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Public Reaction to Your Apple Watch

Had my watch nearly a week now, I haven't been out much but general reaction has been okay. Nobody at work as really noticed other than the one guy that said "are they actually any good?" to which I just said "it works" and walked away. No time for people to criticise.

At the supermarket last week my friend pointed it out saying I should wear it outside my sleeves and be proud in a joking way. After that I caught the girl on the till having a cheeky peek but she didn't say anything.

Then finally, the other night at the pub with a few friends it came up in conversation. Started with the price and why I bought it where I just explained that nobody needs it but if you've got the money and you want it then you should do what you want. Then it got passed around a few of my friends (which I don't mind at all) and everyone was very impressed. Particularly with the heart rate monitor, the phone, dictation messaging and camera features.
 
Last night at Dodger Stadium (I was wearing my AW face down) the lady beside Me asked how I liked my watch and what the different models were. She asked if the one I was wearing was silver and if the watch was useful.
 
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My AW accompanied me to a couple family gatherings this weekend. Most of my relatives aren't techies and only know what they've seen on TV -- either from commercials or short news segments. I'm the geek in the family (except for my dad, proudly rockin his Microsoft band).

To a person, the conversations went like this...

"So you don't need your phone any more?"
"No the watch relies on the phone for a data connection."
"But I thought you could make calls on it?"
"You can, but it goes through your phone."
"So it doesn't replace your phone?"
"No."
"So what does it do?"

I seriously had this conversation several times, with 20-something cousins to 60-something great uncles. It was like "who's on first." It was interesting to get their perspective on what they THINK the watch does, based solely on Apple's marketing and what they hear in the mass media.
 
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Summer Update: before the last few weeks, nobody really saw my Watch much since it was too cold to wear anything but big long sleeves. Since the start of June, my Watch has been on semi-permanent display, and I have yet to receive any comments about it except at a family dinner last week from someone who had heard that I had got one, but hadn't had a chance to see it yet.

I explained all the features, and he thought it was pretty cool, but the lack of native GPS tracking was a deal-breaker for him so he's sticking with his Garmin. He did seem interested in the fact that I haven't noticed the Watch creating any kind of significant drain on the phone battery, though, which seemingly the Garmin does?

In general, absolutely nobody notices or comments on my Watch. While this is a bit of a surprise (I probably couldn't keep my mouth shut if I saw somebody wearing one when I hadn't gotten my hands on one yet, even a stranger), I'm utterly delighted. For reasons of personal security (i.e., advertising that you have a current iPhone), the more under the radar it flies, the happier I am.
 
anez said:
Summer Update: before the last few weeks, nobody really saw my Watch much since it was too cold to wear anything but big long sleeves. Since the start of June, my Watch has been on semi-permanent display, and I have yet to receive any comments about it except at a family dinner last week from someone who had heard that I had got one, but hadn't had a chance to see it yet.

I explained all the features, and he thought it was pretty cool, but the lack of native GPS tracking was a deal-breaker for him so he's sticking with his Garmin. He did seem interested in the fact that I haven't noticed the Watch creating any kind of significant drain on the phone battery, though, which seemingly the Garmin does?

In general, absolutely nobody notices or comments on my Watch. While this is a bit of a surprise (I probably couldn't keep my mouth shut if I saw somebody wearing one when I hadn't gotten my hands on one yet, even a stranger), I'm utterly delighted. For reasons of personal security (i.e., advertising that you have a current iPhone), the more under the radar it flies, the happier I am.
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You mean to say that you'll likely get robbed if people know you have one? I always thought Ireland was a safe place to go..
 
Got lunch at McDs yesterday. The clerk was amazed that I paid with it. He called the manager over and told her, "He just paid with his WATCH..."

She asked if it was the Apple Watch and went back to work. He stood there with his mouth open.

Welcome to the future, sir. Welcome.
 
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I just did an entire boarding process with my watch, including priority lanes etc. They all said it was the first time they had seen someone do that with a watch, which I find hard to beleive. Then came the people in the lineup for xray all giving opinions on if its worth it or not... lol.
 
rowdt1 said:
You mean to say that you'll likely get robbed if people know you have one? I always thought Ireland was a safe place to go..
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In general, Ireland is a pretty safe country, on par with the UK in most respects, and "serious" crimes (shootings, stabbings, etc.) are fairly rare, especially for people uninvolved in criminal activity themselves.

