badcrumble
Member
Didn't Jony Ive even design a specific set of dimensions for attractive/friendly display of circular content in those guidelines for iOS 7 app icons?
Apple smartwatch conference - March 9th
- Thread starter mitheor
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still find it silly for round face smart watches. Analog watches I get because clocks are circles... you don't need that limitation for smartwatch right?
besides the new pebble any other smartwatches atm are going for the curved look?
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There's really no limitations for any kind of watch.
Cartier Crash (one of my faves)
Personally I think smartwatches can come in any kind of shape. They're not for reading, they're for notifications.
Apple went with rectangular, and that's fine.
Squirrel Killer
Member
Or maybe in ~5yrs we'll all be laughing about the space wasting skeuomorphism of round smartwatches.
Text being born of long paper/stone tablets isn't really designed for circular mediums. But you could be a little more clever about the interfaces. Android Wear's corner cut notifications look bad even if I do prefer the physical aesthetic of a round watch. What I don't think you can do is easily launch a platform that does both.
LyleLanley
Banned
I do appreciate the complete turn around from both android and Apple fans in regards to how the view skeumorphism.
DOWN
Banned
It got old and rampant man. Tastes change. iOS 7 looked so refreshing.
My dad needed help with his iPhone 3GS, which didn't get iOS7, and OH MAAN. It's just so stale and ugly.
badcrumble
Member
Part of the problem is that amid the trend shift toward flat design, the term 'skeuomorphism' got misused fucking constantly. The iOS 6-era chrome with stuff like Corinthian leather was revolting, sure, but literally anything where you're dragging an "object" around on a screen is skeuomorphism, as is the desktop metaphor on personal computers. Certain skeuomorphic stuff is great (like page-turning in iBooks). It's a design concept that can be really helpful when used correctly.
LyleLanley
Banned
But isn't the idea of using a less efficient circular watch design just so it looks more traditional the kind of skeumorphic design people were giving Apple crap for before ios 7?
The iWatch has analog 'skeumorphic' watch faces too. Indeed all Apple's included analog watch faces are circular**. If you think that a major feature of a smartwatch is fashion, as Apple does, and you offer the option of an ambient always-on watchface, as Android Wear does, then the majority of the time a smartwatch will be spent showing off an analog watchface instead of displaying text to be read. In that case, it makes sense to offer a round option for people for prefer that.
I don't know how many people here have actually owned a smartwatch before but, in my experience, you just won't spend a lot of time reading large amounts of text on it (especially when the watch has to be tethered to a smartphone with a larger, better screen). Even Apple's iWatch UI design guidelines suggest developers optimize for interactions measured in "seconds". Nobody is going to be browsing their photo albums or reading War and Peace on a smartwatch.
**Any idea why Apple doesn't include a square analog watchface? Might it be because they don't want to use the edges of the screen (as mentioned in that New Yorker article) or something else?
the end result is different imho.
a circle is a very pleasing shape to many - i'd call it a case of (slight) "form over function" rather than skeumorphism.
pre-iOS7 apps had leather textures in calendar and contacts app which actually sacrificed visual appeal for a very basic metaphor.
Motorola and LG are making really pretty things that might be ever so slightly functionally inferior. The iPad calendar app had really ugly design elements that didn't benefit its functionality whatsoever.
i still think the current iteration of circular watches is too bulky. And a circular watch that has a similar footprint to the smaller AppleWatch would have an almost unreasonably small screen, i imagine.
i don't think we should be making such bold claims about usage patterns of this product category that's not even in its infancy yet.
I'm not sure that 2007 me would have been able to predict how we'd be using our smartphones nowadays.
also, maybe try not to exaggerate so much.
we're talking about full tweets, maybe.
Where's the point if i get a notification of my girlfriend texting me "hey, your mom called. your father just ..." just to have me take out my phone to read "farted"
look at this shot of the G watch R again.
i think it fails as a notification device in its current iteration of AndroidWear
you know... something I didn't think about after my iphone 6+ hard crashed and rebooted for like the 4th time this week after trying to switch to another app (double hit home button)... I do hope apple at least tries to give a damn about stability for the watch.
Think my pebble crashed maybe once every 3-4 months? Anybody here have any experience with how (not) stable android gear is?
Think my pebble crashed maybe once every 3-4 months? Anybody here have any experience with how (not) stable android gear is?
