How many are getting an Apple watch?

[rudeguy]

I'm convinced it is a better experience than pulling a phone out, but I'm not convinced it's $350+ for the convenience...less the inconvenience of having to charge daily. But that's not an iWatch unique constraint, that's any major branded wearable up to this point.

The charging really shouldn't be a big deal. Looks like it charges to 80% in 30 minutes which is very similar to the Gear Live I use. I forgot to charge my watch last night so I brought the charging cradle into work. By the time I got done checking emails and making coffee, I had enough power to easily get through the day. Most of the time I just charge it at night along with my phone.

I love having my notifications on my wrist. Its so much easier than digging my phone out of my pocket, unlocking the screen and then pulling down the notification bar. Instead I just glance at my wrist and I know if its something important or not. Also sending texts by voice is HUGE. I can send a text while driving, safely. I'm assuming Apple will have that as well.

The big downside for the Apple Watch is price. $350 for the base model? Most people won't even pay that for a phone. And the price goes up from there?

I'm really sad that Apple went the iPad route on this.

 

[Ravynmagi]

The charging really shouldn't be a big deal. Looks like it charges to 80% in 30 minutes which is very similar to the Gear Live I use. I forgot to charge my watch last night so I brought the charging cradle into work. By the time I got done checking emails and making coffee, I had enough power to easily get through the day. Most of the time I just charge it at night along with my phone.

I love having my notifications on my wrist. Its so much easier than digging my phone out of my pocket, unlocking the screen and then pulling down the notification bar. Instead I just glance at my wrist and I know if its something important or not. Also sending texts by voice is HUGE. I can send a text while driving, safely. I'm assuming Apple will have that as well.

The big downside for the Apple Watch is price. $350 for the base model? Most people won't even pay that for a phone. And the price goes up from there?

I'm really sad that Apple went the iPad route on this.

With my iPhone, I pull it out of my pocket and tap the home button and see any new notifications on the lock screen. It's pretty easy and pretty easy to read on the big 5.5 inch screen. And if I need to reply or act on a notification the phone is already in my hand.

Voice dictation has been around a while. It's never worked too great and I feel uncomfortable using it in public anyway, so it's a feature I almost never use. I'll need the phone to type messages.

 

[vi edit]

I don't buy the arguments that fumbling with a watch is any less distracting/disrespectful than using a phone. That's one thing I love about recent Moto Devices. Active display. If I'm sitting at a table during a meeting and I get a text or email, I just tap my finger on the screen and get a preview. Same with checking the time or notifications. Pull the phone out of my pocket and the display wakes up automatically and tells me the time and what notifications I have. I can quickly tap for a preview without hitting a button.

Charging wise it's one more thing to remember and forget when traveling. It's one more thing to plug in at night. Dictation wise, I can do that with my phone already. Healthwise a fitbit is a fraction of the price, is good for days on end, and I can wear it bed for tracking sleep patterns.

I'm just...meh...to wearables.

 

[HN]

Voice dictation has been around a while. It's never worked too great and I feel uncomfortable using it in public anyway, so it's a feature I almost never use. I'll need the phone to type messages.

have you used dictation recently? no joke, that shit is like magic, at least since late iOS7 or early iOS8.

but i've never used voice dictation in public so i'm pretty sure i will never ever talk to my watch or hold a conversation on it in public, either

 

[rudeguy]

have you used dictation recently? no joke, that shit is like magic, at least since late iOS7 or early iOS8.

but i've never used voice dictation in public so i'm pretty sure i will never ever talk to my watch or hold a conversation on it in public, either

Yep. Its not like the old days.

I seriously never type out texts any more and spelling is never a problem. I even use it for short email replies. I still get amazed by the accuracy of it. I even tested it out in noisy (not populated since I'm not a jerk) environments and it has worked great. It even handles addresses well. Just wake the watch by lifting up my wrist and say "navigate to blah blah blah" and it does it.

I still feel like I'm in Star Trek whenever I use the thing.


Oh...and there is a Pip Boy watch face too. So there's that.

 

[vi edit]

I love the handsfree version of google now.

I can train it to respond to different commands. So my phone can be sitting on the desk and I can say "Yo Jarvis, what's the weather today?" And then it will read me back the weather without even touching the phone. That's pretty sweet.

It's the same thing with text messages. I can have it read me and respond to text messages hands free. Phones are getting easier to use too.

 

[rudeguy]

I love the handsfree version of google now.

