I don't think it's quite that clear cut. I didn't own a "smart watch" before and didn't give it much thought before the Apple Watch. I did have a regular watch, though. I agree that those who wanted to use lots and lots of apps are likely the most disappointed, but seeing as we're talking about a 1.5" screen and don't even have native apps yet, I wasn't expecting much. The best apps will be those that do one or two things really well. Opening a hotel door instead of fumbling with a card key (that I tend to misplace) could be one example. Weather takes a while to load up at first, but after that it's fine. The watch face complications and notifications are the best parts.
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Loved it but now..
- Thread starter jojods
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I don't think it's quite that clear cut. I didn't own a "smart watch" before and didn't give it much thought before the Apple Watch. I did have a regular watch, though. I agree that those who wanted to use lots and lots of apps are likely the most disappointed, but seeing as we're talking about a 1.5" screen and don't even have native apps yet, I wasn't expecting much. The best apps will be those that do one or two things really well. Opening a hotel door instead of fumbling with a card key (that I tend to misplace) could be one example. Weather takes a while to load up at first, but after that it's fine. The watch face complications and notifications are the best parts.
Less of a need, more of a want. But when I strap something to my wrist to primarily tell the time, I want it to be beautiful and well designed. Hoping my watch will be.
I can't wait for my watch because my alarm system to my house can be controlled by the watch and I am hoping my home automation app will do the same too since I have that on my iPhone now.
It would be awesome if Sonos upgraded their app to have control from the watch too. Controlling my music from the watch would be awesome.
I agree. Quick hit apps to check the weather, check a sports score, read the news, etc are one of the main reasons I bought the watch, and waiting for 30 seconds or more (or the app not even loading) to me is a miscue by Apple.
When you read a review of any new "Smart" Device out there, one of the biggest knocks or biggest plus' of the device is the amount of apps available.
People want Apps! And they want Apps to work reliably... The same way they do on iPhones, iPads, etc....
I love the notifications and the activity tracking, and Apple pay... Dont get me wrong... I am not returning my watch...
However, maybe I am in the minority, but I would expect Apps on any device to work reliably... I said this in another post, but maybe Apple should have done with the watch like they did with the initial iPhone... Dont even release 3rd party apps until they worked as seamlessly as 1st party apps...
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We won't see any killer third party apps until devs get native access. The watch->phone->watch communication after every interaction in an app right now is just too slow. A native app could properly fetch the data it needs to feel responsive while you are using it without having to wait on the bluetooth connection.
Common sense is required for this knowledge though. Seems to be lacking a lot around Apple Product launches. Makes for fun reading though at all the histrionics.
It will be. I have the Classic Band and am waiting for the Milanese Loop, as well.
I find that it frees me from my phone much more than I had expected. Counter-intuitively, I think I am less distracted. I have the watch silenced so just get the taptic notifications, and it all seems to distract me from life much less.
I love the activity tracker, and the watch has definitely made me move more. I work in an office, sitting down most of the day, so the hourly 'get up and move a bit' reminders are fantastic. If I look over my step tracker in the Health app over the past month, there's a clear jump on the day that my watch arrived. That is plenty of justification for me, if I needed any.
But primarily it is a watch. And a beautiful one at that!
I love the activity tracker, and the watch has definitely made me move more. I work in an office, sitting down most of the day, so the hourly 'get up and move a bit' reminders are fantastic. If I look over my step tracker in the Health app over the past month, there's a clear jump on the day that my watch arrived. That is plenty of justification for me, if I needed any.
But primarily it is a watch. And a beautiful one at that!
What it is ain't worth $350. $200 maybe, but the price really isn't justifiable for the features.
I don't use my current watch all day either. I have it on me all the time, but I look at it a handful of times a day, I don't play with it, to be honest 99% of the time I actually forget it's even there. That's how a watch should be.
You shouldn't feel the need to use it all the time, it should just seamlessly become part of your life without constantly looking and playing with it. If you can't justify the
Watch and use it in that kind of manner, then maybe it isn't for you.
