I Apple, but not my Apple Watch

[ToroidalZeus]

I would have to disagree with the logic here. Multiple upon multiple projects are underway, from integrating your car's O/S with blue-tooth, building systems, shopping options, etc to become Internet integrated. This wasn't the case 10 years ago, and comparing MS (who frankly is uneven at best) handling of the entertainment industry in the living room is simply not equivalent to the myriad of obvious applications coming (hell, just think of Medical) wear a wearable is quicker and more natural than even a smart phone. The better way to look at this if you want a comparison would be to compare the rapid emergence of the Cloud for general computing compared to the first attempt. Few now remember this "cloud" is nothing new; it's the re-branding and re-introduction of what some us recall at the end of the 90's as ASP's or Application Service Providers. The time wasn't right, it took another full decade to be realized once the Internet was sufficiently powerful enough to accommodate it but those technically aware enough of the big picture recognized it was the natural direction of things in time.

I believe we in the same position with wearables, only the time difference is say three years as opposed to about 12 with ASP/Cloud services. If you think it is about YouTube and the apps usage you are missing the point entirely of the integration possibilities which are all but inevitable. 90+% of the folks returning their Apple Watches will own another within five years, mark my word.

First of all cars already have bt.

Second RFID in grocery stores. Yes it will happen. But why do I need ApplePay in my bracelet or sunglasses when I already have it in my cell phone?

Third we've had watches that track heartbeat for years now too. While I admit being able to send that info to a central database and harvest the data may be useful for insurance companies or possibly some studies, I don't see it being big enough to start an entire wearable market. Furthermore a dedicated medical device would probably function better than a jack of all traits apple watch.

Perhaps the biggest issues with your viewpoint is that A) you haven't defined what wearables are and B) you haven't stated what problem they solve.

Wearable are bracelets, necklaces, sunglasses, pants, coats, and of course watches with embedded technology. But what problem do these devices solve? And more importantly is that solution greater than the additional layer of complexity and of upkeep (such as charging)?

I personally don't see it.

Would Steve have done this? Of course. Technology has become increasingly personal over the generations, and wearables are about as personal as we know how to get right now.

By this definition Apple invented the wearables market over 10 years ago with the iPod.

 

[adammull]

First of all cars already have bt.

Second RFID in grocery stores. Yes it will happen. But why do I need ApplePay in my bracelet or sunglasses when I already have it in my cell phone?

Third we've had watches that track heartbeat for years now too. While I admit being able to send that info to a central database and harvest the data may be useful for insurance companies or possibly some studies, I don't see it being big enough to start an entire wearable market. Furthermore a dedicated medical device would probably function better than a jack of all traits apple watch.

Perhaps the biggest issues with your viewpoint is that A) you haven't defined what wearables are and B) you haven't stated what problem they solve.

Wearable are bracelets, necklaces, sunglasses, pants, coats, and of course watches with embedded technology. But what problem do these devices solve? And more importantly is that solution greater than the additional layer of complexity and of upkeep (such as charging)?

I personally don't see it.



By this definition Apple invented the wearables market over 10 years ago with the iPod.

The problem with the Apple Watch is that people are trying to make it have some killer app. You get it and play with it for five minutes and realize its not an iPhone and then you want to send it back. That's not what it is. I'm over two weeks in now and for what I use it for, its fantastic. Its a complement to my phone. I hardly use my phone now except when I need to send an email or need a bigger screen. Its a triage device first. Secondly, Apple Pay was made for this. It's way more convenient and easy to use than the phone. Thirdly, boarding passes, car engagement (i.e. unlocking doors, remote start), and hotel keys will be transformed by this device.

We will all have Apple Watches or competitors watches in 5 years. If you don't see this you're just blind.

 

[za9ra22]

By this definition Apple invented the wearables market over 10 years ago with the iPod.

Actually, that wasn't a definition. Nor was there anyone I noticed suggesting a debate on who invented wearables, let alone what 'wearables' actually means.

 

[ToroidalZeus]

The problem with the Apple Watch is that people are trying to make it have some killer app. You get it and play with it for five minutes and realize its not an iPhone and then you want to send it back. That's not what it is. I'm over two weeks in now and for what I use it for, its fantastic. Its a complement to my phone. I hardly use my phone now except when I need to send an email or need a bigger screen. Its a triage device first. Secondly, Apple Pay was made for this. It's way more convenient and easy to use than the phone. Thirdly, boarding passes, car engagement (i.e. unlocking doors, remote start), and hotel keys will be transformed by this device.

