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I'm pretty sure when you are on the same wifi network the phone and watch will work so it could be 5 feet or 500 as long as you're on the same wifi network. When you're not on wifi I imagine the range will be much less, more like 100 feet (about the cutoff for a strong Bluetooth signal). All speculation on my part though.


I really hope you're right - both my garmins lose BT to my phone between floors of my fairly average sized house.
 
I'll just point people to the first iPhone that launched without an SDK, App Store, copy/paste, 3G etc. Let's wait and see what, if anything Apple announces at WWDC.
 
I remember when people got contact lenses so they wouldnt have to wear glasses..but then they just put on fake hipster glasses over their contacts to look cool...

First people ask for huge 5.5 smartphones, now they want a tiny screen so they don't have to use said phone. Schizophrenic. I do not get it
 
By setting limitations Apple is protecting the integrity and quality of the user experience. Apple is smart for doing this, because anything that causes the Apple watch experience to be less than excellent for what it already promises to do will result in complaints, outrage, media stories, negative reviews, and potentially a failed product.

If you want to continue enjoying quality, "just works" Apple products, don't complain about their temporary limitations. When they figure it all out and technology develops they'll continue to open it up more.

I agree with everything you've said. First impressions with this product are going to be more important than ever. I'd rather have a limited experience that hopefully "just works" than stuff not ready for prime time that doesn't. Jony Ive said the Watch is the most difficult project he's ever worked on at Apple. I think it's clear the Watch was not ready for prime time when Apple showed it off last year, at least not from a software perspective. But hey we know when the iPhone was announced the software was pretty much being held up with duct tape and employees were nervous as hell that some of the demos wouldn't work.

People should listen to the latest Debug podcast with Don Melton and Nitin Ganatra (one or both worked for Scott Forstall while at Apple). They give really good insight to software development/shipping software at Apple. They talk about how limited the first iPhone OS was but how it was exactly the right thing at that time.
 
Apple is so far behind the game and they haven't even started shipping yet.

I made the mistake of purchasing the first generation iPad and I won't make the same mistake in purchasing first-gen Apple products ever again. When people say they like to start small with first-gen stuff, they really ain't kidding. Things start to ramp up to much more acceptable feature levels in the second-gen.

The less than one day battery life will be the thing that kills this more than anything for me. That, and the poor quality control that seems to have haunted Apple as of recent in their software.
 
Looks like all popular mac webpages are getting good money from Google to make bad press.. Hehe, all other wearables sucks in my opinion apple watch looks the best. The things that I don't like are no gps without phone and maybe battery, not deal breaker for me. :D
 
I would assume it's similar to other current Bluetooth accessories. I use a Bluetooth headphone at the gym and can leave my phone at the bench while I walk a good 75 feet to the water fountain without any disruption in the streaming audio. Never tested the outer limits

You bring up an excellent point, which as far as I'm aware Apple has kept quiet on, and it will be interesting if they explain this at their pre-launch gathering most are expecting to see.

Or if they carefully decide to deliberately not mention it.

What am I talking about?
The maximum distance the Watch can be from the iPhone and still function.

In your scenario, and for everyone else, in home life, this is a major, and I mean MAJOR point that will make a vast difference to how the watch functions for you day to day.

If the iPhone just had to be in the house somewhere, or downstairs where you are, or in the same room as you, or within a few feet of you.

That fundamentally changes how the watch will feel and work for many.

If for example the iPhone just had to be in the home/apartment somewhere, then the watch will be great, and you can just relax when wearing it at home.

If it however had to be within say 10 feet, then it's a mostly dead device whilst you are at home going about your day to day business.

Given how much of a difference in use and function this will make the watch I would hope Apple will explain this reliable distance it can be from the iPhone fully before launch
 
I don't get why Apple insists on locking down new products and features. Let developers take advantage of them now, it'll be opened up eventually anyway.

Apple has been very transparent about this. They said on day one you won't have access to all these items, but that they will give you access very soon in the future. They plan to open up the full apps after the june WWDC. The reason is because without a system to decide which app gets control the watch would literally be dead in 10 minutes. We're up against physics not apple magically restricting stuff because it doesn't want you to have fun.
 
