Using the Apple Watch as a, er, watch

[profmjh]

I've started imagining what it'll actually be like to use the Apple Watch. Every time I use my current watch I wonder what the AW experience will be like.

And now I'm worried. How often will the AW actually know I want to see what time it is? I was sitting at my desk just now, with my arms on the table. I rotated my wrist marginally to bring the watch face into view. Will that be enough for the AW. Or will I additionally have to use my other arm to provoke it into coming on, i.e. by touching it.

Equally, how often will it come on when I'm doing something else entirely but it thinks I want to look at it? Is that why the Apple battery statistics have you doing time checks multiple times an hour throughout the day? Will an overactive arm cause the battery to drain prematurely?

Telling the time is one of the main reasons I want this watch. I'm beginning to think I may be disappointed.

 

[bjdraw]

I share your concerns, especially after reading reviews. The Daring Fireball review covered this the most compressively, "This feature, which Apple calls “Activate on Wrist Raise” works pretty damn well. It’s not perfect"

I came away with the feeling that wanting to just glance at my wrist to see the time was going to be a problem. I still ordered one, but am very hopeful that a software update adds the ability to adjust the sensitivity and timeout of this feature so we can all find the right balance between battery life and the ability to glance and see the time, etc.