We will all have Apple Watches or competitors watches in 5 years. If you don't see this you're just blind.

Did you read my 1st post here? Steve Jobs already addressed that viewpoint.

https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/21255078/

Apple isn't about making some niche product. And without killer apps the watch won't make the transition to mainstream.

 

[bunnicula]

am i the only one who is happy with the watch?

I mean i love watches and wear one every single day. I own roughly 8-10 watches. From Invicta to a rolex, none of them which do anything more than tell time or have an alarm.

Now instead of wearing my Movado or any other expensive watch at work, along with a fitbit on my other hand. I can simply wear this watch and guess what? Not only i can see time, i can now see my messages and incoming calls as well.

Everyone is making this into such a big deal. It is called an Apple WATCH. It is a Watch that tells you time but also gives you ability to do various other things that you couldn't do with your other watch before this one.

Nah. I love mine. It's a cool as ice cream.

 

[jonnyb098]

If anyone wants an amazing picture into who Steve was just read the new biography, Becoming Steve Jobs. Its the definitive look at the man with all his flaws and strengths.

So after being half way through the book, I think Steve would never have approved the watch in its current form. Simply due to some clunkiness. With all new Apple products, they were very simple, very few apps etc. The watch is trying to do too many things in mediocrity rather than do a few things really really well.

 

[AustinIllini]

If anyone wants an amazing picture into who Steve was just read the new biography, Becoming Steve Jobs. Its the definitive look at the man with all his flaws and strengths.

So after being half way through the book, I think Steve would never have approved the watch in its current form. Simply due to some clunkiness. With all new Apple products, they were very simple, very few apps etc. The watch is trying to do too many things in mediocrity rather than do a few things really really well.

I agree with you, but I also don't believe it matters. The Apple Watch is a niche product and more of an accessory than a device, itself. I realized that literally a day after I put it on. It doesn't do anything much better than the iPhone, and while it does make checking messages and emails easier, the Watch itself does nothing significantly better than an iPhone, which you will always have when using the watch.

I wanted to like it, I really did. At the end of the day, it's not just missing a "killer app", it is missing a global purpose.

 

[jds4300]

So I got my Watch.

I am an Apple zealot in many ways. That annoying guy that up-sells Apple stuff to friends and family, border line religiously. Ever since I bought my first Powerbook G4 in 2001 - I have been a convert. So I unquestioningly looked forward to the Apple Watch from the moment I saw it.

But now its here - and this Watch just doesn't add up for me. It feels superficial and pointless. It adds nothing to the apple experience except another layer of abstraction. I mean how hard is it really to check a message on your phone, as opposed to your wrist? And the other stuff feels limited and limiting.

The concept looks like a classic Apple product. Its has all the hallmarks of great design, style and simplicity. but then you look closer and its like something vital is missing.

I knew why I wanted an iPod. It was going to change how I listened to my music. I knew why I wanted an iPhone. It was going to change and expand the way I used my phone. I didn't know why I wanted an iPad - until I got one and then it all made sense. But with this it feels like its been designed the wrong way around - its a product looking for an idea.

This is the first new Apple product without Steve Jobs input and boy can I sense that. He would have asked much harder questions than anyone else on the team seems to have done.

Yep, if Steve could emerge from his grave, he'd strangle Tim Cook for releasing this crappy, over priced, over hyped trinket. It's a disgrace to Apple and Steve.

 

[AustinIllini]

Yep, if Steve could emerge from his grave, he'd strangle Tim Cook for releasing this crappy, over priced, over hyped trinket. It's a disgrace to Apple and Steve.

The iPhone was a combination of smaller Apple projects. Steve et al figured out the best way to combine all of them into one device. The Watch appears to have been one project which didn't do anything particularly well.

 

[Esoom]

I had mine listed for sale and cancelled it after using the eTrade app, it's not a great app, but it works, well enough that I'm keeping the watch.

