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Apple Watch's A Dud For Some Owners

That is a Forbes.com worthy piece of clickbait troll material right there :p
It actually looks like they meant it as a joke because of the sour faces of their editors alongside blanketed opinions. Yes we have seen all of the same opinions argued on this forum, but the one that stuck out for me as a complaint you don't usually read here was the "limited strap options" complaint. Seriously? Apple offers a wide range of straps, and third parties offer straps and adapter lugs that fit standard straps. Apple Watch owners have practically limitless strap options.

I didn't waste my time with the video. Perhaps it is more balanced.

EDITED: Okay, so I watched the video and it is more balanced than the clickbait page that offers up out of context quotes. A couple of their editors like it and a few don't. I still wonder about the one who complains about the lack of straps though :rolleyes:
 
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maxsix said:
In what is a rather obvious reaction by some, CNET outlines the weakness of the Apple Watch after its been out for one year.


http://www.cnet.com/how-to/7-reasons-people-arent-wearing-their-apple-watch/
Click to expand...

"It doesn't do enough" - Then why did you buy it? Apple's site tells you exactly what it can do if you bother to look at the videos or read. I knew everything the Apple watch did before I preordered it.

"limited strap options" - are you F'n kidding me? What other watch offers this many straps and is so easy to take off and put on?

"Faster to pull the phone from pocket" - Ok, the watch isn't for you.

"Too complicated" - Eh, maybe. nothing an OS revamp can't fix.

"Uninteresting apps" - Not sure what expectations were here. It's a watch. Anything it does beyond telling the time is interesting.

"Not for me" - Ok. fair enough.

"No Killer feature"- Sure there is. It's called not needing to take your phone out of your pocket every 2 -5 minutes to see if you missed anything.

FWIW my Apple watch has been on my wrist every day for exactly a year. I never leave home without it.
 
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Its not perfect, but I'm pretty happy with my apple watch. One major point is the issue with apps, I'm not really seeing a need for them and the apps that I do have on the watch (other then dark skies) are not really useful
 
Judging from the listings on eBay and Craig's List there are people who tired of their Apple Watch. It is not for everyone and after a year they have pretty well figured out if the AW is for them.

I loved mine at first but after only a month or so started leaving it behind for my Fitbit instead. Still wear the AW watch maybe a week out of the month.
 
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I've worn mine every day since I bought it in July. In fact, I've liked mine so much that I've upgraded from Space Grey to Stainless Steel. It may not be for everyone, but I've found it to be very useful for me.
 
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BSG75 said:
I've worn mine every day since I bought it in July. In fact, I've liked mine so much that I've upgraded from Space Grey to Stainless Steel. It may not be for everyone, but I've found it to be very useful for me.
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Same here. I got stainless envy after a few months of ownership and just had to upgrade. No regrets. This thing is pretty much glued to my wrist.

Most people who don't like the Apple Watch seem to reside on the interwebs. Every time I talk to a fellow watch owner in person, I'm told how much they love it. I've yet to meet someone wearing an Apple Watch who isn't happy with it.
 
There's nothing wrong with the Apple Watch except that it came out too early but Apple had no choice but to get their foot in the door. As the tech matures, the watch is going to transform how we use tech but that is still years away. Thus, you're going to get the people that buy it who love it, bought it and found no use for it, and even larger market who doesn't even care the product exists. This will all change in the next 5-10 years.
 
BenTrovato said:
There's nothing wrong with the Apple Watch except that it came out too early but Apple had no choice but to get their foot in the door. As the tech matures, the watch is going to transform how we use tech but that is still years away. Thus, you're going to get the people that buy it who love it, bought it and found no use for it, and even larger market who doesn't even care the product exists. This will all change in the next 5-10 years.
Click to expand...
I don't believe that the Apple Watch is a failure. It's another choice which is relevant and appropriate given that the smartwatch category already existed.

I can see the appeal to gadget lovers, but cannot imagine that it will become a mainstream product for busy people. The watch whether conventional or smartwatch has already been shunned widely by the influential Millennials. I think they're correct in their position.
 
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Armen said:
"It doesn't do enough" - Then why did you buy it? Apple's site tells you exactly what it can do if you bother to look at the videos or read. I knew everything the Apple watch did before I preordered it.