You must have had a magic Pebble. Mine crashed all the time.
the fact that within the first phase of watchkit it doesn't even run that much code natively on the device but mostly acts as a bluetooth connected screen to your phone apps, i don't think it should have that many stability issues.
mine occasionally misses notifications, but i've rarely seen the 'pebble' boot screen outside of updates, especially after 2.0
*shrug* I've been using smartwatches for ~3-4 yrs. The iWatch isn't that much different. And lol, that LG Watch R notification shows more information than an alert on an iPhone. yet the LG Watch R fails because it's round loli don't think we should be making such bold claims about usage patterns of this product category that's not even in its infancy yet.
I'm not sure that 2007 me would have been able to predict how we'd be using our smartphones nowadays.
also, maybe try not to exaggerate so much.
we're talking about full tweets, maybe.
Where's the point if i get a notification of my girlfriend texting me "hey, your mom called. your father just ..." just to have me take out my phone to read "farted"
look at this shot of the G watch R again.
/cdn0.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/2417836/DSC08920.0.jpg)
i think it fails as a notification device in its current iteration of AndroidWear
Someone needs a nap...
Do you not have ANY common sense? They excluded a keyboard because our fingers are too fat to reliably tap 2mm buttons, not because they think text doesn't belong on your wrist.
It's not so much the "look," but rather the feel of how it conforms to the shape of your wrist. But the last time I checked, my wrist in a relaxed state is actually concave, not convex.besides the new pebble any other smartwatches atm are going for the curved look?
an alert on the iPhone means i already have the iPhone in my hand. An alert on my watch should be the middle ground between information overload and requiring me to take out my phone anyways.
Also, I don't think there was anything particularly funny about me saying the watch fails as at properly serving its purpose, especially given it's rather big screen, so ending your posts with "lol" makes you sound condescending and doesn't add anything to the conversation, just letting you know.
Someone needs a nap...
Do you not have ANY common sense? They excluded a keyboard because our fingers are too fat to reliably tap 2mm buttons, not because they think text doesn't belong on your wrist.
It's not so much the "look," but rather the feel of how it conforms to the shape of your wrist. But the last time I checked, my wrist in a relaxed state is actually concave, not convex.
Except Microsoft just added a keyboard to its band and evidently it works really well. Shrug.
I prefer my mechanical watches to be small and round (my largest watch is 40mm), but if I'm dealing with a smart watch that has lines of text, then something rectangular would be preferred. The round smart watches you cited are all pretty big, and that's probably necessary to alleviate the defiencies with displaying lines of text on round faces. I'd like to see a round smart watch with a case size under 40mm and see how that fares, in terms of text fitting and spacing. Until then, I'd probably make the tradeoff for something rectangular so it can display more information on a smaller display.Hey, it's possible to use a triangle screen if you scroll text like the Star Wars intro. But seriously people are already using the Moto360, LG Watch R. Reading text on it is not as bad as some claim and, if you prefer the round, the tradeoff is well worth it despite some cutoff corners.
*urgh* looks like Apple is trying to put a smartphone on a wristSomeone needs a nap...
Fair enough, I would probably make the same tradeoff. My point is that its not the only choice and some people prefer differently.
jts
...hate me...
Where you getting at? The photos are probably zoomed in by default. Not that the watch is a prime device to see photos anyway. Just like on the iPod nano, the feature is just there because.I'm more intrigued about the OS than the hardware at this point. It seems very pretty and thought through.
One thing though...
I know they like to fill up content to match the screen, but photos are not taken with that aspect ratio.
DOWN
Banned
You zoom out. iPad and iPhone zoom lots of things by default if they aren't the same ratio as the screen and you just zoom out if you need the full different ratio in sight.
No, if the september video is still to be believed, all photos are in that AR maximum zoomed out.
SuperPac
Member
Greyface only refers to products under their codename or rumored names. Project Dolphin, Katana, Dural, Durango, Project Natal, etc.
Do you not like me having the option to read texts/emails/directions, or is it just the interface?
jts
...hate me...
But I said zoomed in. Should work like PANTHEON is saying, but in any case I fully expect for it to display a Watch optimized version of your photos, for the sake of saving precious bandwidth and memory. edit: involving mainly a massive resolution reduction and I wouldn't be shocked with a mild crop as well - although I doubt it. How would that even work with, say, landscape oriented photos. Don't take an early video at face value.
Love this. It really is like wishing your smartphone looked like a rotary phone, because "That's what phones look like."
Nothing1016
Member
I've been waiting for a release date! Now I can finally leave my phone on silent forever.
Liu Kang Baking A Pie
Member
Yeah people are really overlooking how nice it'll be to know for sure that your device actually vibrated and easily see what just made it happen.
DOWN
Banned
Didn't think about that. Pretty cool to never pull your phone out for calls you wanted to skip.
