A lot of people have been asking me what I think of the Apple Watch. I actually have some strong feelings about it. Here’s my review after using it for a month.
Before I start talking about the Apple Watch, I want to mention some things.
1. I am an Apple fanboy. I’ve used a Mac for every step of my professional life. I work at my Mac Pro for 60+ hours per week. My iPhone has been my constant companion since the day the first one was released. I consider the iPad to be the greatest tech gadget of all time and am rarely without mine.
2. I didn’t really want a smart watch. I don’t wear a watch. I didn’t have any need that I thought a smart watch could fulfill. But I bought one so I could use it for possible app development and make some tutorials for MacMost.com.
3. For the first month I have strapped on my Apple Watch each morning and wore it all day. I have the 38MM model. As an app developer I figured I need the smaller one so I can judge how well apps work on it at this size. I now wish I had the larger one because I find my aging eyes have trouble reading things on the small screen.
Smart Watches are Stupid
A lot of what I hate about the Apple Watch applies to all smart watches. Apple didn’t make a bad smart watch. It may be the best smart watch, though I haven’t compared so I can’t say. But the whole idea of smart watches didn’t make any sense to me before, and now that I’ve been using one for 30 days it makes even less sense.
There is almost nothing that the Apple Watch can do that my iPhone can’t do better. Much better. The larger screen and the faster processor make it no contest. The only advantage the watch has is that it is theoretically two seconds closer for me to access.
Two seconds is all it takes for me to get my iPhone out of my pocket. If I need to know the time, then the watch beats the iPhone because I can get my answer in 2 seconds less time. But that doesn’t score a point for the Apple Watch because any old watch can tell you the time.
Anything else is going to be better on the iPhone. If I get a text message I can see it on the Apple Watch faster than on the iPhone — usually. But I usually need to respond to a message in which case it is much faster for me to take out my iPhone.
Another issue with smart watches in general is how you interact with them. The typical mode is to hold your arm in “wristwatch viewing position.” That is not a comfortable position. If all you have ever done in the past is to glance at your watch for a split second to see the time, then you probably haven’t noticed. But from day one with the Apple Watch you quickly realize that that position is uncomfortable to hold for 5 seconds, 10 seconds or 2 minutes. Interacting with apps often requires long amounts of time. Holding you phone is a much better option than twisting your own arm and holding it there like that.
So what is a smart watch for? If I have my iPhone in my pocket, then do I really need a smaller, slower, dumber device on my wrist as well? After the last 30 days, the definitive answer for me is: no.
The Apple Watch Likes to Keep You Waiting
I’ll jump right to my biggest complaint about the Apple Watch. There is a lot of waiting. It communicates with your iPhone to get information and this rarely goes seamlessly. Let me share some examples.
Say I want to see the weather. I bring up my wrist and click the crown to see my apps. I navigate to the Weather app. I get the word “Weather” with those spinning dots telling me to wait. One second, two seconds, three seconds. Then the app appears. But it still takes time to load the data. So I wait some more. At this point, the watch display turns off to conserve battery. I have to either click the crown again, or do an awkward movement where I lower my arm and raise it again.
Now sometimes it is better. Sometimes you get the answer in less than a second. But other times it takes much longer than just pulling out your iPhone and looking at the weather app there.
I see the same behavior on many other apps, both the default ones and third-party apps.
I use the MLB AtBat app to see baseball scores on my watch. Sometimes it gives me the scores right away, but usually it takes longer than the display sleep time. I even have my Apple Watch set to stay on the same app instead of going back to the clock. Then when I lift my arm I can “instantly” see the baseball score. Sometimes. Other times it gives me the spinning wait animation. Sometimes it shows me an old score and then it has updated the score after a few seconds. It has done this often enough so now I never trust the score right away. I always wait to see if it updates.
Another app I would like to use all of the time is Cyclemeter. I’ve been using this iPhone app for years to track my bike rides. In theory it should be great to start and stop the tracker with my watch instead of pulling out my iPhone. But in practice I get the spinning dots or sometimes even a message telling me I need to access the app on my iPhone.
These are just examples. I’ve seen this same behavior from many different apps.
