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You guys, it's not an iPhone on your wrist...

joshcls

joshcls

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Sep 12, 2013
492
25
Panama City, FL
It's not supposed to be.

It's a watch. That gives you a ton more info than a cheap ol' Casio.

Its also a fitness tracker.

And a fashion/tech statement. It says "I'm hip because tech is hip."

Once native apps are available, it will be a game changer.

If you go in expecting to respond to emails (on a watch with no keyboard? Really?!) or doing anything that results in you holding your arm in the air for minutes at a stretch....

You're gonna have a bad time.

There are obvious use cases that are practical for some:

Using it as a watch
Not having access to get your phone out of a pocket or purse
Using it to track a workout
Sleep tracking and alarms
Using it to respond to things hands free (sometimes)
Having remotes for home automation at the ready around the house, instead of having to search for a phone
Starting and stopping music
Using it for some things your phone can do, but situationally may be more convent in that instance

I also think there are things coming in this space that will blow the lid off of it all:

Home automation awareness features, for example your smart thermostat will know if you're home, or asleep, and be able to adjust temperature accordingly

Smart locks for hands free entry to both house and vehicle.

Being able to unlock your Mac while in close range.

Taptic feedback timers for all sorts of things like taking medication, expertise reps, etc.

Millions of things we can't even foresee, who knew what the iPhone would be doing in 2007!

If you want an iPhone strapped to your wrist, save yourself some money and leave a place in line for someone who actually wants one.
 
Precisely. People complaining about not being able to reply to things like Facebook notifications... think of it as a gateway. You can decide if it is worth getting your phone out for at a glance.
 
A popular trend in recent years is to jump to conclusions. This doesn't serve anyone well, much less a buyer that's been looking forward to a new product. Many of the early adopters know to expect issues and realize that buying now has it's drawbacks. Before the watch shipped those who mentioned waiting for the next model were heavily criticized. But they had a valid point that is obvious to everyone now.
 
Exactly! Glad you wrote that all up, now I can just reference here when people continue to act surprised that the watch is not just a new form factor of a full iPhone.
 
Great post!

One other thing I love using it for, which I haven't seen much about, is as a camera remote. With my phone somewhere else, inactive, I can use the camera remote to wake it up and open the camera and take a photo, without touching the iPhone. The photo gets stored in the camera roll like normal. Love this for taking photos of things that are in awkward positions.
 
susan12369 said:
Great post!

One other thing I love using it for, which I haven't seen much about, is as a camera remote. With my phone somewhere else, inactive, I can use the camera remote to wake it up and open the camera and take a photo, without touching the iPhone. The photo gets stored in the camera roll like normal. Love this for taking photos of things that are in awkward positions.
Click to expand...

I've seen very little discussion of this feature, but it seems awesome for group photos and the like!
 
So, for YOU, YOU don't want to reply to emails on your watch. That's fine, but you don't need to speak for everyone else on the planet. Other people are happy to dictate a quick response using a third-party mail app. For me, I don't spend minutes composing every single email response, for me emails will be similar to text messages, and no need to treat them different. Don't assume that every single person who will ever purchase an Apple Watch, is you, and will use it like you do and not any other way.
 
DreamPod said:
So, for YOU, YOU don't want to reply to emails on your watch. That's fine, but you don't need to speak for everyone else on the planet. Other people are happy to dictate a quick response using a third-party mail app. For me, I don't spend minutes composing every single email response, for me emails will be similar to text messages, and no need to treat them different. Don't assume that every single person who will ever purchase an Apple Watch, is you, and will use it like you do and not any other way.
Click to expand...

I'm just saying that's not how this product has been designed haha. I'm not even subjecting my use case here.

You can't respond to emails on it, so don't expect to.
 
joshcls said:
I also think there are things coming in this space that will blow the lid off of it all:

Home automation awareness features, for example your smart thermostat will know if you're home, or asleep, and be able to adjust temperature accordingly
.

Being able to unlock your Mac while in close range.
Click to expand...

There is apparently an extension to the Nest app for the first item you listed.

Also, I saw this for the second one:

Knock – unlock your Mac without a p...k Software, Inc https://appsto.re/us/YwutP.i
 
It's good to dream about all the potential uses. That's what will hype excitement for the Watch and its future potential as well as drive innovation by Apple and Developers. The Apple Watch will get better through time because of demand for additional features by its customers!
 
You're foolish if you don't think the Watch will replace the phone in 5-10 years.
 
adammull said:
You're foolish if you don't think the Watch will replace the phone in 5-10 years.
Click to expand...

Then why is my phone so much bigger than the one I owned 4 years ago? No way could I do 90% of what I use my phone for on a watch.

But I'll just mention 1: web browsing. Nope, game over.
 
It is still dumfounding to read all the "yeah but I still need to use my phone". Well no **** you do. Or "yeah but I still can't do ______ with it." Well did Apple say you could and you found you couldn't? No??? Then what's the problem??

I can't believe that any person on the planet would enjoy typing on a screen that small vs. typing on their phone's keyboard. Even if you could use the watch as a stand alone, would you?? I doubt anyone here is looking to replace their phone with a watch. Good luck with your facebook feed or youtube videos and your friends will be truly impressed looking at your 38mm pics you showed them! Hahaha!!!

It's a timepiece that adds a ******** of technology and convenience. It is not a mini iphone, it wasn't supposed to be, and you wouldn't want it to be anyway.
 
The problem is that people are missing what the name really means.
It isn't a "watch" in the traditional sense. It is "watching" you - how is your health? walk lately? and it allows you to "watch" what is going on in your life... "i watch" my messages "i watch" my facebook notifications, "i watch my stocks"

So, they are changing the fundamental meaning of "watch" from a passive to an active communication mechanism, just like an iPhone is NOT just a phone, an iWatch is not just a watch.
 
joshcls said:
I'm just saying that's not how this product has been designed haha. I'm not even subjecting my use case here.

You can't respond to emails on it, so don't expect to.
Click to expand...

You are basically denouncing people who want to use it in a different way than you do as ignorant, telling them to shut up, stop complaining, and claiming that this is not what the device is for.

And I'd bet you are incorrect about responding to emails on it, there are 3000+ apps and this fact has been known long enough for someone to have added watch support to their separate email app, and letting people respond with that app.
 
DreamPod said:
You are basically denouncing people who want to use it in a different way than you do as ignorant, telling them to shut up, stop complaining, and claiming that this is not what the device is for.

And I'd bet you are incorrect about responding to emails on it, there are 3000+ apps and this fact has been known long enough for someone to have added watch support to their separate email app, and letting people respond with that app.
Click to expand...

***you can't effectively respond to emails on it
 
The fact that this thread, and all of the responses, exist is evidence that the :apple:Watch is not a well-defined product. A solution in search of a problem if ever there was one.
 
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