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The merged "I returned/sold my Apple Watch because..." thread
- Thread starter jeek
- Start date
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Thanks for the reply oghowie. I'm keen to hear your Apple Watch return story now.
I return mine every day....
to the charger.
to the charger.
I got one just because I'm too curious of a person to have at least tried one myself.
I guess I liked it. It was kinda convenient to have the time and whatnot on my wrist. It didn't do anything life changing. I didn't like how it looked. 98% of the time it was just a black screen on my wrist. The breaking point came when I was at a mall that has an Apple Store and I saw other people wearing them. Listen, I have no problem having the same phone as so many other people. But I am WEARING the watch. This will sound kinda mean, but the other people I saw wearing it...I don't want to wear the same thing as them. It's petty or whatever, but it really bothered me.
Also, I was kinda digging it for the fitness tracking but I realized that it has no idea what I'm doing. At all. It's a pedometer with a kinda accurate heart rate monitor. And it's not even actually taking your heart rate, it's taking your pulse, which isn't the same thing. It knows nothing else unless I tell it.
I just didn't feel like it was worth the money to wear a semi-useful device on my body. I don't know what they could do to make it worth it to me.
I guess I liked it. It was kinda convenient to have the time and whatnot on my wrist. It didn't do anything life changing. I didn't like how it looked. 98% of the time it was just a black screen on my wrist. The breaking point came when I was at a mall that has an Apple Store and I saw other people wearing them. Listen, I have no problem having the same phone as so many other people. But I am WEARING the watch. This will sound kinda mean, but the other people I saw wearing it...I don't want to wear the same thing as them. It's petty or whatever, but it really bothered me.
Also, I was kinda digging it for the fitness tracking but I realized that it has no idea what I'm doing. At all. It's a pedometer with a kinda accurate heart rate monitor. And it's not even actually taking your heart rate, it's taking your pulse, which isn't the same thing. It knows nothing else unless I tell it.
I just didn't feel like it was worth the money to wear a semi-useful device on my body. I don't know what they could do to make it worth it to me.
I got mine three days ago. The Steel one with Classic Buckle. But today I setup a return. I liked the physical design, I think it really looks gorgeous and the interchangeable strap system is absolutely genius.
But I just feel that for the price (£600) that it should do more. Now don't get me wrong, I know it has a small screen because it is a watch and that will always limit what it can do. But I feel like the limited functionality you can pack in to this small device should be reflected in the price and it just isn't.
£330 for the sport version, £519-£600 for the Steel. These prices are just bonkers for the limited functionality on offer. This watch whilst beautiful is a mass produced product with very little resale value once the 2nd version is released.
I think it's fair to say I'm disappointed that it didn't live up to the price. I really think the Steel should be £199 and the Sport £99. That may sound crazy to some of you but just look at the iPod Touch. The Watch and the iPod Touch share many of the same class of component. Display, WiFi+Bluetooth, Battery, Motion Processor, Light Sensor etc
But the iPod Touch is much larger. That battery costs more, that display surely costs more, there is more aluminum used in its construction, it comes with an 8 Megapixel camera sensor and yet it's cheaper, in-fact it's less than half the price of an Apple Watch Sport. That's just ridiculous. The iPod Touch does way more and is incredible value.
So yeah, I'm returning mine. I did enjoy trying it out but it just isn't good enough. Maybe in a few generations. I'd be surprised if it catches on. I'm sure there are a lot of people who bought it and have buyers remorse, this isn't the kind of device like an iPhone where it just made sense from the first moment you used it, this watch is a very tough sell in my opinion.
But I just feel that for the price (£600) that it should do more. Now don't get me wrong, I know it has a small screen because it is a watch and that will always limit what it can do. But I feel like the limited functionality you can pack in to this small device should be reflected in the price and it just isn't.
£330 for the sport version, £519-£600 for the Steel. These prices are just bonkers for the limited functionality on offer. This watch whilst beautiful is a mass produced product with very little resale value once the 2nd version is released.
I think it's fair to say I'm disappointed that it didn't live up to the price. I really think the Steel should be £199 and the Sport £99. That may sound crazy to some of you but just look at the iPod Touch. The Watch and the iPod Touch share many of the same class of component. Display, WiFi+Bluetooth, Battery, Motion Processor, Light Sensor etc
But the iPod Touch is much larger. That battery costs more, that display surely costs more, there is more aluminum used in its construction, it comes with an 8 Megapixel camera sensor and yet it's cheaper, in-fact it's less than half the price of an Apple Watch Sport. That's just ridiculous. The iPod Touch does way more and is incredible value.
