Nilay Patel on CNBC talking about the Apple Watch

[oftheheavens]

I think people are dismissing the battery charging issue because they don't want to see it.


So, let's add the TV Remote, Wireless computer mouse, Cordless home phone, And about 20 more items to the list of They Only Last 1 day.

tv remote lasts over a year
wireless apple mouse last around 6 months or more
cordless home phone? what the hell is a home phone? (i kid, but I haven't had a home phone for 15 years, thought everyone had got rid of them)

my point is, that your point isn't backed up very well. Even my MBA only has to be charged every few days, and my iPhone 6 could even go 2 days if I am not playing games on it to excess. While of course I wish my apple watch battery would last at least 2-3 days so that if I forget to charge it one night it doesn't die the next morning, but plugging it in at night isn't a big deal at all. if it really bothers you, pick up a stand that charges the phone and the watch and just set them both down at the end of the night.

the S6 has a wireless charging base and I am sure that Apple will give us wireless charging on the watch and the phone in the next 2-3 years. You have charged things for the last decade plus so a couple more years shouldn't be a deal breaker to buy something you will get enjoyment and utility out of every day

 

[cdm283813]

Why are people bashing Nilay, I'll be honest, I've never heard of the guy before though reading his review on he verge and just that video, he is being honest, unlike the iPhone , or iPad, the Apple watch has pros/cons. While apple has made the best smartwatch out these , no comparison, the wearable markert is still a big question mark. If you cannot see any cons with the Apple watch , bless your devotion and faith, but those to blindly follow..... Are no better than the haters .

For me nilay comes across as someone who is an apple fan, but he is not going to damage his reputation as a tech journalist by sayin the Apple watch is something it's not, he will look like an idiot, come the 24th and people start. Experiencing the issues he has flagged.

To all the people on here bashing Nilay, i hope you actually buy his product, and would love to hear your opinion say a week after the 24, or whenever you get your preorder. If you Are not buying the watch , stop trolling the guy.

I could not have said it better. Once someone with legit pull criticizes something Apple everybody wants to shut him down. Just wait until "real" people start using and reviewing the watch. These initial reviewers have received the watch directly from Apple. Any bad reviews hurt their chances of getting a early looks at future Apple product so of course there will be some bias. Once this watch gets in the hands of true haters it will be 20 times worst than what Nilay said.
I give Nilay Patel credit for not kissing Apple's butt over a product that obviously needs work. I think it's irresponsible to believe that Apple can produce hit after hit especially one in a Tim Cook era. It was bound to happen. Just look at Windows Vista and Windows 8. It just happens. Everybody that rises to the top eventually fall. Apple just has to listen to the criticism and react quickly to make product better. It will be dangerous for them to believe that this watch is perfect.

 

[angle]

...they kind of owned him on the charging point/taking off the watch at night. He really didn't have an intelligent response...

This...so much this! I remember when the iPhone first came out and people were shocked it didn't have a removable battery, you had to charge it nightly, etc... We adapt. Now it's common practice to charge your phone at night. Why not? If your argument that having to carry another cable is the best you've got than you're really stretching. Cables are small, lightweight, and easily tucked anywhere in a carry-on or regular piece of luggage. At home it's easy enough to setup more permanent docking / charging station setups to make the process more convenient.

I don't anticipate that the nightly charging aspect will be an issue at all.

 

[cdm283813]

I will take Steve's original cheaper iWatch (aka Nano with watch strap) over the laggy complicated expensive Tim Cook Apple Watch any day.
That's how the interface should be boys and girls. Iphone like and easy to understand. The Nano could have evolved into something great over the past 4 years.

 

[JonnyIreland]

2 out of 4 ain't bad....
(spoiler: Starting Price WRONG, Case Size Info WRONG).
Stellar journalism.

 

[extricated]

I think people are dismissing the battery charging issue because they don't want to see it.

I don't think that's the case. At least not with people who already wear watches. I take my watch off before bed and put it on my nightstand. The only difference now is that I'll be placing the Apple Watch on the charging disc (on my nightstand) just before bed.

I guess some people never take their watches off before bed, but I imagine it's pretty common practice among a lot of people.

I do see what you're saying and I agree with the larger principle.
It seems like more and more devices require regular/daily charging and it gets tiring.

 

[cdm283813]

This...so much this! I remember when the iPhone first came out and people were shocked it didn't have a removable battery, you had to charge it nightly, etc... We adapt. Now it's common practice to charge your phone at night. Why not? If your argument that having to carry another cable is the best you've got than you're really stretching. Cables are small, lightweight, and easily tucked anywhere in a carry-on or regular piece of luggage. At home it's easy enough to setup more permanent docking / charging station setups to make the process more convenient.

