apps to load, getting bugged too much, and how certain things don't seem like a complete, solid implementation. I know it's a first generation. Look no further than the first iPhone that didn't have apps, no copy and paste, no MMS, no video, no fast internet. But there's still something special about having the first model and keeping it—at least for me. I'm just not sure if I can justify it this year since I'm going to be going back to a smaller iPhone with the 6S, I'm considering a 5K iMac when they upgrade them, and I'm also thinking about switching from Canon to Sony and their mirrorless camera system.

But I do need a new watch. My current watch is in pretty rough shape. Like Gruber, I've worn watches since a young age—even younger. I was in second or third grade. I love watches, but I've never bought one this expensive.
 
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