So yeah, I'm returning mine. I did enjoy trying it out but it just isn't good enough. Maybe in a few generations. I'd be surprised if it catches on. I'm sure there are a lot of people who bought it and have buyers remorse, this isn't the kind of device like an iPhone where it just made sense from the first moment you used it, this watch is a very tough sell in my opinion.
Yes I did have to try it myself. What's the big deal? It's going back, I'm getting my money back.
This is a personal device that you wear, you have to live with it to make a proper assessment. I didn't find it that compelling in my day to day life, I found the software quite laggy and it didn't meet its guide price in capability or usefulness.
Looking at a spec sheet and feature list doesn't tell the whole story when you don't know how many of those features you'll actually benefit from.
LOLZ, You ordered the watch, tried it out for a few days then were like... 'I'm out' and returned it. I'm guessing you have a few pics of the watch on your wrist on Facebook.
No I don't. I don't have a facebook. I have not shared any images of it on the internet.
What is with all of you being so petty?
While I won't quibble with your reasons for returning the watch (I haven't even bought one myself), I do think that you're way off the mark if you think the Stainless Steel version should cost £199. Even a basic Fossil steel dress watch will set you back £145, and that's at the very low end of the spectrum. I agree that the Watch is expensive for what it is, but i don't think £199 is in any way a realistic suggestion
Honestly I just don't think it's worth more than that. Having used it. People buying those expensive watches do so for fashion and style. Whilst the Apple Watch does look nice (especially the steel) I just can't see it in the same league as mechanical watches and I see it more like an electronic device that will be worthless in 12 months when everyone wants the latest version.
If each Apple Watch was made by hand or something then sure, but it's not. By the way you can get polished steel Android Wear watches for £150 so I don't think I'm that far off really.
I agree. If you look at nice watches that have excellent build quality, the Apple Watch is not expensive. I have looked at the Android Wear watches and not one comes close to the build quality of Apple Watch. Some have more classic styling and I can see people preferring the styling of something like the Huawei watch but build quality is a different thing. The same is true for the bands. The band pricing is in line with what nice watch bands cost. Whether you like the look for the money is something entirely different. Heck, the Fitbit Surge is $250 for something that is plastic. A Citizen Navihawk with a rubber band is $488 and doesn't do anywhere near what Apple Watch does nor does it have superior build quality.
It's one thing to say something is too expensive to fit someone's budget. It is another thing to say it is overpriced. The new Macbook is expensive and certainly out of budget for a lot of people but I don't consider it overpriced.
What I find surprising is how many people are still buying Apple Watch and then getting surprised and saying "It only did ..." I think there are enough reviews out that it is pretty clear what the watch does and what it doesn't do.
A lot of this reminds me of when the iPad came out:
"It's a bigger iPhone that can't make calls. My iPhone does everything iPad does and more."
"There is no killer app."
"I got my iPhone for $200 but iPad will cost me $600 for something that does less."
I can easily see someone saying Apple watch isn't worth the money just like I can see someone saying an iPad isn't worth the money. There are some nice, inexpensive tablets on the market or a person can just do without. That said, I am slowly moving from like to love as I get more used to having Apple Watch on my wrist.
Each to their own I guess. The way I view it is as two components, the fashion side and the utility side. While I'm not a big 'watch guy' I've got a few watches and my most expensive one is probably £300, so if i say that's the top end I'm will to pay for the fashion component then there's a £220 gap to the price of the entry level 42mm SS watch, and for the moment the utility side isn't worth £220 to me, especially not considering the mixed reviews.
I guess what I'm trying to say is everyone views the Watch as a different proposition, i think the watch 'looks' nice enough to justify at least a £199 price tag on fashion alone without the added utility value. You obviously see the package differently, but of course it's your money and it's far from my job to tell you what to do with it! As I've already said, I do agree with your broad point that the Watch is too expensive for a lot of people to consider it a good value proposition, myself included at the minute.
@SR22pilot I don't really agree with that assessment. My main complaint with the watch is it doesn't even work well. Siri is hit or miss, the UI is laggy, the workout app is designed for running or cycling not general exercising like situps, weight lifting etc.
Sitting at my desk typing away on Messages on my Mac, I open a browser or something and someone messages me, I can see the messages on my Mac screen they just aren't in focus but now I'm also getting them on my wrist. That's just annoying.
I really question the whole point of this wearables category after using it. I kinda found the device less convenient than just using my Mac and iPhone, it became a complication all in itself and whenever I tried to use it to save time it often wasted it instead.
Here is another example, a friend of mine is away on holiday and they have data roaming turned off, which means no iMessage. Well whenever she texts me it came up on the watch, no problem at all. But when I wanted to send her a reply it sent it back as an iMessage and not an SMS so she never got any of those messages I sent back to her.