Fitness Functions
The one thing that the Apple Watch can do that an iPhone cannot is to track your pulse. I’m not a fitness enthusiast, but I do like to ride my bike several times per week. I do like to make sure that I move around during the day since I work at a desk.
But the Apple Watch has not helped me with these. The “Time to Stand” function is a joke. I get this message while sitting and eating in a restaurant, sitting in a movie theater, relaxing at the end of the day. I can appreciate the idea, but once you start to ignore the message more than obey it, there’s no point. Once I finished an hour-long bike ride, sat down to rest, and got a “Time to Stand” message five minutes later. Still wondering about how that happened.
The first time I took a bike ride with my Apple Watch I was excited to use the exercise functions to “track” that ride. But the first thing it asked me was how many calories I wanted to burn on this ride. Uh, what? I don’t know. I’m going somewhere. I’ll burn however many calories it takes to get there and back. But it wouldn’t let me skip this question. So I gave it a random number. From then on it used either that number, or the number from my previous bike ride. This makes no sense to me as I ride to different places for different things and I’m not sure what the point of measuring one ride against another does for me.
Maybe people serious about exercise find all of these functions useful. But I stopped using all of the fitness functions after a week. I still use Cyclemeter to track my bike rides as usual, but as I mentioned before I usually do this on my iPhone despite the fact that it has an Apple Watch component.
ApplePay and Passcodes
One potentially cool thing about the Apple Watch is that you can use it for ApplePay instead of your iPhone. But as there is only a four-second cost to taking out your iPhone and putting it away, there’s not much point.
The first time I tried to use my Apple Watch to ApplePay I found out I had to set it up just like I did with the iPhone. I thought that since it was really using the iPhone for the transaction that it would already be set up. So that first time was a bust as I wasn’t going to hold up the line while I did that.
The second time I had it all set up, but it just didn’t work. I pulled out my iPhone and it worked fine. I don’t know what went wrong, and I wasn’t going to hold up the line to troubleshoot.
The third time it worked. But it saved me very little time. None in fact, since there was plenty of down time while the cashier rung me up to take out my iPhone, and plenty of time while bagging to put it away.
And there is one huge disadvantage to using ApplePay on the watch. It requires that you set a security code for your Apple Watch. Probably a good idea. But it does mean that I now have to enter that code every morning. And on the small screen I rarely get it right the first time. Then throughout the day if I take the watch off for any reason I have to enter the code again. I may enter the code in dozens of times between instances when I use ApplePay, meaning I am not really saving any time at all.
The passcode is really annoying, in fact. I often put the watch on in the morning without entering the passcode because I don’t need to do anything with the watch at that moment. So then later when I need to do something I find that the passcode trips me up.
Once, I tried to enter the code in the very first time in the morning and was told I needed to wait a minute to try again. I wasn’t about to sit down and stare at my watch for a minute, so I just moved on.
It got to the point where ApplePay wasn’t worth it. So I disabled ApplePay so I can skip the passcode. So the “potentially cool thing” is not even a thing anymore for me.
Messages and Phone Calls
You can send, read and respond to text messages on your Apple Watch. But it rarely makes sense to do so.
You save a little time in receiving messages. But you lose that time if you try to respond. The six little quick responses you can choose from rarely fit for me, even if I try to customize them. So I need to use Siri to respond with my voice.
Half the time Siri fails to translate this into text. And when it does it gets it a bit wrong sometimes, so I end up pulling out my iPhone anyway. And using your voice requires that you are alone in a quiet room. If that is the case, then I can usually do it faster by pulling out my iPhone anyway. I would love to have a quicker way to respond to a text message when I am talking with people or in the middle of an activity. But that is precisely the time when a voice response will not work.
You can make phone calls with the Apple Watch too. But that has the same problem. The first time I received a phone call was while I was standing in line at a Chipotle. I thought “Oh, I can take that call on my Apple Watch!” Then I looked around at the other people in line, the people eating a few feet from me, the people behind the counter and thought no, I’m not going to stand here with my wrist to my mouth talking into my watch.
Maybe I would do that if I was alone in a quiet room. But then why not just talk on my iPhone then?
