Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
There are test done by credible sources that conflicts your experience.

So rather than inaccuracies im wondering if the watch is not able to detect your heart rate at all. When the watch is unable to detect your heart rate it defaults to the previous readings. Which would explain the 60-80bpm.

Do you have tattoos covering your wrists? Or perhaps you could try loosening the watch a little? Did you use the workout app?

Wearing it too tight might constrict the blood flow causing the bpm reading to be lower than normal.

Otherwise I think you have a defective watch.

The watch uses 2 different methods to detect heart rate. Instantaneously and passively via infrared. It is the passive 10 minute snapshots I find to be inaccurate.

Apple detail it here. https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204666
 
Really? Did you know Steve Jobs? Did you have coffee with him and discuss what he would and wouldn't do? You people need to stop bringing up his name like some sort of Saint and let the man rest in peace. There was nothing wrong with cell phone when the first iphone was introduced. They brought to market a slow phone (2G), that allowed you to run apps that no one was developing for. It was product for the sake of product. It solved no problems people had. I had a blackberry that received my email and did other things just fine. Was the iphone better on somethings at the time? Sure! Was it worse on others, yup!

Stop thinking that every time apple comes out with a new product they are trying to fix a problem. They are a corporation....they are in business to make money and sell product.

Really? The iPhone did not fix anything about the phone industry? It was not a product for the sake of a product , it revolutionised the phone industry, it was about the user experience.

Saying that someone had to know jobs personally to question if jobs would have allowed a product out the door is silly. Jobs was a perfectionist, and each time I have seen him leave apple the product quality drops. So feel free to bring up dud products that were launched under jobs.

It's a valid question to ask these days, who plays Jobs role, the perfectionist that has the balls to tell the others something is not good enough? There are many books on jobs, read those and you will see why the OP came to those conclusions. In my opinion the Apple watch might have never launched, would at least have been a different proposition under jobs. He would not have allowed apple to just follow other wearables, mimicking them, he would have pushed a product that redefined the category, and not just using a few gimmicks like send pics to people or HR etc...
 
Siri on the phone works much better in terms of being able to execute commands.

I want to be able to raise my wrist and send a text or make a phone call. This is supposed to be one of the killer features, and Apple is pushing this very hard. I don't want to fiddle with buttons. I have tried holding down the crown to activate Siri (works a little better but not much) and using contacts, and the watch just doesn't execute consistently. When it does execute it is often painfully slow.

well quite simply you either mumble or you have a defective unit. Hey Siri works for me 99% of the time, and dictation gets it about 75% of the time
 
The watch uses 2 different methods to detect heart rate. Instantaneously and passively via infrared. It is the passive 10 minute snapshots I find to be inaccurate.

Apple detail it here. https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204666

i don't think that depending on the passive monitoring for cycling is correct. It's not what the creators intended. They intended users to use the workout app.
 
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.

It may not be the product for you. Why do you assume that every product has to be about you and your needs? Just because a product doesn't solve anything for me doesn't mean its a bad product.

I know you are just giving your personal opinion that it doesn't offer you utility, but surely as a zealot you've seen where the watch is useful to others and ways that they use it. For me it has fundamentally changed the way I use my phone. It has made me more aware about sitting for long periods of time when I'm working.

I truly believe for health applications the technology is just in its infancy. And that is also where I think your opinion about Steve Jobs not approving it is so absolutely fundamentally flawed. Think about the iPhone before there were third party applications. This is the early days of wearables.

But again, you can return it. You can give your personal opinion that its not for you. In addition, you can give a personal opinion that its a bad product for you. Just know not everyone shares your opinion on it.
 
The watch takes 10 minute snaps of your heart regardless.

Perhaps the infrared sensors are sensitive to movement?

One more possibility is that the infrared sensors measure deoxygenated blood as opposed to oxygenated blood. Perhaps is not suitable for measuring intense activities.
 
For example you can go to the health and look at your 10 minute clips. Let's assume you have been riding for an hour. It may show...

120
125
119
135
45 (obviously inaccurate)
48 (obviously inaccurate)
129
130

If you then take it further and look at the entire day, it is strewn with inaccuracies.
 
For example you can go to the health and look at your 10 minute clips. Let's assume you have been riding for an hour. It may show...