I don't anticipate that the nightly charging aspect will be an issue at all.

If you unexpectedly fall asleep with the watch on, spend the night at someones house without the cable or you forget to charge your basically screwed. Sure you can bring along the usb charging cable in your mad rush out the door but the watch takes hours to charge up basically leaving you without a watch for half the day. Apple hasn't figured out fast charging yet.

 

[KPOM]

Are you also going to debate the 8.4 given to the new MacBook ? Or the 9.0 to the rmbp?

You do realize a major factor of the score was the laggines / speed? Also the battery is behind the competiton now. Or would you demand a higher score cause it's an apple device? Mine should be arriving on the 24th, and I am going to compare it to the moto360, I frankly don't care what score it got, a seven to me says, worth getting, some drawbacks , I used one in store on Friday, and had some reservations.

Perhaps since this is such a nascent category the scores should be re-calibrated. Tech sites have done this in the past. Maybe 7 is appropriate for the Apple Watch, but then 8.1 is no longer appropriate for the Moto 360 since every reviewer who has compared them has said the Apple Watch is better.

 

[JT2002TJ]

I don't think that's the case. At least not with people who already wear watches. I take my watch off before bed and put it on my nightstand. The only difference now is that I'll be placing the Apple Watch on the charging disc (on my nightstand) just before bed.

I guess some people never take their watches off before bed, but I imagine it's pretty common practice among a lot of people.

I do see what you're saying and I agree with the larger principle.
It seems like more and more devices require regular/daily charging and it gets tiring.

I'll start by saying I was up preordering a SS with sport band at 3:02 am EST (first wave). I also wear a watch everyday (Not an expensive watch $600, Baylor University watch) that I take off as soon as I walk in the door and set it next to my wireless ear phone charger and keys.

The battery life puts me in a situation that I will have to adapt. I get up at 4 am, and am on the 4:48 train into Manhattan for work. I get back home around 4:30 pm. I assume now I will start to keep my watch on until bed, which will be new to me. Will the battery last from 4:30 am - 10 pm without going into reserve? I know my 6+ will be down to about 30% from a full charge in that time (I never charge the + in the office, while my 5S and before I would have to leave it charging). What if I go out for drinks and stay out past 10 pm?

I wish there was a tad more battery life, maybe 1.5 days, so that I would be sure it would last an entire day of being out and about, but it seems like I will have to charge it once during the day.

I figure, I will have to adjust. And I see NOTHING wrong with someone pointing this out before I get my watch. It helps me plan, for example, I ordered a second charge for work, in case I will need to start charging it to be able to make it through the evening.

 

[Rogifan]

Nilay Patel should never have been reviewing the watch. The Verge review was crap. And the fact that 31 people were involved with it just shows it was more about the review as a production than the product they were reviewing. And I'm not saying this because their review wasn't all positive. There were plenty of other balanced/objective reviews out there that were actually decent reviews.

 

[KPOM]

If you unexpectedly fall asleep with the watch on, spend the night at someones house without the cable or you forget to charge your basically screwed. Sure you can bring along the usb charging cable in your mad rush out the door but the watch takes hours to charge up basically leaving you without a watch for half the day. Apple hasn't figured out fast charging yet.

It's a balancing act. The problem with charging too fast is that it takes a toll on the battery. Apple Watch, particularly the 38mm is the smallest device of its kind right now. The closest so far is the Huawei watch (about the size of the 42mm Apple Watch), though we have yet to see any solid information about the battery life.

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Nilay Patel should never have been reviewing the watch. The Verge review was crap. And the fact that 31 people were involved with it just shows it was more about the review as a production than the product they were reviewing. And I'm not saying this because their review wasn't all positive. There were plenty of other balanced/objective reviews out there that were actually decent reviews.

It appears he got factual information wrong. For example, how could there be an air gap when the display is laminated on?

On a side note, I noticed that Joanna Stern tweeted her displeasure at how Business Insider twisted her review video out of proportion.

 

[donster28]

She didn't even say that. She said it's "tremendous functionality for me". Even bigger difference.

Even more evident that people will undoubtedly praise this feature once they own the Apple Watch.

 

[angle]

If you unexpectedly fall asleep with the watch on, spend the night at someones house without the cable or you forget to charge your basically screwed. Sure you can bring along the usb charging cable in your mad rush out the door but the watch takes hours to charge up basically leaving you without a watch for half the day. Apple hasn't figured out fast charging yet.