Maybe someone who makes a lot of phone calls throughout the day while in a quiet place can find this useful. But I have a hard time seeing it.
Where’s the Killer App?
Apple’s previous gadgets have been born with a killer app front and center. The iPod was “1,000 songs in your pocket.” My stereo equipment and massive record collection all in one little device. The iPod didn’t even need anything else for it to become a huge success.
The iPhone started as a phone. All jokes aside about how poorly it worked as a phone, it was still a mobile phone. Everything else was gravy.
But what does the Apple Watch do? It tells you the time. Big whoop. If I needed that before I would have worn a watch, but I didn’t. So what does it do? I can see my messages, the weather, baseball scores, stock prices, etc. But I can see those on my iPhone, and much more. And much better.
So there is no killer app. Maybe fitness for some people, I guess. But it’s not a killer app. People worked out and exercised just fine without an Apple Watch. I can’t see it adding significant value there.
My Conclusion
I’ve stopped wearing my Apple Watch. It is sitting on the charger right now, not even in the same room.
I’m glad, too, as the weather is turning warmer and it was getting even more irritating to have something strapped to my wrist all day.
I can’t recommend an Apple Watch to anyone, I’m sorry to say. If you talk a lot on the phone, get a bluetooth headset. Use it with Siri to receive and send text messages too. If you need to track your fitness stats, then get a good iPhone app, you don’t need the watch for that.
If you are using an Apple Watch anyway, then keep a good lookout for a killer app that will make everyone love it. If such an app appears, let me know.
i was somewhat relieved by seeing your review because i was beginning to wonder if i was the last person on earth who never saw the need for a "smart watch". i am an apple enthusiast as well and i agree with your review wholeheartedly. it seems like a total waste of money when the iPhone can do it all more efficiently and easier. thank you for writing this and for your honest assessment
I felt the same way. I don't see the point of the watch when you have to have the phone anyway. I am very glad to see someone expose "the emperor's new clothes". Thanks Gary for the honest review.
Gary's review reflects my reaction before the Watch even came out. For me, I might want to consider it once the flaws that Gary pointed out are corrected, and especially if it is ever made to be a stand alone device that doesn't rely on the iPhone to function.
Well, I am 74 years young and I teach all things Apple to old geezers like myself. I love my watch. I don't carry my phone all the time so my watch is my companion. It keeps me away from my desk and out and about because I don't have to constantly look at my messages. When one important one comes in, i get my alert and I can respond. Basically, it's fun, handy and I like playing Dick Tracy!
I'm with you Nonnie. I am 71 and lead the Apple User Group in our large retirement community. I have been a watch wearer and never used my iPhone to check the time. I too don't carry my phone all the time, so I appreciate checking items on my watch. After 30 years of being an early adopter of Apple products, I figure the quirks are the price I pay. It is nice to be considered "cool" by the young employees.
I don't understand. You have to carry your iPhone with you for your text messages to be displayed on your iWatch. So how can you be having this experience if you're not carrying your phone?
Good article but you've never used a watch. Older users might differ. Second I have a 6 + and it's large and clunky to get out for some of the tasks. I often leave My 6+ on my desk at work and at home especially If in robe etc so calls can be answered and I don't lug around a phone. While wearing I can talk on the phone hands free which is usefull while preforming CPR/running codes (I'm a physician) As for slow loads be patient it is a first gen device. So you hate your phone. I love mine :-)
Actually, I used a watch from childhood until I was in my late 30s. I'm 45 now. I gave up watches when I started using smartphones. And I also have a 6+ and love it. I can see that if you need to talk on the phone a lot without holding your phone, that it can be handy. But I would think a bluetooth headset would be even better in that case.
Yep!
I have a 6--it's not large and clunky and has a sufficiently large screen for my needs. Fits well in my pants pocket! Anything larger would be cumbersome. For me Apple hit the mark with the 4.7 6 screen!
"I Hate My Apple Watch"
Hey, if you don't want it, I'll buy it off you (for $200 since it is used).
I thought about selling it. But as an app developer, I should really have it around in case I decide to extend one of my apps to use it.