That said, you will get occurrences of pick-pocketing, grab-and-flee phone thefts, muggings, etc., especially in the cities. I personally believe it is important to be very security conscious in most locations (nothing of value visible in pockets, bags closed, etc.), but if you go into the center of the capital city, you will see plenty of (local) people walking around with their bags open, phones visible in their pocket, on the table in beer gardens, or tables outside restaurants, and that sort of thing.

I am particularly prickly about my phone, since unfortunately, iPhones are in high demand considering their resale value is so high. Although Find My iPhone/Activation Lock has definitely led to a decrease in casual snatch-and-grab thefts, phones do still get picked up for re-sale, and in my opinion, better safe than sorry. For the same reasons, I also don't keep any music on my phone and use a Nano for music, instead. I can carry that around visible in my hand without worrying anyone's going to bother steal it-- and even if it does get lifted, it's a lot cheaper to replace. Plus, there's no personal data on the device, and it means my phone battery lasts longer, so it's win/win for me.

I will rest a bit easier once future updates bring the same level of Activation Lock to the Watch as we now have on the phone, but even then I will still be quite happy not to feel that I'm "broadcasting" that I have an iPhone in my possession.

Just my 2c; everyone's opinion on this issue will vary.
 
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I've been to Dublin a handful of times and never felt unsafe, even walking the streets at night. Stayed in the city center/centre :)D) one of those times and it was fine. Even staggering around Temple Bar didn't set off my spidey senses.. And I'm pretty well attuned to them. Certainly less scary than, say, Times Square used to be after hours. :)
 
Appl3FTW said:
I was at tjmaxx yesterday looking for crazy socks, and this dude approached me and started a conversation. Talked about how crazy socks are the new thing and there's a bunch of them at nordstroms lol. Then he asked me is that the apple watch? He says he doesn't really care for other smart watches but the apple watch is the one that caught his attention. I showed him around then asked, so you're planning on getting one? He said, he's more of a Samsung guy and pulled out a Samsung phone. Uh yea ok haha.
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At least you both share a love of crazy socks?
 
Nobody has ever asked me about it, actually (had it for a week). When the Apple Watch was first announced (but before it started shipping), people would ask if my Pebble was an Apple Watch.

When I got my iPhone 6 plus on launch day last year I would get 2-3 comments about it from strangers a day.
 
Had a few gatherings with friends and nobody noticed or bothered to ask about the :apple:WATCH . My girlfriend is genuinely interested in it though.
 
Had my watch for couple of weeks now.

Apart from families, no one else asked about it, had couple of glances from people, but that's it.
 
I wouldn't look for validation in this purchase because you're not going to get it. The best thing to do is just say, "it's nice to have, but definitely an impulse buy." Then just leave it at that.
 
Most people who don't understand it are arguably the same people who gripped their blackberries tight until iPhone 3GS/4 came out. I just tell them it's liberated me from my iPhone and helps my iPhone last longer. I also say it's a beautiful watch and a motivating fitness tracker you'll actually want to wear even though it's still a V1 product.
 
no one seems to care where i live but theres also no Apple Pay in Germany so less opportunities to use it.
 
Amplelink said:
I wouldn't look for validation in this purchase because you're not going to get it. The best thing to do is just say, "it's nice to have, but definitely an impulse buy." Then just leave it at that.
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I don't think anyone is looking for or needing validation. I read this thread as more about "how much are you asked about your Watch".

I'm glad not many people have bugged me about it so far. The only question non-tech family asks is 'can it make phone calls?' (which I never understood why you'd want to use a watch as a phone).
 
Well everytime I hold my 9 month old niece she's always playing around with it... Thats the only validation I need haha
 
Appl3FTW said:
Well everytime I hold my 9 month old niece she's always playing around with it... Thats the only validation I need haha
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Yeah my little brother keeps touching it and trying to bring down the notification screen after I showed him. He's 15mo
 
When I had it the first day, and I was waiting for the bus, some kid kept staring at it when I was changing the music o_O
 
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