Does anyone else wonder why watchos3 wasn't os1?

[gwhizkids]

Craig Federici said in an interview that they overestimated how much battery people would drain throughout the day. Now they know most people have plenty to spare, they can use it something thing useful.

They also figured something out with 2.2 that greatly enhanced battery life. Before 2.2, I would typically have under 30% remaining at bedtime. Now, its more like 45-50%. I think that was the breakthrough they needed to enable the dock and constant refresh.

 

[rasputin1969]

Apple switched the app caching model from apps they chose to apps the user chooses. Bringing up the settings app now takes my watch 3.5 seconds, before, on os 2, it was instant. If, however I put the settings app in my dock I see os 2 performance.

It is a better system, but really not that impressive from a technical perspective.

 

[MH01]

Was watchOS 1 rushed out? Yes.

Was tvOS rushed out ? Yes.

Was applemusic rushed out? Yes

Guess apple decided that it wanted the hardware sales, as that's thier core business , and worry about the software later, they know many fans will buy no matter what and take advantage of that.

I jsut threw Apple Music in there cause there is a pattern with new apple software

 

[Xenden]

So the Apple Watch is a brand new category. They had no basis on which to judge what the use pattern would be of its users. Apple, and I think rightly so, erred on the side of caution as far as battery life is concerned, and put out watchOS 1 as it was. They now have a years worth of data on the use of millions of people and we're able to iterate to watchOS 3, which, is much better but still in a way that maximizes battery life.

 

[ManicMarc]

They also figured something out with 2.2 that greatly enhanced battery life. Before 2.2, I would typically have under 30% remaining at bedtime. Now, its more like 45-50%. I think that was the breakthrough they needed to enable the dock and constant refresh.

As a 38mm user I wish that was the case for me... (Bad pun I know) If I don't do any workouts then I get about 30% at the end of the day, if I workout (which I do most days) I will drain it. I ended up getting a charger for my desk at work, so I can charge it at lunchtime.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

Whereas SJ typically had an amazing handle on human factors and "ease of use," TC does not -- his roots are PC, his expertise is production (though he may be getting too much credit for that given several product shortages during his CEO tenure, most recently the iPhone 6 SE). SJ was known to be merciless to programmers and designers until the product was "right." SJ was more often right than wrong.

TC OTOH seems to be "dazzled" by what his executives present to him and take them on their word that what they are presenting is the right way for the device to function rather than tell them to go back to the drawing board because it's more theoretical than practical.

After AW was released Apple got lots of feedback from tech punditry and consumers & they made adjustments because the flaws were being shouted. But SJ, based on his record, would have likely understood them at the first planning meeting and they would have never seen the light of day.

WatchOS3 looks to have some nice fixes for the current AW. I hope the next AW has some nice aesthetic and/or functional fixes as well. Having mine for a year, I'm starting to notice what an ugly slab of metal it is. I'd like to see one that looks more like an actual watch than something that looks like a prop from Battlestar Galactica.

 

[gwhizkids]

Whereas SJ typically had an amazing handle on human factors and "ease of use," TC does not -- his roots are PC, his expertise is production (though he may be getting too much credit for that given several product shortages during his CEO tenure, most recently the iPhone 6 SE). SJ was known to be merciless to programmers and designers until the product was "right." SJ was more often right than wrong.

TC OTOH seems to be "dazzled" by what his executives present to him and take them on their word that what they are presenting is the right way for the device to function rather than tell them to go back to the drawing board because it's more theoretical than practical.

After AW was released Apple got lots of feedback from tech punditry and consumers & they made adjustments because the flaws were being shouted. But SJ, based on his record, would have likely understood them at the first planning meeting and they would have never seen the light of day.

WatchOS3 looks to have some nice fixes for the current AW. I hope the next AW has some nice aesthetic and/or functional fixes as well. Having mine for a year, I'm starting to notice what an ugly slab of metal it is. I'd like to see one that looks more like an actual watch than something that looks like a prop from Battlestar Galactica.

What you are saying here seems to have a ring of truth to it, but unless you are privy to C-suite and Boardroom discussions, I don't think you can say this with the level of certainty you are ascribing to it. Steve Jobs was not a demi-god and he made his share of errors, as well. That said, he did appear to have a unique genius for user experience related issues. However, any statement about what he would have done with this or that product is completely conjectural. He's not here anymore and we all regret it, but we have to move on to what is, not what might have been.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

What you are saying here seems to have a ring of truth to it, but unless you are privy to C-suite and Boardroom discussions, I don't think you can say this with the level of certainty you are ascribing to it. Steve Jobs was not a demi-god and he made his share of errors, as well. That said, he did appear to have a unique genius for user experience related issues. However, any statement about what he would have done with this or that product is completely conjectural. He's not here anymore and we all regret it, but we have to move on to what is, not what might have been.

I'd say you need to go back and re-read my post. The first part of my first sentence was (Bold added for emphasis): 'Whereas SJ typically had an amazing handle on human factors and "ease of use,"' Last sentence of the 3rd paragraph I wrote "But SJ, based on his record, would have likely understood them at the first planning meeting and they would have never seen the light of day.