I agree with everything you've said. First impressions with this product are going to be more important than ever. I'd rather have a limited experience that hopefully "just works" than stuff not ready for prime time that doesn't. Jony Ive said the Watch is the most difficult project he's ever worked on at Apple. I think it's clear the Watch was not ready for prime time when Apple showed it off last year, at least not from a software perspective. But hey we know when the iPhone was announced the software was pretty much being held up with duct tape and employees were nervous as hell that some of the demos wouldn't work.

People should listen to the latest Debug podcast with Don Melton and Nitin Ganatra (one or both worked for Scott Forstall while at Apple). They give really good insight to software development/shipping software at Apple. They talk about how limited the first iPhone OS was but how it was exactly the right thing at that time.
I feel the big difference is that the iPhone had room to grew whereas the iWatch will not.

Software-wise the iWatch is just like other smart watches in that it mostly replicates functions already present on a cell phone. This is in vast contrast to the iPhone which improved and added functions over previous non-touchscreen smartphones (& dumb phones).

I feel that the focus on health kit makes sense in this context because it'll offer new functionality not available on smartphones. However I do not believe the type of accurate, non-invasion, health monitoring that iWatch needs to succeed exists at this moment (or in the foreseeable feature).

Lastly is that the iPhone became the Cadillac of smartphones however the iWatch--as yearly commodity--will never surpass Rolex for top watch. This will forever hurt Apple's brand image.

(also battery blah blah blah).

So it makes sense why Johny Ivy would say the Apple Watch is there most difficult product. Steve jobs famously said one of the toughest aspects of his job was canceling products. I feel that Tim Cook was under too much pressure to make the next big thing happen that he stopped to critical evaluate the product.
 
Doesn't it work both ways? Just because you had problems doesn't mean everyone else does...


You lost me at just works. Are you serious? Or are you just blind to the many aspects of iOS and OSX lately that just do not work?

I know, your probably one of those who has never had a problem and thus do not believe others have these real problems. Because for you, it just works.
 
First people ask for huge 5.5 smartphones, now they want a tiny screen so they don't have to use said phone. Schizophrenic. I do not get it

It's really quite simple* - they are not necessarily the same people. Different people have different opinions. Crazy how that works!??

(*since that fact does challenge certain members on this board on a regular basis, maybe I'm making the wrong assumption when I say "simple" ;) )
 
I would assume it's similar to other current Bluetooth accessories. I use a Bluetooth headphone at the gym and can leave my phone at the bench while I walk a good 75 feet to the water fountain without any disruption in the streaming audio. Never tested the outer limits

That would be brilliant if true.

If your iPhone just had to be in any room in the house and you wan wander around the house with the watch, and the watch be fully functional then it will make it so vastly better, than if you needed to keep the phone, say in the same room as you were otherwise the connection was lost.

I do hope Apple explain this and a typical range to be expected in a normal home with walls etc, before launch day.
 
If for example the iPhone just had to be in the home/apartment somewhere, then the watch will be great, and you can just relax when wearing it at home.

I'm definitely hoping that's the case. The Watch does have wifi so if it's on the same network perhaps some functionality could be extended to it. (Fingers crossed).
 
It's definitely very James Bond-esque. There is a "cool" element to it.

However I'm afraid the coolness could wear off somewhat quickly, because again, this functionality is no different than what can be offered on the phone. Sure, you can access it from your wrist. But is that slight convenience worth shelling out $350?

I definitely have my eye on that Tesla though.
Which entirely misses the point of the smart watch.

Yes, all that functionality exists on the phone already. Heck, I believe OnStar's phone app lets me remote start and lock/unlock my car remote already (if I ever set it up), but doing that on my phone is actually more of a hassle than using the key/remote my car came with. I have to pull my phone out of my pocket, unlock it, launch an app, and hit whichever commands do what I want them to do. Compare that to the remote: I tap the Lock button, tap the Remote Start button, then tap the Unlock button, and I'm set ... and I can do all of that without pulling my hand out of my pocket to look at the remote.

The Apple Watch would potentially be closer to the remote than it would be to the phone: raise my arm, select the app, and tap whatever I need to do. Bam.

