The Apple Watch will change everything - but just not this time

[craigkarr]

So, I've had the Apple watch since launch day and I must say I am pretty satisfied with it, but it just hasn't changed my world yet.

I think however that the next version will and here is how I think it will do it:

1. Next gen should have an embedded SIM, allowing for internet access without being near your phone. With that I think that the watch will make your Iphone redundant the same way the Ipad has made your laptop collecting dust. I would love to be able to leave my Iphone 6 Plus at home and still be able to do most of my tasks, except for serious web browsing and watching movies. Perfect if you go out for excercise, the beach or any other occassion when the watch would be sufficient
2. Next gen should have a front camera, since the watch on your wrist would be excellent for face time
3. Siri on the Watch should be able to do far more in the next version, for example showing or reading opening times and other context from wikipedia and Google, why a web browser would not be needed in many cases
4. Dictation should be refined with features to go back and correct, so that it would be possible to reply to emails

With these enhancements, I think that the Apple Watch could revolutionize a whole industry, just the way the Iphone did and just the way the Ipad did.

I think that the Apple Watch we have today is comparable with the Iphone 2G, which was fantastic, but missing 3G access and other stuff neccessary to really rock

 

[foxkoneko]

what's up with some people wanting a damn camera
Seems like a very limited use case that would take away from other resources

 

[flur]

I'm with you on 1, 3, and 4. I've been told to take my phone with me at all times (I got followed once when out with my dog, and the cop that took my report said to make sure I have it with me), and it'd be great if that meant I just had to have my watch on. I'd also be good for evenings out, concerts, etc. where you just want to have as little on you as possible.

3 and 4 will just make using the watch easier.

If they add a camera, that'd be great, but I don't see myself holding my wrist out in front of me for long periods of time. That gets tiring. I'd like to see facetime voice though, and being able to place calls on the watch with a BT headset (if it gets its own SIM, that'll be pretty useful).

I'd also add GPS to the list.

I don't think we'll get all of this in the next iteration unless they go a few years in between, as it would kill battery life - the tech is just not there yet to put all that battery hogging stuff into such a tiny device.

 

[exxxviii]

I'd also add GPS to the list.

I don't think we'll get all of this in the next iteration unless they go a few years in between, as it would kill battery life - the tech is just not there yet to put all that battery hogging stuff into such a tiny device.

The tech is pretty close already. The Garmin Fenix 3 has GPS and a 6 week battery life. It has 20 hour battery life with GPS active and 50 hours with GPS in an economy mode. The Fenix is a lot bigger and heavier than the Apple Watch, but it is also rugged. I am actually kind of surprised that 18 hours of battery life is the best that apple could do, given they stripped everything else out. I really wanted to see GPS.

I ordered the AW to give it a try and hope that Apple will create a true sport watch that is rugged and has stand-alone GPS and sufficient battery life to run a marathon. Then I can think about dumping my Garmin.

 

[iamasmith]

what's up with some people wanting a damn camera
Seems like a very limited use case that would take away from other resources

And it would be another thing to go with Google Glass not allowed in cinemas and Restaurants.

A camera on the watch is a toy and makes it a problem in some areas.

 

[solarguy17]

1. Next gen should have an embedded SIM, allowing for internet access without being near your phone. With that I think that the watch will make your Iphone redundant the same way the Ipad has made your laptop collecting dust. I would love to be able to leave my Iphone 6 Plus at home and still be able to do most of my tasks, except for serious web browsing and watching movies. Perfect if you go out for excercise, the beach or any other occassion when the watch would be sufficient
2. Next gen should have a front camera, since the watch on your wrist would be excellent for face time
3. Siri on the Watch should be able to do far more in the next version, for example showing or reading opening times and other context from wikipedia and Google, why a web browser would not be needed in many cases
4. Dictation should be refined with features to go back and correct, so that it would be possible to reply to emails

1. SIM Card - NO NO NO. The Watch should never have a SIM card, there is very little reason for this to happen. I love my watch but my phone does so much more. For example, watch, no keyboard, so it is hard to send text messages. Dictation is fine, but in a work environment, it doesn't work. The speaker on the phone is pretty bad, not to mention the battery dies pretty quickly with phone calls. You say to keep the iPhone for serious web browsing? What kind of web browsing are you serious going to do on you watch? None is the answer, the screen is simply to small.
2. Camera - Again NO NO NO, FaceTime would be terrible on the watch. Can you imagine holding you arm up at your face for minutes or hours? No that sounds terrible. Plus the camera is gonna be terrible in order to fit.
3. Siri - Yes, Siri should have more functionality, but reading Wiki or Google, no. That would be dumb, the screen is to small for it to be useable in an easy to read quick manner. Also, having the screen on for that long, would kill the battery.
4. Dictation - 100% agree. Dictating text messages is very hit and miss for me, and if its wrong there is no way to correct the message. You have to delete the whole thing and start over. Frustrating.