Coincidentally, my Watch was just delivered today! I sure hope I have better results than you did. I don't expect the Watch to replace my iPhone, just to supplement it. Obviously the iPhone with it's bigger screen, keyboard etc is better at most everything, but I don't think comparing the Watch to the iPhone is the point. Compare it to not wearing a smartwatch at all. Then determine if it is useful to you or not. In your case, probably not, in mine, to be determined. Thanks for the article.
FYI. I am a fan of your work at macmost.com. Disappointed in your link bait style headline for this article.
Link bait? I was just trying to be honest. I played around with the headlines "I Stopped Wearing My Apple Watch" and "My Review of the Apple Watch" but neither summed up the article as much as "I Hate My Apple Watch." A link bait headline is usually misleading or somehow sensational.
Sorry. Perhaps link bait was the wrong term. I guess I thought it was unnecessarily sensational and unexpected given your normally excellent and "unsensational" body of work! (Just one man's opinion.)
You are absolutely that it was unexpected. To me as well. I'd had a lot of people ask me about the Apple Watch over the last few weeks, and when I've told them what I think they urged me to write about it. I may start writing a lot more at MacMost, in fact. And you can expect most of it to be positive, since I am an "enthusiast" after all.
Thanks for posting this, Gary. Not being an app developer, I've been struggling trying to come up with a justification to purchase an Apple Watch. I haven't, to date, been able to come up with one.
I, like you, wore a wristwatch for decades. DECADES! I stopped wearing one within a week after getting my iPhone. I don't need a tethered device to tell me something I can just as easily do with the iPhone.
Kudos on your review.
Thank you for a honest review. I'm still waiting for my watch in the mail. But this review is scary, since I bought the $600 one. :/ But I'm glad you wrote it. Keep up the good work. Hopefully the watch will get better with updates, etc.
Things I did today with my Apple watch that I did not hate:
Checked the weather.
Ran 7k with Strava. (BTW You can choose open with Workout)
Navigated in a car.
Set reminders (1 geofenced,1 timed).
Took a photo of my family with me in it- composing the shot.
Asked for the definition of three words. Checked the popuation of a country.
Told the time.
Hardly looked at my phone.
Other things I did this week that I did not hate:
Remote control: iTunes & Apple TV
Used it as a boarding pass
Your pulling our legs, eh? JC? Such a busy bee …,
OK, you are.
I agree with JC. There are dozens of small things it can do better than the iPhone that Gary didn't mention, like accurately track all of my activity throughout the day. This tracking is the ONLY killer app it has right now, I admit... but they will increase, as will the performance of apps loading data. Just now, Apple announced native apps and their ability to communicate via Wifi without the phone. Keep your watch, Gary. You'll change your mind!
Before I got to the comments I guessed that we are about the same age. Well I am 45 too so it was a good guess. At first I saw your title of your link on Macsurfer and I came here expecting to be annoyed but I was happy to find an article explaining exactly what I predicted- that I too would not use an Apple Watch. And unlike you I feel naked without my heavy TAG watch. I can’t take my phone out of my pants pocket 20 times a day to check the time. Thanks for confirming all I’ve thought.
Thanks for the informative post. It backs up my own thoughts that it's actually a solution to a problem which doesn't exist. I too can't see what the point is. An old fashioned watch is actually a whole lot better for actually telling the time. The rest, well, thats what the smartphone is for. I have a colleague who uses the watch and I'm sure is just preserving because they they bought one and feel the need to get value from it. I suspect they'll also stop using it soon.
After reading your post it sounds as if it was from someone forced to use a piece of tech that they didn't want to work and for those people I'd agree that AppleWatch is not a good choice.... But because of that I also don't think your article was of much value, except to make curmudgeons like Lauren feel better about them selves.
Interactions should be seconds.
Your 2 seconds is BS.
Sending voice works fine, even in noisy areas
Security is worthwhile.
Having goals is not stupid.
IMHO
Wow, thanks for the fab review I love reading your stuff, the headline really did get my attention in a good way. My inner thriftmeister now has a clear conscience in not letting my frivolous side get the better of it !!
