It's not a question of honesty, but a matter of opinion. My opinion disagrees with your statement, because I think the watch does many things quite well. I do agree that it will most certainly get better over time (or I would say "even better"), and OS2 will be a step in that direction.
I think it depends on what you want these devices for. In my case the iPhone 3G was a step up from the Blackberry (I had both the original monochrome BB and later the color display "Blueberry"). My problem was that the Blackberry was a great device for accessing my work email, calendar and contacts. But for me that was never a killer feature. It was terrible for Web browsing, and there were no apps. I was also a Palm OS user, and I did use a lot of Palm apps for lists, project management, journaling (with a fold-up keyboard), tracking, etc. Yes there were still some kinks to work out with the iPhone 3G and iOS 3, but for me it was still an excellent product because it replaced two devices for me: My Blackberry and my Palm device. It combined the apps of the Palm ecosystem (most of my favorite apps were ported over to iOS by then) with a much better Web browsing experience than the Blackberry. While email and calendar were not up there with Blackberry (at least for enterprise email systems like Exchange and Lotus Notes), that was not a big deal for me.
I don't know... I've been in the tech industry since the mid-1990s and I have used a lot of new technology during that time. The Apple Watch has had a more significant impact on my daily life than most technology I have adopted, but I fall into the power user category. Casual users may or may not get as much out of it, but it probably depends on what they want out of it. Even power user opinions vary by what they need and expect from the AW. For me it's pretty revolutionary... much like the Palm IIIx was or like the iPhone 3G was. Maybe not in terms of the functionality it provides. Those were both primary devices and the AW is an accessory device, but as an accessory it has absolutely revolutionized the way I get and interact with the information and communication provided by my iPhone in ways that I would say are huge improvements.
Just goes to show how different we all are... Micky is the face I almost never use
Micky is cute, but most of the time I prefer the more functional faces like Utility and Modular. In the evening and on weekends I like to switch to one of the fun faces, but I prefer the Motion faces. I guess I would rather look at jellyfish than at Micky
Apps and complications are important to me, and I am really looking forward to third party complications in Watch OS2. Again I believe we can use the iPhone 3G analogy here. When the iPhone 3G came out the app store grew at a much larger pace than the app selection for Android. I think developers will also focus on the Apple Watch first. Yes Android will catch up, but personally I think it will be another year or more before I can buy an Android phone and Android watch and get all of the apps and functionality I enjoy with my iPhone and Apple Watch. That's not to say that Android watches don't do some things better (or at least in a way that some will prefer), but at this time there are no Android options that offer me some of the features I value in my Apple Watch.
- For me the way notifications are handled was the primary reason for purchasing the Apple Watch: The haptic engine and being able to act on, postpone, snooze or dismiss notifications.
- I agree on looks. I do find some Android watches attractive (especially newer models), but I prefer the squarish shape to round for a smartwatch.
- On Exercise and Activity: I love the rings, but in some ways it falls short of my Fitbit as a fitness tracker. I think Apple is playing a long-game here with the Health apps ability to be a central database for various native and third-party apps, and then there is AirStrip. It's not surprising that right out of the gate they have some catching up to do since Fitbit and others have already defined the fitness tracker. I'm both cautious and curious to see where Apple (and Apple's competition) are headed in this area.
- I do think the Activity rings are more meaningful for some people who are not as interested in the features of more powerful exercise/fitness tracking apps. While I can say my Fitbit is a better fitness tracker at this time, I find myself paying attention to completing the rings more than I check my Fitbit stats and goals.
- Watch UI and versatility - I agree these are wins for Apple, but I like some of what I see on the Android side as well. Personally I like the squarish interface of the Apple Watch, the digital crown, etc.
- Battery is a fail? I disagree. It is on par with my iPhone 6 and I have never run out of battery with either device even on days of heavy use. I charge both at night when I go to sleep. I don't need either device to last for days on a single charge. From what I have observed most Apple Watch owners do not think battery life is an issue at all.
- Ruggedness and Water Resistance - After a couple of months so far so good with my AWS, but it's still an unknown which is why I bought Apple Care +
- Pricing - Before I bought one, I thought the pricing was reasonable...of course I would prefer it to be a little lower, but I still bought a 38mm AWS. At the time of purchase I just couldn't justify spending more on the SS model. After owning the watch for two months I can totally rationalize spending more on the SS model, because the watch has been that useful to me. I will likely wear it every single day, for 15 to 18 hours a day, for several years. Even if I didn't sell it and I bought another model after two years, that comes out to about 50 cents a day to own and use a device that really does more than enough for me throughout the day to justify the 50 cents or even a dollar (which is what the SS model would break down to).
So that's my honest opinion
Sean