All issues you have to worry about with your phone as well; however I think you're a bit off on what happens if you fall asleep with it on. Double check the following:

https://www.apple.com/watch/battery.html

Unless you're at an extremely low battery life to start with upon falling asleep, you'll wake up with some battery life. As for charging: 90 minutes to get to 80% is pretty darn good. Wake up, charge while showering, you've got 20-25% battery life. Charge while in the car, by the time you get home you're up to 50%.

We've grown accustomed to having to charge while on the go or at night. You're example of falling asleep at a friend's house or with it on are edge cases at best and are just as big of an issue for the phone as they are the watch.

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I will take Steve's original cheaper iWatch (aka Nano with watch strap) over the laggy complicated expensive Tim Cook Apple Watch any day.
That's how the interface should be boys and girls. Iphone like and easy to understand. The Nano could have evolved into something great over the past 4 years.

I'll come out and say that it's obvious you have not actually interacted with the Apple Watch. The actual OS interface is as smooth as butter and extremely responsive.

 

[Rogifan]

It appears he got factual information wrong. For example, how could there be an air gap when the display is laminated on?

On a side note, I noticed that Joanna Stern tweeted her displeasure at how Business Insider twisted her review video out of proportion.

Marco Arment got bit by Business Insider as well. I really think Apple made a mistake giving the Watch to the Verge, especially if they knew Patel would be the one reviewing it. 31 people involved in a review? Seriously? And there were impressions in his review that I haven't seen elsewhere (milanese loop is "ridiculous"; Sport band felt like any other "plastic" band etc.) that made me think he was biased to begin with and no way could he have done an objective review. I have no problem with critical reviews so long as they're fair and objective which his wasn't IMO.

 

[cardfan]

I think what's funny was that it seemed like an episode of Big Bang Theory. Nilay came off looking like one of the over excited nerds. These are the wrong people for Apple to get for this product. It was like watching a geek argue how bad the recent star trek movies were because of nerd crap when normal people loved them.

It's supposedly fashion yet you got unfashionable reviewers initially? These aren't the people who will lead a fashion trend.

If the nerd isn't excited, then how does this leave a good impression? The normal CNBC folks looked more excited.

 

[KenAFSPC]

The Verge's review is one of the few reviews that doesn't read like it was paid for by Apple. I strongly suspect we will see far, far more negative reviews after launch.

The Verge will be one of the few sites that will be able to say, "We told you so. Unlike other sites, we gave it you straight without the BS or Apple fanboy bias."

 

[Rogifan]

The Verge's review is one of the few reviews that doesn't read like it was paid for by Apple. I strongly suspect we will see far, far more negative reviews after launch.

The Verge will be one of the few sites that will be able to say, "We told you so. Unlike other sites, we gave it you straight without the BS or Apple fanboy bias."

Just curious which reviews you think read like they were paid for by Apple? Outside of Ben Bajarin (who didn't call his a "review") I can't think of any.

 

[Sharkey311]

I think people are dismissing the battery charging issue because they don't want to see it.

The typical reply is. "Oh well it's only 1 device and I charge my phone anyway"

Ok, that's fair enough.

So, let's add the TV Remote, Wireless computer mouse, Cordless home phone, And about 20 more items to the list of They Only Last 1 day.

Hey, it's only 1 more device.

People are not admitting it's a pain, they are excusing it.

I do not believe ANYONE WANTS to have to charge ANYTHING up each day.

I do not believe ANYONE WANTS to have ANOTHER device to have to worry about charging.

Everyone is just putting up with it.

But it isn't a chore. It literally takes 2 seconds to plug my iPad and iPhone in. They're going to be sitting there on my nightstand anyway, why not charge them? And same goes for the watch. I'll have a nomad dock for it which will be a nice convenient place to hang it and charging has never been easier. And why would I need to carry the charger around with me? I won't need to charge it during the day.

 

[cmichaelb]

I will take Steve's original cheaper iWatch (aka Nano with watch strap) over the laggy complicated expensive Tim Cook Apple Watch any day.
That's how the interface should be boys and girls. Iphone like and easy to understand. The Nano could have evolved into something great over the past 4 years.

I agree. I find the 6th gen nano interface would be much easier for people to transition to.

The nano was obviously a test run. I still wear mine as a watch at times.

----------

The Verge's review is one of the few reviews that doesn't read like it was paid for by Apple. I strongly suspect we will see far, far more negative reviews after launch.

The Verge will be one of the few sites that will be able to say, "We told you so. Unlike other sites, we gave it you straight without the BS or Apple fanboy bias."

What's funny, is they are usually criticized for being overly pro Apple.