Just got one, and I like it. Apple Watch is the most powerful watch I have ever worn. Time, day/date, temperature, upcoming appt's, etc all at a quick glance. And, it's a fast, convenient way to do quite a few iPhone functions...viewing/deleting messages, mail, texts, calendar appt's, and more right on my wrist. Sure, there are functions that are slower, less refined, but I am satisfied way before stretching the device's limits. I'm sure it will get more powerful/useful over time. Just saying.
I can't understand what Apple is thinking, waiting another day to get the SDK out and fix the awful slowness. And the whole fiasco of this launch made me really reconsider buying from Apple. That said I enjoy my 42mm Watch as a compliment to my 6+ and it gets notifications to me in exactly the way I hoped. It's helping me with work.
I have friends who like it and others who don't and I think nobody else can decide this for you. I've been surprised by who likes it and who doesn't.
Yes, notifications is another key feature of the watch that (if properly customized) can reduce many quick iPhone interactions throughout the day, saving time and battery life!
I haven't worn my watches in years, am 49 and didn't think I'd keep the Apple Watch. Had it 1 month and I truly love it more the longer I use it. I don't tell ppl who ask that it's great, I just know it works wonderfully for me. So much better glancing at email, text than pulling my phone out. It's not at all intrusive or distracting. I almost decided based on others reviews and assumptions but I am very glad I tried it first.
I totally respect your opinion, but I think you are missing the point of the watch, at least what I perceive it to be. I love my iPhone. Too much. Wayyyy too much. The watch keeps my major source of daily distraction away from me. No Facebook, no Twitter, but I still get important info. I can concentrate on things other than my phone. I can look up and at people rather than down at a screen. I can without my phone and through wifi get my notifications. That's why it's great to me.
I stopped reading right around the time that you insisted that you had to put the pin number in to unlock the watch after you took it off. That's an option but it's much easier to unlock your phone with the fingerprint sensor, which also unlocks the watch. At that point I was clued into the fact that you have not completely learned how to operate the watch yet, which I imagine could lead to some frustration. How does replying to a message via dictation take longer than using your phone?
If I a unlocking the watch by unlocking my phone, that means I already have my iPhone in my hand. If so, then why not just use my iPhone for whatever I am going to do at that moment?
Replying to a message via my iPhone is easier because a) it seems to work a much higher percentage of the time, b) if I need to correct a small mistake in the text I can do it with the onscreen keyboard. My only option with the Watch is to dictate it again.
Many people, like myself, put on the watch in the morning, unlock it when you pick up your phone to use or put in pocket, and then never need to unlock throughout the day. I rarely take mine off.
Exactly. The fact that ur implying one needs to use the phone every time u need to unlock as if you need to do it every time you need to interact with it, it's defiantly showing you're misunderstanding Gary. I'm kind of shocked given such the in-depth knowledge you have about Apple products in general and all your excellent videos. In fact, this review sounded so much not like the Gary I've known through videos that it was not until I saw your name responding when I realized it was actually u
I'm not implying that you need to unlock it every time you use it. But often enough. Enough to make it inconvenient. Enough that not having ApplePay on my Apple Watch was more convenient than having it.
Oh, come on Gary. Are you serious? I get up in the morning, put on watch and unluck with phone and NEVER have to do this again unless I remove my phone which means basically when I go to sleep and Apple pay is right there with me! What's inconvenient about that? You're definitely using wrong!
@Kareem, I lost him even earlier ;-) when he was forced to tell how much calories he wants to burn during the workout. What about mileage or open workout. Oh, wait, no ... when he talked about holding his arm up for 2 minutes.
Honestly, the Apple Watch is not for everyone but somebody who didn't want to give it a chance from the start because he just doesn't understand it shouldn't try at all.
And even worse: he shouldn't develop any watch apps at all.
Agree with everything said, but still like mine 😄
At home I leave my iPhone 6 on the kitchen worktop rather than carry it around the house scratching it in my pocket or sitting on it. With the watch I see messages and calls coming in and can decide if I want to answer straight away or not, and if so get the phone.
Same in the car. I drive a lot and a quick glance can save me reaching for the phone.
The watch does nothing new, but I do find it has handily allowed me to use the phone less.
If you can use the Apple watch in the car and its efficient and sort of hands free, then it saves lives. So many are getting in accidents reading "down" at the iPhone. This alone would make it worth it.