 

[mightyjabba]

Yep, if Steve could emerge from his grave, he'd strangle Tim Cook for releasing this crappy, over priced, over hyped trinket. It's a disgrace to Apple and Steve.

Why do I have the feeling that people are going to be quoting this in 5-10 years, like the initial reaction to the iPod & iPhone?

 

[adammull]

Yep, if Steve could emerge from his grave, he'd strangle Tim Cook for releasing this crappy, over priced, over hyped trinket. It's a disgrace to Apple and Steve.

Like how much should it cost?

 

[striders]

Why do I have the feeling that people are going to be quoting this in 5-10 years, like the initial reaction to the iPod & iPhone?

Or the iPad.

 

[FoxD]

I just want it to actually show me the time when I move my wrist...does it maybe half the time....I end up having to touch it to see what time it is. Very annoying.

 

[zenbergus]

I wholeheartedly agree with the OP.

Got my watch on launch day and have been trying to like it since, however I simply can't force myself to do it because of all the issues:

1. It's bad at telling time, like others have already mentioned, sometimes the screen turns on when you move the wrist, sometimes it doesn't. This alone should've been a huge red flag to Apple.

2. The interface is unbelievably complex and un-Apple-like. My wife is a non-tech savvy person and she also has had her watch since the 24th - she still gets confused about all the different methods of interaction that the watch has (hidden force touch in some places, swipes, two buttons that have double, single and long clicks, etc).

3. Both native and third-party apps are unbearably slow. Sometimes I need to wait for the native weather app to load for half a minute (!). At this point it's much easier to pull out my phone and forget about the watch. The problem is that the "glanceable" nature of the watch means that the interface should be even more responsive and fast than on phones or tablets, however that's not the case at all.

4. "Hey Siri" is unreliable and holding the crown instead is inconvenient.

5. Walking directions have a significant delay compared to your actual movement and for me were useless for this reason.

6. The watch constantly reminds me to stand up when I'm walking or to meet the fitness goal when I'm driving and this is both a new unnecessary distraction and poor software QA on Apple's side.

Somebody in this thread compared the watch to the original iPhone that lacked many features, however I couldn't disagree more with this analogy. The original iPhone's interface was intuitive from day 1 and this has been the foundation on top of which Apple has been adding new features, which is why it has been such a huge success. The original iPhone was full of compromises, but the features that existed were extremely polished and intuitive (please take a look at the 2007 keynote, where Steve Jobs demoes conference call merging and music resuming after the call ends, these are an excellent example of a great attention to detail that he and his team had). The same applied to the original iPad, it was limited, but the basic feature-set worked well.

The watch is nowhere near the level of polish of the original iPhone/iPad, it's trying to do a lot, but doesn't do anything well. The foundation (the watch's UX and UI) is flawed from day 1 and you can't build a successful product with such an unstable foundation. I'm worried that Apple executives sincerely believe that it's a good product in its current shape and form and that they gave it a green light without any hesitation and concerns about the reputation of their company.

Selling both my and my wife's Apple Watches on eBay, hopefully their next product won't be as disappointing as this one.

 

[mightyjabba]

The watch is nowhere near the level of polish of the original iPhone/iPad, it's trying to do a lot, but doesn't do anything well. The foundation (the watch's UX and UI) is flawed from day 1 and you can't build a successful product with such an unstable foundation. I'm worried that Apple executives sincerely believe that it's a good product in its current shape and form and that they gave it a green light without any hesitation and concerns about the reputation of their company.

I can't really disagree with much of you have said, even if we seem to have come to different conclusions. I do feel like the UI needs a major overhaul, and I question a lot of the design decisions they've made. It seems to me that a scaled down version of iOS (in terms of the UI) would've actually been more usable and more familiar to people.

But I think this can and will be improved upon. And in any case I find the watch be useful enough even in its current form to warrant my keeping it.

 

[cardfan]

Or, you know, just put you phone on vibrate in your pocket.

If I wanted a notifications screen, I would certainly not pay $400 for it.

Pulling the iphone out, if you happen to notice the vibration (I missed calls or texts all the time), doesn't compare to simply glancing at your watch, which you will notice every time.

The iphone can never do what the watch does.

