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drober30

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jul 5, 2007
846
105
I secured a 128GB Rose Gold iPhone for my wife last night through the Apple online reservation system and when I went to the store to pick it up, I decided to check out the Apple Watches.

To my surprise, all the watches on display did not have Watch OS2 on them and the sales people were completely uninformed regarding their operation and settings.

This was a completely different experience from years past and the high standard of excellence Apple has always portrayed!

This was a pretty big store in an upscale mall. I have been going to this store for 8 years.
 
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pommie82

macrumors 6502
Jan 4, 2011
299
30
uk
Drober please don't update a apple watch to os2 because it not worth it their is so many problems with the device at the moment that none of the notifications are going to the wrist you have to open up the app and see what you have received on your wrist.

The only thing on watch os2 is the apps are a lot more faster to load but a part from that it a complete waste of time really
i updated it the watch from 1.1 to 2.0 and it the biggest mistake i have made because nothing is hardly working.

My advice would be if you do buy the watch leave it on the factory operating system and just use it until they have sorted out all the problems with the watch os2.
 

maflynn

macrumors Haswell
May 3, 2009
73,682
43,740
please don't update a apple watch to os2 because it not worth it their is so many problems
What problems?

I had one issue that an update to the app (dark skys) fixed that. Other then that one issue, I found OS2 to be very good.

To my surprise, all the watches on display did not have Watch OS2 on them and the sales people were completely uniformed regarding their operation and settings.

That is unusual, from my experience, the people at my local apple store are very knowledgeable.
 
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prezasti

macrumors 6502
Jul 9, 2010
395
43
Drober please don't update a apple watch to os2 because it not worth it their is so many problems with the device at the moment that none of the notifications are going to the wrist you have to open up the app and see what you have received on your wrist.

The only thing on watch os2 is the apps are a lot more faster to load but a part from that it a complete waste of time really
i updated it the watch from 1.1 to 2.0 and it the biggest mistake i have made because nothing is hardly working.

My advice would be if you do buy the watch leave it on the factory operating system and just use it until they have sorted out all the problems with the watch os2.

I don't have any issues with OS2 sending notifications. I find OS2 to be great.

The point of the OP's thread is to point out they feel their Apple store is slacking off and not staying on top of the times. I know how it feels to go into a specialized store or dealership and have more product knowledge than the staff trying to sell their own products to you. It's even more annoying when they can't explain new products that you want to learn about and are interested in purchasing.
 

gppittjk

macrumors regular
Sep 19, 2012
143
59
I secured a 128GB Rose Gold iPhone for my wife last night through the Apple online reservation system and when I went to the store to pick it up, I decided to check out the Apple Watches.

To my surprise, all the watches on display did not have Watch OS2 on them and the sales people were completely uniformed regarding their operation and settings.

This was a completely different experience from years past and the high standard of excellence Apple has always portrayed!

This was a pretty big store in an upscale mall. I have been going to this store for 8 years.

Can you clarify what you mean by "watches on display?" If they're the ones in the display case, they are running a loop of the basic features of the AW. I can see why that would not have been updated to wOS2 just yet. In fact, I believe all but the stationary watches that you can play with run that loop. Those stationary watches likely haven't been updated either. I know Best Buy's haven't been updated. I would imagine since none of them are actually paired to iPhones, they need a special demo version of the OS installed on them. Given the trouble with getting wOS2 to actual consumers with watches, I'd imagine the demo version wasn't a high priority for Apple.
 

JT2002TJ

macrumors 68020
Nov 7, 2013
2,057
1,386
Can you clarify what you mean by "watches on display?" If they're the ones in the display case, they are running a loop of the basic features of the AW. I can see why that would not have been updated to wOS2 just yet. In fact, I believe all but the stationary watches that you can play with run that loop. Those stationary watches likely haven't been updated either. I know Best Buy's haven't been updated. I would imagine since none of them are actually paired to iPhones, they need a special demo version of the OS installed on them. Given the trouble with getting wOS2 to actual consumers with watches, I'd imagine the demo version wasn't a high priority for Apple.

They still have the try-on watches at the apple stores. These phones are not on the latest watchOS. I just had my SS watch (I got on day 1) replaced, the replacement was not on watchOS 2, so I had to update it before restoring from my backup. This added over an hour and a half to my restoring process, and me having to go in and delete a new backup on my phone.

This is very un-Apple... I agree with the OP.
 