Didn't want to branch off onto this subject in the post, but I found that the Apple Watch wasn't any safer than using your iPhone (hands free) in the car. In fact, the iPhone was much safer in that it seemed to be more responsive in these cases. I tried to send a test message hands free, for instance, and found that I couldn't do it on the Watch without looking at the watch (one hand off the wheel) to confirm the text before sending. But with the iPhone, I can do that all with Siri without ever needing to look at the iPhone.
Wow you certainly poked the hornets nest there. Thanks Gary for your honest review.
I bought an apple watch for my wife for the fitness stuff. Like you she hasn't worn a watch for 27 years and wondered why on earth did I buy it for her! The fitness app shows odd results and Siri hardly works too. But she does like the glances. When she's in a meeting she can check messages in case here elderly mother needs her.
I am an Apple Fanboy so I still ordered one.
Appreciate all you do on Macmost.com
I'm about 45 also, and got the 38mm. I've found my watch pretty useful - not all the time, but the moments it saves you here and there just make life more pleasant.
I'm a developer too and after some use of the main apps and third party apps, I'd say there's a hard limit of about 2-5 seconds where an app makes sense to use - if a person cannot be finished sooner than that it is just easier to use the phone. Devs will have a much easier time of this with the native sdk later this year.
The criticisms are valid; but I still love my Watch. All these minor annoyances are quite fixable; and Apple is likely listening. It was joyous to have a shopping list on my wrist instead of fumbling into pockets and unzipping cases to glance at a phone. I got a tap on the wrist when my eggs had finished boiling; Payment at the grocery was smooth as silk. The watch is gorgeous and filled with color. Apple should add an option to extend the screen display a good 5 seconds longer. Dies too soon.
So far I'm underwhelmed but my jury is still out.
I don't agree with Gary.
I too have worn my 38MM watch for a month now and I thoroughly enjoy it. Perhaps, I like my watch in part because I had/have lower expectations for it than Gary.
I rather like not having to pull out my iPhone 6 plus to receive a phone call, communicate on Skype and respond to a message. I've been able to maintain my goal of expending X number of calories per day with the watch.
I look forward to new heath features as they become available.
People who do not wear wrist watches are hardly qualified to review a wrist watch. It is like asking a teetotaler to review beer.
Yes, I too took my numerous wristwatches off after getting the iPhone, but, with the Watch, I'm now doing more on my wrist and less with my iPhone 6+ during the day. I'm no longer tempted to scan Facebook or Twitter. I get up and move around more; upgrade to OS 1.01, it tracks standing up better. I've paid with the watch and Siri seems to be more accurate on the Watch. Have you tried walking directions with the Watch? And I love controlling my AppleTV with my watch!
I purchased my Apple Watch primarily to always have communications available on me. Not always having pockets to carry my phone with me, I have been stranded upstairs with Type 1 diabetes hypos, while phone and Bluetooth headset are downstairs. This functionality alone is enough, but I find that I can quickly get information from notifications that would normally have me checking the phone. The fitness goals are very useful to me. Sure it's 1st gen. but that's what I expected.
Love Mine!
My uses (it's mostly about convenience):...Pocket watches => Wrist watches
-Quicker view of texts & many notifications (voice text works great)
-Quicker stock quotes (aapl on face)
-Quicker weather
-Better Boarding Pass
-Easier apple pay
-Review/Text in shower
-Control music (in shower too)
-Navigation (& with taps)
-Golf app
-Wifi; 3 story house & no longer carry phone
-Nice Faces (sports team logos?)
-Camera remote
-Gym/Pool/Beach etc-phone in bag-still connected
Read the post from "JC" above. Totally on point. I haven't worn a watch in years, but have had my Apple Watch for 2 weeks now. I thoroughly enjoy it, and believe, surprisingly, that Gary just didn't bother figuring out how to use the watch properly. I have experienced few of his pain points, and find that I rarely look at my phone anymore. Women who may keep the phone in their purse; it would take more than 2 sec to get the phone. Been a Gary fan for yrs; find this "review" surprising.
Exactly how I feel about Gary and his review of the watch.
Sorry, just a bit more - I find Siri works better than on my phone.
