Tech & Non-Tech Site Reviews

[Piggie]

Thank god you don't work at Apple (not that you would with views like that). The lack of an SD, USB, and removable battery are what make the devices so much better. Luckily Apple has highly intelligent people making decisions and ergo, we don't have those.

Thanks for your views, but again, you are falling into the same trap as thinking that what "YOU" like is right.

It's right for "YOU" but that's all.

This would be like me saying that what "I" want it right, and what "YOU" want is wrong, and your opinions and needs should be disregarded.

I don't wish to be rude, but that's a very selfish and self centered viewpoint

Please try and remember, everyone is different, we all like different things, and we all have different needs based upon our lifestyle and what we need or a device.

Thanks.

Just think how bad the world would be for everyone if it only contained the items that either I or YOU felt it should have.

 

[matrix07]

It will be exciting to get to read the reviews, but the real review will come later. Not weeks after as some are suggesting, but 6+ months later. It'll take a few months for the exciting factor will wear off... and then a couple more months to experience the watch at the steady state. I give it about 6 months for most people to definitively decide if the watch is useful, worth the daily charge, etc.


I can easily see it going either way. A revolutionary device that changes our lives.... or a flash in the pan.

This is exactly what Jim Darymple said and this time I agree with him completely (he said 3 months though.) the true test of Apple Watch will be wil we use it daily 6 months from now?

 

[Piggie]

This is exactly what Jim Darymple said and this time I agree with him completely (he said 3 months though.) the true test of Apple Watch will be wil we use it daily 6 months from now?

I agree also.

Real long term, living with it reviews from normal people.

I think we all know there will be a percentage that will be all OMG Wow, Amazing, Love it for the 1st few days/few weeks.
But as time goes on, they start to leave it at home for the day, then 2 days, then get to a point where they only wear it now and again, as for a percentage, their phone is simply good enough/better, and it's one less thing to have to think about.

If that's 75% of watch buyers, or 5% or watch buyers, we won't know for some time.

 

[Rogifan]

What exactly would be considered a "honest" review? For some people any review even remotely positive will be considered not honest and someone just saying positive things to stay in Apple's good graces and get future products to review.

 

[Cashmonee]

What exactly would be considered a "honest" review? For some people any review even remotely positive will be considered not honest and someone just saying positive things to stay in Apple's good graces and get future products to review.

An honest review would be a review from someone who has actually lived with it for a significant amount of time. In reality, what most sites publish is a glorified first look. I tend to look at the sites that don't publish a review the day the embargo is lifted. Then I look at user reviews months down the line. The rest, like Engadget or The Verge, are just trying to be the first to press in order to get the clicks. They haven't really had enough time to give it a real review, and they usually are hesitant to be completely honest because they want to stay in the early review group. Anandtech or DCRainmaker (in the fitness world) publish in depth, detailed reviews after living with the product for a significant amount of time.

 

[Che Castro]

I think reviews come out a few days before the 24th
So I don't think they have the watch yet

 

[Rogifan]

If you are looking for unbiased, fair reviews, you probably have to wait until May. Further, with the Watch there will be several reviewers to consider. For example, you will want a tech review, probably from Anandtech. A fashion/watch review from say Hodinkee. A fitness review from DCRainmaker. This device plays to so many markets that while one review may work for an individual, it won't for everyone. To get the full picture, you will want all of them, and most of the best reviewers won't have them until they buy them. Apple will not seed these to reviewers who may give it a less than fantastic review. They historically choose their pre-release reviewers very carefully.

After the initial reviews come the real user reviews. Those are the ones that really matter. The big question will be this: How many people will forget to wear it or charge it on day and actually care? Will it allow itself to be forgotten, or will it be good enough that you will notice and be motivated to put it back on? A parallel would be people who have a Nest, move to a new house and don't bother reinstalling it. Or Fitbits that get lost and people don't bother to replace. Will that happen with the watch?

What would we need a review from Anandtech for? Do we need Watch benchmarks?

 

[indecision]

Reviews are either going to come out 9pm, this Wednesday or the Wednesday closer to the release. But 9pm on a Wednesday 100%.

 

[Piggie]

What would we need a review from Anandtech for? Do we need Watch benchmarks?

Well, they could test accuracy over a week for the time when not connected to another device to auto-correct themselves.

 

[dtdt123]

Which non-tech reviews are you interested in seeing? Are you looking for the fashion angle from a publication like Vogue? What about the horological perspective from ABlogToWatch or Hodinkee?

I named this thread Tech Site Reviews, a moderator must have added the Non Tech part?

 

[Cashmonee]

What would we need a review from Anandtech for? Do we need Watch benchmarks?

Anand was an example. I think you get the idea though. I wouldn't put much trust in reviews that come out the day the embargo is lifted. They are rushed, first opinions. They rarely go deep enough to root out what it is like to live with the device on a daily basis.

 

[FatMax]

Please remember that good is a subjective term.

I may view, in, let's say a phone or tablet, that the lack of a SD or USB slot and removable battery, for ME makes the device a joke.
You however many not need those things, and skip over these points in your review.

Monitor review = no height adjustment, poor/cheap design. potential neck strain.
iMac Review = no height adjustment, not even mentioned.

Believe me, an SD card isn't always a good choice.

My girlfriend has a Windows Phone with 8 GB internal memory. I bought her a SD card with 32 GB storage.
I set the settings to store everything on the SD card.

A couple weeks ago she got messages saying there was no storage space left. For some reason, a lot of apps was located on the internal storage.

