Well, I'm breaking it down I guess. It's not as simple as looking front on to a wide screen. That was the point I was making.
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Developer Excitement for Apple TV Easily Exceeds Interest in watchOS
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Give it time dude. It's been only 6 months. At this point, 6 months after opening, the iPhone and Android app stores were little more than calculator, flashlight, and fart apps. For an app store that is only 6 months old, I would consider it's cache of apps at the moment pretty dam good.
Amazon has a grudge against Apple and is not willing to agree to Apple's store terms. That is their right and their business, complain to them. Spotify released it's first a tv app of any kind (for AndroidTV) just a few weeks ago - I am sure it will be ported to all the other tv platforms in due time.
I always thought the AppleTV had much more potential than the Apple Watch. The Apple watch is just an accessory since it is soooo limited in what it can do without an iPhone. Also I don't see people wanting to replace them every other year. Just seemed and still seems like a niche market to me.
Whereas pretty much everyone watches TV, so improving that experience could be a huge market. Plus the subscription services Apple may soon offer could be lucrative too. I've been a bit disappointed so far although they have improved things like adding features back in that were missing (keyboard support). And still upset no Amazon Prime yet (I blame both Apple and Amazon), but I'm excited to see what enhancements they plan on making to tvOS at WWDC.
Whereas pretty much everyone watches TV, so improving that experience could be a huge market. Plus the subscription services Apple may soon offer could be lucrative too. I've been a bit disappointed so far although they have improved things like adding features back in that were missing (keyboard support). And still upset no Amazon Prime yet (I blame both Apple and Amazon), but I'm excited to see what enhancements they plan on making to tvOS at WWDC.
Sure, with a more silly round screen, desperately trying to imitate analog round watches, the developers will come. You can see it everywhere else too, round screens are super popular.
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I thought notifications were the main reason to have an Apple Watch?
Using apps on a 1.5" screen doesn't sound like a fun experience.
So in my opinion... "mostly a notification device" is exactly why I would want an Apple Watch.
That's how I use it. I also use the fitness app every day. And am now used to simply looking at my watch rather than fishing my 6+ out of my pocket to get the time or date. And of course quickly checking email and iMessage notifications.
I hadn't worn a watch in more than 10 years and was expecting to return the device after a short trial. When that period ended there was no way I was giving it back.
It's been on my wrist for at least twelve hours a day, every day, going on months now. Like it a lot...
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Apple Watch remains a niche gadget. As such it's not surprising that it is bound to fade into the background at some point.
No, more customers will come, and where the customers go, developers will follow.
And then there's this popular perception:
A round screen might not improve this particular image of the Watch, but it couldn't hurt.
The problem is that third party apps suck on the Apple Watch. Here is the whole process:
The watch does a few things well. Complications are great, and using Siri to quickly text someone, or set an event, or create a reminder, or start a timer is really handy, as well as Homekit commands. And quickly checking notifications or my calendar is great. But third party apps are not great, and often bad.
What's sad is that third party apps are much better today than at launch. But they're still laggy. Sometimes they just flat out don't open. IDK if it's bad developers or what. I tend to think the hardware shares a lot of the blame. Some of the bigger developers like Twitter and Instagram seem to have decent apps, though fairly limited. And perhaps that limitation keeps them lighter so they don't crash or lag as much? Then you have a handful of smaller devs making apps like Calcbot and RadarScope which are pretty decent most of the time (aside from occasional connection errors in RadarScope). Even a simple app like Pong on the Watch can be extremely laggy sometimes.
The next Apple Watch shouldn't be thinner. It should be faster in every way. Faster processor, faster GPU to prevent laggy UI (especially when flipping through glances), and a faster data connection to the phone using a newer BT spec or something (Two BT antennas for double the data rate? IDK what's possible). Battery life hasn't been an issue for me like I thought it would be (I often have 40-50% left at the end of the day). But honestly, I'd probably use it more if it was faster at getting me the data I need. So any battery savings that arise from improved chipsets and die shrinks should go towards making the thing much more responsive. Then third party apps might have a chance at gaining more traction once they become more usable.