So your inference I presented SJ as a demigod is both false and nothing more than ill-used hyperbole. SJ was human, he did not have a .1000 batting average, but .500 is still Hall of Fame level by heavy margin.

The question I was responding to was why wasn't WatchOS3 OS 1. My answer was that TC doesn't have the skill set SJ had in refining the way products work before release. Instead he beta tests them with the public then makes changes.

What SJ would or would not have done is of course conjecture as you say. Duh. But also as I noted, "based on his record." Conjecture pulled out of thin air, I'll give you. But concluded with circumstantial evidence is enough to convict a person of many crimes. Conjecture can be a useful tool when physical evidence isn't available.

We have 10 years of hard data points on SJ 1.0 products, not to mention a plethora of biographies and an auto-biography, to understand how a SJ's mind worked and how he wanted his 1.0 and succeeding products to function to understand he probably would not have approved WatchOS 1.0 as released, not to mention AW itself with a two function buttons. He would have pushed his staff to make it faster and more intuitive.

And no I don't have privy to the C-suite but Apple released Watch OS1.0 with lots of fanfare. Obviously TC was proud of it as they promoted it for 6 months before release.

 

[JayLenochiniMac]

My answer was that TC doesn't have the skill set SJ had in refining the way products work before release. Instead he beta tests them with the public then makes changes.

Yet SJ made a number of blunders while he was alive, including MobileMe acting much like a public beta. You're giving him too much credit.

We have 10 years of hard data points on SJ 1.0 products, not to mention a plethora of biographies and an auto-biography, to understand how a SJ's mind worked and how he wanted his 1.0 and succeeding products to function to understand he probably would not have approved WatchOS 1.0 as released, not to mention AW itself with a two function buttons. He would have pushed his staff to make it faster and more intuitive.

You're overlooking several of these hard data. Many thought the original iPhone was an incomplete product without copy and paste, MMS, etc. SJ was known to allow buggy products to be released just to meet deadlines, calling even serious bugs "no big deal."

Obviously TC was proud of it as they promoted it for 6 months before release.

Wrong assumption. The original iPhone and iPad were also promoted 6 months before release.

 

[Creek0512]

No

 

[spriter]

Despite there being areas that can be improved, and I've no doubt many of them are being worked on, both on the hardware and software side, I still much prefer Apple's effort over any other. It's only going to get better over time. I've got my original iPhone with 4GB on OS1 here and it's obviously nothing like it is today (or even compared to the 3G and 4 a few years later).

I've tried pretty much all the known Android efforts as well as Pebble and just didn't rate them as highly. Whether it's physical appearance, build quality or software usability of Android Wear or Tizen, as a complete package, they were not as useful nor functional for me as the Apple Watch.

It's still early days in this category for the industry as a whole so it wasn't likely OS3 features would have been envisaged on OS1. Of course we want more power, battery life/efficiency, and better software. Just like we do on phones, laptops, and tablets. It'll come.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

Yet SJ made a number of blunders while he was alive, including MobileMe acting much like a public beta. You're giving him too much credit.



You're overlooking several of these hard data. Many thought the original iPhone was an incomplete product without copy and paste, MMS, etc. SJ was known to allow buggy products to be released just to meet deadlines, calling even serious bugs "no big deal."



Wrong assumption. The original iPhone and iPad were also promoted 6 months before release.

1. AGAIN I didn't write, either implicitly or explicitly that SJ never made blunders, just that he had a keener eye than most when it came to human factors. Even Thomas Edison, Telsa, other tech societal changers had there fare share of flops. That doesn't take away from their greatness and accomplishments. Heck, Reggie Jackson struck out more times than any other batter in history. So what? He is still Mr. October.

2. I'm NOT overlooking any data. iPhone 1.0 was a great product. Not a complete product, but a great one for a 1.0 device. It can't even be compared with the laggy and hobbled AW 1.0. I owned an iPhone 1.0, own an AW 1.0, so I have personal reference, but also the iPhone changed the phone industry.

3. No, NOT wrong assumption, at least on my part. Original iPhone and iPad were good product, if Apple was proud of them they should have been. AW 1.0, esp. with WatchOS 1.0, which is what were are talking about here, was not. WatchOS 2.0 fixed some of that, but it's still slow. Even admitted Apple-biased pundits like Jason Snell are saying WatchOS 3 is a "do over" for Apple. OTOH iPhone OS 2.0 was not a "do over," it was an enhancement, a progression of features that made a great device even better.

Bottom line is TC doesn't have the same skill set at SJ. Watch OS 1.0 was not a good operating system. I'm not sure why either of these ideas would even be controversial.

 

[JayLenochiniMac]

3. No, NOT wrong assumption, at least on my part. Original iPhone and iPad were good product, if Apple was proud of them they should have been. AW 1.0, esp. with WatchOS 1.0, which is what were are talking about here, was not. WatchOS 2.0 fixed some of that, but it's still slow. Even admitted Apple-biased pundits like Jason Snell are saying WatchOS 3 is a "do over" for Apple. OTOH iPhone OS 2.0 was not a "do over," it was an enhancement, a progression of features that made a great device even better.

