A circular screen is almost always form over function. I predict another Google fail here.
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Google's Answer to the Apple Watch Leaks in a Closer Look Ahead of Official Reveal
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Round is a good design for a digital watch if it is only a watch. The challenge is once you get past the face and try to use it to display information you wind up with a lot of empty space or really odd looking ones. In addition, given the size limitations for a round face watch’s diameter, text has to be really small or you only see snippets and must scroll forever.
That would be poor human factor design, IMHO. Either it is very small area, making it hard to use, or so big you accidentally tap it. They could build it into the side off the casing, or as a bezel, but that would mean every time you touched the case, even accidentally, it would react; or you have a largish bezel around the face.
In addition, rather than being able to do things by feel such as push a button you’d need to look at the watch to ensure you get the desired response.
Yeah, this'll join the graveyard of google products in 1.5 years...like Stadia.
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I clipped this from a catalog years ago. Butt ugly.It looks like Luigi Colani got up from his grave just to do one final bad "design" with more curves than sense.
I wonder if it's inevitable that Apple will one day offer a circular Watch too. One day the processors in the regular Watch will become so small that Apple will easily be able to fit it into other shapes. Round screen might not be as ideal but why not offer it alongside the regular Watch. The round one could have two modes, the normal UI mode in a rectangular shape (so the top, bottom, and sides of the round display would be wasted), and an alternate mode that does the best it can with the round display (so it might mean just one complication at the top instead of two, in each top corners). I think I would appreciate the excuse to buy both the regular rectangle one and a round one, so I can wear the round one when wearing dress clothes and the rectangular one when wearing regular casual clothes. It would be wonderful to wear a real Apple Watch that doesn't look like a smartwatch at all. Something you wouldn't be embarrassed to wear in a wedding photo.
Maybe I am weird but I wouldn't be embarrassed to have an Apple Watch on in a wedding photo.
🤣🤣😂🤣😂🤣 Thank you SOO much for pointing out a feature I never knew I had, and has actually been right in front of my nose this whole time! 😂😂 seriously thanks as I have a use for this feature right now.
Hey now...13 year old me would have killed for a system like that
16 year old me had moved on to a rackmount stereo system when I got my first steady job.
Yep, didn’t see those images in the article. That is quite awful.
Those are bezels
Samsung has a nice watch. I love that it's round and uses a rotating bezel to change screen info - so intuitive. But that Google one...eh.
I love the design. If Apple had both the round and square form factor, I might go for the round design even though its less practical. Just for some competition I hope it's a good watch.
Rumors though, are pointing to an old SOC with a tweak or two added.... i.e. Samsung watch SOC's being much better. Guessing it may take Google a couple of gens to get it up to snuff (if their CEO has the vision to invest in that, something he's consistently shown to not have a vision for).
That’s also just part of the natural problem of round displays. Round works well for things like progress meters or watch hands, but so many things are better suited by rectangles because it’s easier to pack rectangles into other rectangles than it is to pack them into circles. It’s the same reason we don’t use triangular displays!
Samsung did this years ago and have moved on. That’s the problem. This does look like the first generation product that it is.
Jon Prosser’s leaks from a couple of YEARS ago were pretty accurate. He definitely had a connection feeding him info on this product. Though the leaks were clearly high concept and honestly looked more refined than what we see here. But they were also shown at carefully selected angles. At least the ones I saw were. I don’t recall any hint that the bezels were so large.
Jon Prosser’s leaks from a couple of YEARS ago were pretty accurate. He definitely had a connection feeding him info on this product. Though the leaks were clearly high concept and honestly looked more refined than what we see here. But they were also shown at carefully selected angles. At least the ones I saw were. I don’t recall any hint that the bezels were so large.
Yes, I am one of those people who would actually consider purchasing an Apple Watch, if there were a round model. All I want is the time, Health integration, and other more background functionality. I don’t need a display for a lot of text. My presbyopic eyes can’t read most of that without replacing my reading glasses with higher-diopter glasses.
Exactly, everyone can call this right now. It won’t immediately be a smash hit, so Google will immediately pull investment, making it even less successful, so Google will pull it completely and start over again.
Looking at those pictures shows the problem with round watches. Only a little bit at the very center is usable. I would think this would be harder on the eyes no matter what one is trying to do.
