Apple Watch - Details, News & Reviews

iniall

Interesting take on the Apple Watch here:

http://www.mondaynote.com/2014/09/14/apple-watch-is-and-isnt/

Gassée is calling it a wrist-worn computer, not "just" a smartwatch...

DubDJ

A fair bit of info surfaced today with the release of WatchKit. 11 things listed from the Verge, some of the notable things: no dedicated Watch apps at first, they won't be supported until later in 2015, two resolutions for the different screen sizes and the way notifications will display based on how long you leave your wrist raised while looking at your notifications. Looking forward to the release next year, hopefully more will be uncovered in the meantime.

Zcott

No dedicated apps for the Watch means that it's kind of like a Continuity device like what's happening with iOS and Mac OS at the moment, so we can expect those sorts of features, I'd imagine. Also, handing all the processing power over to the iPhone suggests to me they're still struggling with battery life and want to minimise battery use as much as possible.

DubDJ

New details out today about the companion app that will pair with the Apple Watch, some nice features and a few interesting things. Liking the idea of sorting the home screen out from the iPhone, also seems to be a lot of control over individual settings and alerts. It's now expected for around the March timeframe so looking forward to it.

naasrd

Wonder what the million dollar app will be for this? Can't see Leap Card buying my idea!

DubDJ

So April is looking like the official release month according to Tim Cook. Pushing that 'early' time line to the limits as usual.. I don't mind too much as long as its up to scratch from day one performance wise.

ukoda

DubDJ wrote: »

as long as its up to scratch from day one performance wise.

It wont be, no first gen product is going to be that great, id say battery life will be shocking, i wouldnt buy one until its in 3rd or 4th gen tbh

naasrd

ukoda wrote: »

It wont be, no first gen product is going to be that great, id say battery life will be shocking, i wouldnt buy one until its in 3rd or 4th gen tbh

Nah, can't see that happening. I think it'll hit the ground running.

ukoda

naasrd wrote: »

Nah, can't see that happening. I think it'll hit the ground running.

It will be successful no doubt! But the first version will be pretty unrefined, first iPhone hit the ground running but it didn't have picture messaging or copy and paste. if personally just wait a while till its bedded in and refined, maybe version 3

DubDJ

ukoda wrote: »

It will be successful no doubt! But the first version will be pretty unrefined, first iPhone hit the ground running but it didn't have picture messaging or copy and paste. if personally just wait a while till its bedded in and refined, maybe version 3

What I mean is it won't have all these problems and glitches with how the core features work. Obviously a first gen is going to have teething problems. As long as they're not major ones though.

I don't fancy waiting until 2018/2019 to get one when its a few gens old. I'd rather buy one in April

murpho999

Don't people think that the battery is going to be a major issue.

A watch that needs charging everyday makes it almost useless in my opinion.

savemejebus

murpho999 wrote: »

Don't people think that the battery is going to be a major issue.

A watch that needs charging everyday makes it almost useless in my opinion.

People thought the same things about phones that needed to be charged everyday, now it's accepted and people even accept a phone that won't last a full day and needs to be charged after work.

Creamy Goodness

I tend to agree. but Android wear users around me are constantly charging their watches either through the day at their desk so they don't have to charge at night, or at night so they can wear it all day without charging.

murpho999

savemejebus wrote: »

People thought the same things about phones that needed to be charged everyday, now it's accepted and people even accept a phone that won't last a full day and needs to be charged after work.

I think there is a big difference between a watch and a phone.

Even before Smart phones you knew you had to charge them at some stage, either once a week or every few days depending on usage but you knew you'd have to charge it at some stage.

However, a conventional watch battery will last for years and the idea of having to charge it everyday will just prove frustrating and having to carry an extra charger cable around at all times will irk many.

savemejebus

I agree with you, i think it's pointless for a watch to need charging like that, my point was people adapt and accept what was previously unacceptable to have the latest and greatest.

Something to think about is how many people stopped wearing watches altogether after mobile phones became popular. they'll have no problem charging up their shiny new watch toys.

Creamy Goodness

another thing to factor in is the perceived benefit of having a smart watch as opposed to a standard watch.

the reason a standard watch can go for years is that it's winding a tiny spring, even kinetic movement can generate enough energy for this in good watches.

a smart watch needs to drive a screen/cpu etc. but their potential to do more than tell the time is far greater. The people who see the benefits will put up with the charging, those that don't won't. they may suck in some more people if they can improve the battery life over the coming years.

murpho999

Fair point about people who don't use watches anymore.

I think the next big breakthrough they should work on is batteries.

I would rather have a phone/device that can go days without charging as compared to what we're faced with now.

Apparantly there is new technology (Gas I believe) that would work but is not safety approved yet.

I think whichever phone company can release a smartphone with new battery technology that works can dominate the market regardless of OS features and capabilities.

ukoda

murpho999 wrote: »

I think whichever phone company can release a smartphone with new battery technology that works can dominate the market regardless of OS features and capabilities.