Re-read what I wrote and think more about what you said. You wrote "Obviously TC was proud of it as they promoted the AW for 6 months before release." I'm saying that's irrelevant and an incorrect assumption as the iPhone and iPad were also promoted 6 months before release.

In any case, AW 1 and watchOS 1.0 were far less buggy than some of the later iPhone and iOS releases. They pretty much played it safe with the original AW.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

Re-read what I wrote and think more about about what you said. You wrote "Obviously TC was proud of it as they promoted the AW for 6 months before release." I'm saying that's irrelevant and an incorrect assumption as the iPhone and iPad were also promoted 6 months before release.

In any case, AW 1.0 and watchOS 1.0 were far less buggy than some of the later iPhone and iOS releases. They pretty much played it safe with the original AW.

Maybe you misunderstood my point - it's not that AW is buggy, it's that using apps just isn't worth the effort. It's that it's not intuitive as to which button does what -- learnable, sure, but Apple is about not having to read the manual. Ex, sometime you have to use the crown, sometimes you can use your finger. AW OS1.0 was not a good OS. Period. Plenty of "expert" review about the problems. Nothing like the addictive and intuitiveness of iPhone OS 1.0 which was amazing compared to anything available on Palm or Blackberry at the time.

I understand what you said. I don't really understand your point though because my point is that Apple must have been quite satisfied Watch OS1 was fantastic or they wouldn't have promoted AW for such a long period of time before launch. Maybe you forgot that during the SJ era and in the current TC era Apple has consistently said that they will not release product before they are ready to be released; that they do not rush products out to meet a specific event. But one doesn't even have to make assumptions there -- Ive, Cook, Schiller, were all quote pre-release how the AW was amazing. We now know v.1.0 was an OK product, but far from amazing. It's functionality looked a lot better on the spec sheet than reality.

Hence the plethora of articles now saying WatchOS 3 is what WatchOS 2 should have been all along. Very different than what people thought about iPhone 1.0 and iPhone 2.0. iPhone 1.0 was awesome, iPhone 3G even better. AW 1.0 is meh. I hope AW 2.0 is what we hoped AW would be.

 

[TurboPGT!]

Oh yeah another know it all that says new features should have been there from the start. How original.

 

[Feenician]

This thread, summed up: Hindsight is 20/20

 

[JayLenochiniMac]

Hence the plethora of articles now saying WatchOS 3 is what WatchOS 2 should have been all along. Very different than what people thought about iPhone 1.0 and iPhone 2.0. iPhone 1.0 was awesome, iPhone 3G even better. AW 1.0 is meh. I hope AW 2.0 is what we hoped AW would be.

To be fair, the original iPhone didn't have an App Store to support like the AW and some thought it seemed crippled because it lacked copy and paste, MMS, etc. All iPhone 3G added was 3G connectivity and A-GPS in a cheaper feeling, plasticky case, with the same capacity battery to boot making it worse. I'd hope the AW 2 isn't like that.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

To be fair, the original iPhone didn't have an App Store to support like the AW and some thought it seemed crippled because it lacked copy and paste, MMS, etc. All iPhone 3G added was 3G connectivity and A-GPS in a cheaper feeling, plasticky case, with the same capacity battery to boot making it worse. I'd hope the AW 2 isn't like that.

Sure, the original iPhone was missing features people wanted to see but that's very different than AW 1.0 which had too many advertised features that either were pointless like sending hearts to someone, or didn't work well like apps. The iPhone was a great user experience unlike Apple Watch/OS 1.0. WatchOS 3.0 that everyone is cheering doesn't add a lot of features, but it reimagines how the watch should work... how it should have worked in the first place. And that is the question raised in this thread: how did the concept of WatchOS 1.0 get any further than a brain storming session?

Anyway, I think we've beat this horse past recognition. If you think Watch OS 1.0 was fantastic you are certainly entitled to your opinion. My own experience and reading others, professional reviewers and lay people alike, is different. Even now I have a love/hate relationship with it.

 

[JayLenochiniMac]

If you think Watch OS 1.0 was fantastic you are certainly entitled to your opinion. My own experience and reading others, professional reviewers and lay people alike, is different. Even now I have a love/hate relationship with it.

I did give up using apps on my AW because they were too slow, even native apps. However, I'm of the opinion that watchOS 1.0 isn't a bad start especially given that we hardly had any third-party apps to begin with. My argument all along has been wOS 3 is what wOS 2 should have been. Not being able to use native apps effectively in wOS 2 was a bigger disappointment than anything I experienced with wOS 1.

 

[thadoggfather]

The achilles heel of iphone 1st gen was edge modem, lacking 3G when other phones had it (like Samsung Blackjack iirc, etc) but with a huge battery pack to offset power inefficiencies

Chupa Chupa hit the nail on the head, 1st gen iPhone was fine, not staring at spinning wheels like AW 1st gen