Talking at my Watch - How useful will messages be?

[jroloff]

I can't stop myself from thinking that the messenging aspect of the Apple Watch is being overplayed....

Sure there are pre-configured responses and auto-responses based on context the watch thinks it knows, but more often than not, I'll probably need to do a custom reply back to messages. This means a)Dictating into Siri, b)using my iPhone.

I don't picture myself ever NOT feeling like a total *******s talking into my watch for text message replies. I even have my own office at work... but I just picture a co-worker walking by as I reply something out loud to my wife.

Am I alone in feeling this way?

 

[BrettDS]

I've been using a pebble for almost two years now, which has no reply from the watch feature and there are definitely times where it would be useful to me... even if it's no more than just a canned yes or no response. I'm not sure how well dictating to the watch will work.

However, that said, just being able to see your text message and email notifications on the watch is a big benefit (to me at least). There are a lot of messages I get that don't require a reply right away, so even if you do have to pull out your phone to reply you'll still be pulling out your phone a lot less frequently just because you'll know exactly why it vibrated... and a lot of the time that's enough... no reply needed.

 

[jabingla2810]

When it's inappropriate or you don't feel comfortable you can pull out your phone and reply if it's an important message.

The Apple Watch works WITH your phone, it doesn't replace it.

At least with the Watch you will know if it's important without getting your phone out.

 

[bbeagle]

but more often than not, I'll probably need to do a custom reply back to messages. This means a)Dictating into Siri, b)using my iPhone.

I don't picture myself ever NOT feeling like a total *******s talking into my watch for text message replies. I even have my own office at work... but I just picture a co-worker walking by as I reply something out loud to my wife.

Am I alone in feeling this way?

This is awesome!

I can now try to flirt with a co-worker, 'Nice! Looking good!' and if she takes it the wrong way, 'sexual harassment' I can say 'huh? I was just talking on my watch to my wife'.

Genius!

 

[Steve686]

For me, not having to pull my phone out of my pocket to check messages is the key.

Also, I don't hear my alerts or feel the vibration alert a lot of times, so something on the wrist will help with that.

If a response is utterly important, it's good to receive and notice the message, THEN I can use my phone to reply. But for the usual conundrum of texts that I get, some of the standard replies will suffice.

 

[Mac 128]

more often than not, I'll probably need to do a custom reply back to messages. This means a)Dictating into Siri, b)using my iPhone. I don't picture myself ever NOT feeling like a total *******s talking into my watch for text message replies.

This isn't the worst of it for me. I use Siri regularly now when I'm driving to dictate replies to e-mail and texts. But 90% of anything I dictate has to have manual corrections to some aspect of it. Often they're homonyms and I let those slide, but sometimes Siri just goes off the deep end with incorrect words that completely obscure the meaning of what I'm saying.

It's hard enough on the iPhone, so have no idea how this could be handled on the watch, other than to just re-do it. So in the end, your responses via Siri are likely to be extremely limited or rudimentary. Anything complicated you need to convey will almost certainly happen on the iPhone.

 

[omgitscro]

It's strange how different modern cultures can be. In China, one of the most common ways you'll see people communicating is via the WeChat app, using voice snippets (not just dictation). So it makes a lot of sense that Apple added that as a standard iMessage feature with iOS 8.

When I visited China I didn't see a single person wasting time typing out responses instead of just sending out voice snippets by raising the phone up to his/her face. It's rather unfortunate that we have any sort of stigma attached to speaking into our phones or watches. It's a much more convenient option, and it's the only method of communicating to Siri and to others via Watch.

 

[redman042]

It will take some time for me to get comfortable talking to my watch on a regular basis in public. Currently, I use Siri commands and dictation on my phone a fair amount, but not as often at the office or the grocery store. When I do, I speak in a low voice.

Once the watch gains popularity in the next couple of years, I don't think it will feel as weird. But I'm a fairly private person and don't really like to broadcast my messages to everyone around me.

The situation with Bluetooth headsets is a good example. Even today headset use in public is still fairly limited, and when someone uses it heavily it still strikes me as odd (not totally offensive, but it still catches my attention). For example, a guy in the Mexican restaurant I was eating at the other day was eating his taco and chatting away with someone over Bluetooth. Not only that, but he had one of those new "in ear" Bluetooth headsets that you can hardly see. I thought it was a little douchy.

 

[greeley]

i had a samsung watch (neo 1) and users were able to side load a keyboard. i dont see why we cant do the same on the apple watch.

voice dictation is very ify, but i agree it helps a little.

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It will take some time for me to get comfortable talking to my watch on a regular basis in public. Currently, I use Siri commands and dictation on my phone a fair amount, but not as often at the office or the grocery store. When I do, I speak in a low voice.

Once the watch gains popularity in the next couple of years, I don't think it will feel as weird. But I'm a fairly private person and don't really like to broadcast my messages to everyone around me.

The situation with Bluetooth headsets is a good example. Even today headset use in public is still fairly limited, and when someone uses it heavily it still strikes me as odd (not totally offensive, but it still catches my attention). For example, a guy in the Mexican restaurant I was eating at the other day was eating his taco and chatting away with someone over Bluetooth. Not only that, but he had one of those new "in ear" Bluetooth headsets that you can hardly see. I thought it was a little douchy.

it is a little douchy, especially if ur in line paying and you confuse the cashier because yourd on ur BT

but isnt a BT headset healthier? or are you still getting all that damage you would from a phone against your head.

 

[Mac 128]

When I visited China I didn't see a single person wasting time typing out responses instead of just sending out voice snippets by raising the phone up to his/her face. It's rather unfortunate that we have any sort of stigma attached to speaking into our phones or watches. It's a much more convenient option, and it's the only method of communicating to Siri and to others via Watch.

Most people in this country view texts as private I think.

But, it seems like an unnecessary power drain on the watch to me, given that it's similar to answering a phone call on the phone which has a maximum continuous use time of only 3 hours.

Also, could the lack of a good Chinese character based keyboard be the reason for more voice snippets In China?

 

[redman042]

it is a little douchy, especially if ur in line paying and you confuse the cashier because yourd on ur BT

but isnt a BT headset healthier? or are you still getting all that damage you would from a phone against your head.

Maybe the bigger issue, other than it looking like the person is talking to himself, is that someone on BT tends to be louder than anyone else in the room. It's inevitable. Two people talking to each other at a table nearby don't grab my attention as much as someone on BT.

 

[omgitscro]

Most people in this country view texts as private I think.

But, it seems like an unnecessary power drain on the watch to me, given that it's similar to answering a phone call on the phone which has a maximum continuous use time of only 3 hours.

Also, could the lack of a good Chinese character based keyboard be the reason for more voice snippets In China?

Chinese is a more information-dense language than English, both in writing and speaking (Mandarin, Cantonese, et al). Typing Chinese is usually done via Pinyin, which is an efficient method of input; I wouldn't pin it as being noticeably slower than typing the equivalent amount of information in English, but I'm only speaking from 2nd-hand experience. Speaking is certainly faster, as it is in English.

I think English speakers would benefit from the removal of this stigma. I can type much faster than I can speak (the average English conversation is at around 100–105wpm vs. 150wpm for my typing), but I can't say the same about typing on my phone or even on a device as small as a watch!

And, conversations spoken in Mandarin or Cantonese are obviously as private as they are when spoken in English (or any other language!). I think that culturally there's less of a tendency to concern oneself in others' affairs in Asian countries, which may be why there's more insensitivity towards the issue of privacy.