In all, your suggestions are bad and I hope the first 3 don't happen as you suggested them.
If you want that stuff, go get a Samsung Gear.

 

[papbot]

1. SIM Card - NO NO NO. The Watch should never have a SIM card, there is very little reason for this to happen. I love my watch but my phone does so much more. For example, watch, no keyboard, so it is hard to send text messages. Dictation is fine, but in a work environment, it doesn't work. The speaker on the phone is pretty bad, not to mention the battery dies pretty quickly with phone calls. You say to keep the iPhone for serious web browsing? What kind of web browsing are you serious going to do on you watch? None is the answer, the screen is simply to small.
2. Camera - Again NO NO NO, FaceTime would be terrible on the watch. Can you imagine holding you arm up at your face for minutes or hours? No that sounds terrible. Plus the camera is gonna be terrible in order to fit.
3. Siri - Yes, Siri should have more functionality, but reading Wiki or Google, no. That would be dumb, the screen is to small for it to be useable in an easy to read quick manner. Also, having the screen on for that long, would kill the battery.
4. Dictation - 100% agree. Dictating text messages is very hit and miss for me, and if its wrong there is no way to correct the message. You have to delete the whole thing and start over. Frustrating.

In all, your suggestions are bad and I hope the first 3 don't happen as you suggested them.
If you want that stuff, go get a Samsung Gear.

The technology may advance to the point that all that could be put into something that an ordinary person would actually wear on their wrist but I think that's a long way off. Most of those things would only be of importance for military use and could be supplied to troops at some point but I'm betting that it won't be in an Apple Watch. I might lose that bet but I don't think so.

 

[flur]

SIM Card - NO NO NO. The Watch should never have a SIM card, there is very little reason for this to happen.

I just gave some (IMO) pretty good reasons upthread. Just because you don't want something doesn't mean no one should be able to have it. I can't see a reason that Apple couldn't offer the watch the same way it does the ipads - base model no SIM, upcharge for the always-connected version.

 

[BritinNC]

I agree with others. Putting a SIM in the Watch seems pointless to me. The power drain would make the watch unusable and battery tech is unlikely to improve enough in the next few years to change that. I find myself pulling out my phone all the time for activities that I could never do on the watch screen or via voice. If you really want to see what it would be like with a SIM card simply put your phone in your pocket and don't pull it out ALL DAY, NEVER. See how frustrated you are at the end of the day and that is what it would be like if this all ended up on the watch. I would certainly not upgrade for this feature.

With regards to a camera, again I don't see it. It has one use only and that is for FaceTime. One of the most useful parts of FaceTime is the ability to show things to other people by using the back camera. You would not be able to do that with the phone without breaking some bones. Frankly looking at people's faces when I talk to them gets old pretty quickly. I usually just put the phone on the desk and they see my ceiling, I only use FaceTime to show people stuff.

Your two points on Siri and Dictation are spot on though. It is the only way to get information into the watch and it needs to be flawless. There are several times when I have dictated responses to iMessages into the phone only to have Siri get one word wrong, so you have to hit cancel and start again, or more likely at that point use handoff and the phone. The ability to say things like 'not Floss Gloss' and have Siri correct it would be excellent. Also, Hey Siri is ok to get Siri's attention, but once we are in a conversation I don't want to have to keep saying it. Specifically when I ask Siri to add a reminder (one of the greatest features IMHO) it sometimes puts it straight on a list ('Hey Siri add doughnuts to my shopping list"), and other times asks me to hit ok ("Hey Siri remind me to pick up some milk when I leave work"). Since it is inconsistent I sometimes miss reminders because I never said Ok, but if I'm trying to go hands free adding the reminder then tapping ok is defeating the purpose. Usually I just say "Hey Siri, Ok" but I should be able to just say "Ok" like on the phone.

