Third-Party Tesla App Provides Look at Opportunities and Limitations of Apple Watch Development [Updated]

[cdm283813]

They've still yet to convince me this product is anything but stale, old, and tired. A computer watch? Are you seriously telling me that's what they think anyone other than a tiny few want or needs? Aside from possible functionality manipulating an AR interface and as a health monitor device, these watches offer no reason for existing. And that's not even considering how ridiculously hideous the fatty computer watch look...nor their silly price or battery life.


This product category is so outdated and dumb, it's sad to see Apple going along with it. They should fire whoever came up with this and retask anyone and everyone associated with it.

As a Android Wear owner I have to defend Apple to a point. I've had my LG G watch for over 2 months and when I leave home without it by accident I always miss it. I've grown not to whip out my phone for every little notification. It's perfect when you get text, emails, app notifications or calls. I always end up missing these when my phone is in my pocket. The watch is perfect for these types of things.
But what I don't like about the Apple watch is price. $350 is way too much and this is the beginning cost. I got my LG G watch during a black Friday deal that cost me $79 with a $40 Google play card; basically $39 for the watch. But would I have paid over $150; heck no. Apple's target audience is for people that have disposable income or are financially irresponsible with credit. I'm not the type to wear expensive clothes or jewelry. Apple will sale out initially but they need to price this for the working class individual.
Second issue is the interface. Looks sloppy and tries to do too much. With my Android Wear watch I get what I need and I'm finished. I'm only interacting for a few seconds at a time. Any more I will whip out my phone.
Eventually Apple will lower the cost but I'm ultimately not interested in this watch. Maybe in 1 or 2 years.

 

[Tycho24]

I have a hard time with the Watch as a standalone device replacing the iPhone. With the iPhone 6/6+, people are looking for larger screens to do stuff, and the Watch has its purpose, a smartphone replacement doesn't seem to be in the cards.

I am willing to be wrong on this one, but I think we'll need a paradigm shift to holographic displays, and better input media. It's bad enough to type on an iPhone (vs. a computer), and I don't think the watch will fill that gap.

THIS!!!!!
Absolutely... I think this every time I read one of the whining "replacement device" posts.

I mean... I'm pretty sure that 6/6+ are so popular primarily due to the amazing larger screens. Yet, we are supposed to believe (according to these few posters) that what people ACTUALLY want on their only device is a 1.6" screen???
Lol. No.
That is definitely a "companion screen" size, until, as you mentioned, something like MS hololens becomes viable in a small package.

 

[Rogifan]

THIS!!!!!
Absolutely... I think this every time I read one of the whining "replacement device" posts.

I mean... I'm pretty sure that 6/6+ are so popular primarily due to the amazing larger screens. Yet, we are supposed to believe (according to these few posters) that what people ACTUALLY want on their only device is a 1.6" screen???
Lol. No.
That is definitely a "companion screen" size, until, as you mentioned, something like MS hololens becomes viable in a small package.

And here's what baffled me about Apple's September event. With the larger screen phones it was a perfect opportunity to talk up Watch as a convenience device for when you don't want to fish your large(r) phone out of your pocket/handbag/briefcase etc. Cook didn't really tie the two together in the right way. I'm hopeful if there's another event Apple will have the right messaging figured out.

 

[Tycho24]

But what I don't like about the Apple watch is price. $350 is way too much and this is the beginning cost. I got my LG G watch during a black Friday deal that cost me $79 with a $40 Google play card; basically $39 for the watch. But would I have paid over $150; heck no.

Google Play Store has G Watch & G Watch R listed for $229 and $299 respectfully. I'm sure that you realize that there is more than $39 worth of components in your watch and that you bought it a very steep loss to the company... these sales serve to drum up "units sold" numbers & hopefully attract you back to the same company, so they actually can make some $ off of you in the future(neither of which are issues for Apple... their sales numbers are stellar without funny money stunts of giving away products at less than cost to a few that stalked a deal on Black Friday & then somehow confuse that bargain with the actual price... & yet their "stickiness" of user retention is beyond LG's wildest dreams).
You can only compare actual retail prices.
So... Apple's top watch appears to be a whopping 16% more than an LG. Hmmmm, I wonder which is the better bargain & will have FAR more dev support and robust accessory ecosystem.

