I read another review, typical results, slow apps, for those obsessed with notifications, charging daily, making phone calls on it is what David Hasselhoff would do, etc. But there was something positive there, too. The guy didn't have a watch in 25 years and uses his mobile phone to check the time. And while at it he always checks emails, Facebook, etc. With the Apple Watch he checked the time, but did not feel like doing anything else that often. So now after 25 years he's going to buy himself an old-fashioned dumb watch again
These watches have a totally different type of display. It's like comparing a tablet to a Kindle . Of course they will have different battery life.
Tablets and Kindle do different things though. These watches have the same purpose, but use different displays, each has advantages and disadvantages. An owner can decide what they value more.
These watches have a totally different type of display. It's like comparing a tablet to a Kindle . Of course they will have different battery life.
Yes they do. Three different types (Moto is LCD, LG is OLED and Pebble is whatever it is - I am not entirely sure) so you'd think Apple would have come up with something groundbreaking, as I'm sure it will on future models.
It's swings and roundabouts though. There are pros and cons to both types. I suspect it's a case of legibility vs battery life and I suspect Apple have done their research well, but time will tell. As I sit here at the moment in Amsterdam airport charging my Apple Watch from my laptop ready for my 8 hour flight to Nairobi - I probably wouldn't need to bother if it were a Moto 360 Although, I'm not quite sure why I am bothering as it's going to be in airplane mode and pretty useless - the time won't even be right as I change time zones !
"The Apple Watch took a hell of a beating in our polls and some of your comments seem to show why. Most of you seem to agree that poor usability and high price are major drawbacks to picking up an Apple Watch. But is seems that there one even more-prevailing opinion across the board – that all wearable devices, despite functionality, price, platform or manufacturer come with little actual purpose at this point in time. Cluttering said devices with apps also doesn’t seem to be the answer, as most of you seem to be skeptical of Apple’s “more is better” strategy for the wearable as well."
I don't quite understand that more is better statement. Apps only really run on the phone not the watch, so there ain't much currently there.
I don't quite understand that more is better statement. Apps only really run on the phone not the watch, so there ain't much currently there.
It's a marketing thing. We had to hang various bells and whistles on our software to stay competitive. A potential customer saw something somewhere, thinks it's nice and suddenly it becomes a deal breaker. And when they buy they will never use it, because it's a nonsense anyway. It looks better if you say we have much more apps than competition.
The problem with the mud chucking and hoping something sticks is that if people are put off now, smartwatches will just fail even if they 'get good' once the industry figures out what works and what doesn't.
Bearing in mind Sony Ericsson made watches that could give notifications many years ago, which failed to set the world alight (and having two week battery life!), it begins to look like 3D. Keep trying over and over and hope it suddenly takes off.
Personally, I think my Pebble is excellent but accept many friends and family can't see the point of this or any of the other watches I've got or had.
Personally, I think my Pebble is excellent but accept many friends and family can't see the point of this or any of the other watches I've got or had.
I think e-Ink is ideal for smartwatches, but then you see colours elsewhere and it may be decided. Also Pebble isn't the prettiest watch on the playground, that may put off people, too. One wants something nice on their wrist.
"The Apple Watch took a hell of a beating in our polls and some of your comments seem to show why. Most of you seem to agree that poor usability and high price are major drawbacks to picking up an Apple Watch. But is seems that there one even more-prevailing opinion across the board – that all wearable devices, despite functionality, price, platform or manufacturer come with little actual purpose at this point in time. Cluttering said devices with apps also doesn’t seem to be the answer, as most of you seem to be skeptical of Apple’s “more is better” strategy for the wearable as well."
I don't quite understand that more is better statement. Apps only really run on the phone not the watch, so there ain't much currently there.
The problem with polls and comments is that it doesn't tell you if the individual had any interest in Apple products or if they own the device they are commenting on.
Even on this forum there are people making statements when they have not even made the effort to go to a store and try the device out. Maybe it is just coincidence that those who who criticised apple prior the the apple watch seem to be the same people on here now.
What is interesting is those who have bought it and now used it for a couple of weeks seem to have few complaints.