In terms of GPS, I know all the fitness folks really want this, but I don't really need it and wouldn't want to sacrifice battery life for it unless it made maps more responsive. Right now the directions can be a bit dicey in a car as the watch doesn't receive the turn notice until you are right on the turn. GPS tends to burn through my phone battery, so I would expect it to do the same on my watch and that wouldn't be worth it to me.

Hardware-wise I'm not sure there is much that Apple could do to improve it for me except to increase the processor speed. I think we need some real developer ingenuity at this point, but it will require a different kind of thinking since successful apps will be ones that can provide value in less than a second glance, just like the widely acclaimed 'telling the time' app.

 

[r0k]

The tech is pretty close already. The Garmin Fenix 3 has GPS and a 6 week battery life. It has 20 hour battery life with GPS active and 50 hours with GPS in an economy mode. The Fenix is a lot bigger and heavier than the Apple Watch, but it is also rugged. I am actually kind of surprised that 18 hours of battery life is the best that apple could do, given they stripped everything else out. I really wanted to see GPS.

I ordered the AW to give it a try and hope that Apple will create a true sport watch that is rugged and has stand-alone GPS and sufficient battery life to run a marathon. Then I can think about dumping my Garmin.

Enough battery to run a marathon? You mean 6.5 hours, right (at a 15 minute "fast walk" pace)? This version has double that easily. As for GPS, I don't mind having my iphone on me somewhere tucked away and using the AW merely as a display. Stuffing features in hoping something will stick is a Samsung thing, not an Apple thing. Unless sales are terrible, I doubt anybody at Apple engineering is combing these threads looking for stuff to add to AW no matter how compelling these ideas might sound to those of us that might need them. But I bet Samsung engineering is reading this thread to develop conquest sales strategy...

Now to some of the other stuff I've noticed in this thread, I say no no and NO! (Or at least not for my use cases)...

Add GPS: Subtract battery life.
Add SIM: Subtract even more battery life plus add at least another $10 a month for your cellular company to hit you with.
Beef up Siri: I find Siri pretty frustrating even on my iPhone 6 so I doubt they can make her appeal to me on a mere watch. I think I'll pass on this one for now.
Camera: Are you kidding? Another thing watching me all day? When George Orwell predicted "Big Brother" watching us 24x7 the only thing he left out was that we would be paying for all the freakin' cameras!

Have you tried ApplePay yet? The only thing easier than getting out my phone instead of my wallet is double-tapping the friend button and holding my watch next to the reader. Nice! I'm sure Apple will find ways to improve on Apple Watch in the future but I find the product we already have to be compelling enough that I'm not sorry I was an early adopter.

 

[Mac 128]

what's up with some people wanting a damn camera
Seems like a very limited use case that would take away from other resources

1. The watch is used to make and receive phone calls. Now it can be used to make and receive FaceTime calls just as easily without fumbling to get your phone out.
2. No more missed photos because you couldn't get your iPhone out in time. Selfies will be much more spontaneous, and fun. You can also send short message videos to make the watch "even more personal".
3. Face recognition - the watch will now know whether you're looking at it, and won't automatically shut off, or activate just because you flick your wrist.
4. The watch can now be used to measure distance

And exactly how would it take away from other resources?

 

[BillyTrimble]

but it just hasn't changed my world yet.

I think this is your problem. It's NOT supposed to change your world. You simply don't understand the watch. I'm astounded that you haven't returned it yet.

And other than perhaps better siri integration and performance, I completely disagree with you on want you want in the next version.

 

[Mac 128]

In terms of GPS, I know all the fitness folks really want this, but I don't really need it and wouldn't want to sacrifice battery life for it unless it made maps more responsive. Right now the directions can be a bit dicey in a car as the watch doesn't receive the turn notice until you are right on the turn. GPS tends to burn through my phone battery, so I would expect it to do the same on my watch and that wouldn't be worth it to me.

It's not worth it to you. Many of the comments in this thread are with respect to personal use. If you don't use FaceTime and don't take selfies, of course you're not going to want a camera, or see the need for one. Who needs "burst" mode on the front facing camera of the iPhone? Yet there was Tim Cook during a keynote highlighting it as a major new addition to the latest iPhone. "Customers are going to love it" he said.