I can train it to respond to different commands. So my phone can be sitting on the desk and I can say "Yo Jarvis, what's the weather today?" And then it will read me back the weather without even touching the phone. That's pretty sweet.

It's the same thing with text messages. I can have it read me and respond to text messages hands free. Phones are getting easier to use too.

Jarvis?

Really?


OK Tony.

 

[bunnyfubbles]

for the vast majority of people out there, watches no longer serve a functional purpose and instead function almost exclusively as jewelry

and considering smartwear is effectively obsolete in just a few years, it makes pretty lousy jewelry

 

[podspi]

Don't own an iPhone and don't plan to any time soon so, no iWatch either.

That being said, the poor battery life and styling also nix it for me. I'll wait for the inevitable semi-reasonable (if not 100% fluid animation) color e-paper models. The new Pebble is pretty close but I would still like a touch screen of some sort.


Realistically my next wearable is an UP3 if it ever comes out. I am a big fan of mechanical watches so the whole smartwatch thing is a cool idea but I probably won't partake. Eventually when they get smartglasses going I will be there in a heartbeat (once they become less... looking like you are a cyborg-like, and have proper prescriptions).

 

[mmntech]

Actually even for the original iPad some of us felt it would be successful, albeit not as quickly adopted as it was. I did think the original iPad's hardware was inadequate, and that proved to be true. I bought the iPad 2, which had much, much better specs.

In contrast, I just can't see why I'd want to get an Apple Watch. The previews are totally uninteresting.

I do remember having mixed opinions on the iPad when it first came out. "Giant iPod Touch" was thrown around a lot on here here. Some of it by me. Then I got one and loved it, despite its shortcomings. I remember thinking that "this is the future".

I don't really understand wearable tech. I've never looked at my watch and thought "damn, wouldn't it be great if I could get texts on this thing". It's sort of a solution to a problem that doesn't exist IMO. Though I said the same thing about the iPad. So maybe I'd have to try it out for it to click. Just not at the price they want for it.

$150 seems like a fair price to me for the basic band. Same price as the 6th gen iPod Nano, the original Apple watch.

I also don't plan on getting another iPhone and I don't think my current 4S is compatible with it anyway.

 

[dullard]

I love the handsfree version of google now.

I can train it to respond to different commands. So my phone can be sitting on the desk and I can say "Yo Jarvis, what's the weather today?" And then it will read me back the weather without even touching the phone. That's pretty sweet.

I use it a lot on my Droid Turbo, especially the "remind me" feature. The problem that I get is that it consistantly changes speach like "remind me to come home tonight at 8 pm" to "remind me to c** home tonight at 8 pm". Yes, google now chooses a dirty word needlessly and then censores itself at the same time.

 

[dullard]

I don't buy the arguments that fumbling with a watch is any less distracting/disrespectful than using a phone. That's one thing I love about recent Moto Devices. Active display. If I'm sitting at a table during a meeting and I get a text or email, I just tap my finger on the screen and get a preview. Same with checking the time or notifications. Pull the phone out of my pocket and the display wakes up automatically and tells me the time and what notifications I have. I can quickly tap for a preview without hitting a button.

There is no fumbling with a watch. The watch is always there and can be set to be on the screen you need. Worst case scenario is that you ahve to pull back a coat that is a bit too long for your arms.

There are so many situations where it isn't possible or practical to bring a phone out of your pocket/purse. Would you set your phone down in a crowded crime-ridden bus/subway stop? Would you do it while driving (if you can even manage get your phone out of your pocket while driving)? What about while carrying several tools and a 2"x4" (or similar situations when you actually are physically working)? What about in a marathon meeting with the company CEO, are you one of those people who put your phone on the table before the meeting starts to constantly tap it? What about when you are holding your 6 month old and your 3 year old insists that he needs to be held too, is that when you pull out your phone?

 

[vi edit]

In my car, I've got BT integration that reads my messages to me or gives me an announcement on a screen of whos calling. Plus my phone sits in a cupholder. Watch not needed.

If I'm in a crowded place my hand is usually in my pocket cradling my phone. Or my phone is zipped up in a coat pocket in the winter.

If I'm in an important meeting I'm not even taking my phone unless I'm on call. If it's a one on one meeting it doesn't matter if I'm looking at a phone or a watch, it's still rude.

As far as working with tools and what not...if I'm doing any major projects I sync my phone to a Jawbone speaker.

I'm a bit low tech of a IT guy though. Unless I'm on call (which is every three weeks) I don't feel a need to constantly have access and feedback from notifications. I can put a phone away for a bit or continue on with my life if it takes more than a few seconds to acknowledge I received some sort of digital message.

