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MultiMediaWill

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Aug 1, 2010
1,634
378
Minneapolis
I was very excited to preorder my apple watch sport on Friday. However, after these reviews came out today, I'm on the fence about this whole thing now. All my hype was killed by the reviews. Anyone else in a similar situation? What are you going to do?
 
i'm still ordering mine. Although reviewers said it can be a bit slow, i know it'll be updated soon. Otherwise, i'm still excited for the overall experience. The reviews didn't change my opinion one bit.
 
Pre-order it. You can always return it. It might be great for you
 
Have the courage of your convictions and welcome to the bleeding edge. It's fun here!
 
It's definitely making me second-guess my original desire for the SS model... Now seriously considering a Sport model. However, I think it may be very difficult to get one (especially Space Gray). I don't know.
 
Nope not killed. As I mentioned in an earlier post,m the watch will mature and its full capability will be recognised. If you are not sure then put it on hold for a few months and decide about purchasing once we have a better idea of what it can really do
 
it's not like apple watch superior to everything else - the watch is late to the game and yet brings nothing compelling to the table. Except it's overpriced, underpowered, and over-hyped.
 
Not at all. As SHKLMRE said, there will be software updates that will improve this. Remember, the first iPhone wasn't perfect, by any stretch of the imagination. Even the "negative" reviews say that this is the best effort yet by anyone. They just aren't sure it's worth the price of admission for the higher end models, or expect an improved version in the near future.

The Sport will retain the greatest percentage of its value since it's the cheapest, so if you are interested in one, go ahead.
 
Well I'm no less enthusiastic today. Actually, the watch seems to be everything I expected. I guess my expectations were tempered more than others'.

If I were you, I'd avoid pre-ordering. Even $350 is too much to risk if you're on the fence. Just wait, is that really so bad? Wait for other people to use the watch for a month or more. Then make an honest assessment of whether or not the watch would improve your life. It's not for everyone, and just because you're a tech geek doesn't mean you have to get every new device on the market if it doesn't fit your needs.

But especially don't pre-order a stainless steel model with a stone leather loop strap. That would be the worst thing you could do (because that's what I want).
 
Never really had any enthusiasm for it in the first place. I knew all the people pronouncing it as the second coming and a new fashion device were off their rockers. I've said it all along that this is glorified notifications on your wrist, not a premium watch.

However, since I am a tech/fitness nerd and have a job where I have to be on top of my emails and messages, I will buy the cheapest model (space gray aluminum/black sport). I don't see the justification for buying anything more expensive since it will probably be vaporware by this time next year.
 
It's definitely making me second-guess my original desire for the SS model... Now seriously considering a Sport model. However, I think it may be very difficult to get one (especially Space Gray). I don't know.

I'm starting to think any sport model will be the easiest to get. I believe apple made the most of these model as most people might be buying the sport.
 
I don't think most of the reviews were fair. Everybody said it was better than any other smartwatch on the market, but then found things to complain about. While some may be valid, other I feel like were nit picking. I understand the limitations of the watch, but am still excited about owning one.
 
My enthusiasm has dampened somewhat. Enough to make me decide maybe pre-ordering is not for me. I will likely still pick one up but I'm dialing it back down a notch. If I do get one, it will be a Sport watch because I suspect a v2 should be closer on the horizon; this version feels too much like a swing and a near-miss.

So if I don't wait for v2, I'll at least wait for the 2nd wave of orders; probably means I'll be getting mine in June.
 
I wonder what kinds of "hypes" you were having to begin with. Did you expect the battery to be everlasting? Did you expect a supercomputer sitting on your wrist?

The problem with these early Apple Watch reviews is simple. We don't know what to expect out of the ecosystem. I've seen too many colleagues losing their job after writing negative reviews on Apple product lines. iPod was a starter. Then iPhone, then iPad. Macbook Air was on the list, OS X was on the list as well. So for whatever review I've read, and apparently you've read through MR, needs to be read with good amount of grain of salt.

As for myself, I'm not surprised to see those reviews. Watch is a watch. Not many people are watch-enthusiast anymore, except for people looking for high-end fashion icons. I'm only interested in it as a watch/fitness tracker. So as long as it serves the purpose as it is advertised, it won't my decision.
 
I wonder what kinds of "hypes" you were having to begin with. Did you expect the battery to be everlasting? Did you expect a supercomputer sitting on your wrist?

I'll let you know. In reverse order, No, to supercomputer, and No, battery everlasting. Actually, the reviews at least confirmed that I need not worry about the battery lasting a long time; EVERY reviewer stated their battery lasted all day long. Not one actually *ran out*. Some got close, but those were on days when they really worked the watch hard, as a good reviewer should.