- Go to my watch home screen
- Find one of the tiny app icons and tap it
- Whoops, accidentally tapped the one next to it
- Go back, tap it again
- Wait 15-20 seconds for the app menu to load
- Tap what you want
- Wait 15-30 seconds for the data you want to see to load
- Sometimes the app either crashes or has a connection error during this process, so start over
- Add an extra layer of confusion: apps feel inconsistent, which isn't good on a device with such limited input methods
The watch does a few things well. Complications are great, and using Siri to quickly text someone, or set an event, or create a reminder, or start a timer is really handy, as well as Homekit commands. And quickly checking notifications or my calendar is great. But third party apps are not great, and often bad.
What's sad is that third party apps are much better today than at launch. But they're still laggy. Sometimes they just flat out don't open. IDK if it's bad developers or what. I tend to think the hardware shares a lot of the blame. Some of the bigger developers like Twitter and Instagram seem to have decent apps, though fairly limited. And perhaps that limitation keeps them lighter so they don't crash or lag as much? Then you have a handful of smaller devs making apps like Calcbot and RadarScope which are pretty decent most of the time (aside from occasional connection errors in RadarScope). Even a simple app like Pong on the Watch can be extremely laggy sometimes.
The next Apple Watch shouldn't be thinner. It should be faster in every way. Faster processor, faster GPU to prevent laggy UI (especially when flipping through glances), and a faster data connection to the phone using a newer BT spec or something (Two BT antennas for double the data rate? IDK what's possible). Battery life hasn't been an issue for me like I thought it would be (I often have 40-50% left at the end of the day). But honestly, I'd probably use it more if it was faster at getting me the data I need. So any battery savings that arise from improved chipsets and die shrinks should go towards making the thing much more responsive. Then third party apps might have a chance at gaining more traction once they become more usable.
You can believe that if you want. But just wait, a round Apple watch arrives and nothing changes. Because square is better.
I said it at the beginning and I'll say it again: Apple Watch will fail.
There'll be a few more versions, but it'll slowly fall by the wayside and discontinued. Only geeky techie-types want a smart watch, and even they (from my experience) don't really want it having bought it.
This. The Apple TV uses the same SoC as an iPhone, and HD and Full HD TVs use identical resolutions as the current iPhone. All developers would need to do is make landscape versions for Apple TV if their app is designed as portrait for the iPhone. Then, just have it automatically download the correct version like on iPads. It just doesn't seem like it would be that hard.
I'm actually really excited about Apple TV. Going forward, apps on Television is a great idea. Could be a great platform for digital art. I'm kinda interested to buy one just to try out developing for it.
Watch on the other hand I am completely meh about.
I'll buy one when its fully waterproof and more tough-looking.
Watch on the other hand I am completely meh about.
I'll buy one when its fully waterproof and more tough-looking.
Spotify on Chromecast is very unstable here.. But maybe there is something wrong in my configuration..
I don't own either, but I can easily imagine that the vast majority of the developers out there don't own a Apple watch and it's easier for them to picture what a TV app would be vs a watch app.
Still believe that the watch has potential, but Apple have to convince both developers and consumers alike to demonstrate what the watch is really capable of.
Still believe that the watch has potential, but Apple have to convince both developers and consumers alike to demonstrate what the watch is really capable of.
Oh sure, interested in Apple TV is higher if you look at interest from application developers. But what about interest from watch band developers? Hmmm?
I don't think its going to fade into the background, but instead just move forward fairly slowly. Wearables are going to be a significant factor at some point, its just going to be a while.
I bought one early on and it has much value to me in what it does. Same for another family member.
I also have a current Apple TV. Our only use there, so far, is movies and video. I'm not a games person and already have other devices that do home automation well including an Amazon Echo (which so far has been quite impressive).
Echo combined with IFTTT is quite powerful. Today I can say "Find my wife" and a few moments later my phone will speak her current location and address.
It's pretty obvious why there's less development for the Apple Watch. The developers are waiting for the next iteration, which could very well be quite different from what people have today. So there's that, and the fact that Apple TV is more like a giant iPhone, so it's easy to port things over to it. It's harder to find ways/reasons to port over something in iOS to a watch.
This article is stating the obvious. Of course the Apple TV platform is attracting more developers... programing for a TV screen and controller is not a new model. Its very similar to game consoles that have been around for years and have a huge developer base. Writing apps for a watch is still a relatively new model/platform and developers/users haven't figured out yet the real killer apps that might take it to the next level. I am happy with what my Apple Watch does, but know that over time it will be able to do more and more.
Beats me why it would get more developers if the screen is round. Where is the data to prove this?