 

[Tiger8]

You want a minimal footprint on such an embedded and limited form factor product. That means traditional apps, focused and optimized with energy efficiency in mind. Not WebGL, nor Javascript Apps.

Hardware is getting there where it really doesn't matter. If everyone thought like that, we would still be on assembly or even binary programming. With every programming language you sacrifice resources, but it's worth it.

Soon there will be things that WebGL will do that your traditional platform app won't be able to quite replicate.

 

[osofast240sx]

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.

To make three quarters of a trillion dollars in revenue. Give me one good reason why apple would change anything.

 

[Gizmotoy]

I thought Tesla had an official app in the App Store for all owners…

They do, but this isn't an official app, it's a third-party app using Tesla's undocumented private API. They're cracking down hard on the use of the private API by third parties.

 

[teslo]

I have a hard time with the Watch as a standalone device replacing the iPhone. With the iPhone 6/6+, people are looking for larger screens to do stuff, and the Watch has its purpose, a smartphone replacement doesn't seem to be in the cards.

I am willing to be wrong on this one, but I think we'll need a paradigm shift to holographic displays, and better input media. It's bad enough to type on an iPhone (vs. a computer), and I don't think the watch will fill that gap.

for now i totally agree with you, but assuming that 'touch-anywhere' screens (on any surface via a small projector) will become standard tech eventually, i can see the wearables easily becoming the replacements for phones/tablets. maybe even laptops down the road - and more focus on improving desktop computers will be the new 'fad'.

 

[GRuizMD]

What a novelty. These things can all be done while inside the car. Why would I want to control the air conditioning or heat levels from my watch when it's right there within arm's reach? And if I'm doing this from inside my home or place of work, why not just do it from my iPhone? Silliness.

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I guess..?

Tesla s85 owner here. Those controls are to adjust the temp of the car from s remote place, so the car is comfortable when you get into it. That functionality and way more is already available in the iPhone and android devices.

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the Elio autocycle for $6800 (89mpg) sounds like the way to go

Tesla's battery goes 260 miles on a charge, with a 240v 30Amp connection I can recharge the daily use of my car in about 3 hrs. Every night. And after having the car for three months my expenses in Fuel vs. electricity went from $350 to $27 a month. And that's without counting how powerful this car is. It puts the known muscle car in shame with its HP and torque.

 

[69650]

IT DEPENDS WHAT YOU DO. Seriously!! Can your phone last 16h if your playing a decent game on it? Not at all.

The phone needs to cover all the average usage of 90% of people to be successful.

That was my point. I often have to recharge my iPhone part way through the day which is why I have 2 mobiles. I wouldn't play games on the Apple Watch but I would expect the battery to last a full day with decent usage. I don't know what you classify as average usage but I would mostly use it to remind me of appointments and things to do. Probably also use it for alerts with breaking news, share prices and sports updates. If it doesn't last the day it's a waste of money to me, might as well stick with my iPhone instead.

 

[GRuizMD]

Yes. And if you want to see the Tesla info, do you want to see that in the office? In the living room? No, you will check that in the car, and when you parked it more then likely.

A feature? Yes
Useful? No

This functionality already exists on the iPhone and android devices. I can control the inside temp of the car, start or sto charging, lock / unlock the car, flash lights and open the sunroof. I can also locate the car, and even drive the car without a key, by only using my iPhone. I use those functions every day. I'm for sure buying the watch and look forward to use the tesla app.

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Version 2 hopefully contains:

* car alarm: when someone hits your door with his door you get a view with the camera's the car has (yeah, most cars have parking cams, use them!).
* pre-heat the car with a button
* put lights on, so i can walk from my house to my tesla when it's dark.