On the iPhone I can just press and hold on any iMessage I've sent and select "send as text message". The watch just feels really half baked from a software standpoint and Watch OS 2 doesn't address any of those things. It seems to be focused on native apps.
I would agree with you that the fashion and design of the steel is worth £300. I don't think the leather band is worth £135 on its own for example nor the face £400 odd.
I tell you what, if the Apple Watch came as a purely mechanical watch with years of battery life then I'd say it would be worth £300-£400.
Sitting at my desk typing away on Messages on my Mac, I open a browser or something and someone messages me, I can see the messages on my Mac screen they just aren't in focus but now I'm also getting them on my wrist. That's just annoying.
I really question the whole point of this wearables category after using it. I kinda found the device less convenient than just using my Mac and iPhone, it became a complication all in itself and whenever I tried to use it to save time it often wasted it instead.
Here is another example, a friend of mine is away on holiday and they have data roaming turned off, which means no iMessage. Well whenever she texts me it came up on the watch, no problem at all. But when I wanted to send her a reply it sent it back as an iMessage and not an SMS so she never got any of those messages I sent back to her.
On the iPhone I can just press and hold on any iMessage I've sent and select "send as text message". The watch just feels really half baked from a software standpoint and Watch OS 2 doesn't address any of those things. It seems to be focused on native apps.
I would agree with you that the fashion and design of the steel is worth £300. I don't think the leather band is worth £135 on its own for example nor the face £400 odd.
I tell you what, if the Apple Watch came as a purely mechanical watch with years of battery life then I'd say it would be worth £300-£400.
The band pricing is largely laughable, I don't think a single band justifies its price point, the only one I would say comes close is the Milanese Loop, but that's because I really like the mesh design.
I do think Apple has misjudged the market slightly for this watch, as has been said before they need to convince both watch wearers and non-watch wearers to buy this watch. I think they're going to struggle to get the non-watch wearers to take 'gamble' on a £500 watch when they don't wear one already. On the flip side, i think they've misjudged the perceived value that watch wearers place on their items, I know exactly what price what I'd pay for a Steel watch, so Apple has to prove to me that the Apple Watch is worth the excess on top of that. I probably would've bought an Apple watch had it been closer to £400 for the 42mm Steel watch, but at £519 there's no way I consider it good value, yet.
The iPod touch may use slightly more raw material, and have cameras, but the watch has a heart rate sensor and taptic engine, which the iPod touch doesn't have. I think any cost difference gets wiped out right there. Then there's the fact that with electronics, making things smaller is technically more difficult, and increases cost. The watch has most of the same components as the touch, but packed into a much smaller body. I think that alone justifies an additional $100-150 price over the touch.
As for the touch doing way more, well, it depends on your perspective. A cheap netbook does way more than an iPhone, but it doesn't fit in your pocket. So people are willing to pay a premium (either by paying outright or in the form of increased phone bills) for the iPhone so they can have a computing device that fits in their pockets. The same with the watch. If you want a device that fits on your wrist, so you can have it with you even when you are wearing clothing with no pockets to fit the iPod touch, then the watch is worth the $350 I paid for my 38 sport. I do understand that not everyone wants such a device, and for them, the watch is not worth $350. But I don't think the touch is incredible value in comparison to the watch. I mean, I loved the touch when it first came out, and had the first 3-4 generations, but then I got an iPhone, so the touch is now redundant, and I wouldn't buy one even if it cost only $50. But the watch does things my iPhone doesn't do, so it's not redundant, and that is why I bought it.
Yes this is an excellent point. I do not own a watch, nor have I ever bought one. I'm 27 years old, I live in the UK and I've never in my life worn a watch. When I was about 13 the mobile phones were just coming out in a big way and Pay as you go became a thing enabling young teens to get their first phone without a contract and they all told the time negating the need to get a watch.
So for me I'm coming at this from a technology point of view and not a watch point of view. I see the technology first and I don't feel it offers good value, I can't really see it from the mindset of someone that collects watches or has more than a few for different occasions as I just don't wear one.
I'd argue the iPhone does more than a computer does actually. Having more than a million apps. Even OS X doesn't have that much software. The iPhone even has more games available than all the consoles and Steam combined. And the iPod Touch can use all those games.
I don't think the taptic engine and the heart rate sensor doubles the price over the iPod Touch. That's just ridiculous. The heart rate sensor is two green LED's and two photo diodes. 10-15 bucks at most. The taptic engine is a linear actuator, we're talking $1.50 maybe $3 if we consider it a best in breed.