Do you golf? Leave your phone in the bag, walk to your ball, check the phone for the distance, etc. It will take a couple sec to update - big deal.
I speak as a fairly new Apple fan, and like all recent converts, am boringly pro Apple. However this post is proof of two things. One, that you can rely on Gary to give an honest opinion, and two, thankfully I am not alone in not wanting a smart watch. I love my iPhone (my wife is threatening to have it surgically removed) as well as my iMac and iPod. When Apple can replace the iPhone with a watch, let me know, but until then........
Thanks for a very good article! I, too, am an avid Apple fan. I'm active in the local MUG and also have been teaching Mac and iPad classes at the local community college for 5 years. I have no interest in the watch, but also have no quarrel with those who find it useful. Mostly, I appreciate your candor and honesty. I've subscribed to your newsletter for a long time and always recommend it to my students. Keep up the good work.
I have to say for someone who travels 4-5 days a week for work. I have found the watch very useful. The more I wear it the more I love it.
Interesting review. I've only had my watch for a few days and I can certainly empathize with a lot of the complaints. It *is* too slow and cumbersome sometimes. For me, it has, so far, been mainly a (expensive) remote control for my phone. I listen to music or audiobooks almost all day and leave my phone on a charger/speaker system either at home or work. It's nice to be able to pause, answer a call, make a quick text, etc. without having to unplug the phone, do the deed, and replug it.
Gary,
I was hoping you might try the most recent Pebble Time for a month and give us your thoughts on that smart watch. I bought the original and still love it. (For what it 'doesn't do.') Thanx...Cj
Thank you Gary. You saved me $1,000! I have been lusting after that black Apple Watch with the black metal band. I couldn't justify it but it didn't matter. It's just beautiful. However, I have recovered my sanity. I'm serious. I really was intent on the purchase but not now. Thanks, SH
Gary your review focused only on function and doesn’t address the fashion aspect of the watch. Apple spent hundreds of millions to create a device that was to be viewed by the public as more than just a small computer screen on your wrist. I recall they paid $70 million alone for Angela Ahrendts to leave Burberry. Women spend thousands to carry around bags with designer names but functionally they work no better than a $20 Walmart handbag. BTW: nobody buys a Rolex just to tell the time.
Bodacious Dude. I found the same, and returned the phone within 8 days, for all the same reasons, BUT YOURE more thorough. I don't get it, and, I find it a very dangerous distraction: Every state should adopt jail-time offfences for using any iWatch app while driving: It's 10x as dangerous as a talking-driving with a iPhone. Gary: Keep spreading your truth!
Well, like I tell all of my students:
"Just because you can, it doesn't mean you should."
This seems to apply to Apple Watch. Just because can make a better watch it does not mean that they should have done it!
The profit motive seems to have gotten in the way. Oh, yeah APPLE is a company - silly of me.
Fernando Gonçalves
Toronto, Canada
Women don't always (or usually) have pockets for their phones. With the phone in the handbag, possibly in the next room, many texts and calls are missed. Having the notification right on my wrist (and silent) makes all the other objections pale in comparison. If more women would post in this forum, there might be more balance. I love my Apple watch, however I can certainly see that it is not as important for guys who keep their phones in their pockets.
my point exactly in my post above. glad it has now come from a woman.
My 10 year old digital watch broke right around the time the Apple Watch was announced. Since it would have cost more to repair it then its original cost I thought I might replace it with the Apple watch but because of its cost and limits I cannot justify one. One advantage for me is I always wear a Bluetooth headset and I use Siri and iPhone apps to accomplish a lot of the things I would do with the watch. An example is if I need to know the time I simply say "time" to Siri using my headset.
Thanks for confirming my suspicions about the Apple Watch. I don't wear a watch either (for the same reasons you gave), and hadn't seen anything in the promos to give me a reason to start. I'm a fanboy as well (Mac, iPad, iPhone), and was starting to worry there was something wrong with me for not jumping onto the Apple Watch bandwagon. Your review has validated my gut feeling. Thanks for calling it as you see it!
Didn't think it would really serve any purpose and seems I was correct for a change, I don't need it, period.