As for GPS, Rip Curl currently makes a GPS tracker watch with a 10 hour continuous tracking active battery life. 10 hours! That's better than the the 3 continuous hours of phone talk time, and 6.5 hours of music playback. That means GPS in a watch should theoretically use far less power than many of the power draining features Apple chose to include. Just like wifi and bluetooth, you make it an option for the customer to turn off and on as needed. If it's important to you you'll use it and take the battery hit. If not, turn it off, and it's there should you ever need it.

 

[foxkoneko]

1. The watch is used to make and receive phone calls. Now it can be used to make and receive FaceTime calls just as easily without fumbling to get your phone out.
2. No more missed photos because you couldn't get your iPhone out in time. Selfies will be much more spontaneous, and fun. You can also send short message videos to make the watch "even more personal".
3. Face recognition - the watch will now know whether you're looking at it, and won't automatically shut off, or activate just because you flick your wrist.
4. The watch can now be used to measure distance

And exactly how would it take away from other resources?

again very small use cases. (lol @ selfies used as a serious argument btw )
Battery, space on the watch, & it'd be a crappy camera anyway

 

[exxxviii]

Enough battery to run a marathon? You mean 6.5 hours, right (at a 15 minute "fast walk" pace)? This version has double that easily. As for GPS, I don't mind having my iphone on me somewhere tucked away and using the AW merely as a display.

Nope... it needs to be 6.5 hours with its own GPS active. The reason is that a runner cannot always count on carrying a phone to tether to the watch. If the weather is bad, I will never run with my phone. And, when I do, it is uncomfortable, and I do not like it. I would like to see a future AW with its own GPS and sufficient battery to last a marathon. Lots of others can do that today, so it should not be a problem for Apple in a year or two.

As for camera, people said the same thing at the begging of the last decade with phones. I remember my T610-- the hottest at the time phone that kicked Motorola to the curb. It had a camera, and folks though it was a joke. Now, cameras are a major feature that defines a phone.

I do love ApplePay and I cannot wait for it on my Apple watch. Likewise for Passbook and business travel. I cannot wait...

 

[foxkoneko]

Nope... it needs to be 6.5 hours with its own GPS active. The reason is that a runner cannot always count on carrying a phone to tether to the watch. If the weather is bad, I will never run with my phone. And, when I do, it is uncomfortable, and I do not like it. I would like to see a future AW with its own GPS and sufficient battery to last a marathon. Lots of others can do that today, so it should not be a problem for Apple in a year or two.

As for camera, people said the same thing at the begging of the last decade with phones. I remember my T610-- the hottest at the time phone that kicked Motorola to the curb. It had a camera, and folks though it was a joke. Now, cameras are a major feature that defines a phone.

I do love ApplePay and I cannot wait for it on my Apple watch. Likewise for Passbook and business travel. I cannot wait...

camera itself isnt a bad idea but it is now for a gen 1-3 or 4 product. Give it time & im sure the apple watch 10 will have all those features, if it's not already some implant to our body

 

[KisonBY]

The thing I want the camera for is bar code scanning. That would be cool to scan products in store to see if it's on Amazon for much cheaper or scan bar codes on food to log calories intake (not that I would do that). I could also make few cases where being able to scan things like QR codes / business cards would be nice.

 

[ZebraDude]

So, I've had the Apple watch since launch day and I must say I am pretty satisfied with it, but it just hasn't changed my world yet.

I think however that the next version will and here is how I think it will do it:

1. Next gen should have an embedded SIM, allowing for internet access without being near your phone. With that I think that the watch will make your Iphone redundant the same way the Ipad has made your laptop collecting dust. I would love to be able to leave my Iphone 6 Plus at home and still be able to do most of my tasks, except for serious web browsing and watching movies. Perfect if you go out for excercise, the beach or any other occassion when the watch would be sufficient
2. Next gen should have a front camera, since the watch on your wrist would be excellent for face time
3. Siri on the Watch should be able to do far more in the next version, for example showing or reading opening times and other context from wikipedia and Google, why a web browser would not be needed in many cases
4. Dictation should be refined with features to go back and correct, so that it would be possible to reply to emails

With these enhancements, I think that the Apple Watch could revolutionize a whole industry, just the way the Iphone did and just the way the Ipad did.