No, the "hype" that I had that was dashed was the bits about the watch interface being unresponsive. That is *very* un-Apple. And maybe this reviewer is biased, but I think it's really hard to ignore this quote:

Sometimes pulling location information and data from your iPhone over Bluetooth and Wi-Fi takes a long time. Sometimes apps take forever to load, and sometimes third-party apps never really load at all. Sometimes it’s just unresponsive for a few seconds while it thinks and then it comes back.

Now *that* is something I'm used to with my old Windows PCs. And I'm certain some early adopters of the wearables are used to this. But this is something I just don't think is worth being on the pre-order list for. Maybe later when Apple demonstrates they can fix this in software then I'll jump in. But if this requires a new cpu in a v2 watch, I can wait. I'm in no hurry. As everyone has pointed out, this is a *convenience* watch. So I'm okay with waiting for it to become convenient! :)
 
Not sure why it's slow

The specs say it doesn't need to be slow.

It's not like we are going backward

I hope :eek:

Anyway, I like this debate. This way when I see issues I won't get that sinking feeling, and will be expecting it.
 
nope, I'm still very excited. There's nothing like being a part of first-gem releases. You won't get that again for God knows how long. Even if it straight up blows, I still won't regret being a part of it
 
I wonder what kinds of "hypes" you were having to begin with. Did you expect the battery to be everlasting? Did you expect a supercomputer sitting on your wrist?

The problem with these early Apple Watch reviews is simple. We don't know what to expect out of the ecosystem. I've seen too many colleagues losing their job after writing negative reviews on Apple product lines. iPod was a starter. Then iPhone, then iPad. Macbook Air was on the list, OS X was on the list as well. So for whatever review I've read, and apparently you've read through MR, needs to be read with good amount of grain of salt.

As for myself, I'm not surprised to see those reviews. Watch is a watch. Not many people are watch-enthusiast anymore, except for people looking for high-end fashion icons. I'm only interested in it as a watch/fitness tracker. So as long as it serves the purpose as it is advertised, it won't my decision.

The hype is that the app experience will be great. Turns out, it sucks bad. The whole "run apps on phone and send data back to watch via BT" wasn't a great idea afterall....it's a hack job and it's really showing...
 
Killed? No. Dampened? Somewhat.

Pretty much decided on the Sport now, especially since Gruber called the strap 'luxurious' and said it was very comfortable! Means I can probably justify to myself upgrading when the next one rolls around too - I'd have probably held off had I bought the SS model.

I'm a little disappointed that it isn't the absolute definitive answer to why we need wearable tech, but I'm still excited to buy one, use it and develop apps for it.
 
I haven't changed my opinion, i am still very excited about the launch.

After using a Pebble solidly for the last year I know what I want from my smartwatch and the Apple Watch does it all, just better!

As for the concerns about it being underpowered, I am not too concerned. I would say it's a safe bet that the software just needs some more optimisation, after all, look what Apple did with the later versions of IOS 7 and 8 to improve performance on the iPhone 4/4S and iPad 3, don't underestimate what some good optimisation can do to improve things.

Roll on Friday for me!!
 
I haven't changed my opinion, i am still very excited about the launch.

After using a Pebble solidly for the last year I know what I want from my smartwatch and the Apple Watch does it all, just better!

As for the concerns about it being underpowered, I am not too concerned. I would say it's a safe bet that the software just needs some more optimisation, after all, look what Apple did with the later versions of IOS 7 and 8 to improve performance on the iPhone 4/4S and iPad 3, don't underestimate what some good optimisation can do to improve things.

Roll on Friday for me!!

The Verge said Apple told them a software update was coming. But it seems like Apple offered up that information after their review came out. I'm a little surprised Apple wouldn't have told reviewers the software is still being tweaked.
 
The Verge said Apple told them a software update was coming. But it seems like Apple offered up that information after their review came out. I'm a little surprised Apple wouldn't have told reviewers the software is still being tweaked.

Well there you go, nothing to worry about :D
 
But smartwatches suck. So being the best of the smartwatches doesn't mean it's great.

I don't think most of the reviews were fair. Everybody said it was better than any other smartwatch on the market, but then found things to complain about. While some may be valid, other I feel like were nit picking. I understand the limitations of the watch, but am still excited about owning one.
 
I found some of the reviews both honest and yet overblown.

Why would you write a review and leave ALL of the notifications from ALL Apps on......turn them off and then do the review.

Just because the watch vibrates, does not mean you have to look at it right then and there (as I say that, my pebble vibrated...because I'm typing this response, I have yet to look at it)

The slow response time of the software will be fixed with an update. I remember similar issues with the original iPhone and Apple went updating the phone....some people used to say "Safari seems snappier" as a result of said updates.

Those are just some of my observations related to the reviews. I watched them more to see the watch in action than I did to curb my desire for one (which it didn't).
 
I'm not going to use it with wifi on.

I'm going to trim down notifications.

This way it should be fast and battery life will be better.

I'm not a fan of wifi on my phone either.
 
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