The Quest for Quality: Five of the Most Useful Apple Watch Apps

[C DM]

Most means the majority of people, meaning over 50%. I was being generous here, so that I wouldn't shoot myself in the foot. Its not hard to show that it'll be useless the majority of people. It's probably more accurate to say this watch is useless for almost everyone but that'll be hard to prove so I won't say that.

There's really no way you can speak for even more than few other people, let alone most or even just 50% of people. It's rather silly to assumer otherwise. And if it's not hard to show, it would have already been shown by now--simply saying it or thinking that's the case isn't showing it, and since there's no way to speak for even 50% of people out there, there's really no way to even show it. Sure, lots of assumptions can be made and all that, but that's not really showing either.

And by the way, most isn't majority, most carries the implication of much more than just over 50% (the use of most would would generally be considered to be much closer to 100% than to 50%).

 

[Judas1]

There's really no way you can speak for even more than few other people, let alone most or even just 50% of people. It's rather silly to assumer otherwise. And if it's not hard to show, it would have already been shown by now--simply saying it or thinking that's the case isn't showing it, and since there's no way to speak for even 50% of people out there, there's really no way to even show it. Sure, lots of assumptions can be made and all that, but that's not really showing either.

And by the way, most isn't majority, most carries the implication of much more than just over 50% (the use of most would would generally be considered to be much closer to 100% than to 50%).

Yes I can. Its this thing called statistics. I don't have to poll everyone. Its all based off of the fact that the only unique think the watch can do is fitness. Only a small fraction of people are into fitness. Everything else you can do on the iphone. The three most popular apps, facebook, youtube, twitter, you either can't use on the watch, or is much easier on the iphone. Therefore its useless to most if not almost all people.
edit: You are wrong about the word most. It does just mean the majority. Almost all means close to 100% which is probably true for the Apple watch but which I didn't want to try to argue.

 

[C DM]

Yes I can. Its this thing called statistics. I don't have to poll everyone. Its all based off of the fact that the only unique think the watch can do is fitness. Only a small fraction of people are into fitness. Everything else you can do on the iphone. The three most popular apps, facebook, youtube, twitter, you either can't use on the watch, or is much easier on the iphone. Therefore its useless to most if not almost all people.

That's a rather narrow and incomplete definition of what would be useful to people using a smartwatch, and seems like an overall misunderstanding of the whole smartwatch category of devices in general (and that's after pages of information provided in this very thread to explain it all). That pretty much right there makes it flawed right away as far as being statistically significant and useful. Doesn't seem like there's much need to go any further since that pretty much clearly demonstrates the futility of trying to "proof" anything of the sort that you think you are trying to prove.

 

[ackmondual]

I think some number of people will think that list amply supports their decision not to buy the watch
Wonder what the least useful apps look like.

[shrug] Probably another fart app.

Sure, 10% or 30% of a bill is so hard to do without a calculator...

If Quicken gets a Watch update, you can bring up graphs showing people "see this big dip in my budget? That's when I bought the Apple Watch!"

 

[laurim]

The "implication" was that there is a way to manage calls, mail and notifications that does not involve wrist "sips"

Must be nice to have a job with no calls, texts and emails that require immediate attention

 

[Judas1]

That's a rather narrow and incomplete definition of what would be useful to people using a smartwatch, and seems like an overall misunderstanding of the whole smartwatch category of devices in general (and that's after pages of information provided in this very thread to explain it all). That pretty much right there makes it flawed right away as far as being statistically significant and useful. Doesn't seem like there's much need to go any further since that pretty much clearly demonstrates the futility of trying to "proof" anything of the sort that you think you are trying to prove.

Okay forget the apps. Lets go with what the watch is marketed as. Its an extension of the iphone, an accessory. Are you saying that this extension is so important that most people would find it useful? So a person without this extension is missing out on the total experience? So the iphone itself is an incomplete product? Of course not. In general, smartwatches being just accesories are useless to most, so I'm not just hating on the Apple watch. But it needs to be said louder and clearer about the Apple watch since its getting so much attention.

 

[ackmondual]

So why do you bother wearing a watch in the first place? I'm not trying to be a jerk, just curious. If I wear a watch, I'm sure not gonna pull out my phone to check the time.

The watch can still be a fashion statement, even if not used. Heck, that's one of the very same angles that Apple's using when selling their Watch.

This is happening to me as well. It's made me much less likely to walk around like a smartphone zombie sucked in by my phone all the time. When my phone was my sole device I would be inclined to take it out regularly to see if I had missed a notification/message/whatever and then most times I would also feel compelled to check twitter, instagram, reddit, etc. since I already had the phone out. Now I know that I won't miss notifications and so my phone only comes out when needed, or when I have time to kill. My daily phone usage has been cut down by about 50%.