"The Apple Watch took a hell of a beating in our polls and some of your comments seem to show why. Most of you seem to agree that poor usability and high price are major drawbacks to picking up an Apple Watch.
Hardly surprising giving that it sounds like the reader of the site generally don't like Apple that much.
Do you know if the poll results are reflected in, for example, actual sales figures?
Even if the poll is probably biased, you can at least say that Samsung watch isn't very popular. Looking at it I can see why
I couldn't give an answer in a poll like that, as I have never used a smartwatch other than the Apple Watch. All I can tell you is I have one and I like it!
Nothing too much wrong with the display.
Its just that much of the functional design aspect leans towards the lower end.
You will mainly get dedicated Apple owners, a few shareholders, and lots of developers buying it anyway. So Apple were likely right to set the highest price they could get away with.
I wonder, with all the apps running on the phone, maybe Apple will next move towards a Pebble like design. If the Pebble was built on a newer 14nm CPU shrink, I imagine the battery would last towards a month.
The problem with the mud chucking and hoping something sticks is that if people are put off now, smartwatches will just fail even if they 'get good' once the industry figures out what works and what doesn't.
Bearing in mind Sony Ericsson made watches that could give notifications many years ago, which failed to set the world alight (and having two week battery life!), it begins to look like 3D. Keep trying over and over and hope it suddenly takes off.
Personally, I think my Pebble is excellent but accept many friends and family can't see the point of this or any of the other watches I've got or had.
Still have my old SE MBW-150. Screen is now unreadable (first gen OLEDs did fade badly), but it did the notifications, music control and looked just like a normal watch.
Smartwatches are still not really any better, they're still a solution looking for a problem. Well, not strictly true. The problem is "are you too mind boggling lazy to reach into your pocket to check your messages" or maybe "We're apple, you'll buy any crap that we put out" (same goes for the Android wear devices).
Fitness tracking devices like the MS Band and FitBit Charge HR are way ahead of the Apple Watch when it comes to what they do, but they aren't "sexy". They just pretty much work with little fuss.
Fitness tracking devices like the MS Band and FitBit Charge HR are way ahead of the Apple Watch when it comes to what they do, but they aren't "sexy". They just pretty much work with little fuss.
But fitness trackers are a 'one trick pony' in that they only do one thing. The MS band is more versatile but looks awful.
The Apple Watch appears to be a good fitness tracker (with or without an iPhone with you) plus it supports 1000s of other apps.
You will mainly get dedicated Apple owners, a few shareholders, and lots of developers buying it anyway. So Apple were likely right to set the highest price they could get away with.
I wonder, with all the apps running on the phone, maybe Apple will next move towards a Pebble like design.
that will be great news for apple. The number of dedicated apple owners keeps rising.
The market with tablets is getting saturated, once people get something they are happy with they don't feel such a strong need to upgrade like it is still with the phones. Cook talks about other Apple products cannibalising iPads, but the thing is they would all like to come up with another must-have product like smartphone or tablets are/were. So I think that's the purpose of the smartwatch, create a new market and position oneself as a leader there
The market with tablets is getting saturated, once people get something they are happy with they don't feel such a strong need to upgrade like it is still with the phones. Cook talks about other Apple products cannibalising iPads, but the thing is they would all like to come up with another must-have product like smartphone or tablets are/were. So I think that's the purpose of the smartwatch, create a new market and position oneself as a leader there
If reported sales are to be believed, Apple have achieved that.
Another way of looking at it is that Apple have chosen to use the wrong kind of display.
Not really, its a compromise all rounder display. Your high end outdoor sports and navigation stuff use transflective displays. Always on, sunshine can making them easier to see I wish that was offered standard on smartphones. It would be my prime choice.
The new Garmin VivoActiv is an example, with a claimed maximum battery life of 21 days. Smartwatch 2 and 3, Qualcomm Toq are the same. In Japan , Sharp sell their smartphones with a tranflective display too.
One weird aspect of the Apple watch will be that those cheap 99p Led touch watches will be made to look identical to the Apple Watch and priced at 2 or 3 quid. Youths will be all wearing fakes with the way to tell them apart, touch them on.