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Chupa Chupa

macrumors G5
Jul 16, 2002
14,835
7,396
You need to lower your expectations, even for Apple. Retail is retail. Some stores will be outstanding others will fall by the wayside because of incapable store management. Yes, in theory every Apple Store should have knowledgable staff and top end customer service. But that is only textbook. There's nearly a dozen Apple Stores in the DC region. Let's just say some are more consumer friendly than others.

In Apple Store staff's defense the Apple Watch is a tough product to demo because it relies on a synced iPhone. I don't know how Apple presents the Apple Watch to prospective customers now, but last spring they had watches you could try on that were not really functional and demo units that were preprogramed and only gave a sense of how the AW worked. Neither were a good buying experience but I'm an early adopter so didn't take much to "impress" me.
 

2457244

macrumors regular
Jul 20, 2015
238
140
I haven't found many big problems with WatchOS 2 - some little annoying one but not that important that I wouldn't upgrade my Watch for.

Native Apps aren't what I had expected, there was so much talk about it, how cool it would be and the benefits but I can't find them right now.. Sorry.

On the first version of WatchOS you only saw the loading icon on your watch when you first started a 3rd party app, that was hosted on your iPhone so of course, you'd expect it, the watch had to fetch the app externally this takes time. But once this 3rd party app was started before you could switch between apps there was no loading icon to be seen because the app was already running at the background.
In WatchOS 2, I continually see the loading icon even when I already have started the app before. When I press on the WaterMinder badge to switch app from watch face to WaterMinder I always see the loading icon, even when I quickly switch/toggle between apps. It's crazy - I don't like it but it's not a pain in the ass. It's just not not pretty because you get the feeling your Apple Watch isn't fast enough and has limited because you see a loading icon.

Another problem, Apple Watch data (activity information) syncing to Health app on your iPhone doesn't work as it should be and has done before. The Apple Watch for some reason doesn't do an extra sync/check 1min. or a few secondes before the day ends and a new day starts. This leads to adding October 7th data to be imported in October 8th day in the Health app. It's only 2 or 3 calories not a huge difference but it's just annoying when you face your Apple Watch activity and see you have burned 120 calories and in the Health app it says you have burned 123 calories that day.

Just plain sloppy by Apple. Apple and software that isn't the best combination in the world anymore! We still expect it is but it's not..


-----

For the person who doesn't get any notifications on his Watch.. Maybe it is because you're playing with your iPhone and your iPhone is unlocked in your hand. When your iPhone is active you never get any notifications on your Watch.
 

drober30

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jul 5, 2007
846
105
Can you clarify what you mean by "watches on display?" If they're the ones in the display case, they are running a loop of the basic features of the AW. I can see why that would not have been updated to wOS2 just yet. In fact, I believe all but the stationary watches that you can play with run that loop. Those stationary watches likely haven't been updated either. I know Best Buy's haven't been updated. I would imagine since none of them are actually paired to iPhones, they need a special demo version of the OS installed on them. Given the trouble with getting wOS2 to actual consumers with watches, I'd imagine the demo version wasn't a high priority for Apple.
Yes, you bring up another great point. The watches on display and the ones they pulled out of a drawer with different bands were all running a demo mode. I could not really experiment with them. The one on display I could change watch faces and the complications on the modular face. I have see pictures on here of the modular face and wanted to check it out in person. The Apple employee could not show me how to change the different complications, I had to figure it out myself. Turned out to be a single swipe to the left brought you to a screen that allowed modifications.

I showed the Apple employee before I left how I did it.... should have been the other way around. Again, that may hold true for any store you go into but Apple to me has always been about excellence and being on their game. Hopefully not a sign of the times to come.
 

JT2002TJ

macrumors 68020
Nov 7, 2013
2,057
1,386
You need to lower your expectations, even for Apple. Retail is retail. Some stores will be outstanding others will fall by the wayside because of incapable store management. Yes, in theory every Apple Store should have knowledgable staff and top end customer service. But that is only textbook. There's nearly a dozen Apple Stores in the DC region. Let's just say some are more consumer friendly than others.

In Apple Store staff's defense the Apple Watch is a tough product to demo because it relies on a synced iPhone. I don't know how Apple presents the Apple Watch to prospective customers now, but last spring they had watches you could try on that were not really functional and demo units that were preprogramed and only gave a sense of how the AW worked. Neither were a good buying experience but I'm an early adopter so didn't take much to "impress" me.

