Apps still slow on Watch OS2

[MrX8503]

I think the Apple Watch is the best smart watch available, but I think Apple still has a long way to go. Now that OS2 is out....apps are still slow. For example City Mapper is slow and takes forever to load. I'm hoping this will improve over time, but I'm not seeing the "native" app benefits.

So that's a 3rd party app and you can't really blame Apple right? Well, even the native apps are lacking, specifically "Remote". Initially it pairs and works flawlessly, but over time it becomes unreliable and I'm unable to reconnect. I'm sure the tech behind this is complicated, but it's just frustrating that it doesn't "just work" when all of Apple's other tech works so well.

Another frustrating scenario is when I couldn't find my phone. I'm thinking, sweet, I can just ping my phone with my watch. Well, the ping doesn't even work! The killer app IMO, is when something "just works". It can be something simple, but when it just works you can rely on it. When it's something you can rely on, you depend on it. This is the very reason why customers pay big $$$ for Mac hardware/software.

Again, I think the Apple Watch is the best smart watch available and it has the potential to make every day tasks second nature. Right now the apps are really buggy and unreliable. I'm hoping Apple is able to work these kinks out in the next update.

 

[Spink10]

Good assessment.

 

[sean000]

To be fair "it just works" is just a marketing slogan that doesn't always apply to iOS or MacOS either. Whenever a new version comes out there are some things that don't work or that could work better. It's not all Apple's fault... They rely on third party developers more than ever. Sometimes, like in the case of an iOS update adversely affecting wifi or battery performance, apple can't really blame anyone but themselves. It's all relative though, and in my experience things just work more often than they do in the Android or Windows world. not saying those are bad platforms... I am a windows user, but more hardware manufacturers means more potential for problems.

Patience is key when it comes to new technology or new versions of it. Watch OS2 is definitely an improvement, but it will take time for app developers to get on the same page with Apple and Apple will keep improving things too. Many of my third party apps do work better and faster in their native OS2 versions. Others do not.

I have never had a problem pinging my iPhone. Have you restarted your watch lately? Over the last four months my watch has been very reliable for me and I use a lot of features and third party apps. There have been occasions when this was not the case. For example Siri would tell me that she could not create a reminder, or an app would fail to update. Restarting the watch always fixes the problem. I am now restarting it once a week (along with my iphone 6) to see if that cuts down on occasional glitches.

The watch reminds me of my first iphone (3G): Not quite a fully mature product, but the daily conveniences outweigh the occasional frustrations for me.

Sean

 

[Neo1975]

To be fair "it just works" is just a marketing slogan that doesn't always apply to iOS or MacOS either. Whenever a new version comes out there are some things that don't work or that could work better. It's not all Apple's fault... They rely on third party developers more than ever. Sometimes, like in the case of an iOS update adversely affecting wifi or battery performance, apple can't really blame anyone but themselves. It's all relative though, and in my experience things just work more often than they do in the Android or Windows world. not saying those are bad platforms... I am a windows user, but more hardware manufacturers means more potential for problems.

Patience is key when it comes to new technology or new versions of it. Watch OS2 is definitely an improvement, but it will take time for app developers to get on the same page with Apple and Apple will keep improving things too. Many of my third party apps do work better and faster in their native OS2 versions. Others do not.

I have never had a problem pinging my iPhone. Have you restarted your watch lately? Over the last four months my watch has been very reliable for me and I use a lot of features and third party apps. There have been occasions when this was not the case. For example Siri would tell me that she could not create a reminder, or an app would fail to update. Restarting the watch always fixes the problem. I am now restarting it once a week (along with my iphone 6) to see if that cuts down on occasional glitches.

The watch reminds me of my first iphone (3G): Not quite a fully mature product, but the daily conveniences outweigh the occasional frustrations for me.

Sean

To get ping your iPhone to work, try turning off Allow Hey Siri. Normally works.

 

[eagleglen]

When Watch OS 2 was released I didn't notice any performance important at all. However, after upgrading my iPhone to a 6s Plus, I noticed a huge improvement, as if the watch and the iPhone were communicating faster with each other, so much so that I was surprised no one had made a post to comment on this. I'm not sure what to attribute the improvement to since it could be the OS 2 optimizing itself, the faster processing speed of the 6s iPhones, the Bluetooth 4.2 upgrade in the new iPhone, or just my imagination.

Regarding the inability to ping your phone, did restarting both the phone and the watch fix the problem? Otherwise, I'd be seriously concerned. Mine stopped measuring my distance running the other day and restating fixed the issue. Occasional glitches will happen particularly with the leading edge tech we are using.

