"Official" Watch thread
- Thread starter armwt
- Start date
I still don't see why I would ever need or want one...I guess if you are a runner and are obsessed with your heart rate then this will work.
Looks very pretty though, makes every other wearable look half baked.
My guess is they are going after Swatch buyers.
Looks very pretty though, makes every other wearable look half baked.
My guess is they are going after Swatch buyers.
If you're even a moderately serious runner you already have a Garmin or a Polar or a Suunto.
The way that they've handled the app-locating process is interesting. I wonder if that will spread to either iOS or Mac OS X?
[url=http://arstechnica.com/civis/viewtopic.php?p=27546799#p27546799:gy26w03t said:
I'm not so I had no idea what those things are
The way I personally look at this - this is Yet One More Thing I Have to Charge, so for me to get a new device it will have to be absolutely indispensable to counteract the hassle of keeping it charged.
[url=http://arstechnica.com/civis/viewtopic.php?p=27546799#p27546799:8ele4ctq said:
And it sounds like this won't have dedicated GPS...
WatchKit for notifications, that's a positive sign.
edit: I am very, very interested to see how this thing is handled through Xcode/Swift.
edit: I am very, very interested to see how this thing is handled through Xcode/Swift.
I can't help but think of it as a mashup between an original iPod, an early-2000's Blackberry (scroll wheel), and a Casio watch. No thanks.
I'm very interested. I don't consider myself an "elite" athlete by any means, but I own a Garmin for my bike, and a fitbit for walking, have multiple heart rate monitors, etc. The advantage of the watch, for me, is simply the fact that it will be likely that I'll always have it on me. I can't count how many times even in the past weeks I forget my fitbit in the morning. Digital "nudges" like the standing measurement in the activity app work on me. My biggest concern is battery life. If I go out for a 50-75mile bike ride on a weekend, what will happen to the battery, both on the watch, and on my phone if it is pulling GPS data from the phone the entire time?
I mentioned this in the other thread, but I haven't worn a watch in many, many years, so I've long become unused to the feel of something on my wrist. I did however start wearing a Fitbit Flex earlier this year, so I'm not completely opposed to the idea. If the watch isn't too heavy and can take the place of the Flex *and* do other stuff, I would be interested. I'm most interested in seeing what kind of new apps come out for it.
Here's an interesting question: how are people going to try these out in Apple Stores?
$349. Pricing is a bit high but it is packed with features.
Think I'll stick with a vivoSmart for now.
Think I'll stick with a vivoSmart for now.
From Wall Street's perspective, I think THAT might have been a swing and a miss.
He listed 3 models, stated that the base model requires an iPhone, listed price for base model, and then gave no explanation of the other two versions. A lot of unanswered questions there.
He listed 3 models, stated that the base model requires an iPhone, listed price for base model, and then gave no explanation of the other two versions. A lot of unanswered questions there.
I think this is a product that people will have to try before they buy. I'm interested; hell I have an Omega on my wrist so the price isn't that big of a concern. I'm worried about the battery life tbh. I've shied away from wearables because none of them seem polished enough. I may give this one a try.
[url=http://arstechnica.com/civis/viewtopic.php?p=27547441#p27547441:2ohjx49f said:
Well, let's wait for the Apple Store to go back online before we all jump to conclusions.
Yeah, I won't predict that this is a flop, but it's far from a hit, IMO. Maybe v 2 or 3 will dial it in.
It seems like a complete mess of features - it's doing everything except the one thing I want it to do which is allow me to do basic things (like jogging) without having to figure out how to carry my damn phone. There's some cool and clever stuff in there, but I think it's a bit lost under the stuff that it probably doesn't need to be doing - maps is going to suck on this thing. They could just as easily done different sounds/vibrations on the iPhone to signal going left and right (since you can't leave the iPhone behind). The messages thing is cute, but doesn't strike me as particularly useful. I'm not going to draw all of the things I need my wife to pick up at the store. And I don't think it's anywhere near adequately fashionable to warrant the fashion coverage. My wife will never, ever wear it in this form.
I think Pay was the much more dialed in feature. It has a clear use case, solves a clear problem, and seems uncompromised. That's a clear hit. This may be after a few iterations.
It seems like a complete mess of features - it's doing everything except the one thing I want it to do which is allow me to do basic things (like jogging) without having to figure out how to carry my damn phone. There's some cool and clever stuff in there, but I think it's a bit lost under the stuff that it probably doesn't need to be doing - maps is going to suck on this thing. They could just as easily done different sounds/vibrations on the iPhone to signal going left and right (since you can't leave the iPhone behind). The messages thing is cute, but doesn't strike me as particularly useful. I'm not going to draw all of the things I need my wife to pick up at the store. And I don't think it's anywhere near adequately fashionable to warrant the fashion coverage. My wife will never, ever wear it in this form.
I think Pay was the much more dialed in feature. It has a clear use case, solves a clear problem, and seems uncompromised. That's a clear hit. This may be after a few iterations.
I think $349 is a reasonable price point. I was expecting $499, so this is good. Moto 360 is $249 by comparison, but from what I saw it seems like the Apple Watch is a bit more polished than Android Wear. Of course, it's still too early and we should know more by next year about the Apple Watch, but I already think I'm going to be a first gen adopter as long as I get at-least a days worth of use out of the battery.
price for the entry level seems ok for what you get. No other watch can do all this. remember that people pay thousands for watches that simply tell time.