120
125
119
135
45 (obviously inaccurate)
48 (obviously inaccurate)
129
130

If you then take it further and look at the entire day, it is strewn with inaccuracies.

I don't think that's induction is correct. Apple intended intense activities to be recorded via the workout app. Using something not for its intended purpose and than generalizing the results across the entire data set seems wrong to me.

But I digress. Your statement that the passive sensor is inaccurate is correct but with the caveat that it's only correct when applied to intense activities.
 
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.

Here is your problem.

I like Apple products a lot, but I don't own either a Mac or a MacBook. I don't need one and no matter how pretty and shiny they are, I retain the ability to ask myself why I want it, what use it will be to me, in my life and circumstances.

I always read specs and find out as much as possible about any new purchase so that I am not disappointed or negatively surprised.

I understand that you made a mistake, but I don't understand why you want to justify your mistake by saying it's bad product. Even a quick look at the forums will show you that there are many who are very happy with their watch. The truth is, it's a product that adds much value for some (myself included) and little value for others. It's up to you to work out which camp you fall into before you buy.
 
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.

May I ask what did you want the  WATCH to do for you to keep it? What would be your killer feature?

I have to wonder if this question wouldn't be solved by software from either Apple or a third party.
 
It annoys me when people think SJ wouldn't have done this or that. SJ is dead. Leave him there.
 
This year I decided to not pre-order any video games. It is not because I don't like them, but because it is an economically wise decision. The new Batman game has a $40 season pass that will make the "full game" $100. In just a year the whole thing will be available for $30-60. Plus with failed launches like the last Assassins Creed, why should I trust that the thing I'm buying is good.

In the case of the Apple Watch I knew I wanted one because I saw everything it could do. I have had a pebble for 2 years now, and as great as it is, it became annoying for the things it couldn't do. Everything about the apple watch fixed those things and I preordered one because I knew I wanted it. Not because it had the apple name, but what it could do.

I don't have a lot of apple products if you look at the vast majority of them, I have a MacBook Pro, and iPhone, an iPad, an Apple TV, a Time Capsuleand soon an Apple Watch.

I don't have an iPod (well I do but it is from 2003, and I don't use it), an iPod Nano, a iPod Touch, a MacBook, a MacBook Air, a MacPro, a MacMini, an Apple Monitor or an Airport.

Some of those products I don't have because I have a device that already does it(iPhone) some I don't have because I don't have the money for (MacPro) and some I don't have because I don't need it. While everyone insists that the Apple Watch just does what your phone can already do... Which is not an untrue statement... It can do a lot of things your iPhone can't do, and things that Steve Jobs would have been pushing for.

Hey Siri: Steve was famous for ridiculing the stylus requirement for a mobile devices. Now you don't need a physical input at all.

Wrist Raise: the action you would take to look at a regular watch would turn on the display. Minimalist and battery sufficient.

Some actions you should do on the phone: a complete keyboard would be a eye sore and a frustrating interface. And it would look pretty dumb to be dictating an entire email into your wrist.

Choices: I think this is the thing Steve would have been stressing in his Keynote. The  Watch is all about choice. From the case and band style and material, to even how you respond to notifications. This is a device that lets you stay glued to your iPhone, but doesn't require it to be constantly in your hand, or even at a moments reach. You are still connected, but now you can be more personal. You can choose when something is important or not, but instead of pulling out and checking your phone, you can do it at a glance.

You may not like your  Watch, and that is okay, but you are wrong in saying it would never happen under Steve Jobs.
 
My point is this product feels like something Steve wouldn't have launched in its current state. It's a product for the sake of a product, rather than offering something new.

The moment you start saying what a dead person who you never knew would have done differently, you lose all credibility I'm afraid.
 
My point is this product feels like something Steve wouldn't have launched in its current state. It's a product for the sake of a product, rather than offering something new.

I was skeptical at first but I love my apple watch. Fitness notifications and the activity ring system are worth the price of the product alone IMO.
 
I too am a devoted Apple fan....ipad, phone, macs, TV, etc. and I ordered my watch at 3am and got it a week after launch.