Also if you're wearing something without pockets then the watch becomes a paperweight. Almost all its functions require a tethered iPhone.
Well, I'm not using the iPhone to edit complex spreadsheets, write my thesis, convert videos, hold over one terabyte of media files, etc, etc, etc... The list of things a desktop/notebook computer does that the iPhone doesn't do or doesn't do nearly as well is still very long.
Also, I'm not talking about the raw costs of parts, but whether the additional features justify the price differential.
And the watch without iPhone still works as an activity tracker, and also as a notification device with the phone in Bluetooth/wifi range. So I can wander around my house in my pajamas with the watch on my wrist and the phone on the bedside table and still get notifications and step tracking. That is mainly what I bought it for.
The argument you're making here is that we've compromised to have a smaller computer in our pocket. Well I say the watch is too much compromise in that it's almost useless. That's just my opinion.
But as for what you're doing, you can edit spreadsheets on an iPhone, you can write your thesis on an iPhone, you can stream videos instead of converting and holding them on the device. The iPhone has a "workaround" for things it can't do. I mean I can even use my iPhone to remote into my desktop at home and then I could do anything you can do.
But that isn't the point, the point is the watch is in my opinion too basic for its price point. Either it needs to do more or it needs to be priced lower.
You must have a small house or maybe the sport model that has better range? The steel one I had lost range in my house quite a bit when I walked around doing chores and things which significantly impacted things like Siri, notifications etc
I don't disagree that the watch as it is now does very little. For me, what it does is worth $350-400 for the sports models, but I wouldn't pay extra to get the SS model. And I can understand that some people, like yourself, wouldn't buy it at all. I was more objecting your characterization of the iPod touch as more useful than the watch, because that too is relative to the users' needs/wants.
And while a lot of things that I do on my desktop and notebook computers CAN be done on the iPhone, the user experience is so bad, I don't want to do them. And yes, I think of the iPhone as a compromise device -- a small cramped screen to get portability,
Actually, I live in an apartment, which, though on the large side for a big city apartment, is much smaller than the average size house. So maybe that's another reason why I find the watch more useful than you did, as I have to leave my apartment in order to get out of Bluetooth range.
Quu —— Your experience is your experience so this isn’t me telling you what you should have experienced. My experience, however, is different from ours. Here is some of mine.
Siri -
Siri works well. My main dislike is that Hey Siri only works when the watch face is on. I feel sure this is to conserve power. This is at least better than my iPhone where Hey Siri only works when plugged in.
Some of the limitations on Siri are perplexing. I can say “Play songs by…” and it works but if I say “Play Classic Rock Radio” it wants to hand off. I would expect Siri on the watch do do anything with the Apple Music app that the iPhone Siri can do. I expect this will be a future software upgrade.
Still, Hey Siri is nice for controlling music when I’m driving.
UI -
I like the UI and find it responsive enough. I find third party apps slow but that isn’t a UI issue. WatchOS2 should help with third party app speed.
Messages -
I haven’t run into the iMessage issue you have but understand what you are saying. I love that my phone doesn’t ding when the watch is on my wrist. Certainly messages aren’t as full featured as the phone. I wouldn’t expect it to be. To me the issue with your friend is a special case that you handle on the phone.
For me, I am able to triage a lot of my daily messages. I have a local TV station and CNN which keeps me up to date on major events including road closures without reaching the point of annoyance. On email I just receive my VIP list as notifications on the watch. That makes sure I don’t miss important emails while limiting notifications.
I also like getting a vibration on the wrist compared to a ding on the phone. I find messages are now a lot less intrusive and yet I miss fewer of them. I often missed the ding when in a restaurant but I rarely miss the tap on the wrist.
Directions -
The left and right turn notification is cool. When in a rental and using my phone for directions was nice to look at my watch for the distance to the next turn vs. looking at the phone.
Digital Touch -
Useless unless you have someone who sends you LU messages during the day. Fortunately I have someone like that. She sometimes gets creative with the drawings.
Exercise -
I like the heart rate monitor and the way it tracks walks and runs. I dislike the flakiness of the exercise ring. I can do 45 minutes at my target heart rate range and only get credit for 20 minutes of exercise.
Techies vs.non-techies -
I keep mentioning this because I think the distinction is important when reading a review. My girlfriend (definitely non-techie) led her watch from day one. She saw it as a pretty watch that told time plus did some other neat things. She loves the heart rate monitor, messaging and the hands free phone feature. She often leaves her phone in her purse or has it set down somewhere so the watch is a quick way to answer calls.