 

[GOAT4521]

Early Adopters

I think as with every new product launch from Apple the early adopters often are the ones who make their issues be known. I don't think it is fair to say that after a month that this product is and will be useless in the future. You may hate it now for what it is and what it does but it is almost guaranteed that every generation after this will be BETTER. Historically look what has done. I am more frustrated with how they did the launch than the actual product. The Apple Watch will be steady product for years to come.

 

[pmau]

The iphone can never do what the watch does.

??? The iPhone can do so much more and the watch receives a subset of data that was already processed on your phone.

What you meant to say I think is that the iPhone can never be as convenient as the watch. That might be true, but it's really a personal choice wether you really want to add that extra convenience and have to rely on the phone anyways.

I ordered a watch too .... but let me tell you I really dislike that people claim the watch is so awesome and can do so many things. It can not.

It's a shiny convenience device that triggers a sense of assurance and control.
If you look closely, its real function is rather limited.

 

[dotnet]

It's a shiny convenience device that triggers a sense of assurance and control. If you look closely, its real function is rather limited.

Maybe you should wait until you get yours

 

[pmau]

Maybe you should wait until you get yours

Oh don't worry I'll keep it. But I'm realistic about what it can and cannot do.

 

[TEBnewyork]

Somebody in this thread compared the watch to the original iPhone that lacked many features, however I couldn't disagree more with this analogy. The original iPhone's interface was intuitive from day 1 and this has been the foundation on top of which Apple has been adding new features, which is why it has been such a huge success. The original iPhone was full of compromises, but the features that existed were extremely polished and intuitive (please take a look at the 2007 keynote, where Steve Jobs demoes conference call merging and music resuming after the call ends, these are an excellent example of a great attention to detail that he and his team had). The same applied to the original iPad, it was limited, but the basic feature-set worked well.

The iPhone 1 was intuitive in many ways and many of us have owned iPhones since day one of the first phone. Yes, it was the foundation of what was to come but, and this is a big but, that evolution you talk about has come with a lot of complexity being added. There are plenty of interactions with iOS that are now pretty complex and you don't really know about until someone shows them to you. There actually is a lot to learn for someone new to iOS today. Yes you can sill pick up a phone and figure stuff out but again getting those new features over a 10 year period makes learning it easier.

examples:
How many people do you know that have any clue about changing exposure when composing a picture? Shake to undo? Organizing photos? How to figure out what's going on when iMessage goes from blue to green? getting to files you put on iCloud drive from a mac that you can't find on iOS, and the list goes on.

I think the watch today has some things that can be changed in the OS and some things can be explained differently. But I really think the watch OS is like jumping into iOS a few years down the line. There is a ton more to it than the original iPhone.

I think some of the confusion comes from apps and glances. I think once you realize that once in glances if you go past the first screen you are actually now in the App and have to navigate the way you would from an app. That took me a bit of time to understand. So I would go into activity and get frustrated that I couldn't navigate out of it and go directly to weather or battery.

Not everyone is going to like it and I'm not saying it is right for everyone but I think being an early adopter of iPhone you lose sight of the fact that you've used it for many years now and not just two weeks.

 

[KPOM]

I can't really disagree with much of you have said, even if we seem to have come to different conclusions. I do feel like the UI needs a major overhaul, and I question a lot of the design decisions they've made. It seems to me that a scaled down version of iOS (in terms of the UI) would've actually been more usable and more familiar to people.

But I think this can and will be improved upon. And in any case I find the watch be useful enough even in its current form to warrant my keeping it.

I disagree about the UI. I think the people who find it difficult to use are over-thinking things. A scaled down phone UI is what Samsung tried with the original Gear. They are apparently scrapping it for a rotating bezel in the next one.

There are areas where the UI can be more consistent (e.g. dismissing an e-mail in the mail notification vs. the mail app), but I haven't found it hard to use at all. The screen activation feature works decently enough (though I suspect future versions will have some form of "always on" time once Apple can get the power consumption down).

 

[bjdraw]

Apple isn't about making some niche product. And without killer apps the watch won't make the transition to mainstream.

The Apple Watch killer app is glance-able information. It's the same killer app that has sold watches since they were invented.

 

[Docsteel]

The Apple Watch killer app is glance-able information. It's the same killer app that has sold watches since they were invented.

Pretty good analysis - and I would add, again its key selling point is to help you determine when to and not to take out your phone!