Hmm, sounds like you're trading one "drug" for another

 

[laurim]

Yes I can. Its this thing called statistics. I don't have to poll everyone. Its all based off of the fact that the only unique think the watch can do is fitness. Only a small fraction of people are into fitness. Everything else you can do on the iphone. The three most popular apps, facebook, youtube, twitter, you either can't use on the watch, or is much easier on the iphone. Therefore its useless to most if not almost all people.
edit: You are wrong about the word most. It does just mean the majority. Almost all means close to 100% which is probably true for the Apple watch but which I didn't want to try to argue.

How about it's the only decent smartwatch designed to work with the iPhone? And if you claim to understand statistics, why don't you feel the need to define "people"? Obviously, "most people in the world" can't afford it. "Most people with smartphones" can't use it because it doesn't work with non-Apple phones. So is your definition of "people" people who own iPhones or people with iPhones who are interested in a smartwatch? Because failing to appeal to those very specific people I last mentioned are the only ones Apple would care about pleasing and considering how many watches have been sold so far, I think Apple has done a good job!

The fact that you say "better on the iPhone" illustrates your complete lack of understanding of what the watch is for. Which is why you don't understand why people want it.

 

[C DM]

Okay forget the apps. Lets go with what the watch is marketed as. Its an extension of the iphone, an accessory. Are you saying that this extension is so important that most people would find it useful? So a person without this extension is missing out on the total experience? So the iphone itself is an incomplete product? Of course not. In general, smartwatches being just accesories are useless to most, so I'm not just hating on the Apple watch. But it needs to be said louder and clearer about the Apple watch since its getting so much attention.

Seems like another misunderstanding or a fallacy there. For something to be useful doesn't necessarily mean that something else (related or not) is useless or even worse without it. The logic of it doesn't really work that way.

 

[laurim]

Okay forget the apps. Lets go with what the watch is marketed as. Its an extension of the iphone, an accessory. Are you saying that this extension is so important that most people would find it useful? So a person without this extension is missing out on the total experience? So the iphone itself is an incomplete product? Of course not. In general, smartwatches being just accesories are useless to most, so I'm not just hating on the Apple watch. But it needs to be said louder and clearer about the Apple watch since its getting so much attention.

Why do people have bluetooth headsets for their phones, then? They could just hold it up to their ear the entire time.

I don't know why you are arguing about this. You don't want one. That's the only thing you can accurately state and none of us care whether you want one.

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Seems like another misunderstanding or a fallacy there. For something to be useful doesn't necessarily mean that something else (related or not) is useless or even worse without it. The logic of it doesn't really work that way.

Correct. I have a remote control for my TV. It makes the process of watching tv and changing channels more convenient. Doesn't make the tv itself any better nor the content I watch on it any better and I could still enjoy both without the remote. It just makes doing it easier and I would hate to do without it.

 

[thalazy]

Not many useful apps yet. I use activity when I am actually working out. For me I like it for glances and being able to get notifications of calls or texts, when I usually have my phone in another room or area. Prior to this it's seemed like anytime I would leave my phone somewhere I would get a call or text and if I had my phone on me I wouldn't. Perhaps once developers start to receive their watches and the sdk then maybe that might change. Even if it never comes I satisfied with what it does.

 

[ackmondual]

How can they call a watch with less than a day battery life revolutionary? I simply do not get the appeal. The Apple Watch to me just seems like a colossal waste of money, solving an apparent problem that doesn't even exist.

Underpants gnomes say...
1) make Apple Watch with < full day's battery life
2) ????
3) Profit!

Well... if I didn't know better, I'd say step #2 takes us to the conspiracy camp of making a 2nd gen Apple Watch with a much improved battery life. Why not put this better battery life in the 1st gen. watch then? If true, it seems Apple, and other device manufacturers seem to hold back on these improvements on purpose to get more models/generations of sales in.

 

[C DM]

Underpants gnomes say...
1) make Apple Watch with < full day's battery life
2) ????
3) Profit!

Well... if I didn't know better, I'd say step #2 takes us to the conspiracy camp of making a 2nd gen Apple Watch with a much improved battery life. Why not put this better battery life in the 1st gen. watch then? If true, it seems Apple, and other device manufacturers seem to hold back on these improvements on purpose to get more models/generations of sales in.

So pages later still trying to pick on something that has been demonstrated not to be the reality? Seems like non-realistic talking points and/or misunderstandings and/or lack of caring are the only pieces of "ammunition" that people have against the device.

 

[rowspaxe]

Must be nice to have a job with no calls, texts and emails that require immediate attention

there is nothing extraordinary about the way i work--i just follow some basic rules of time management.
I get paid to solve problems--not answer the phone immediately.

 

[rowspaxe]

You don't want one. That's the only thing you can accurately state and none of us care whether you want one.

Why isn't it interesting that he doesn't want it. Why do you feel compelled to shut down opposing views?