When I tried to relocate it? "The developer of this app doesn't allow storage on external storage"

Ridiculous hoops to jump..

 

[Night Spring]

Monitor review = no height adjustment, poor/cheap design. potential neck strain.
iMac Review = no height adjustment, not even mentioned.

That IS a good point. It's just never bothered me -- I simply put books under my iMac until it is at the height I want.

 

[Lucifer666]

I'm not going to be interested in the reviews.

The focus will be on whether you want to charge it everyday. This is the thing. The reviews just muddle things.

Buy it, try it for yourself. If it doesn't work for you return it.

 

[rockyroad55]

If history is any guide then the evening of the 21st online and the 22nd for print. Reviews if iDevices in the past publish the week of actual release, not pre-order. Apple is going to want to add more hype to the actual lauch here so wouldn't expect this schedule to change. People preordering don't need a review to purchase, just reinforce. It's the holdouts that need a review for encouragement. And that's Apple's second wave of buyers.

Problem is past iDevices could not be demoed during the pre-order week. With the Watch, why wait two weeks for a review to come out when you can play with one in store beforehand?

 

[KPOM]

I named this thread Tech Site Reviews, a moderator must have added the Non Tech part?

I started a separate non-tech thread that a moderator merged into this one.

 

[Patriot24]

I can't wait to read reviews from non-tech sources to see what they have to say. Fresh eyes can be a good thing. Most of the tech press probably have been drafting their "reviews" since September...

 

[KPOM]

I agree also.

Real long term, living with it reviews from normal people.

I think we all know there will be a percentage that will be all OMG Wow, Amazing, Love it for the 1st few days/few weeks.
But as time goes on, they start to leave it at home for the day, then 2 days, then get to a point where they only wear it now and again, as for a percentage, their phone is simply good enough/better, and it's one less thing to have to think about.

If that's 75% of watch buyers, or 5% or watch buyers, we won't know for some time.

I wear a watch every day now and plan to stick my current watch in a drawer. It has a scratched crystal (glass) and the band is wearing out but I've resisted getting it fixed because I knew Apple Watch is coming. My concern is how quickly I'll get used to charging a watch every day. A regular watch can go for a few years before needing a battery.

 

[dtdt123]

I'm not going to be interested in the reviews.

The focus will be on whether you want to charge it everyday. This is the thing. The reviews just muddle things.

Buy it, try it for yourself. If it doesn't work for you return it.

I can't see why this would be an issue, I put my phone on charge just before I get into bed, I don't want to sleep wearing my watch so I would take it off and put it on charge next to my phone on top of my bedside drawers.

The act of putting the watch on charge will only take a few seconds, I can't see why many people are so bothered about this?

 

[KenAFSPC]

I can't see why this would be an issue, I put my phone on charge just before I get into bed, I don't want to sleep wearing my watch so I would take it off and put it on charge next to my phone on top of my bedside drawers.

The act of putting the watch on charge will only take a few seconds, I can't see why many people are so bothered about this?

Have you ever forgotten to plug in your iPhone to charge it? Perhaps you got home late after a long night and just plopped down in bed? Or perhaps there was some issue with a significant other or child that distracted you from observing your normal bedtime routine? With the iPhone, that doesn't matter because you get at least a second day (if not a third) with typical use. In contrast, the Watch will be dead and/or stuck in time-only mode until it is charged.

Most people want to simplify their lives, i.e., reduce the number of things they need to worry about. According to Apple's marketing, the Apple Watch exists in large part to simplify our lives. Yet it has this limitation where you lose all functionality if you forget to plug it in before going to bed. That's one more thing to worry about if you want to rely/depend on the Watch for important reminders/notifications.

 

[Lucifer666]

I can't see why this would be an issue, I put my phone on charge just before I get into bed, I don't want to sleep wearing my watch so I would take it off and put it on charge next to my phone on top of my bedside drawers.

The act of putting the watch on charge will only take a few seconds, I can't see why many people are so bothered about this?

You've thought it through.

It's true since it's a wearable, it's substantially different than a phone that you may forget to charge, as the watch is tethered to your body.

Hard to forget that

Of course, it depends on your late night mental state

 

[Chupa Chupa]

Problem is past iDevices could not be demoed during the pre-order week. With the Watch, why wait two weeks for a review to come out when you can play with one in store beforehand?

Demoed is too strong of a word for the max 15 min you get to play with it. Try-on is more accurate. Reviews have units for weeks and use it in real life situations to judge things like usefulness, battery life, outdoor screen quality, etc.

 

[Mr.C]

Problem is past iDevices could not be demoed during the pre-order week. With the Watch, why wait two weeks for a review to come out when you can play with one in store beforehand?

The thing is you can't. It's already been stated that the 15 minute tryout sessions will involve a preset demo loop and you won't be able to try out the various functions especially as you would need to pair it with an iPhone in the first place to do so and that won't be possible.

 

[Rogifan]

The thing is you can't. It's already been stated that the 15 minute tryout sessions will involve a preset demo loop and you won't be able to try out the various functions especially as you would need to pair it with an iPhone in the first place to do so and that won't be possible.

But I think the mobile demo stations are going to let you try out more things. Of course still not the same as someone who's used the watch for a week or two. Those kind of reviews will be most important.

 

[8CoreWhore]

Frankly, most reviews are unsatisfying. I'll be interested in thoughts from John Gruber, Rene Ritchie, and a couple of others.