There isnt a hope in hell iphone/iOS users will jump to say Windows or some other platform for a few days battery, battery tech will make a break through in the next few years, but that break through will be available to all manufacturers

murpho999

ukoda wrote: »

There isnt a hope in hell iphone/iOS users will jump to say Windows or some other platform for a few days battery, battery tech will make a break through in the next few years, but that break through will be available to all manufacturers

Hard to know but I think a lot of less tech savvy users are less OS loyal and would be tempted by a phone that had an exclusive longer lasting patented battery.

jester77

There's a big difference between how phones and watches are perceived. People view a watch as something that is timeless, it's an accessory that you can wear for years to come and will still loosk and functions as good as the day you bought. These new smartwatches will be out of date within 12 months of purchase. As much as I like the concept, I don't fancy having a €200-400 watch that needs updating every 1-3 years.

iniall

murpho999 wrote: »

I think there is a big difference between a watch and a phone.

Even before Smart phones you knew you had to charge them at some stage, either once a week or every few days depending on usage but you knew you'd have to charge it at some stage.

However, a conventional watch battery will last for years and the idea of having to charge it everyday will just prove frustrating and having to carry an extra charger cable around at all times will irk many.

I don't know. I wear a conventional watch and leave it on my locker when I go to bed. It's not much of a stretch to imagine placing a smartwatch on a charger on that same locker every night, were I to replace my current (analogue) watch with one.

If the Apple Watch makes it through the day, I think charging it won't be too much of an inconvenience for most people.

murpho999

iniall wrote: »

I don't know. I wear a conventional watch and leave it on my locker when I go to bed. It's not much of a stretch to imagine placing a smartwatch on a charger on that same locker every night, were I to replace my current (analogue) watch with one.

If the Apple Watch makes it through the day, I think charging it won't be too much of an inconvenience for most people.

That's the question. There is no certainty it will get through the day.

2-3 hours use is the maximum apparently.

Creamy Goodness

that's of continued use though right? like with the screen constantly being on and you actually interacting with the watch. I hope this will be intelligent enough to know when you're not looking at it and switch off pretty much everything.

2-3 hours is a rumour, probably a good one but they've said they're aiming for a day use so that's what we'll ultimately get.

iniall

murpho999 wrote: »

That's the question. There is no certainty it will get through the day.

2-3 hours use is the maximum apparently.

Think that's full use though. Standby is rumoured to be 18 hours.

squonk

For me it all comes down to charge time. Right now I know I can't really take my Apple Watch into the shower. That kind of sucks but I can live with that as I currently don't take my iPhone either and for that period of time I'm uncontactable. That's a good thing. Now, if I can slip my watch off and ontot eh charger and come back to something that's fully charged 30 or 45 minutes later than that's pretty good. If, however, I've got to leave the thing charging for 3+ hours overnight to replenish the battery then that's just not on.

The kind of scenario where I can only really see the watch being currently useful is for business people attending meetings who want to discreetly monitor incoming calls/texts during meetings and who come home in the evening, ditch the smartwatch and slip on something more elegant and timeless for going out or chilling or whatever. The following morning they pick the Apple Watch up again when they're in business mode for the day ahead.

Zcott

squonk wrote: »

If, however, I've got to leave the thing charging for 3+ hours overnight to replenish the battery then that's just not on.

Do you not sleep?

Sad Professor

People need to stop thinking of it as a watch. It’s not. No more than the iPhone was a phone in 2007. It is a phone now, but only because it redefined everyone’s idea of a phone. Back then everyone complained about the size, the cost, the battery life, basically all the ways it didn’t fit the standard definition of a phone.

Will the iWatch do the same for watches? Who knows. I’ve no interest in it myself, but then I hadn’t much interest in the iPhone at first either.

ukoda

Sad Professor wrote: »

People need to stop thinking of it as a watch. It’s not. No more than the iPhone was a phone in 2007. It is a phone now, but only because it redefined everyone’s idea of a phone. Back then everyone complained about the size, the cost, the battery life, basically all the ways it didn’t fit the standard definition of a phone.

Will the iWatch do the same for watches? Who knows. I’ve no interest in it myself, but then I hadn’t much interest in the iPhone at first either.

Not to be pedantic but...it's not the called iWatch. It's Apple Watch

adox

Sad Professor wrote: »

Will the iWatch do the same for watches? Who knows. I’ve no interest in it myself, but then I hadn’t much interest in the iPhone at first either.

Not a hope in my opinion and not comparable at all.

The mobile phone was a purely functional item whereas watches are so much more.

I personally think Apple have bitten of more than they can chew and their watch will have moderate success only.

Eoin

adox wrote: »

Not a hope in my opinion and not comparable at all.

The mobile phone was a purely functional item whereas watches are so much more.

Agreed. Digital watches already do more than the majority of analogue watches, but only make up a minority of sales. Technology isn't always a winner with watches.

adox wrote: »

I personally think Apple have bitten of more than they can chew and their watch will have moderate success only.

Not sure about this though; the iPad seemed pretty useless when it came out at first. There's a lot of people who don't buy watches because they don't do much, or buy normal digital watches because of the gadget factor.