Looking Back on Five Years of Apple Watch

[macduke]

The first Apple Watch was nice—for viewing notifications, tracking steps and checking the weather or calendar—but the hardware was kind of a piece of crap. Most underpowered first-gen Apple device I've ever used. The third party software was a hack too, and I feel like it hasn't really recovered from that bad start.

 

[dannyyankou]

Blood oxygen, eventually body temperature and more health related items will be killer features of the watch long term. In 2025 it will be interesting to see the 10 year retrospective.

Blood oxygen would be especially useful now. I hear if you have COVID-19 and it goes below 95, you should see a doctor.

 

[DeanL]

The Series 3 really marked the moment where the Apple Watch was finally 100% responsive, fast and wasn't slowed down by updates.
The CPU of the Series 3 was so good that after the Series 4, Apple took a CPU upgrade pause for the Series 5: and in 2020 the Series 3 is still super responsive and fast.
The Series 3 was soo good I skipped the Series 4 for the 5 (although I will admit that the lack of Edition in Ceramic for the Series 4 helped that decision!)

 

[Allyance]

Got my self the SS Gold S5 with the gold Milanese as a birthday present to myself! I love it, the gold is polished and not dull like gold aluminum watches. I am sure I couldn't see the difference between mine and the $17K watch.

 

[harriska2]

This is a curious statement. I own a series 1, 2, and 5, and there is little difference across the three. There may be when running certain apps, but in general there isn't a noticeable difference in "speed" in day to day use.

I have the series 1 and it has been slow, slow, slow since WatchOS5? I think. Getting weather? 5-10 seconds sometimes. Start timer? When starter another timer after one just got done about 3 seconds. Start a workout? 2-4 seconds per button you need to push to get it to start. Very slow. Very annoying.

 

[citysnaps]

"The original lineup included the since-discontinued 18-karat gold Apple Watch Edition, priced up to $17,000."

What was Apple thinking? What do customers think now of the first Apple Watch Editions?

It was a brilliant marketing move on Apple's part generating a ton of press over an extended period. The Edition model was never intended to be a regular product.

 

[lunarworks]

"The original lineup included the since-discontinued 18-karat gold Apple Watch Edition, priced up to $17,000."

What was Apple thinking?

That move helped turn the Apple Watch into an aspirational product.

"Sure, you can't get the $17,000 one, but here's one that's nearly indistinguishable for $399..."

 

[Jimmy James]

I’ll bet there’s not one person who’s actively happy they bought the series 1 edition. Even if money is no object. A waste.

 

[MisterSavage]

I admit that I was skeptical at first. My first watch was a series 3. I can't imagine not having an Apple Watch now.

 

[pelegri]

I still wear my series 0. Works great, use it with the Sleep++ app, not perfect but useful. It has been through every water park in Disney several times, still kicking.

Same here. Pre-COVID-19 I would use it all the time with Apple Pay...

 

[AustinIllini]

Wonder how many who purchased the $17K model 1 are happy with it.

Yeah, that was a misfire by Apple to say the least

 

[Rogifan]

I think maybe you misunderstood the Context of first Apple Watch Gold Edition. The point of it, which is just to gain attraction and Apple also probably had a different view at that time of the Apple Watch, when it was more of a ‘fashion device’ where as today it has converted to a ‘Health device‘. The 18K Edition was simply a marketing piece, And it worked. Anyone that purchased it, obviously had the expendable income that wouldn’t care regardless of it’s worth today.

And a lot of the health features weren’t ready yet so pushing a fashion aspect initially wasn’t a terrible idea.

Yeah, that was a misfire by Apple to say the least

How so?

 

[Ghost31]

I was one of the idiots that were criticizing it after the reveal. It’s so ugly. Why do we even need it? Why isnt it round? It’s just a watch. blah blah blah. Well, i was completely wrong. That experience made me way more hesitant to even comment on products that dont exist.

 

[Mr Retina]

God, the reveal music is still so perfect even in 2020.

 

[zorinlynx]

I think maybe you misunderstood the Context of first Apple Watch Gold Edition. The point of it, which is just to gain attraction and Apple also probably had a different view at that time of the Apple Watch, when it was more of a ‘fashion device’ where as today it has converted to a ‘Health device‘. The 18K Edition was simply a marketing piece, And it worked. Anyone that purchased it, obviously had the expendable income that wouldn’t care regardless of it’s worth today.

I'm really glad that Apple changed their focus to making it a more functional and useful device. Wealthy people who wear watches for fashion don't give a **** about smart watches; they want watches from Rolex, Omega, Patek-Phillipe, etc... an heirloom that will last multiple generations rather than a gadget that will be obsolete in two years.

Much better to focus on the much larger market of people who want quality tech that looks decent but most importantly works well. I remember rolling my eyes SO HARD when the Apple Watch first came out; the fashion angle and the Edition were absurd.

They still have a little of that with the Hermes versions, but it's more subdued and doesn't cost as much as a car.

