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

I started to count the things "I don't really need" in my life. I stopped counting at 999.

The iPhone 6 Plus, or a Smart Phone is general is #1 on the list.
Socks, shoes, a hat?? I mean you really don't "need" any of those and yet we as consumers continually buy things we don't really need.

Last I checked, that's what makes our economy tick.

I'm buying one, and truthfully, I don't care if it's a drawer in a year. I am willing to take the risk, try it, and see how it works in my life. I took the same risk buying the original iPhone, & iPad.
 
So I was watching the review video...

On minute 8:05.... What is up with the disgusting VOCAL FRY raspy voice of those women?!

There is nothing that DISGUSTS me MORE than women with a vocal fry. I just can't take their opinions seriously, and certainly I would NEVER choose them as a partner.

Sorry for the rant :p
 
Quu said:
The sense I got from these reviews, especially The Verges is that it's not good, skip it and see what v2 is like.

And that's how I feel too after reading their thoughts and seeing the watch on their wrists in close up day to day. I thought the steel one looked nice but after seeing it in the verges video it looked really unfashionable and just not as nice to my eye as Apples press pictures.
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I didn't get the sense from any of the reviews that it's not good. The overall message seems to be that it's not life changing and it has it's flaws but that it's the best smart watch out there and that it has a lot going for it. I thought that the Verge's review was quite good and balanced. His comment about the Watch was not that you should skip it all together and wait for the next iteration, but it was that he didn't think it made sense to spend $1K on the higher end version when the next iterations will likely be better.

That's really got me rethinking my version choice. I was going to get the Space Black SS version, but I'm thinking now that maybe I should just get a cheaper SS version or maybe even just go with the Sport.
 
Zinthar said:
Reminds me of Steve Jobs' selling points on the first iPhone: It's a phone, an internet communication device, and an iPod -- in one device!
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Think about that in context (of the times) vs.

"It's a fitness tracker + watch + a smartphone hub- in one device!"

Yes, those are 3 punches too but would the (boxing) gloves be about the same size?
 
D.T. said:
I can tell that plenty of luxury branded watches (Rolex Daytona for example) are as thick, if not thicker (talking about reasonably sized sport variants), and no owners have any issues with their sleeves :)
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The band needs to attach to the body of the watch closer to the face. Right now a lot of the watch body sits above the band. It's a box-like protrusion that catches on things. Like a wart!

If the band attached higher up, closer to the watch-face, the whole outline would be smoother. The watch-body would sit underneath the line of the band and offer a more streamlined look.
 
ditzy said:
These reviews have made me question which watch I'm going to buy. I was set on the watch with milanese loop, but now thinking about getting the sport instead. As I'll feel a lot better about replacing that when the second one comes out, and is inevitably much better.
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In the same position here, was pretty set on getting the milanese loop and a sport band, but now I am waffling between both.
 
ninethirty said:
The mistake you're making here is applying logic and common sense to your position. This forum if full of frothing at the mouth fanboys who loved the watch before it was announced, love it more after it was announced, and love it even more still after the reviews have said it's far from perfect. No matter what you say, or what reviews say, they're only going to love it even harder. It's almost like they feel that they themselves designed it, and anything negative said about it throws them on the defensive.



----------

Thanks for proving my point.
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It works in both ways. Lots of us are buying this knowing that the entire category is a work in progress. We are looking to reviews to understand what to expect, both positive and negative. Scrolling through post after post of "I don't want this" or "anyone who wants this is stupid" isn't helpful.
 
ninethirty said:
I've been pretty level headed about it. From the get go, I don't understand why it exists, but I absolutely can see some serious use in fitness and health tracking. Because it's Apple, despite the lack of reason for existing, it'll be slick, and it'll sell. I don't think it's going to be revolutionary the way the phone or iPad were. Further to this, I think Apple's made a serious misstep by trying to position this as fashion, and worse that they created the Edition and priced it the way it did.

The reviews seem to echo that, and I think people will feel the same as well.
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I think if you are a fan of apple and want a positive review (I would) you point out weaknesses in all reviews as why they are wrong. If you like to say negative, you will highlight the negative in equal proportion.

For example. The review about walking on a treadmill but it can't do elliptical or weightlifting, etc. Fan would say... you should add that fitbit, up and almost all others can't either. Negative would say... it can't do anything. Only one company can learn weightlifting moves and know and it is still in development.

Would you want a fitbit hr or higher version for $200+ and not be caught dead with in on a suit or spend more for an apple? Maybe $400 more? I would...
 