Comments
Tablets and Kindle do different things though. These watches have the same purpose, but use different displays, each has advantages and disadvantages. An owner can decide what they value more.
Yes they do. Three different types (Moto is LCD, LG is OLED and Pebble is whatever it is - I am not entirely sure) so you'd think Apple would have come up with something groundbreaking, as I'm sure it will on future models.
Pebble does, moto 360 and lg watch r aren't e-ink though ......
Both of the latter two allow you to tell the time at any point without having to move your wrist at all
I can see the questions now "Do you have limp wrists or are you just wearing an Apple Watch?"
"The Apple Watch took a hell of a beating in our polls and some of your comments seem to show why. Most of you seem to agree that poor usability and high price are major drawbacks to picking up an Apple Watch. But is seems that there one even more-prevailing opinion across the board – that all wearable devices, despite functionality, price, platform or manufacturer come with little actual purpose at this point in time. Cluttering said devices with apps also doesn’t seem to be the answer, as most of you seem to be skeptical of Apple’s “more is better” strategy for the wearable as well."
I don't quite understand that more is better statement. Apps only really run on the phone not the watch, so there ain't much currently there.
Bearing in mind Sony Ericsson made watches that could give notifications many years ago, which failed to set the world alight (and having two week battery life!), it begins to look like 3D. Keep trying over and over and hope it suddenly takes off.
Personally, I think my Pebble is excellent but accept many friends and family can't see the point of this or any of the other watches I've got or had.
Even that 3 day battery, always on, Sony Smartwatch 3 will have a lousy battery running a BT HRM when its GPS is turned on.
Would you charge them before and after a run or prefer to leave the stuff turned off ?
The problem with polls and comments is that it doesn't tell you if the individual had any interest in Apple products or if they own the device they are commenting on.
Even on this forum there are people making statements when they have not even made the effort to go to a store and try the device out. Maybe it is just coincidence that those who who criticised apple prior the the apple watch seem to be the same people on here now.
What is interesting is those who have bought it and now used it for a couple of weeks seem to have few complaints.
Hardly surprising giving that it sounds like the reader of the site generally don't like Apple that much.
Do you know if the poll results are reflected in, for example, actual sales figures?
Even if the poll is probably biased, you can at least say that Samsung watch isn't very popular. Looking at it I can see why
Its just that much of the functional design aspect leans towards the lower end.
You will mainly get dedicated Apple owners, a few shareholders, and lots of developers buying it anyway. So Apple were likely right to set the highest price they could get away with.
I wonder, with all the apps running on the phone, maybe Apple will next move towards a Pebble like design. If the Pebble was built on a newer 14nm CPU shrink, I imagine the battery would last towards a month.
Still have my old SE MBW-150. Screen is now unreadable (first gen OLEDs did fade badly), but it did the notifications, music control and looked just like a normal watch.
Smartwatches are still not really any better, they're still a solution looking for a problem. Well, not strictly true. The problem is "are you too mind boggling lazy to reach into your pocket to check your messages" or maybe "We're apple, you'll buy any crap that we put out" (same goes for the Android wear devices).
Fitness tracking devices like the MS Band and FitBit Charge HR are way ahead of the Apple Watch when it comes to what they do, but they aren't "sexy". They just pretty much work with little fuss.
But fitness trackers are a 'one trick pony' in that they only do one thing. The MS band is more versatile but looks awful.
The Apple Watch appears to be a good fitness tracker (with or without an iPhone with you) plus it supports 1000s of other apps.
that will be great news for apple. The number of dedicated apple owners keeps rising.
Oh, and all the apps don't run from the phone.
If reported sales are to be believed, Apple have achieved that.
The new Garmin VivoActiv is an example, with a claimed maximum battery life of 21 days. Smartwatch 2 and 3, Qualcomm Toq are the same. In Japan , Sharp sell their smartphones with a tranflective display too.
One weird aspect of the Apple watch will be that those cheap 99p Led touch watches will be made to look identical to the Apple Watch and priced at 2 or 3 quid. Youths will be all wearing fakes with the way to tell them apart, touch them on.
That's no good, with the chunk out of it, it looks more like the Moto 360:)