Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Apple Watch Reviews: Summarized

FrankySavvy

FrankySavvy

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Mar 4, 2010
1,691
872
Long Island, NY
There are a few people on the forums touting that all reviews have skewed on the negative side. I have read through all the major reviews thus far and here is what I found.

Bloomberg (Joshua Topolsky)

Summary: Worlds best smartwatch, yet, not essential

+Good Looks
+Seamless, Simple U.I
+Great Activity App

-Raise Wrist Display Delay
-Glances seem clunky
-Digital Touch Weird
-Emojis gimmicky

Darring Fireball (John Gruber

Summary: Amazing fit & finish, better battery life then expected, taptic engine is a game changer. But you can't swim with it and raise wrist isn't perfect

+Fit & Finish
+Taptic Engine
+Battery Life

-Raise Wrist has bugs
-Can't swim with it

The Verge (Nilay Patel)

Summary: Best smartwatch on the market, but do I really need it? Was is it really for?

+Display
+Taptic Engine
+Activity App
+Great Watch Faces
+Apple Pay

-U.I is slow
-Device is Heavy
-Confusing Side Button
-Display Air Gap
-Raise Wrist Display Delay
-Notifications/Glances only accessed from watch face
-Notification Management
-Limited Siri functionality
-Heat Rate Sensor: Hit or Miss
-Price

The Wall Street Journal (Geoffrey Fowler)

Summary: Apple watch finally makes sense of smart-watches if you can tolerate its flaws

+Stylish
+Sensible
+Great Speakerphone
+Apple Pay

-A bit too thick
-Can't use in Shower
-Notifications Management
-Third Party Apps

Techpinions (Ben Bajarin)

Summary: The Apple watch is onto something but is not a necessity for most

+Notifications
+Taptic Engine
+User Interface
+Battery Life
+Force Touch

-Learning Curve
-Necessity

Re/Code (Lauren Goode)

Summary: Smartwatches are still unproven but the Apple Watch makes a strong case for them.

+Design
+Battery Life
+Apple Pay
+Call Quality
+Accurate Heart Rate Sensor

-Thick
-Limited Siri Capabilities
-Charging Cable

New York Times (Farhad Manjoo)

Summary: Bliss after a steep learning curve

+Smart Looks
+Apple Pay
+Taptic Engine

-Steep Learning Curve
-Taptic Engine
-Third Party Apps

CNET (Scott Stern)

Summary: Most ambitious, well constructed smart-watch, some first-generation problems.

+Beautiful Construction
+Compact Design
+Solid Fitness
+App Support

-Battery Life
-Price
-Slow at Times
-Confusing U.I

Yahoo (David Pogue)

Summary: Most beautiful smart-watch around, best user interface, but pricey and a few bugs

+Design
+Taptic Engine
+Well Designed U.I
+Battery Life
+Siri

-Price
-Raise Wrist Display not Perfect
-Learning Curve
-App Menu Too Small
-No Sleep Tracking

Most reviews are overall positive.

Most love the design, a few complaints about bulkiness. Most agree battery life is better then expected, some still don't like charging daily. User interface can be buggy (Apple promises fix before launch) and can have a steep learning curve. Notifications can be hellish for the popular kids, but for the average person shouldn't be a problem. Overall fitness tracking is great, some people reported inaccuracy in the Heart Rate Sensor. Taptic feedback is amazing, digital touch is a bit gimmicky and everyone loves Apple Pay!

Not a necessity, more of a luxury. It is the best smart-watch around.
 
I don't view the reviews as overall very positive. These are the handpicked journalists that Apple gave early review units to. They don't want to piss Apple off. The writing to me seems to be them trying their best to spin it while calling out serious negatives that are major concerns to the experience.

*I* would summarize the reviews as "has incredible potential, but not there yet"
 
akm3 said:
I don't view the reviews as overall very positive. These are the handpicked journalists that Apple gave early review units to. They don't want to piss Apple off. The writing to me seems to be them trying their best to spin it while calling out serious negatives that are major concerns to the experience.

*I* would summarize the reviews as "has incredible potential, but not there yet"
Click to expand...

A lot of the issues are software related. Hopefully with fixes before launch. I am very happy the Battery Life is better then expected.
 
Good summary.

Agree that software update can fix most of the issues. Given it is a new product in a new category, the learning curve will take time
 
FrankySavvy said:
A lot of the issues are software related. Hopefully with fixes before launch. I am very happy the Battery Life is better then expected.
Click to expand...