I've lived this long without it, I can continue living on a few more that way

 

[touchstone]

you know as low as the popularity is on this site, i already know 3 out of my closest 12 family members will get one. they are all women so take that for what its worth.



i think it will be popular but they need to allow people with android phones. not everybody wants to use ios

 

[Muadib]

It only works with iPhones, so I'll have to stay with my Gear S.

 

[WelshBloke]

There is no fumbling with a watch.

So no 'digital crown', 'force tapping', pinching or swiping then?

 

[Bradtech519]

I don't currently own a smart watch, and have an iphone 5s. I'm more interested in just the fitness tracking aspects that the lower end fitness bands have. What kills the watch for me is that it isn't waterproof like the sony smartwatch. I have a lifeproof nuud case for my iphone 5s because I do a lot of fishing, and get wet during the process. If I spend 249-349 on a smart watch I'd want for it to be waterproof also since it will be monitoring fitness tracking.

 

[stlc8tr]

In my car, I've got BT integration that reads my messages to me or gives me an announcement on a screen of whos calling. Plus my phone sits in a cupholder. Watch not needed.

If I'm in a crowded place my hand is usually in my pocket cradling my phone. Or my phone is zipped up in a coat pocket in the winter.

If I'm in an important meeting I'm not even taking my phone unless I'm on call. If it's a one on one meeting it doesn't matter if I'm looking at a phone or a watch, it's still rude.

As far as working with tools and what not...if I'm doing any major projects I sync my phone to a Jawbone speaker.

I'm a bit low tech of a IT guy though. Unless I'm on call (which is every three weeks) I don't feel a need to constantly have access and feedback from notifications. I can put a phone away for a bit or continue on with my life if it takes more than a few seconds to acknowledge I received some sort of digital message.

I've lived this long without it, I can continue living on a few more that way

In other words, since you don't have a use for it, you can't possibly see how anyone else could have use for wearable tech.

 

[WelshBloke]

In other words, since you don't have a use for it, you can't possibly see how anyone else could have use for wearable tech.

There aren't really that many good uses for a crappy little low res screen with questionable battery life strapped to your wrist when it isn't waterproof.

 

[rudeguy]

There aren't really that many good uses for a crappy little low res screen with questionable battery life strapped to your wrist when it isn't waterproof.

Now you know how we feel about kettles.

 

[WelshBloke]

Now you know how we feel about kettles.

The watch can make tea?

:hmm: Now that is smart.

I may have to change my opinion of it.

But kettles have one job to do. And they do it better than anything else. Don't dis da kettle mon.

 

[vi edit]

In other words, since you don't have a use for it, you can't possibly see how anyone else could have use for wearable tech.

Quite the opposite. I certainly can see some uses. But I don't see the uses worth the $350+ cost of entry, the need to have another device stuck on me, another battery to charge daily, and just another gadget to fidget with and worry about and be obsolete in a year or two.

That's my hangup.

 

[sgrinavi]

Nothing against apple, but I don't wear watches - I was an early adopter for pebble and sold it after wearing it for a day.

 

[deputc26]

Thought it would be interesting to compare this thread to the original iPad thread: http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2045650&highlight=ipad

I was unsure but generally pessimistic about the original iPad, now I carry an iPad 3 with me most places.

I'm more pessimistic about the Apple Watch, I just don't see a use for it unless I develop some medical condition in the future that it helps me monitor.

 

[poofyhairguy]

Quite the opposite. I certainly can see some uses. But I don't see the uses worth the $350+ cost of entry, the need to have another device stuck on me, another battery to charge daily, and just another gadget to fidget with and worry about and be obsolete in a year or two.

That's my hangup.

Yeah $350 and guaranteed Gen 1 obsoleteness would keep me from considering or recommending the thing. Just the fact that the form factor (square screen) already looks dated concerns me.

With that said, just because the gen 1 Apple Watch isn't worth buying doesn't make the segment not worth owning. I feel a lot of people talking themselves out of wearables today will wonder how they lived without them in a few years. As others said it's tablets part 2. For Android users just Wear Mini Launcher turns your average Wear device into the phone control you never knew you needed but you do. Turning on tethering from my watch, or using my watch to "ping" my lost phone, is alone worth the price of entry. But Wear starts at $200 or less. That is a huge difference of price.

I hope the fashion aspect of it will allow the device to succeed long enough to get that awesome gen 2 model quickly. Apple is good at that.