 

[AppleMan2015]

I think the Apple Watch is the best smart watch available, but I think Apple still has a long way to go. Now that OS2 is out....apps are still slow. For example City Mapper is slow and takes forever to load. I'm hoping this will improve over time, but I'm not seeing the "native" app benefits.

So that's a 3rd party app and you can't really blame Apple right? Well, even the native apps are lacking, specifically "Remote". Initially it pairs and works flawlessly, but over time it becomes unreliable and I'm unable to reconnect. I'm sure the tech behind this is complicated, but it's just frustrating that it doesn't "just work" when all of Apple's other tech works so well.

Another frustrating scenario is when I couldn't find my phone. I'm thinking, sweet, I can just ping my phone with my watch. Well, the ping doesn't even work! The killer app IMO, is when something "just works". It can be something simple, but when it just works you can rely on it. When it's something you can rely on, you depend on it. This is the very reason why customers pay big $$$ for Mac hardware/software.

Again, I think the Apple Watch is the best smart watch available and it has the potential to make every day tasks second nature. Right now the apps are really buggy and unreliable. I'm hoping Apple is able to work these kinks out in the next update.

Watch OS2 is terrible imo. It's really slow and clangy.

 

[AppleMan2015]

I think the Apple Watch is the best smart watch available, but I think Apple still has a long way to go. Now that OS2 is out....apps are still slow. For example City Mapper is slow and takes forever to load. I'm hoping this will improve over time, but I'm not seeing the "native" app benefits.

So that's a 3rd party app and you can't really blame Apple right? Well, even the native apps are lacking, specifically "Remote". Initially it pairs and works flawlessly, but over time it becomes unreliable and I'm unable to reconnect. I'm sure the tech behind this is complicated, but it's just frustrating that it doesn't "just work" when all of Apple's other tech works so well.

Another frustrating scenario is when I couldn't find my phone. I'm thinking, sweet, I can just ping my phone with my watch. Well, the ping doesn't even work! The killer app IMO, is when something "just works". It can be something simple, but when it just works you can rely on it. When it's something you can rely on, you depend on it. This is the very reason why customers pay big $$$ for Mac hardware/software.

Again, I think the Apple Watch is the best smart watch available and it has the potential to make every day tasks second nature. Right now the apps are really buggy and unreliable. I'm hoping Apple is able to work these kinks out in the next update.

I just don't like the watch. It really has no point.

 

[redman042]

2.0.1 really improved app performance for me. But it still has a ways to go.

 

[Mad Mac Maniac]

First of all, make sure the apps are actually updated to be native. Ballpark estimate I'd say only 10% of the watch apps I have are updated to be native.

Secondly, anything that requires data or GPS will still most likely need to be routed through iPhone (might not be the case when on wifi). That will present some lag.

Thirdly, true, the processor isn't nearly the beast that is in the iPhone. I would anticipate a pretty large jump from gen1 to gen2 and then again to gen3.

Right now, and possibly forever, the best use case for apps are simple things that don't require much processing power or frequent updates. Fitness apps, weather apps, etc. There are certainly limitations to the Apple Watch and just because something can be done doesn't mean it should. Let's use the device minimally and not attempt to stick a square peg into a round hole.

 

[MrX8503]

To be fair "it just works" is just a marketing slogan that doesn't always apply to iOS or MacOS either. Whenever a new version comes out there are some things that don't work or that could work better. It's not all Apple's fault... They rely on third party developers more than ever. Sometimes, like in the case of an iOS update adversely affecting wifi or battery performance, apple can't really blame anyone but themselves. It's all relative though, and in my experience things just work more often than they do in the Android or Windows world. not saying those are bad platforms... I am a windows user, but more hardware manufacturers means more potential for problems.

Patience is key when it comes to new technology or new versions of it. Watch OS2 is definitely an improvement, but it will take time for app developers to get on the same page with Apple and Apple will keep improving things too. Many of my third party apps do work better and faster in their native OS2 versions. Others do not.

I have never had a problem pinging my iPhone. Have you restarted your watch lately? Over the last four months my watch has been very reliable for me and I use a lot of features and third party apps. There have been occasions when this was not the case. For example Siri would tell me that she could not create a reminder, or an app would fail to update. Restarting the watch always fixes the problem. I am now restarting it once a week (along with my iphone 6) to see if that cuts down on occasional glitches.

The watch reminds me of my first iphone (3G): Not quite a fully mature product, but the daily conveniences outweigh the occasional frustrations for me.

Sean

I can give 3rd party apps a pass, but Apple's own apps should work. Restarting the Watch and phone does seem to clear things up. This is my first time owning a first gen Apple product, so I'm not used to these bugs.