My apple store is fantastic. It is the Roosevelt field Mall Apple store in Garden City NY. If you know this area, it is a very $$ area (Median household income = $96k, Median House value = $440k). This apple store also falls into the OP description.

I do not believe it is a store issue, it is an Apple policy thing. I think they have treated the apple watch like a bastard stepchild of apple products. From not stocking white box replacements in store, replacements not being on the latest OS, to not having trained experts able to repair watches in store.

I love the watch, but, they could have given the same high quality experience provided with every other Apple device.
 

pommie82

macrumors 6502
Jan 4, 2011
299
30
uk
What problems?

I had one issue that an update to the app (dark skys) fixed that. Other then that one issue, I found OS2 to be very good.



That is unusual, from my experience, the people at my local apple store are very knowledgeable.

Since updating my apple watch to Os 2 i cannot get any notifications to my wrist at all on wifi sometimes.
I will get some on 3g network but it really hit and miss.

i have rang apple five times about getting it all sorted out they have told me to un pair the watch all together
and that hasn't done nothing at all but bring me back to the same problem with no notifications coming
to my wrist.

Just hope that they bring out a update soon to solve all the problems that i'am having with the watch
"Fingers Crossed"
 

ScottNWDW

macrumors 65816
Jul 10, 2008
1,231
315
Orlando, Florida
The Apple Store that I frequent is awesome and extremely busy. I bought my Apple Watch there last week and although it was still on Watch OS1 and I had to upgrade it myself it was not that big of a deal to me. I don't expect them to upgrade everything in the stockroom the day an update comes out. If they did that you'd have people complaining that the seal was broken and the unboxing experience was ruined. If your watch still was on OS1 there is no telling how long it was sitting in either the Apple warehouse or on the shelf in the backroom, so just because it wasn't updated isn't a bad spot on Apple or the employees at the store. Since the watches need to be paired with an iPhone then the watches themselves that are on display are not fully functional and are running demo versions of the software. The primary focus of those watches is for you to try on and see how it looks on your wrist and show some of the possibilities of the watch, not all the possibilities, just some of them. If it wasn't for this, then I would have gotten a watch that didn't fit my wrist correctly and would not look as nice as the one I ended up getting.

In regards to the experience at the store, I do agree that employees at the store should know about the products they are selling, but at the same time I don't expect them to know how to do every single feature or procedure in any given product. The Apple Store does sell a lot of products and maybe the employee you encountered was not up how to do everything on the watch, but they may have been able to help you with some obscure thing on an iPhone or iPad. They could also have been on their first day or week and working in the Apple Store was thier first encounter with Apple products. I worked over 10 years in retail and the problem with consumers these days is that they expect the salesperson, often making minimum wage or just above it to know everything about every single product being sold in their own the store. In most cases that is an impossible task at best. The reason for this is because consumers are too lazy to learn about a product by reading the manuals or experimenting themselves with the products, they just want to be handheld and shown how to do everything. In regards to the salespeople, the reality is that there are employees that are "experts" in certain products and employees that are experts in other products. They can't know it all no matter how hard they try and they do try.
 
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maflynn

macrumors Haswell
May 3, 2009
73,682
43,740
Since updating my apple watch to Os 2 i cannot get any notifications to my wrist at all on wifi sometimes.
I will get some on 3g network but it really hit and miss.
Odd, I've not noticed any such issues with my watch - bummers :(
 

pommie82

macrumors 6502
Jan 4, 2011
299
30
uk
Odd, I've not noticed any such issues with my watch - bummers :(

i have been speaking to Apple today and i have give them till next friday to sort it all out if they don't sort it all out then
i'am going to claim for a new watch and i'am hoping it would sort it all out and have no problems at all the thing is i
have never dropped the watch at all so their shouldn't really be a problem at all with the watch.
 

MarkB786

macrumors 6502a
Sep 20, 2016
755
1,304
USA
What problems?

I had one issue that an update to the app (dark skys) fixed that. Other then that one issue, I found OS2 to be very good.

Agree. I had OS2 on my Series 2 before I bailed and went to a Frontier S3. I thought OS 2 was quite an improvement.
 

deeddawg

macrumors G5
Jun 14, 2010
12,466
6,563
US
Is there a reason for resurrecting a long dormant thread by replying to a TWO YEAR OLD comment?
 
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