 

[GrimmsGirl]

If you unexpectedly fall asleep with the watch on, spend the night at someones house without the cable or you forget to charge your basically screwed. Sure you can bring along the usb charging cable in your mad rush out the door but the watch takes hours to charge up basically leaving you without a watch for half the day. Apple hasn't figured out fast charging yet.

One reviewer said it took 2.5 hours to fully charge their 42mm watch. I can't remember which one. I would be disappointed not to be able to use my watch for a few hours or even a day, but I wouldn't feel "screwed". I assume I would still have my phone. Although if I forgot to charge my watch, I might have forgotten to charge my phone and that might set me back a bit. Still, I'm old enough to remember a life pre cellphone, and somehow I actually managed to make it through my day without catastrophe befalling me.

 

[Sharkey311]

If you unexpectedly fall asleep with the watch on, spend the night at someones house without the cable or you forget to charge your basically screwed. Sure you can bring along the usb charging cable in your mad rush out the door but the watch takes hours to charge up basically leaving you without a watch for half the day. Apple hasn't figured out fast charging yet.

You're not screwed because as an accessory, it's not always needed. You'll still have your phone to do everything and guess what? It charges in ~an hour and a half. And it's not that Apple hasn't "figured out fast charging yet", the universal battery technology hasn't improved in years. watch has a small enough battery, it can charge quickly enough. Much faster than your phone.

 

[dotnet]

I will take Steve's original cheaper iWatch (aka Nano with watch strap) over the laggy complicated expensive Tim Cook Apple Watch any day.
That's how the interface should be boys and girls. Iphone like and easy to understand. The Nano could have evolved into something great over the past 4 years.

Nope, you're wrong there mate. I tried the watch today myself at the Apple Store, and among the foremost things it is not are a) laggy and b) complicated.

The UI is fluid in every regard, the only time during my 15 minute play I encountered any lag was during zooming in and out of the photo library, and even that was slight (compared to what certain versions of Aperture put me through).

As for intuitiveness, it's a doddle. The only source of confusion I could spot is that some of the glances looked a lot like like apps they would take you to, so you could conceivably forget whether you're in the glance or in the app. The Activity app being the example I'm referring to.

My take-away impression (and that of my wife) is that the watch UI is bloody well gorgeous. I usually fuss about things, and I'm sure I will find stuff to complain about given a few weeks of play, but my first encounter left me thoroughly impressed.

While I'm here allow me to relay some of my wife's comments about the watch:
- the Watch Sport looks cheap (I'm neutral on that), she found the weight difference to SS negligible
- the Milanese loop looks ugly (I strongly disagree)
- too thick (she likes ultra-thin watches, but when I suggested to cancel her order she said "no way!!!" )
- she adored the jellyfish face
- she will likely get one of the Modern Buckle bands eventually.

 

[KenAFSPC]

Just curious which reviews you think read like they were paid for by Apple? Outside of Ben Bajarin (who didn't call his a "review") I can't think of any.

Every review I read outside of The Verge read to me like the reviewer was either paid by Apple and/or fearful that they would lose the opportunity to review future Apple products. These reviews read something like "X isn't perfect and could be better, but, but, Y and Z are awesome." Every criticism was downplayed and/or was immediately followed with a series of positive comments.

Many years ago, I wrote reviews for computer magazines, and we were always instructed to do exactly this to avoid upsetting advertisers.

 

[Tsuchiya]

I could not have said it better. Once someone with legit pull criticizes something Apple everybody wants to shut him down. Just wait until "real" people start using and reviewing the watch. These initial reviewers have received the watch directly from Apple. Any bad reviews hurt their chances of getting a early looks at future Apple product so of course there will be some bias. Once this watch gets in the hands of true haters it will be 20 times worst than what Nilay said.
I give Nilay Patel credit for not kissing Apple's butt over a product that obviously needs work. I think it's irresponsible to believe that Apple can produce hit after hit especially one in a Tim Cook era. It was bound to happen. Just look at Windows Vista and Windows 8. It just happens. Everybody that rises to the top eventually fall. Apple just has to listen to the criticism and react quickly to make product better. It will be dangerous for them to believe that this watch is perfect.

Absolutely this. The response to Nilay and the Verge in general has been hilarious.

 

[AustinIllini]

I will take Steve's original cheaper iWatch (aka Nano with watch strap) over the laggy complicated expensive Tim Cook Apple Watch any day.
That's how the interface should be boys and girls. Iphone like and easy to understand. The Nano could have evolved into something great over the past 4 years.

You have fun with that. That software was garbage.