I think you nailed it on the head, I was expecting it to function a lot more like a smartphone.
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What do you think the main draws of the Apple Watch are?
- Thread starter TH55
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I agree with you. The Apple Watch was meant to serve as an in between from your iPhone. I own the Plus model and it's fairly large to carry with me. With the Apple Watch, I have the freedom of not tethering my iPhone with me at all times. That's all I could ask for. It can offer many functions, but I want the freedom away from my iPhone.
The notifications and fitness capabilities are outstanding, but to leave my iPhone stationed elsewhere and not have it on me is bliss. Plus, I can control my notifications if I want more privacy with my Watch and away from my iPhone.
That's what I was trying to convey: it allows your hands to be more free and perform quick actions with minimum interruption while doing other mundane things. It was hard to imagine doing small tasks on something smaller than a smartphone but there's a strong convenience to responding to a message with a simple yes or no on a watch than pulling out a phone. Or fetching it if it's in another room.
It might come across as lazy but it's really about convenience by being more efficient. Complications for example, is such a cool thing that Apple borrowed and expanded upon from the watch world. Which is another reason why I'm glad for the watch's rectangular design, as complications fit nicely in each corner.
And I completely forgot about the activity and workout feature. Both apps are well-crafted. The rings design is especially clever and simple. Really something Google nor Samsung could have come up with.
And another small thing I love is how I can keep my phone on silent mode but still get notified of alerts on the watch.
For me, I never really wanted one until I was promoted into a position where I have to multitask quickly for 10 hours. At that point having notifications, task lists, and reminders on my wrist is very appealing. I can see how it'll make me a better manager.
Exactly how much easier are you expecting the watch to send messages? You can use dictation, default responses, emoticons and a scribble function. They all take seconds and it sent directly from your watch. It's seamless.
Yup. Viewed from the opposite direction, "It's a smart device, but it does less," makes it sound incapable of anything. It's the perspective that matters.
I think I pushed a coworker over the edge towards purchasing a watch when he saw me reply to text messages during lunch in the middle of a group conversation... or, rather, he didn't notice that I replied until he saw it pop up on his phone. He was like, "Wait, how did you send that?"
This is cool, too. I turned off my phone's vibrate alert because the watch's taps are so low-key yet they always got my attention.jasonklee said:
The main attraction of the Apple Watch is... that it can be anything you want it to be (..and there's an app for, ok.... ;-)
For me the three main uses are:
For me the three main uses are:
- Pay
- Unlock
- Knowing who is calling me without taking the phone out of the pocket (for when I'm at some event and an escalation call from the office might come)
Checking the time on my wrist is something I done for decades,in fact ever since I got my first,second hand wristwatch. A stainless steel,kinetic drive Rolex submariner. Back then,the closest thing to a cellphone was an amateur radio transmitter.
I think the benefits of the Apple Watch are numerous (as stated in this thread and many before).
The two major downsides of the Apple Watch are the need to charge (this applies to all smart watches) and the lack of an always on display.
The lack of an always on display means that you will always have a split-second delay when you want to read the time. And you will always have to tilt your hand (or touch the watch) to do so. This may not seem like much, but there are many times where you just want to glance at the time and that split second delay is noticeable. So despite the accurate time keeping, as a device to tell time (in other words, a watch), the Apple Watch is ironically, worse than analogue watches.
Don't get me wrong... I love my Apple Watch (which is why I frequent these boards). But I also acknowledge its shortcomings. I wear my Apple Watch because of the conveniences that all its other features bring me (those are the main draws). I didn't buy the Apple Watch solely to tell the time so this is an inconvenience that I can live with.
If the next Apple Watch has an Always-On display, I'd upgrade in a heart beat.
The two major downsides of the Apple Watch are the need to charge (this applies to all smart watches) and the lack of an always on display.
The lack of an always on display means that you will always have a split-second delay when you want to read the time. And you will always have to tilt your hand (or touch the watch) to do so. This may not seem like much, but there are many times where you just want to glance at the time and that split second delay is noticeable. So despite the accurate time keeping, as a device to tell time (in other words, a watch), the Apple Watch is ironically, worse than analogue watches.
Don't get me wrong... I love my Apple Watch (which is why I frequent these boards). But I also acknowledge its shortcomings. I wear my Apple Watch because of the conveniences that all its other features bring me (those are the main draws). I didn't buy the Apple Watch solely to tell the time so this is an inconvenience that I can live with.
If the next Apple Watch has an Always-On display, I'd upgrade in a heart beat.
Yeah it's an easy fix - simply only show a dimmed but visible time at all times, solves this problem without compromising battery life. Flipping your wrist would bring up the full display with a brighter time. A fully illuminated face always on display is simply not practical at this point in terms of battery life.
Not necessarily.
Display is one thing, but if it is lit at all you can't turn the GPU off.
I've never tried this, does it require any special setting or will the watch automatically continue to receive alerts if the phone is on silent mode. (I usually put on do not disturb, but I'd like to try this method!)
The easiest thing to do is to turn Vibrate "off" on the phone.
I just flip the mute switch on the phone and all alerts are silenced on the phone but still get them on the watch.
Well I'm inspired to learn more about all the things I could be doing with mine! I mean I like it and am pleased with what I use it for (I've always worn a watch, and I like that this is a watch+), but I clearly don't maximize the capabilities!
The Watch has a lot of capabilties and I don't utilize all of them. You don't have to appreciate its intentions. I think it offers something for everyone and that's why it's so useful, because everyone might use it differently.
So do you get the little vibration, or a sound on the watch if you mute the phone? I would just want to be sure I had the settings done correctly before I was in a place where I needed silence and had my watch blaring. ;-p
So I have both watch and phone on mute, and I still get haptic alerts on the watch—they're just silent. For me, it's just redundant to have both my watch and phone ring during an incoming call. So when the watch is on, I mute the phone (my watch is always on mute), so I still get haptic notifications and enjoy the silence.
Seriously? I positively love the text interface. Set up your autoresponses if you haven't already. There's nothing better than having the perfect thing to say with nothing more than a quick spin of the crown and a single press. And use the dictation function, which is quite accurate. The watch has changed the way I text, very much for the better.
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This may be the perfect MacRumors post: helpful, non-argumentative, and thoughtful. And I agree with your theory. I've always been baffled when people complain about a purported "lack of functionality" with the Watch, which runs completely counter to my experience. But then again, I was buying a watch, not a phone.
I use my Watch for many (not all) of the same things as you, and also for three more:
-- home control (smart thermostats, switches, lighting themes)
-- the calendar (always seeing what's next without having to open my phone)
-- silent notifications during meetings (I work in a field where it sometimes would be awkward to look at my watch during meetings. I set my watch to tap me when it's time for the next meeting so I can gracefully excuse myself.)