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NotSafeForWork

macrumors regular
Original poster
Apr 9, 2015
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Thinking about giving this a try but are the benefits really worth jumping in early?

Is Time Travel the most useful new feature?
 
Ok.

So on a more helpful note, what is/are the more useful feature(s)?

I honestly think it'll be the tools developers can use for native watch apps.

If we specifically talk about watchOS 2 features on the core OS/apps, then I'd say activation lock and FaceTime Audio.
 
Thanks.

Makes me worry a bit for the platform that there's no outstanding must-have improvements in the first major update.

Perhaps 3rd party complications will be worthwhile?

IMHO they really need to allow 3rd party watch faces to make the watch more personalized and customizable.

Come on Apple, you need to double down on the watch before it loses momentum.
 
While we are on the topic of Watch OS 2 improvements, does anyone know of a site that would list upcoming apps? I'm curious to know what developers are working on that take advantage of the update.
 
Being able to reply to emails is for me the best feature of os2
 
Being able to reply to emails is for me the best feature of os2

I can already do this in AW OS1 since we use Exchange Online at work and the Outlook app now let's you reply from the watch. It works well, but I don't know how often I will actually use it. For me instant messages are more important to read ok and respond to on the watch, but having said that I have responded to emails twice in the first week of the Outlook watch app... So I guess it's more useful than I thought! It's certainly good to have the option.

Sean
 
I can already do this in AW OS1 since we use Exchange Online at work and the Outlook app now let's you reply from the watch. It works well, but I don't know how often I will actually use it. For me instant messages are more important to read ok and respond to on the watch, but having said that I have responded to emails twice in the first week of the Outlook watch app... So I guess it's more useful than I thought! It's certainly good to have the option.

Sean
Defiantly. A lot of work emails I get are informal so a simple reply is offen all that's required. Obviously if a detailed reply is needed then I'll pull my phone out or use my MacBook
 
Thanks.

Makes me worry a bit for the platform that there's no outstanding must-have improvements in the first major update.

Perhaps 3rd party complications will be worthwhile?

IMHO they really need to allow 3rd party watch faces to make the watch more personalized and customizable.

Come on Apple, you need to double down on the watch before it loses momentum.

Im not worried about Apple losing momentum when they are introducing Watch OS2 about six months after the release of the watch itself. They could have just released OS1.2 with minor improvements, but they are certainly introducing enough new features to earn the 2.0.

I'm really looking forward to third party complications and native apps. I also think nightstand mode will be useful for me, and time machine will be a nice way to browse my calendar.

Sean
 
Some of my favorite new useful features:

-Time Travel to check the upcoming weather and appointments
-Using Siri to start a workout
-The Music app has a nice updated UI that shows recently added albums
-When using Siri to send a text, it now sends automatically
-Multicolor Watch face and color complications
-The Weather app seems faster and more responsive
-Nightstand mode, but I wish I could change the color from green
 
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a quick tetherless wi-fi/native app question for those who know.

lets say you enable airplane mode and you wake up the next day in bed, wanting to check the weather. are you able to use disable airplane mode and load up the weather app? this is assuming that your iPhone does not have bluetooth on.

thanks!
 
Thanks.

Makes me worry a bit for the platform that there's no outstanding must-have improvements in the first major update.

Perhaps 3rd party complications will be worthwhile?

IMHO they really need to allow 3rd party watch faces to make the watch more personalized and customizable.

Come on Apple, you need to double down on the watch before it loses momentum.

watchOS 2 isn't really focused on must have features. It's all about opening up watchOS to 3rd party and will be in their hands to come up with some killer stuff (until watchOS 3)

I wouldn't even really think of it as watchOS 2. It hasn't even been a year and it's already going from version 1 to 2? Kinda surprised me they announced it as OS 2 instead of just a major update to 1, making it 1.1 or 1.2.
 