I barely use third-party apps at this point -- they just aren't that useful, and in most cases they are worse than simply taking out your phone. This is why I agree Apple should've just released the watch without third-party apps and then introduced them when they can be native and developers have had time to figure out what actually works on a watch. As it is, it's just giving a lot of people the wrong impression.
By the way, I thought this review from Business Insider was one of the few that really "got" the watch.
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That review is spot on. The Apple watch is an extension of your iPhone. Not a replacement, and not a smaller version.
We are using http://buymeapie.com/ which instantly syncs grocery lists between my wife & myself, across all of our devices.
You can exercise with the leather band. Just clean it afterward. I would think a simple wipe with a damp cloth would be sufficient.
I'm using my Milanese band for everything right now.
I am not sure if you were commenting on my post above yours or the OP; however, when you state to buy it for what it is, I think most people ARE buying it for what it is (or at least what Apple is stating it is).
Apple has a dedicated App store for Watch applications. That to me tells me that "Thats what it is"... It is a device that can and should run apps reliably... And thats (one of the many things) I expect it do do... Run the apps that they market and sell in their own Apple Watch app store.
The watch is a lot of things and I am not arguing that it does everything it is supposed to do... It just does some of them much better than the others
Guys I am an Apple fanboy through and through and still love my watch; however, I think it is OK to be disappointed in the fact that it doesnt do some things as well as I think it should, and contrary to your post, it was demonstrated and marketed as a device that can run apps and I bought it for what it was...
It's normal to find a rather slim feature set of actual value. The excessive hype Apple creates is like a cloud of smoke so dense you can't see till it clears.
I had fun playing with mine for a few days, but then it's true nature was revealed. Of no surprise since I had read all about it, yet I ordered one for the purpose of evaluating for myself, avoiding heresay.
The end for me was realizing that indeed it failed to offer anything useful for my usage.
The return process is fast, easy and convenient.
I enjoy the music remote, siri is useful, heart rate is ok too. but I think he true advantage will be the 3rd party apps, when Apple lets the devs have access. the app I really want to see is a flashlight as it would be convenient, and I don't mean the apps they have now that are a remote for the light on the phone, because if I have my phone out, why would I need a remote to turn on the flashlight
Wow I have the 38mm and its small but just right , and did not realize the screen was so small on the 42 .
The screen (the part that actually displays content) is actually about 30mm tall on the 42. I assume he was talking about the size of the analog watch face?
As someone who uses sport watches (Fenix 3 at the moment) the Apple watch comes off as a joke. Don't get me wrong, I love the Apple Watch and am keeping it but there is no way in the world I will use it for exercise. God bless the folks that need the stand reminder but at this point the HR is suspect (as compared to the garmin hrm-run.. yeah, yeah.. consumer reports) which means that calories bunrt is also suspect. Also and most important, before I would ever consider swapping the fenix out for exercise I want data! Real data (How about HR zones? it is supposed to be cardio focused right? thats a basic one to forget). Data that I can look at somewhere other than the phone. Every sport watch and tracker I know of has a site that you can go to and see current data and also historical trends (and export the data). You can not do this with the Apple Watch. The fitness app is pretty but light on details and don't get me started on "Health" It is by far the most un-Apple like piece of garbage I have seen. The only historical anything I get is at the start of the week I get a notification of the previous weeks total steps, calories, distance and active. Sorta cool except that info isn't is in any app. It goes away never to be seen again.
Sorry for the mini-rant. The watch IS cool and I have been having fun with it. I shouldn't compare it to a $600 sports watch but I hear over and over what a great fitness device it is and how "Apple nailed fitness!" and frankly they didn't.
Can't you view all of that and more under "Health Data" > "All" in the Health app?
If you're serious enough to want to buy dedicated heart rate monitors and the like you will probably not be happy with what Apple is providing, but for most people it's really quite useful. I don't care if the heart rate is slightly off. What I need is something to motivate me to exercise, and so far the watch has been doing that.