It's not laziness, it's convenience. It creates fewer actions necessary to accomplish the same task, particularly because the Watch is on my arm and the apps are designed specifically to be easy to use. Brief interactions, then done. Least resistance.

That's why this is so compelling, and why I think this will be a huge hit. It will be the path of least resistance to so many actions during our day, so many little things that become just automatic reflexes, and I fully believe Mr. Cook when he says he can't live without it.
 
Which are the future. Safari in iOS 8 has WebGL enabled - as soon as developers start to realize that and take advantage of it, native apps will die swiftly (pun intended.)

Clearly you're no dev. I'm a web dev and here to tell ya -- native will always be faster. It's compiled, first. Second, web apps have to bring all their HTML, CSS, and JavaScript down over the wire, whereas a native app has all layout resources locally. Thus if you want the best experience or performance, it's native.

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Sounds more like they released a product before all the API's were actually ready.

Nope. You guys don't understand how software works. much like products, APIs are developed over time. The stork doesn't just drop them down perfectly finished -- it takes years to determine what's useful, safe, etc.. Today's iOS APIs can do way, way more than the original IPhone OS.

things improve over time. It's just common sense. Not so common....

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Sounds like the iPhone Web Apps all over again.

Yeah and how did that turn out? Oh yeah, as the most successful, profitable, beloved mobile platform of all time. And copied!

Going slow and iterating improvements is exactly how apple rolls. Has for decades.
 
What a cool car though. When I saw that screenshot of the car on the watch, my first thought was the 1982 Star Trek Movie Wrath of Khan when the animation of the shields coming up around the ship with the dots and sound effect.
 
Apple has been very transparent about this. They said on day one you won't have access to all these items, but that they will give you access very soon in the future. They plan to open up the full apps after the june WWDC. The reason is because without a system to decide which app gets control the watch would literally be dead in 10 minutes. We're up against physics not apple magically restricting stuff because it doesn't want you to have fun.

The problem with your statement is that is sensible, is based on facts, and does not call people names.

You need to do better. :)
 
Sounds more like they released a product before all the API's were actually ready.

My understanding the watch has not been released and the development tools are beta. Apple likely is limiting APIs until battery life issues can be addressed.
 
I agree with everything you've said. First impressions with this product are going to be more important than ever. I'd rather have a limited experience that hopefully "just works" than stuff not ready for prime time that doesn't. Jony Ive said the Watch is the most difficult project he's ever worked on at Apple. I think it's clear the Watch was not ready for prime time when Apple showed it off last year, at least not from a software perspective. But hey we know when the iPhone was announced the software was pretty much being held up with duct tape and employees were nervous as hell that some of the demos wouldn't work.

People should listen to the latest Debug podcast with Don Melton and Nitin Ganatra (one or both worked for Scott Forstall while at Apple). They give really good insight to software development/shipping software at Apple. They talk about how limited the first iPhone OS was but how it was exactly the right thing at that time.

Thank you for pointing that out. I LOVE podcasts and will listen to that asap.

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You lost me at just works. Are you serious? Or are you just blind to the many aspects of iOS and OSX lately that just do not work?

I know, your probably one of those who has never had a problem and thus do not believe others have these real problems. Because for you, it just works.

I worked at an Apple Store for years and have had first-hand contact with thousands of customers. The overwhelming majority of them feel extremely positive about their Apple product experience. Those who have had defective products have received first rate service ad the Genius Bar. There are very few detractors with Apple product users, especially compared tidiest about any other tech company in the world.
 
You lost me at just works. Are you serious? Or are you just blind to the many aspects of iOS and OSX lately that just do not work?

I know, your probably one of those who has never had a problem and thus do not believe others have these real problems. Because for you, it just works.

iCloud Drive...ugh...

I've been buying, providing support for, and earning a living from Apple products for 32 years. They've never really "just worked". They've "just worked" better than the competition, but that doesn't mean they've been flawless. Not even close.

Apple has become like everyone else these days. Ship something "good enough" and let your customers be eternal beta testers. By the time something is reasonably solid, it's on to the next version and the process starts all over. But this is the future of software in general it seems. At least now, thanks to the Internet, updates can be made quickly rather than waiting a year or two for one massive patch mailed out on floppy disks.
 
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