Bad news, friend. It's a forum, and reviews are out. People are reacting. That happens. Sorry it's just not the reactions you wanted. Your average consumer doesn't decide to start investing in products that don't appear finished just because they believe in the category.

KPOM said:
It works in both ways. Lots of us are buying this knowing that the entire category is a work in progress. We are looking to reviews to understand what to expect, both positive and negative. Scrolling through post after post of "I don't want this" or "anyone who wants this is stupid" isn't helpful.
Click to expand...
 
ninethirty said:
The mistake you're making here is applying logic and common sense to your position. This forum if full of frothing at the mouth fanboys who loved the watch before it was announced, love it more after it was announced, and love it even more still after the reviews have said it's far from perfect. No matter what you say, or what reviews say, they're only going to love it even harder. It's almost like they feel that they themselves designed it, and anything negative said about it throws them on the defensive.
Click to expand...

Neither your post nor the one you quotes applied logic or common sense. Conclusory statements not based on facts are, by definition, illogical. Satisfied with your conclusion, you skipped the part in the paragraph where you would actually make a reasoned argument and replaced it with a petty, ham-fisted personal attack on those who would presume to disagree. That's the thing about common sense... it's really not so common.

As to the reviews themselves, they're mixed but generally positive. Pretty much all of them cite the Apple Watch as the best smartwatch on the maket. The negatives, such as the learning curve, poor third-party apps, and slow hardware, are typical of a first-gen product in a relatively new product category.

What's most promising, though, is that in the majority of reviews the reviewer ended up loving the watch anyway, despite the fact that the negatives are much easier to put into words than the positives. To me, that says that it actually succeeded in the most important way: it altered the lifestyle of the user.

The potential for future generations of the product to offer additional sensors and software that utilizes them (be it from Apple or third-party) in a manner that enhances health and quality of life is enormous.

I dare say that it's much more exciting than, say, Apple Pay. Interestingly, the long-term success of Apple Pay is probably closely linked to that of Apple Watch, as being able to pay from the watch without having to pull anything out of your pockets or purse really increases the convenience factor of using Apple Pay rather than a credit card.
 
ninethirty said:
Bad news, friend. It's a forum, and reviews are out. People are reacting. That happens. Sorry it's just not the reactions you wanted.
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My point is that both sides need to be civil. There is a lot of aggressiveness on the part of both fans and non-fans of the Apple Watch.
 
HobeSoundDarryl said:
Watch: "it's _________________________". ________________________________________________________________________________________________________. Obvious advantage to Watch.
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Does it need to, and can a watch have, an "obvious advantage"?

I own watches and I don't buy one because it has an "advantage" over others I own. I buy it if it's a nice looking watch.

If there is any advantage to the Apple Watch, it is that, in my opinion, it's a beautifully designed watch; especially when compared to other smart watches. Is that an advantage you can put on a spec sheet? Not really. Mainly because it's an opinion. You can't argue (most of the times) with benchmarks, but there is no reasonable benchmark for beauty.

My thought process is that the Watch is never going to have a mind blowing feature that makes it wanted or needed like the iPod, iPhone or iPad. It will never have an "obvious advantage" that can make it undeniably better in some way than another smart watch. However, the attention to detail, design and interface are what sells me on the product. Those features fall under the beauty category. You can't spec it out. It is what it is. You like it or you don't. That's what gives the Apple Watch the obvious advantage, in my opinion.
 
My take from another thread:

Patriot24 said:
Other than Gruber's review, it seems like the rest are essentially saying "this device, that does things better than any other device in its class, does not live up to a standard that I invented in my head." It is as if they've already made up their minds what the 3rd generation should be and are docking the current offering as a result.
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KPOM said:
It works in both ways. Lots of us are buying this knowing that the entire category is a work in progress. We are looking to reviews to understand what to expect, both positive and negative. Scrolling through post after post of "I don't want this" or "anyone who wants this is stupid" isn't helpful.
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So very true... and to constantly keep doing it and say it is to balance out the happy. However, everyone is entitled to an opinion and I want to keep this from me getting involved. I read yesterday that the watch has several more sensor features already in the watch and will be turned on sooner or later. The software updates will start coming weeks out because fans buy it and we learn what is slow or fast.

I have 6 watches - Seiko, Tassot and Zeppelin and I want the SS Version because it is within $100 of those watches and looks as good if not better and does more especially for this work from home guy. Those bands should come down in price though :)
 
The shiniest turd is still a turd.