"limited strap options" - are you F'n kidding me? What other watch offers this many straps and is so easy to take off and put on?

"Faster to pull the phone from pocket" - Ok, the watch isn't for you.

"Too complicated" - Eh, maybe. nothing an OS revamp can't fix.

"Uninteresting apps" - Not sure what expectations were here. It's a watch. Anything it does beyond telling the time is interesting.

"Not for me" - Ok. fair enough.

"No Killer feature"- Sure there is. It's called not needing to take your phone out of your pocket every 2 -5 minutes to see if you missed anything.

FWIW my Apple watch has been on my wrist every day for exactly a year. I never leave home without it.
Click to expand...
I agree with most but it's not just a watch. Apple doesn't even market it as just a watch. They market it as way more than that.

Saying it's just a watch is as dumb as saying the iPhone is just a phone and anything beyond that is extra.
 
maxsix said:
I don't believe that the Apple Watch is a failure. It's another choice which is relevant and appropriate given that the smartwatch category already existed.

I can see the appeal to gadget lovers, but cannot imagine that it will become a mainstream product for busy people. The watch whether conventional or smartwatch has already been shunned widely by the influential Millennials. I think they're correct in their position.
Click to expand...

I think the people it appeals to the most are those who like technology and who are also into productivity hacks. If you aren't a bit of a productivity tool geek then it loses much of its value and you are left evaluating it more on its entertainment and/or fitness merits. The iPhone is the better tool for entertainment and for longer interactions (long-read information, inputting a lot of information). There are devices more focused on fitness as well. That said I believe the Apple Watch has a major lead when it comes to productivity and versatility.

I have small children and home and a job that requires keeping track of many different requests from people, the monitoring of various reports and alert systems, and lots of projects. I use productivity tools because they help me tame the chaos of constantly shifting priorities and frequent interruptions both at home and at the office. The Apple Watch excels at this, and it also helps me focus by minimizing distractions… whether it's a specific project at work or spending time with my family instead of checking my work-based email or Slack. I think of the Apple Watch as a filter as well as a convenience. The fitness tracking features are also just fine for my needs. I also like the way it looks and I enjoy using it.

However it certainly won't appeal to everyone. As a former Fitbit user I can understand why they have gotten so popular: Most Fitbit devices are simple, focused on fitness as the primary benefit, and available in a range of feature sets and price points. Smartwatches are more ambitious devices that require a bit of a learning curve to get the most out of. Not a big learning curve, but enough of one to deter those who barely know how to use their smartphones. And there is the distinction:

A smartphone is a device that many people own, but only a small percentage of those who own one are actually what you'd call power users. The Apple Watch is an accessory that mostly appeals to power users (but not entirely). Some people use the Apple Watch only for basic functions and they love it. I think those who say it doesn't do enough either haven't really tried to leverage what it can do, or they have different ideas about what it should be for. I'm pretty happy with all that it can do, and it actually exceeded my expectations as a first generation device.

Sean
 
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And what? Does one piece of tech exist that absolutely everybody likes?

If you don't like it, why not sell it?

AndrewR23 said:
I agree with most but it's not just a watch. Apple doesn't even market it as just a watch. They market it as way more than that.

Saying it's just a watch is as dumb as saying the iPhone is just a phone and anything beyond that is extra.
Click to expand...

What are they saying it can do that it can't do though?

The biggest issue is people have unrealistic expectations. Like the "uninteresting apps" remark I see over and over. People can't even tell you what would be interesting. It is a watch. There are only so many things it would make sense to be able to do on it.
 
I read a very negative one-year review on Gizmodo. It surprises me how vitriolic some of the Apple Watch critiques are. I always expect both negative and positive reviews about a product, but these days the reviews are much heavier on blanketed opinions that are based on minimal attempts to actually use or understand the product. I have been reading reviews and buying/using technology since the early 90's and I am a bit surprised by how polarized people are when it comes to the Apple Watch. Of course a year ago there were many negative reviews. I chalked it up to the fact that Watch OS1 was slower and buggier, and that many of the reviews were written by technology reviewers who had no personal interest in the Apple Watch (or any smartwatch) but were forcing themselves to review it because it was a new product from a company that is known for setting the high bar on new product categories. A year later it seems like the fires of negativity have been freshly stoked despite steady improvements to the operating system as well as some of the more popular third party apps. Why are so many people eager to tell the world about why they did not like a technology product they tried a year ago and had 14 days to return if it didn't work out for them? I mean besides the opportunity for a clickbait headline to drive traffic to their website? :rolleyes:

I have seen similar vitriol over the years in forums discussing Mac vs PC and Word vs WordPerfect to name a couple, and I have seen it more recently in the forums I frequent where camera gear is discussed. In fact I stopped participating as frequently because I got tired of the constant fighting over camera brands and sensor sizes. Some people seem to feel that if a product isn't right for them then it isn't right for anybody... and that's the subtext I get from many of the negative Apple Watch reviews. Most of them come down to someone saying, "This product didn't work out for me, therefore it's not ready for you either." I have come to expect that argument on a message board, but I see it more and more in professional reviews. I suppose it just reflects the state of modern discourse: Balanced opinions just don't attract the clicks. Strongly negative opinions get circulated on message boards and rack up the clicks much faster.

Sean
 
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Limited strap options? What a joke. In addition to the dozens of Apple ones, you've got hundreds of 3rd party straps to choose from, and buying adapters opens that up to thousands more that use the standard spring pin.
 
CJRhoades said:
Limited strap options? What a joke. In addition to the dozens of Apple ones, you've got hundreds of 3rd party straps to choose from, and buying adapters opens that up to thousands more that use the standard spring pin.
Click to expand...

Literally every strap out there is pretty much and option, with adapters.
 
Brian Tong on CNET says it does not do enough then brags about his Mark Ecko he's wearing now, AW does more than that. I usually like his opinions. He looks really stupid here. I saw the video version the other day.
 
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i've worn mine every day since I got it! I LOVE my apple watch! is it perfect? no.... but I still love it.... so much so that I bought a second one a couple weeks ago after they dropped the price and the new band option for the rose gold came out!
 
I'm probably not going to get anyone to watch this but I will post the link anyway:

Android Wear: My Love & Hate

The purpose of me posting this link is to show you how good the complainers have it and they don't even know it. When it comes to all these wearable platforms in general, the AW really does a lot. After wearing AW (android wear) for 2 years and then getting an apple watch, I was pleased as punch at the functionality and viewable material on this platform. I have my watch in my office charging in a cradle and the fact I can get CNN with pictures at a glance on this phone makes me happy, just one example.
 
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tom504 said:
I'm probably not going to get anyone to watch this but I will post the link anyway:

Android Wear: My Love & Hate

The purpose of me posting this link is to show you how good the complainers have it and they don't even know it. When it comes to all these wearable platforms in general, the AW really does a lot. After wearing AW (android wear) for 2 years and then getting an apple watch, I was pleased as punch at the functionality and viewable material on this platform. I have my watch in my office charging in a cradle and the fact I can get CNN with pictures at a glance on this phone makes me happy, just one example.
Click to expand...
I went ahead and watched this, but I am trying to understand what about this does less (or more) than the AW? You satates you had android wear for two years; this was with iOS? I realize the Apple Watch is more feature rich than Android wear paired with iOS, but it seems like feature-wise, when paired with their respective mobile platforms, these devices are about equal, no?
 
No, it was Android of different flavors. The best thing android wear does is notifications, and it does a good job as it tied into google now.

The graphics with a google watch are pretty basic.

There are also limitations, like getting email alerts, but not being able to go into your inbox on the watch. I also think apple does a better job of formatting the emails on the watch.

Other things like, going into CNN on the watch and getting the latest news is not an option. If someone thinks the apps are bad on apple, they would drop kick a android watch.

lordofthereef said:
I went ahead and watched this, but I am trying to understand what about this does less (or more) than the AW? You satates you had android wear for two years; this was with iOS? I realize the Apple Watch is more feature rich than Android wear paired with iOS, but it seems like feature-wise, when paired with their respective mobile platforms, these devices are about equal, no?
Click to expand...
 
I wear mine every day and wouldn't think of doing otherwise, but I totally understand why it's being criticized. It is fairly underpowered. The apps are often highly constrained and/or simply take too long to launch (if I have to stare at the spinning circles while an app loads, I'm not going to bother). For me, the fitness tracking abilities are a little gimmicky. That being said, it's an excellent message/email/phone call triage device.
 
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