My experience was very different. I set mine up and then thought “Now what?”. It wasn’t like when I got my iPad where I played with it for hours. Slowly I realized that the watch isn’t an entertainment device. It just reduces interaction with the phone. It used to be so annoying to take my phone out just to see a text message that said “OK.” A lot of text messages I get don’t even require a reply. I just saw one from my girlfriend that says “On my way.” Without the watch that would have meant pulling out my phone. Slowly I have adjusted to my girlfriend’s viewpoint and come to really enjoy my watch.
Watch bands -
There are very nice inexpensive bands available and it looks like Apple is supporting an entire watch ecosystem. I made the comment that the Apple bands aren’t exorbitant. Here is what I mean. Here is a nice upper end watch band:
http://shop.hodinkee.com/collections/italy-straps/products/brown-textured-leather-strap
At an even more extreme price point, a Rolex Jubilee stap in steel is about $1860.
Siri -
Siri works well. My main dislike is that Hey Siri only works when the watch face is on. I feel sure this is to conserve power. This is at least better than my iPhone where Hey Siri only works when plugged in.
Some of the limitations on Siri are perplexing. I can say “Play songs by…” and it works but if I say “Play Classic Rock Radio” it wants to hand off. I would expect Siri on the watch do do anything with the Apple Music app that the iPhone Siri can do. I expect this will be a future software upgrade.
Still, Hey Siri is nice for controlling music when I’m driving.
UI -
I like the UI and find it responsive enough. I find third party apps slow but that isn’t a UI issue. WatchOS2 should help with third party app speed.
Messages -
I haven’t run into the iMessage issue you have but understand what you are saying. I love that my phone doesn’t ding when the watch is on my wrist. Certainly messages aren’t as full featured as the phone. I wouldn’t expect it to be. To me the issue with your friend is a special case that you handle on the phone.
For me, I am able to triage a lot of my daily messages. I have a local TV station and CNN which keeps me up to date on major events including road closures without reaching the point of annoyance. On email I just receive my VIP list as notifications on the watch. That makes sure I don’t miss important emails while limiting notifications.
I also like getting a vibration on the wrist compared to a ding on the phone. I find messages are now a lot less intrusive and yet I miss fewer of them. I often missed the ding when in a restaurant but I rarely miss the tap on the wrist.
Directions -
The left and right turn notification is cool. When in a rental and using my phone for directions was nice to look at my watch for the distance to the next turn vs. looking at the phone.
Digital Touch -
Useless unless you have someone who sends you LU messages during the day. Fortunately I have someone like that. She sometimes gets creative with the drawings.
Exercise -
I like the heart rate monitor and the way it tracks walks and runs. I dislike the flakiness of the exercise ring. I can do 45 minutes at my target heart rate range and only get credit for 20 minutes of exercise.
Techies vs.non-techies -
I keep mentioning this because I think the distinction is important when reading a review. My girlfriend (definitely non-techie) led her watch from day one. She saw it as a pretty watch that told time plus did some other neat things. She loves the heart rate monitor, messaging and the hands free phone feature. She often leaves her phone in her purse or has it set down somewhere so the watch is a quick way to answer calls.
My experience was very different. I set mine up and then thought “Now what?”. It wasn’t like when I got my iPad where I played with it for hours. Slowly I realized that the watch isn’t an entertainment device. It just reduces interaction with the phone. It used to be so annoying to take my phone out just to see a text message that said “OK.” A lot of text messages I get don’t even require a reply. I just saw one from my girlfriend that says “On my way.” Without the watch that would have meant pulling out my phone. Slowly I have adjusted to my girlfriend’s viewpoint and come to really enjoy my watch.
Watch bands -
There are very nice inexpensive bands available and it looks like Apple is supporting an entire watch ecosystem. I made the comment that the Apple bands aren’t exorbitant. Here is what I mean. Here is a nice upper end watch band:
http://shop.hodinkee.com/collections/italy-straps/products/brown-textured-leather-strap
At an even more extreme price point, a Rolex Jubilee stap in steel is about $1860.
I have a very large house and my watch stays connected. Obviously it gets out of Bluetooth range but my WiFi network covers the entire house so the phone and watch stay linked.
I returned the 38mm SS pink modern buckle watch I got the missus for her graduation as the size 'small' is tiny! Even on the biggest hole it was still too tight and she's only petite herself.
Exchanged it for the medium size in store (purchased in Kingston London, exchanged at Bluewater Kent) no problem. In and out in 5 minutes.
Very efficient service, and a very happy wife!
Exchanged it for the medium size in store (purchased in Kingston London, exchanged at Bluewater Kent) no problem. In and out in 5 minutes.
Very efficient service, and a very happy wife!