I think that the Apple Watch we have today is comparable with the Iphone 2G, which was fantastic, but missing 3G access and other stuff neccessary to really rock

many of your ideas are interesting but would not be viable due to power concerns. Once Apple finishes tweaking their Mini SIM card sized Fusion reactor then we are ready to go!

 

[dannyyankou]

I bring my phone with me everywhere anyway, so GPS would probably do nothing for me. But for serious runners, it should be an option.

 

[OneMike]

The thing I want the camera for is bar code scanning. That would be cool to scan products in store to see if it's on Amazon for much cheaper or scan bar codes on food to log calories intake (not that I would do that). I could also make few cases where being able to scan things like QR codes / business cards would be nice.

unless the camera was on the band, it would be pretty hard to scan a QR and see the screen at the same time to position it. Possible, but I don't see that happening any time soon.

 

[KisonBY]

unless the camera was on the band, it would be pretty hard to scan a QR and see the screen at the same time to position it. Possible, but I don't see that happening any time soon.

Well it could be just like Apple Pay - it could just be constantly scanning and then just tap you once it recognized the bar / QR code. You don't need a perfect picture to read these codes, so I'm not concerned with the whole "watch face facing away and not getting a perfect picture" deal since you don't need a perfect picture at all. And I would hate to have a camera on the band...

 

[OneMike]

Well it could be just like Apple Pay - it could just be constantly scanning and then just tap you once it recognized the bar / QR code. You don't need a perfect picture to read these codes, so I'm not concerned with the whole "watch face facing away and not getting a perfect picture" deal since you don't need a perfect picture at all. And I would hate to have a camera on the band...

the more I think about it. Yea it could potentially work and be pretty cool.

 

[solarguy17]

I just gave some (IMO) pretty good reasons upthread. Just because you don't want something doesn't mean no one should be able to have it. I can't see a reason that Apple couldn't offer the watch the same way it does the ipads - base model no SIM, upcharge for the always-connected version.

You gave very specific situations that won't affect the VAST majority of watches users. I for one would rather see the battery be made to take up the space then to add in a SIM card slot. Not to mention that it would cost you $10 a month for this convience.

The trade offs are just not worth it.

The only benefit many people could see is if gps is included for a Find my Watch Feature. But again, that is a narrow advantage.

 

[solarguy17]

1. The watch is used to make and receive phone calls. Now it can be used to make and receive FaceTime calls just as easily without fumbling to get your phone out.
2. No more missed photos because you couldn't get your iPhone out in time. Selfies will be much more spontaneous, and fun. You can also send short message videos to make the watch "even more personal".
3. Face recognition - the watch will now know whether you're looking at it, and won't automatically shut off, or activate just because you flick your wrist.
4. The watch can now be used to measure distance

And exactly how would it take away from other resources?

1. FaceTime while holding your phone up is already arm tiring. Now hold your wrist to you face for 10 min...go on, I'm waiting.
Ok now that you have failed at that because your arm got to tired, is FaceTime really feasible. Not to mention the battery life will drain with all that streaming video and audio. And of course the fact that the speaker on the watch is pretty poor (but decent for a watch) makes FaceTime on the watch unfeasible and dumb.
2. Seriously selfies? That's a selling point of a camera? Well ok.
When you grab you phone and hold it out for a selfie, how face is the camera from your face? Arm length, so 2.5-3ft. Now hold you watch up to your face, how far is it? That's right, 1.5-2ft away. So now you self includes no background and it's not your choice, and the picture is worse because the camera isn't very good due to size.
And seriously. Go activate the camera app on your watch, did it take more or less time then just slide the home screen up on your phone to activate the camera?
3. Face detection is a decent idea. But I don't normally stare at my watch without touching something long enough for the screen to turn off anyway. I can't imagine it this would be super useful.
4. Ok great measure distance, where is that useful? Or more useful on a watch in comparison to your phone that justifies all the drawbacks of having a camera in your watch?

The fact is having a camera is a pointless feature and there is a reason no other smart watch offers it and Samsung dropped it from their Gear series.

 

[zmunkz]

The moment a SIM card goes in there, the watch will be expected to replace the iPhone (or at least operate fully usefully without it), which would be a catastrophic miscalculation from Apple and would surely end the watch's life. Nobody is going to use this thing the way they use their phones, ever. The screen is too small and it has to be used 1-handed. These are not surpassable limitations, they are direct consequences of it being a "watch".