What will battery life be? Big question there.
Looks pretty interesting so far.
What will battery life be? Big question there.
Looks pretty interesting so far.
[url=http://arstechnica.com/civis/viewtopic.php?p=27547739#p27547739:1mvalhto said:
They pay thousands for jewelry that holds its value well and also happens to tell time. Apple Watch is neither jewelry nor will hold its value well.
I will be surprised if the aesthetics of this thing aren't savaged in the tech press as boring. Ironically, Apple's desire to release a wearable that won't make you look like a nerd may have been a major factor in its adoption of a conservative smart watch design that's inevitably going to be lambasted by techies. The input system may be a case of function follows form: The watch crown on its own is not exactly a novel solution, but if you're already leaning toward a more conventional watch design anyway, repurposing the old crown would make sense.
Perhaps people were expecting too much, though. I'm not sure that the technology exists to create a smart watch that's aesthetically bold, physically comfortable, and truly functional.
The software will be the saving grace here (or not, we'll see). But for my money, I'll wait a generation or two. I see the potential in the Apple Watch, but it still seems like it's going to be the best of a batch of gadgets that still need some time in the oven.
Edit: Also, I'm going to be *very* interested to see Grubber's reaction to this. I can't imagine he wasn't expecting more from Apple.
Perhaps people were expecting too much, though. I'm not sure that the technology exists to create a smart watch that's aesthetically bold, physically comfortable, and truly functional.
The software will be the saving grace here (or not, we'll see). But for my money, I'll wait a generation or two. I see the potential in the Apple Watch, but it still seems like it's going to be the best of a batch of gadgets that still need some time in the oven.
Edit: Also, I'm going to be *very* interested to see Grubber's reaction to this. I can't imagine he wasn't expecting more from Apple.
[url=http://arstechnica.com/civis/viewtopic.php?p=27547781#p27547781:17115nk5 said:
It's also not several thousand dollars. It's $350 and up. That's Seiko, Tissot etc pricing...not really overpriced imho.
[url=http://arstechnica.com/civis/viewtopic.php?p=27547791#p27547791:3fi3mz4p said:
It exists, but with more modest goals. What exactly is the problem the watch is trying to solve? The only problem its capable of solving is saving me from taking my phone out of my pocket since it doesn't do anything useful without the iPhone. That's a very small problem. It has some added sensors which adds value, and there is some utility in keeping my phone in my pocket, but $349? I don't think so. If it looked better (at least was thinner) and tried to do less but did at least some useful things without benefit of an iPhone, I'd be more inclined to drop the money.
[url=http://arstechnica.com/civis/viewtopic.php?p=27547899#p27547899:10xzhih1 said:
Tissot looks massively better than this.
[url=http://arstechnica.com/civis/viewtopic.php?p=27547683#p27547683:1hozgsx7 said:
Moto et al will probably release another model of watch before Apple Watch hits the streets, and probably be $199 by then.
Although it's debatable whether these are even competitors, given that you need to buy a watch to match your phone.
[url=http://arstechnica.com/civis/viewtopic.php?p=27547791#p27547791:3jvbdckk said:
Yeah, quite honestly I envisioned in my head something wrap-around screen, but like a fuelband in function. Lots of light and vibration use for notifications, all of the fitness stuff like GPS and such, as well as that screen for all of the stuff the Apple Watch purports to do. The design is not the best IMO. When I first saw the video I cringed a little at it being square like that.
Yeah, no idea, what he was thinking.
John Gruber":3jvbdckk said:
[url=http://arstechnica.com/civis/viewtopic.php?p=27547923#p27547923:3cls6w8e said:
And it has the experience and expertise in watchmaking Apple completely lacks.
I wonder if the hideous animated emoji or scratching out a message will even make it to the final product.
I expect the "tethering" problem is a function of battery life and will be solved next year, at least for some functionality. The question of when the right time to launch a new product category is tough. For something like Watch, the interface and ecosystem need evolve outside Jony Ive's secret lab, and I'm glad Apple took the real risk of launching now.
Yeah, and we should know by now...I LOVED my first iPhone, but I really should have waited for the next year's 3G model. It added tolerable data speeds AND GPS. Same for the poor iPad gen 1 folks as well. Wait and see.
I think the Watch is a bit clunky looking, but I think it stands apart from most of the other smart watches I've seen shown off. (The recent Motorola one looked nice, but sounds gimped).
I might buy one by the time they come out, I might have to play with the SDK for it first a bit though.
I might buy one by the time they come out, I might have to play with the SDK for it first a bit though.
[url=http://arstechnica.com/civis/viewtopic.php?p=27547739#p27547739:2as8gbhd said:
Yes, I totally agree. I guess that watches for their own sake/fashion is a very niche market. I just bought a 500 dollar watch, primarely for the movement. Three-Fifty for a watch that is (IMHO) fashionable & very useful in its own right is a reasonable price.
I was disappointed that the Health app didn't seem to take advantage of the integrated HRM (unless I missed something during the presentation). That would be enough to get me to drop that kind of cash on Apple's watch rather than sink it into a next-gen Garmin.
Sentiment in here so far reminds me so much of the response to the original iPad announcement.
So I think Apple's got another hit on their hands.
So I think Apple's got another hit on their hands.