Maccast Members - Would I buy an Apple Watch if…

Introduction

• I’m getting an Apple Watch, but if I didn’t do the Maccast, would I? Or better yet, should you?
• I’ve now had the opportunity to read all the pre-release reviews and even try one on.
• Is it worth all the hype and who’s the device really for?

What others are saying

• Too many notifications are distracting
  • Apple’s says the Watch is designed to get us away from screen obsession and into the moment
  • Reviews say it’s just as bad, if not worse, but is it?
  • Who’s ultimately responsible for your behavior.
  • This diss on the watch seems too easy to push blame onto Apple for our own lack of self control.
  • It can be more distracting, because you feel every interruption.
  • Constantly looking at your watch, like your phone, hadn’t been socially accepted yet.
    • That not to say that acceptance is good, but even if it annoys some of us we’ve become accustomed to people constantly looking at their phones.
    • Will the watch be the same, or will it have the opposite effect like Apple claims?
  • Are we trading one bad social habit for another, and again is that technology’s fault, really?!!
  • Notifications are all or nothing per app. Can do VIPs for Mail.
  • Taps are customized to the kind of notification and they can take a while to learn. Once you do though this may solve some of the distraction issues.
• Focus on style, but come on.
  • Is it a fashion accessory that can keep up with high end watches, no.
  • Does it beat other smart watches in the market? Maybe.
  • Having tried one on I’d say it’s comfortable, but does have some bulk.
  • “Boxy, but good”?
• Exercise and Health
  • Makes you aware of your movement
  • Activity, exercise, standing.
  • Can’t do the exercise for you. Duh!
  • Does have more autonomy than we thought
    • Learns your strides for walking and running and can “gestimate” distance after some learning
    • 2GB of storage for music
    • Connect to “known” wi-fi
• Praise for the tech
  • Retina Display, Taptic Engine, S1 processor
  • Screen wake and responsiveness issues.
  • Precise time keeping, the “Mickey” trick.
  • Can tap into a known wifi network and access data when not near an iPhone.
  • Customization. Complications, notifications, watch bands.
  • Enjoyable, but probably not necessary.
• The criticisms
  • Activating the screen can be slow and can take force.
    • This was disputed in some reviews that claimed it was easy to wake the watch for a quick unnoticeable “glance”
  • Replying to info from the watch
    • Should a notification be taken on the Watch or with your phone?
    • One line, or one word replies
    • Voice dictation.
  • UI confusion
    • Taps, swipes, force taps, digital crown
    • This is likely just a time thing, remember the iPhone or even the iPod the first time you used it?
  • Digital Touch, does it have any utility
    • It’s Photobooth for the Apple Watch.
    • Who are you really going to send your heartbeat to?
  • Glances are good in theory, but not working in practice
    • getting data from the phone too slow.
    • Has to be quicker than taking phone out of pocket, waking, opening app.
• Accessibility
  • This has been passed over in many reviews but a huge deal for many customers
  • The latest version of Andorid Wear has large text, color inversion, and magnification gestures. That’s it. No voice feedback at all.
  • Apple Watch has:
    • VoiceOver
    • Large Dynamic Type
    • Extra Large Watch Face
    • Reduce Motion
    • Reduce Transparency
    • Zoom
    • Grayscale
    • Mono Audio
    • Bold Text
    • On/Off Labels
    • Accessibility Shortcut
  • And that’s not including the Taptic Engine which has big potential. Tapped out turn by turn walking directions being just one feature.

My experiences

• Buying choices
  • Why I changed my order and why I had a small remorse.
  • Definitely think I prefer the 42mm size over the 38mm
  • Will try possibly seeing if I can get one at launch and return the 38mm
  • Or maybe “bulk” it up with a bumper.
• Apple Watch try-on
  • The stainless steel with link bracelet was great. Nice weight.
  • Taps, didn’t feel like I thought they would. “Clunk” feeling for at least one.
  • Really had to fumble my way through the working demo units
    • Not really clear on when to use one gesture or button over another
    • That was true of other Apple products as well, but we adopt
    • Media is putting a bit too much emphasis on this learning curve.
• Hard to think of this as generation one since we’ve had other products in the market, but it is.
  • Apple is bringing a finished very functional device to market
  • One that has some unique features that will be copied.
  • It will get much better with age, but is a worthy device in current form.
• It’s value will be proven one customer at a time
  • I mean that literally.
  • It’s even more personal than the iPad and to me that’s still a VERY personal device.
  • It’s not a solution to a “problem”, but a potential solution to many. Which ones depend on us.