Fair point. It's a risky bet to hope software makes it better. Apple is sometimes pretty quick to jump to version 2 and pretend the old one doesn't exist anymore.
 
The reviews are right on par with what I thought they would say. The device is very personal so it either fits in your life style or not, just like a regular watch.
 
So whats the jist on a software update? Read here in other posts about update "before launch" i assume we all should get update info as soon as we take delivery from the orders tonight? Or it ships with a version the reviewers did not get?

It matters for me because if the lag can be dialed out with software, i would buy a link watch tonight. But if its the CPU that needs a hardware update, ill go sport......hmmmm
 
Last edited:
Glene said:
So whats the jist on a software update? Read here in other posts about update "before launch" i assume we all should get update info as soon as we take delivery from the orders tonight? Or it ships with a version the reviewers did not get?

It matters for me because if the lag can be dialed out with software, i would buy a link watch tonight. But if its the CPU that needs a hardware update, ill go sport......hmmmm
Click to expand...

They've been working on it 3.5-4 years now, the watch is in production... highly unlikely the next software update will fix it. Maybe by 2017...
 
Thanks for the summary. You might add Joanna Stern's mini-review from the Wall Street Journal, as well. Self and Men's Health also had mini-reviews.
 
Wow thank you for taking the time to compile this summary. It really won't influence my decision, but it's clear a lot of time went into this and it's nice to see it all laid out in one place!
 
Are there no Sport edition reviews at all?

Did Apple send only 42mm stainless steel watches to every reviewer (along with the band of their choice)?

I'd like to see reviews of not just the most expensive (non-Edition) version, but also the far more likely-to-be-sold Sport model.
 
kdarling said:
Are there no Sport edition reviews at all?

Did Apple send only 42mm stainless steel watches to every reviewer (along with the band of their choice)?

Kind of stacks the review deck by giving out the most expensive (non-Edition) versions, instead of the far more likely-to-be-sold Sport models.
Click to expand...

To the contrary, I think it actually reinforced the idea for some reviewers (e.g. Joanna Stern) that it's better to wait for Gen 2.

Overall, I think objectively it makes sense to review the stainless steel since they are positioning the Stainless Steel as the "mainstream" watch. It also gave reviewers a chance to try multiple bands. Everyone got a sport band and a different band of their choice for the review. They sent 38mm or 42mm at the request of the reviewer.

Of course, for all we know Apple asked every reviewer what they wanted and they all picked the stainless steel.
 
Ed Baig from USAToday has his review up.

Now that I've spent more than a week wearing the Apple Watch, I'm reserving a prominent spot on my wrist. Apple Watch is an elegant combination of style and purpose, even if it indeed often serves as an at-a-glance stand-in for the iPhone tucked away in your pocket or purse.
Click to expand...

+ Beautiful design options
+ Apple Pay
+ Versatile feature set.

- Expensive
- Learning curve
- Phone calling from wrist is not a great experience
- iPhone only.
- Must be charged regularly.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/columnist/baig/2015/04/08/baig-buying-the-apple-watch/25436885/
 
The styling and finish seemed to have been nailed. Aside from what could be software bugs or underpowered hardware, the biggest con that seemed to be fairly common was a lack of focus and necessity. Many reviewers seemed to still be asking the questions "What is it good for?", and "Do you actually need this?"

Also, as others have mentioned, these will be the best reviews you will likely see other than those from fanboy blogs and forums. These are Apple's people, their normal first run, handpicked reviewers, and most of them seem to be saying hold off in a very PC way.
 
Did these same reviewers all make similar criticisms of every Android Wear iterations there has been since the first one? I mean a lot of them claim that this is the best one yet say this (seemingly 'dumb') comment about 'what is it for?' Just imho... IDK. I know Samsung had the 'creepy' version criticism. A lot of people seem to like the Moto 360... It just seems like if the watch can do what the M360 can do and then some. But then all of a sudden a 'what is this for' comment seems ridiculous.
 
Here is where the major reviewers stand:

Positive:
Mashable
USA Today
Yahoo
New York Times
The Telegraph
Techpinions

Mixed:
Bloomberg
Wall Street Journal
Darring Fireball

Negative:
The Verge
CNET
Re/Code

If you truly read through everyone of those reviews, some sway more positive, some negative and some mixed.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back