Version 1 already has all that. It's also already on the iPhone app already. I use that every day.

 

[jaw04005]

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

Better APIs are coming sometime later this year. These first attempt apps are using WatchKit extensions.

"Starting later next year, developers will be able to create fully native apps for Apple Watch."

http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2014/11/18Developers-Start-Designing-Apps-for-Apple-Watch.html

 

[Keirasplace]

That was my point. I often have to recharge my iPhone part way through the day which is why I have 2 mobiles. I wouldn't play games on the Apple Watch but I would expect the battery to last a full day with decent usage. I don't know what you classify as average usage but I would mostly use it to remind me of appointments and things to do. Probably also use it for alerts with breaking news, share prices and sports updates. If it doesn't last the day it's a waste of money to me, might as well stick with my iPhone instead.

Even going by the rumor, you'd be easily covered. So, I'm guessing you didn't read it at all. BTW, there are TWO watch size. One 30% bigger than the other, which means probably 50% more battery in the bigger one (since more of the smaller one is filled with electronics).

Notification replies are usually what, 0.5-2 minutes. Unless your getting more than 200 a day and actually look at them, reply, every time; your battery will last even with the smallest watch. If you have 500+ notifications, well it is possible, and even probable, that your battery will die (that's 10h+ interacting with your watch, not much of a life). Though the biggest Apple watch would probably get you to 60% of the way there...

BTW, If you need to recharge your phone during the day every day, either your battery sucks, I mean really really sucks, or your very far from an average smartphone user. A new Iphone6+ should last 2 days under an average use when new (and probably a bit more than that).

I had a 3GS with a 5.5 year old battery and that one I had to charge during the day... You know very old crappy battery..

 

[JeffyTheQuik]

for now i totally agree with you, but assuming that 'touch-anywhere' screens (on any surface via a small projector) will become standard tech eventually, i can see the wearables easily becoming the replacements for phones/tablets. maybe even laptops down the road - and more focus on improving desktop computers will be the new 'fad'.

Gotcha! That will be a cool day indeed!

 

[RnSK]

The photos are deceiving...

And that's not even considering how ridiculously hideous the fatty computer watch look...nor their silly price or battery life.

The actual "wrist size" of the 38mm watch is the size of, well, a watch. The full case is slightly larger (3mm) than an (original) Nintento 3DS cart. It ~ 3 DS carts thick. That's it.

Because the photos are showing it so blown up to show detail, it looks much bulkier than it actually is.

This product category is so outdated and dumb, it's sad to see Apple going along with it. They should fire whoever came up with this and retask anyone and everyone associated with it.

I assure you Apple and scores of devs, major and minor, are "all in" on the platform and Apple will sell them as fast as they make them. Even the gold ones.

Just because *you* lack the imagination to figure out what to make it do...and likely the skills to do so, does not in any way mean it isn't already a hit. I *guarantee you* in all of it's "disappointing" anti-glory, at launch it will have a *far* larger library of *quality* apps within 3 weeks of launch than Wear has now.

Naah. It's useless, no one wants the thing and it is going to flop...hard.

-K

 

[chitoac]

Are you going to have fun downloading the Tesla app on your apple watch when you drive your Honda?

Lol yes Ty for asking. Keep the good work crying about the watch all over the forum. QQ

 

[Gameboy70]

And here's what baffled me about Apple's September event. With the larger screen phones it was a perfect opportunity to talk up Watch as a convenience device for when you don't want to fish your large(r) phone out of your pocket/handbag/briefcase etc. Cook didn't really tie the two together in the right way. I'm hopeful if there's another event Apple will have the right messaging figured out.

No surprise there. It would've sent a mixed message: "The 6+ has this huge screen that makes the phone a little unwieldy—but wait!—the aWatch has got your back!" No one wants to be told, implicitly or not, that the larger phone they pine for isn't ideal for all situations.