Agree with the first part about the physical contact with the watch and always knowing when it vibes... but easily see? not so much for me and most over-40's. And that means you too, when you're over 40~45yo. Why? Presbyopia, i.e. age-related inability to focus on near objects. I can see my regular old analog watch now just fine to tell the time, which is why I wear it. But to read fine print on a smartwatch I'd have to hold it at least 20-24 inches from my eyes, and then the print will likely be too fine to see anyway. So, I'd have to get out the reading glasses just to read my watch, which is a bigger PITA than zooming the screen on my phone.
Ok, this just made me want this watch...
SuperPac
Member
Or - Phone rings while you're in the shower with the watch on, if what Tim Cook was saying recently is true you'll be able to see who's calling or texting. Or, if you're like me and listen to music or podcasts via the phone or Bluetooth speakers during your morning routine, skip/tracks from there.
jts
...hate me...
Fuck me I just turned truly excited for this.
Gimme that black sports one, just dunno if the bigger or the smaller.
I don't care how much of a 1st gen Apple product this will be. It will still hold a nice resale value if I want to upgrade 1 year later.
1 year is a hella lot of time folks.
Lot of time get it.
Gimme that black sports one, just dunno if the bigger or the smaller.
I don't care how much of a 1st gen Apple product this will be. It will still hold a nice resale value if I want to upgrade 1 year later.
1 year is a hella lot of time folks.
Lot of time get it.
i don't think "1st gen Apple product" matters on the watch as much as it matters on your other iDevices.
Since the watch is, per design, mostly limited to acting as a screen extension of compatible phone apps.
So other than next year's model having GPS built in (which i doubt), i don't see how there could be many improvements that would make you regret being an early adopter. It certainly shouldn't be a iPhone -> iPhone 3G -> iPhone 3GS or iPad -> iPad 2 -> iPad retina difference.
it's lifespan should be more compareable to the AppleTV, another 'companion device'.
the computational tasks happen on your phone, so as long as the gen 1 watch delivers a lag free, crisp UI, i think it should serve its duty for several generations.
this is just me stating my hopes here, btw. - since i'm upgrading my iPhone on a 2 year cycle and my iPad maybe every 3rd generation, i don't particularly desire for there to be another device that i'd feel like needing to replace every other year.
Then again, it's (supposedly) half the price of an iPhone, so it's pretty much an impulse buy during times of "gadget draught"
jts
...hate me...
The improvements I'm expecting/hoping the most for future gens are in the battery department, it would be nice to have some sort of advancement that would allow for sleep tracking.
Incidentally, sleep tracking is what I think the Apple Watch will be missing the most for me, coming from a Jawbone UP24.
Mr. Wonderful
Member
Personally, I can't stand wearing jewelry, watches, etc., so for me to get on board with an Apple Watch, I need it to be as thin and light as possible, and that's not going to be the case with gen 1.
enanogrande
Member
Not sure I agree with this. I expect the endgame for the watch is to become a completely independent device, one that can be used standalone or in conjunction with the phone. The first gen is obviously not that device, but theres a lot of room for improvement.
Even if it never evolves to being a full-fledged standalone, things like more onboard storage or more computational power are things that I expect to be upgraded year over year that will reduce the watch's reliance on the phone.
You're right though, this is the least '1st-Gen' feeling Apple product they've ever launched.
How can you say that about something that hasn't launched? It seems pretty first gen in how limited its going to be,design and battery life.
infiniteloop
Member
already has sleep tracking, no?
apple haven't mentioned it specifically, but in the keynote there's an app with "Zzz" on it. Could just be a placeholder...
edit:
Can't find a pic of it, but macrumors forum has a list of all the apps that appear in the keynote:
http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1777977
B3 is the icon i'm referring to.
jts
...hate me...
I don't believe so. I think you're supposed to charge your watch every night, and maybe because of that sleep tracking isn't a feature... yet.
enanogrande
Member
Because of what they've shown so far, and the history of other Apple product launches. Apple normally likes to launch 'simple' products that do the basics right and then slowly grow them from there generation after generation. Compare, for example, the features of the first gen iPhone to the Watch. An iPhone today is infinitely more functional than one in 2007, but I don't think we'll be saying the same about the watch - you can already do so many things with it that there's not much room to grow (remember, Apple has already said a full-fledged SDK is coming out later this year.)
Obviously the hardware side of things is very first-gen of course, which is what I think you were getting at with your comment, but the OS side seems anything but from a functionality standpoint (we'll see about the stability)
infiniteloop
Member
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