 

[C DM]

Why isn't it interesting that he doesn't want it. Why do you feel compelled to shut down opposing views?

Nothing wrong with not wanting one. Implying that that individual opinion somehow says something about the product overall and that everyone should feel that way or otherwise they are just blinded by marketing or something like that, that's a different story.

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there is nothing extraordinary about the way i work--i just follow some basic rules of time management.
I get paid to solve problems--not answer the phone immediately.

Just as there isn't anything extraordinary about how other people work and live which can be and often are in different manners where different things work better for them without being "manipulated" by anything.

 

[laurim]

there is nothing extraordinary about the way i work--i just follow some basic rules of time management.
I get paid to solve problems--not answer the phone immediately.

Well, in my business I don't know what the problems are until someone tells me and if I don't get a notification from them I'm not solving anything. I am in the live event business so when people contact me it's usually something they need an answer for NOW! And when I contact someone with an issue it's usually something I want an answer for ASAP. I don't usually have the luxury of putting people off until I feel like doing something and I don't feel like being chained to my phone to be that available. With the watch and wifi, I can leave the phone somewhere (in the house while I mow the lawn, for example) and still know if someone needs me.

 

[ackmondual]

So pages later still trying to pick on something that has been demonstrated not to be the reality? Seems like non-realistic talking points and/or misunderstandings and/or lack of caring are the only pieces of "ammunition" that people have against the device.

18 hours doesn't seem bad, although I've heard from folks here and other tech sites that they really wish it could go a full day without charging on "heavier usage". Not making this stuff up.

 

[Lictor]

18 hours doesn't seem bad, although I've heard from folks here and other tech sites that they really wish it could go a full day without charging on "heavier usage".

The problem is that it is currently 18 hours... This is with no real native third party applications - all the third-party applications currently mostly run on the iPhone, the Watch is just a deported screen. And you can be sure that Apple has rewritten all the native apps until they used as little energy as possible...

Now, with the WWDC, we might have native third party apps. My concern is what will become of the 18 hours once we have a bunch of apps on the Watch, some of them badly written from an energy point of view, some of them running in the background.. The 42mm with its extra battery will probably be able to still run a full day, but what of the 38mm ?

That's also why I would have wished for something bigger than 42mm, which feels a bit small, with that much more battery.

 

[rowspaxe]

Well, in my business I don't know what the problems are until someone tells me and if I don't get a notification from them I'm not solving anything. I am in the live event business so when people contact me it's usually something they need an answer for NOW! And when I contact someone with an issue it's usually something I want an answer for ASAP. I don't usually have the luxury of putting people off until I feel like doing something and I don't feel like being chained to my phone to be that available. With the watch and wifi, I can leave the phone somewhere (in the house while I mow the lawn, for example) and still know if someone needs me.

I dont do yard work either. Perhaps my life is better than i imagined

 

[laurim]

I dont do yard work either. Perhaps my life is better than i imagined

Exactly. Smartwatches are for busy people.

 

[Robisan]

Fap-worthy title "The Quest for Quality" reads like fan-boi self-parody. Well played MacRumors. *golfclap*

 

[bobob]

My concern is what will become of the 18 hours once we have a bunch of apps on the Watch, some of them badly written from an energy point of view, some of them running in the background.

I can't wait to buy me some "badly written" apps!

 

[RobertMartens]

A typical female ploy to get men to like them.

Well, you are adorable, I like you already.

I know lots of women in engineering and science. Well I say lots, but there should be way more. I have taught math (hs level) and have spent time trying to convince girls to stay with it and study it further. Not many take the bite.

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I dont do yard work either. Perhaps my life is better than i imagined

You are missing out man. Take some time to literally smell the roses.

 

[laurim]

A typical female ploy to get men to like them.

Well, you are adorable, I like you already.

I know lots of women in engineering and science. Well I say lots, but there should be way more. I have taught math (hs level) and have spent time trying to convince girls to stay with it and study it further. Not many take the bite.

It's no surprise that girls do better in math and science when they attend all-girl schools. I was the "smart girl" at school and enjoyed competing with the "smart boy". And even though my dad had old-fashioned ideas about how women should be, he still supported me when I wanted to do science projects or learn how to do mechanical things. Thankfully, my love of science won over my need to be attractive to guys or I would probably be on a second or third marriage by now, instead of owning my own home and a freelancer with lots of freedom. When I was in high school, 3M sent a group of women engineers to talk to the girls about opportunities in science. The woman I talked with is the one that got me to choose a chemical engineering degree instead of a chemistry degree and I'm grateful for that, even though I don't do chemical engineering anymore. The breadth of knowledge and responsibility I learned serves me well in what I do now. Girls need more role models and I try to encourage my grandnieces to do more science and not be intimidated by it. They are doing well and aren't caught up with trying to be girly just for guys to the detriment of their scholarly interests!