Zinthar said:
Neither your post nor the one you quotes applied logic or common sense. Conclusory statements not based on facts are, by definition, illogical. Satisfied with your conclusion, you skipped the part in the paragraph where you would actually make a reasoned argument and replaced it with a petty, ham-fisted personal attack on those who would presume to disagree. That's the thing about common sense... it's really not so common.

As to the reviews themselves, they're mixed but generally positive. Pretty much all of them cite the Apple Watch as the best smartwatch on the maket. The negatives, such as the learning curve, poor third-party apps, and slow hardware, are typical of a first-gen product in a relatively new product category.

What's most promising, though, is that in the majority of reviews the reviewer ended up loving the watch anyway, despite the fact that the negatives are much easier to put into words than the positives. To me, that says that it actually succeeded in the most important way: it altered the lifestyle of the user.

The potential for future generations of the product to offer additional sensors and software that utilizes them (be it from Apple or third-party) in a manner that enhances health and quality of life is enormous.

I dare say that it's much more exciting than, say, Apple Pay. Interestingly, the long-term success of Apple Pay is probably closely linked to that of Apple Watch, as being able to pay from the watch without having to pull anything out of your pockets or purse really increases the convenience factor of using Apple Pay rather than a credit card.
Click to expand...
 
BlueMoon63 said:
For example. The review about walking on a treadmill but it can't do elliptical or weightlifting, etc. Fan would say... you should add that fitbit, up and almost all others can't either. Negative would say... it can't do anything. Only one company can learn weightlifting moves and know and it is still in development.
Click to expand...

That's indeed a negative, and a reminder that there were rampant rumors from credible sources that a lot of sensors that Apple had hoped to put into the watch were cut because they weren't quite ready for this release. Adding sensors and functionality that makes the device a more all-encompassing health tracker is probably at or near the top of Apple's priorities for gen 2. I lift regularly, so I'll probably be holding out for that.
 
gsmornot said:
One thing that I use today tells me this is not really the case. iPad integration with my iPhone. I love the ability to address a notification on my iPad when its in my hands versus having to put the pad down and pick up my phone. To me the watch will be just like this. If I'm not already holding my phone, the watch will be an easy interface to check and respond to "things" that come along throughout the day.
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The difference is being able to address the notification is an added bonus/feature of what the iPad could already do on it's own - you didn't buy an iPad to address notifications sent to and from your iPhone.

I'm not saying being able to address certain things on the watch away from your phone is a bad thing, I'm sure it's useful to many but the point is, the Apple Watch is a product that is an extension of your iPhone and is highly dependent on it and to use it as just watch is highly wasteful at that price point.
 
I haven't read every single post, so I can't say for absolute sure, but here's how it seems to go as far as I can tell.

Naysayer: Exactly as I figured. Won't be a flop, but isn't revolutionary either.
On the fencer: Hmm, I think this review has caused me to pass this time around.
Frothing at the mouth fanboy: YOU'RE CHERRY PICKING! THE REVIEWS WERE POSITIVE IF YOU READ BETWEEN THE LINES! IPHONE AND IPAD REVIEWS WERE AWFUL TOO, YOU IDIOTS! THE CREATIVE GENIUSES AT APPLE KNOW WHAT THEY'RE DOING AND YOU'RE NOT THAT SMART SO FORGIVE ME IF I DON'T TAKE YOU SERIOUSLY.



KPOM said:
My point is that both sides need to be civil. There is a lot of aggressiveness on the part of both fans and non-fans of the Apple Watch.
Click to expand...
 
ninethirty said:
The shiniest turd is still a turd.
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Your comment has nothing to do with reality. To summarize the majority of reviews, most people loved the product and enhanced their lives because of reasons X, Y, & Z, but stated that it was far from perfect.

Your comments in this entire thread have been asinine and immature, as evidenced by the above.
 
Zinthar said:
That's indeed a negative, and a reminder that there were rampant rumors from credible sources that a lot of sensors that Apple had hoped to put into the watch were cut because they weren't quite ready for this release. Adding sensors and functionality that makes the device a more all-encompassing health tracker is probably at or near the top of Apple's priorities for gen 2. I lift regularly, so I'll probably be holding out for that.
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The watch alone would be worth it if it knew I was doing squats and deadlifts and then bench and know the difference. The spec's say the sensors are there now for body and skin temp. We shall see... That's not my opinion before I get ripped.
 
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