Oops, I was just going to say I love everything your write. But a little square came up telling me to stick to the subject. The watch review is exceptionally candid and makes me happier than ever. You're your own man. I can continue reading & trusting you. As regards the watch, the whole concept seems, as we say in Swedish, 'överflodig', which is a nice word for superfluous. Watchless & even phoneless I'm being guided through the U. of Mac by your articles. That's more than enough.
Gotta say that the "review" was "off"--seems Gary "misused" it in several instances.
As others mentioned, you only enter pass codes when putting on the watch (waking up, showering). So typically 2-3 times a day.
Also, the watch is supposed to be used for 2-5s at a time (max 10s); anything longer doesnt make sense (it's stated in app dev guidelines).
Agree that 3rd party apps are too slow. Sometimes core apps like weather too. But expect that to improve and be "good" soon.
Such a great and honest review. Like yourself I use Apple products for work and lifestyle, but I definitely know I don't need an Apple Watch, I prefer a designer watch, after all the Apple Watch will of course change next year. Excuse the pun, but a waste of time! Love the videos.
I really enjoy my apple watch. I'm consistently using it as a quick device for messages whilst travelling and Siri is better on my watch than my iPhone 6. I'm always a watch wearer anyway. I change my watches regularly from dress to water sports, so the apple just fits in as part of the collection. However, I would not spend the money past the basic sports watch.
Gary, couldn't you have just said the Apple Watch isn't for you? You have given Apple nay-sayers fuel! I have no issue with anything you said in your article....only the title. I love my Apple Watch. However, I also have a health problem and have been wearing a call button for years that calls a central reporting station if I need help. I was paying $30. a month for that service. I have cancelled that. Instead if I fall, I can easily call my daughter, neighbor or 911.
I've had my watch since launch. The longer I've had it the more I loved it. Just makes things a little easier. It's hard to explain.
Garry, I have to disagree with you for the first time: I enjoy my watch everyday I use it; apple never claimed this will be a substitute for iPhone, but it is a complementary gadget. I'm used to it and if I don't have it on my hand one day I miss it.. I can say, I love my apple watch and now it's a gadget I needed...
I love my apple watch. I like to read and respond to text.
I look less like an iPhone obsessed junkie in public.
I like apple pay. Don't have to use my wallet or phone.
I like the GPS since I can hold the steering wheel and not the phone.
Thank you for your review. My wife purchased a smartwatch/sports band, and has enough trouble with it, I decided to wait for the Apple Watch. Now I realize I don't need one of those either.
When I heard about this "2 way wrist radio"I thought Dick Tracey here we come. The more I hear the more I think Apple has blown it. I also think that "killer app" is at least being thought of at Apple. I must tell everyone that I didn't by an iPhone until last year. I did buy an iPad right away and I use a Macbook. As always your review is great and right to the point.
I love my Apple Watch. As a fitness junkie, I toyed with the idea of getting a Fitbit or something like that. When the watch was announced, it was a dream come true. I track my calories with Loseit on my phone and see my active calorie burn on the watch. It's a winning combination. I like being able to quickly access crucial notifications and see what is up next on my calendar. The battery life is amazing. The only downside is that the apps load slow. I am sure an update will fix this.
Totally agree with you. I bought one last week and have come to same conclusions. I'm currently waiting for Apple Sales Support to call me back to tell me how to return my watch which I only bought last week and already hate.
Thanks for your honest review! Keep up the great work on MacMost, appreciate all you do.
My first Apple was a Fat Mac 512k and I supported Mac professional for over 20 years..I upgrades my iPhone 5 to an iPhone 6plus to better read the screen... my eyes at 69 are not what they used to be.. I went to an Apple store to check the watch out. For me the the size of the screen does not make it worth the money.. I even had the Apple people agreeing with me... rule of thumb-- define your needs before purchasing
One negative I've experienced that I haven't seen listed in any reviews is the delay in the time readout. When I look at my watch, after activating it, it takes a solid second for the time to come on - for the display to turn on. So essentially my experience is looking at a blank screen and waiting for the time to display. Also, since you have to turn it on with a wrist movement, one can never glance down at their watch when their arm is in a resting position and see the time displayed!