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I think, by far, the biggest new feature will be support for native applications. It could drastically change what kind of things you can do on the watch.

Obviously, at the moment, that isn't very exciting as there aren't any native apps available. But give it half a year and I think all other features will pale in significance.
 
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I honestly think it'll be the tools developers can use for native watch apps.

If we specifically talk about watchOS 2 features on the core OS/apps, then I'd say activation lock and FaceTime Audio.

Hi. I have beta 5. Where is the activation lock ? I can't find it anywhere.
 
Some of my favorite new useful features:

-Time Travel to check the upcoming weather and appointments
-Using Siri to start a workout
-The Music app has a nice updated UI that shows recently added albums
-When using Siri to send a text, it now sends automatically
-Multicolor Watch face and color complications
-The Weather app seems faster and more responsive
-Nightstand mode, but I wish I could change the color from green

Hi. I have can't seem to find the multicolour watch face options. Are they only available on the Modualar face ? How do you change the colours ?

Thanks.
 
Native faplications. Should have been a release feature, but we all know Apple likes to roll out their so called vision slowly.
 
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Hi. I have can't seem to find the multicolour watch face options. Are they only available on the Modualar face ? How do you change the colours ?

Thanks.

Yeah, it's only available on the Modular face and you can't customize the colors.
 
The biggest thing are the native apps but a close second is that the "Activity" app and tracker will now incorporate the results from both 3rd party apps on the Watch as well as inputs to the Health app elsewhere in the Apple platform.

For example if I do a run using "Strava" app on the watch, it will appear as a workout in the Activity app, even if I didn't use the standard watch "Workout" app. Even better if I leave my watch at home and go for a run using my Garmin GPS watch or a bike ride with my Garmin GPS bike computer those workouts will import to the Garmin app on my iPhone, then get transferred automatically to the Apple "Health" app and then get transferred to my Apple Watch's "Activity" app. This means the Apple Watch activity app becomes the true center of my health universe EVEN if I am not even wearing my watch. Heck last week I went to the beach and hiked for hours, I didn't wear my watch because I didn't want to damage it but I did bring my phone in a plastic bag which counted my steps of course, inputed to the "Health" app and I wish would have updated my Apple Watch, someday soon it will...
 
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Native app support is the make or break for the Apple watch...if Devs cant come up with cool and unique ideas for the Watch then it will quickly fizzle out, but then again im hopeful since thats what made the iphone what it is today..

Without apps there would be no smartphones, same idea for the Apple watch
 
Native app support is the make or break for the Apple watch...if Devs cant come up with cool and unique ideas for the Watch then it will quickly fizzle out, but then again im hopeful since thats what made the iphone what it is today..

Without apps there would be no smartphones, same idea for the Apple watch


I hope so.

With gyro/accelerometer access I am hoping there are some useful gesture-based apps.

I hate the "Minority Report" overused trope but the Watch could absolutely make a few useful gesture based apps a reality, maybe:-

Gesture remote control for music
Gesture remote for Apple TV
Send Watch phone call to iPhone

I'm sure there are lots of (better) ideas coming.
 
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I hope so.

With gyro/accelerometer access I am hoping there are some useful gesture-based apps.

I hate the "Minority Report" overused trope but the Watch could absolutely make a few useful gesture based apps a reality, maybe:-

Gesture remote control for music
Gesture remote for Apple TV
Send Watch phone call to iPhone

I'm sure there are lots of (better) ideas coming.
Those are all nice ideas but I want something more exciting, more unique to the watch. I want something that can only be done on the watch, something that makes me not want to pick up my phone and do it much quicker than doing it on the watch.

It just seems like the Watch is an ADDITION to the iphone vs being able to be its own product, I think thats where the real problem lies, it doesnt have its own identity and own cool must have features
 
Independent apps and hardware access are by far, the biggest and most important change.

As far as the context of OS2, though, I think the Time Travel is one of the most useful features for the user.
 
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