Having spent almost 10 days with it I can say it feels a lot like iPad, the device I didn't know I needed. It has become an integral part of my day already as I find myself emptying my brain with reminders, texting with my family, and using the health features. My phone spends a lot more time in my pocket and I'd love a day where this could be my phone, but there's a ton of work to do in that space.

The one point I agree with is how Steve would've influenced the product....one key example is the friends button that is absolutely useless. There had to be a way that to get rid of that button and still use Apple Pay :/
 
I too am a devoted Apple fan....ipad, phone, macs, TV, etc. and I ordered my watch at 3am and got it a week after launch.

Having spent almost 10 days with it I can say it feels a lot like iPad, the device I didn't know I needed. It has become an integral part of my day already as I find myself emptying my brain with reminders, texting with my family, and using the health features. My phone spends a lot more time in my pocket and I'd love a day where this could be my phone, but there's a ton of work to do in that space.

The one point I agree with is how Steve would've influenced the product....one key example is the friends button that is absolutely useless. There had to be a way that to get rid of that button and still use Apple Pay :/

Funny,
I really enjoy the friends button. I guess I could use siri to pick the person but i like having that direct access to a group of people. Perhaps in the future they can make it a soft button to use for your favorite app but as of now I would keep mine as friends.
 
I got the :apple:watch because it looks pretty. I always wanted a nice watch. I was going to get just a watch but the :apple:watch came out so I decided to get that instead. Plus it does all these features :)
 
I love my Apple Watch. I can't imagine not wearing it now after 10 days.

That being said, I think its interesting that people start these threads where, because they don't like the watch, they claim it will be a failure. I don't have an iPad. I don't like the device. I had several, but I just don't need it or want it. I prefer a Macbook Air. But I don't claim the iPad a failure. Obviously millions of people have them. Who said 100% of Apple products are for 100% of people?
 
I got the :apple:watch because it looks pretty. I always wanted a nice watch. I was going to get just a watch but the :apple:watch came out so I decided to get that instead. Plus it does all these features :)

And that is the best reason to get the watch. They really are wonderful looking and some of the best designed products that Apple has made. There is a lot that it will be able to do and now that developers have the chance to actually live and interact with it they will really start to be able to create great apps for it. That part takes time.
 
Siri on the phone works much better in terms of being able to execute commands.

I want to be able to raise my wrist and send a text or make a phone call. This is supposed to be one of the killer features, and Apple is pushing this very hard. I don't want to fiddle with buttons. I have tried holding down the crown to activate Siri (works a little better but not much) and using contacts, and the watch just doesn't execute consistently. When it does execute it is often painfully slow.

I have none of your problems and find it very easy to make calls and send texts from my watch. I find the watch to be very fast and have only had 1 buggy experience so far in 10 fays+ of use. Admittedly, I haven't loaded more than 10 third party apps but they all seem to work okay. The need to refresh data can be annoying but I attribute this to wanting to save battery. Once the API is opened up more and there are further modifications to the software, it will just get even better. It seems as though everyone that take the watch for what it was meant to be are extremely happy while others, who expect the watch to do things it was never meant to, are finding it pointless. As for me, there are three very satisfied Apple Watch wearers in my household.
 
I also agreed with the OP and gave him a thumbs up.
Repeating everything again is not really that useful because most of the arguments have been expressed in other threads.
I still have ordered one, but I think that Apple did not really deliver.

Thanks to the OP for standing up against all the other voices.
 
I also agreed with the OP and gave him a thumbs up.
Repeating everything again is not really that useful because most of the arguments have been expressed in other threads.
I still have ordered one, but I think that Apple did not really deliver.

Thanks to the OP for standing up against all the other voices.

So, every other product that Apple makes delivers for you?

I just don't get why something that doesn't work for you is a bad product?
 
My point is this product feels like something Steve wouldn't have launched in its current state. It's a product for the sake of a product, rather than offering something new.

This is a product that many people, like yourself, will not understand and will be disappointed in. That's OK. This is a very different product for Apple. And you have absolutely NO way of knowing if it is something that Jobs would have developed. And it's irrelevant anyway because many of us do understand what the watch is and isn't. It's a fabulous device and I like more and more every day I use it.

As Apple says, this is a very personal produce. It's right for me and many others. It's simply not right for you and wasn't designed to be the right product for you. It's that simple.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.