 

[Eriamjh1138@DAN]

Apple ruined the series 0 watches with watchOS 3. I should have never upgraded past os2. It was buggy and made my watch a piece of junk for 4 months until they got it mostly working again with the last version of os3.3.whatever. It worked, but it was dog-Ass slow And had poor battery life.

I use it as a sleep monitor and refuse to upgrade my series 4 past watchOS5.3.whatever To avoid the slowdown upgrades. Screw new features! I just want a fast watch that I paid for, not an upgraded and degraded piece of junk!

 

[rk-apple]

I still wear my series 0. Works great, use it with the Sleep++ app, not perfect but useful. It has been through every water park in Disney several times, still kicking.

Same here. I've worn wear my series 0 every day for 5 years. Still get all day battery life in most cases. Can take calls, track my workouts, etc. Bet you can't find a non-apple smart watch 5 years old that works as well.

 

[44267547]

Apple ruined the series 0 watches with watchOS 3. I should have never upgraded past os2. It was buggy and made my watch a piece of junk for 4 months until they got it mostly working again with the last version of os3.3.whatever. It worked, but it was dog-Ass slow And had poor battery life.

I use it as a sleep monitor and refuse to upgrade my series 4 past watchOS5.3.whatever To avoid the slowdown upgrades. Screw new features! I just want a fast watch that I paid for, not an upgraded and degraded piece of junk!

Bolded in your post highlights a lot of frustrations I never experienced with my first Gen watch (And Yes, I owned my First Gen through the entire WatchOS support lifespan). Have you considered perhaps Android Wearables? Seems like the Apple Watch isn’t for you with that many complaints.

 

[mrr]

I have a first gen black stainless which I still like the look and still wear daily. I am a bit disappointed that is the quickest Apple product that I have ever purchased to the point where it could no longer be OS upgradable in like 3 years or so. I am used to getting longer support from Apple. It doesn’t support Apple Pay with the Apple Card which bums me out. otherwise I would be good as is.

 

[Jack Neill]

S1 38 Silver
S3 38 Silver
S3 42 Nike Space Grey
S4 44 Space Grey

Loved all of them.

 

[LeadingHeat]

to me, sleep tracking always feels like a gimmic. All the others sensors i hope for offer quantifiable data. I’m not so sure sleep tracking can actually “track” sleep.

I’m sure sensing movement with the gyroscope (and the rumored blood oxygen monitoring feature) will be leaps and bounds better than an app on your iPhone using the microphone to hear you rustling in the sheets at night.

 

[rjlawrencejr]

I can still remember staying up until midnight to order (I am trying to remember why I decided to order from my phone while sitting at a Winchell's Donut shop instead of at home). Space grey sold out almost instantly it seemed so I had to settle for a silver 38 with white band. From the start it was always about ApplePay for me. In fact, I haven't used ApplePay on my phone since 2015. And once I got a phone that doesn't use TouchID, I don't even know how to use ApplePay with the phone!

In the intervening years it has become my pedometer, my go to weather tracker, and I really appreciate the heart rate monitor. I am still hoping one day soon blood pressure can be tracked, making an already great device even greater.

I also wonder where all the guys are who were so emphatic you couldn't wear an Apple Watch in a business environment. I had a hard time believing them then, and it appears they were way off the mark since I see Apple Watches on the wrists of all sorts of folks.

 

[DinkThifferent]

I was really impressed when Apple introduced it, but severely disappointed by how slow it was. I thought it was un-apple like to reveal such a slow product. I had a Motorola 360 and that was a nice and quite responsive smart watch, but unfortunately a bit buggy and Google neglected its watch platform for way too long.

So I waited and waited and waited, and when the series 3 got released and i saw the reviews praising its speed and responsiveness i ran to the store and bought an iPhone 8 and Series 3! Happy Apple Watch user ever since and it's still rocking my wrist. I am aiming for the series 6 to replace my 3, depending on what features WatchOS7 will bring to the Series 3.

Apple Watch has definitely made me more active, closing the rings gives you a nice shot of dopamine every day. Although it can also ruin your day. It was 2 days before setting my new move streak record, i fell asleep on the couch and woke up at 1 minute past midnight. Guess what, I'd come 1 calorie short of meeting my daily goal! I was upset for the rest of the week haha.

 

[vmistery]

It’s a great product, I jumped on the S2 because of the water resistance then got an S5 a few months ago because of the bigger screen. I’m not sure I’d want to go back to not having a smart watch now, I’d miss Apple Pay, notifications and music controls a great deal. In the future I’d like to see it much thinner but with a much longer battery life, I’m not that bothered about the health features although they are nice to have. I’d love it if it was the same thickness as the strap!

 

[The Game 161]

They? You must be referring to the cynical individuals on sites like this. I never heard anyone outside tech sites that were mocking the Apple Watch. I remember quite a few people around me were excited for this product, and sure enough, it’s crushed the competition and proven it’s worth in the amount of features that it’s capable of. One of Apple’s best products easily in the last five years, with the AirPods coming in At a close second.

A lot on here said it but quite a few in the media were saying the same. They just didn’t believe in it working. However the same media who were saying if apple don’t realise it would have missed the boat.