D
Deleted member 22576
Unconfirmed Member
Glad to see hands on are out! Gruber seems pretty unimpressed, gonna read j.tops when I get home.
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Apple Watch |OT| Apple invents the watch!
- Thread starter SuperPac
- Start date
Yes, they're on the store.
Ya..... Lame. The only thing about this that annoys me. Also the only area where I will remain pessimistic in assuming they just want to push the higher reported sale price for earnings. The black body only carries a $100 premium but looks gorgeous and has the extra oxide process. But then yeah they force the $450 link bracelet with it...grr...Why the hell can't I buy the black Steel watch without the 500$ bracelet
LyleLanley
Banned
On the plus side the black steel version will probably keep its value the best when you eventually want to sell it.
A recent review stated that the battery level typically hovered around 30% by the end of the day. I imagine that if you keep use to a minimum (checking time, glancing at notifications, no twitter browsing), and set it to power reserve mode at the terminal and on the plane, it should have more than 50% battery left by the end of the day.
The absolute worst thing that can happen is you have to start pulling your phone out close to bedtime, and you don't get to demo the Watch to that person you're meeting up with at the bar.
Joanna Stern mentions it in her review. She was using the 38mm.
And why can’t the watch’s battery make it past 10 p.m. on days that I exercise?
I don't think it will be a problem for many people, but considering Apple is pushing the exercise tracking pretty heavily it could leave some disappointed.
K, fair enough.
Chittagong
Gold Member
Phew then. White sports band steel watch day one, better straps backorder
Seems to me that it would be logical to add 'watch' to the list of notification options alongside badge, banner etc.
My LG watch R will do two days with ambient mode on (I have it on minimum brightness in ambient mode but that's fine).
For me, a full day wih the screen on would be a minimum requirement. John Gruber's comments about how he uses his normal watches mirrors mine - I am often glancing at it while not moving my wrist and certainly without raising it in a conscious 'look at my watch' movement. I'm sure that is a common use by most people, even if they don't think they do it.
I doubt that
LyleLanley
Banned
Given that it's only available in the $1099 package I think the watch portion of it will be the most expensive model once these things eventually get re-sold.
I'd actually flip the battery argument. The question perhaps is not whether it's good enough but why isn't it getting a week like Pebble? The answer of course has mostly to do with the OLED screen but what I haven't seen is any justification for it. Telling time? Notifications? Emoji? Those don't seem require it. In fact they make a point that you just glance at it and when you aren't able to glance the experience is poor, but the glancability is impacted by the screen turning off to save battery. I think this the crux of the bad smart-watch problems, these companies have lots of experience with LCD tech but a watch, much like an eReader, doesn't get much benefit out of it.
It's clearly an aesthetic choice. E-ink doesn't have the same DPI or refresh rate as LCD\OLED and the new color screen Pebble Time uses has a much lower number of colors.
TBH I'm rather surprised that only Pebble has taken advantage of this display tech, but I understand why the other players have chosen to go in a different direction.
Dreamwriter
Member
You are seriously saying why isn't it very-best-in-class for battery life like the Pebble, with all the compromises they would have had to make? Like the gigantic bezel around a smaller, lower-resolution screen, non-vibrant colors (except maybe in direct sunlight), low refresh rate. And color e-ink is still bleeding edge, very few devices at all use it, so it's possible it would have been a lot of work to mass produce it in Apple numbers. Also I'm sure the touchscreen, sensors, and speaker use up more battery life (Pebble has none of these)
RedNumberFive
Banned
Why the hell can't I buy the black Steel watch without the 500$ bracelet
For the same reason I can't buy a silver aluminum sport model with a black band. Their retail combinations are devious.
The highest priced models are the hardest Apple products to sell, especially when outdated. The people who buy used old generation Apple products are typically looking for the cheapest and/or best deal available. Even at a discount the black stainless steel would probably still be out of their budget (the people who could easily afford a used one would also be able to afford a new one and would rather just get the latest model) so you have to make it a real bargain to attract buyers...
Apple's price gouging rarely carries over to the aftermarket. On eBay, a 64GB iPhone does not sell for $200 more than a 16GB iPhone. An iPad with a cellular modem does not sell for $130 more than a Wifi-only model.
Most people looking to buy the stainless steel black model won't give two shits about the fact that it comes with a mega-expensive link bracelet, because by that point the market is going to be saturated with link bracelets that are way cheaper.
LyleLanley
Banned
I'm not saying that people will care about the link bracelet, just that to get a black steel Apple Watch you'll need to buy the $1099 package which I assume means there will be fewer of those available once these things start going on eBay.
Pops Maellard
Member
The Pebble's display looks atrocious, and for people that don't wear their watch while they sleep the trade off isn't worth it. The only reason Pebble adopted the tech is because they have inexplicably decided that not having to charge their watch as much is somehow cooler than having a beautiful screen to look at.
FWIW I've been wearing watches since high school and I never leave them on while I sleep. That sounds so uncomfortable. I want as few things on my body as possible at night.
I found Gruber's review to be the most enlightening to me, since he mentioned the trade offs for regular watch wearers.
I found Gruber's review to be the most enlightening to me, since he mentioned the trade offs for regular watch wearers.
Marty Chinn
Member
My watch charges by solar power and I pretty rarely take it off; like my wedding ring, I don't even really notice it so it's not uncomfortable at all. So going to something where I have to take it off every night to charge is a significant change for me.
I am going to follow her on twitter after that. LMAO @ the wedding dress part
Frank Serpico
Banned
Are these are already at Apple Stores to be demoed?
LyleLanley
Banned
They will be on Friday.
BlastProcessing
Member
I think the back of the watch totally looks better than the front of the other guys.
Also the Watch got 2 events and plenty of attention at each. It also has had an unprecedentedly long pre launch ad push. I would argue that they have overhyped the thing if anything.
This is the deal breaker for me. I don't want to be lifting my arm up like an idiot every time I want to quickly glance at the time. It may be a little thing, but if this is a watch first, it needs to act just like a watch does, for me anyway. If this watch was always on like my Pebble is, I probably would be buying one.
How often are you wanting to look at your wrist to justify the beautiful screen? That's why you have a phone. The pebble display is more than adequate.
Adequate is pretty low bar for you. Retina displays are a minimum for me.
That's totally fine, but your priorities in a smart watch in my opinion are in the wrong place if screen resolution is that high on your qualifications.
And I think your priorities are wrong!
People wear watches as jewelry and fashion. The Pebble screen is like having a fuckin' Game Boy strapped to your wrist.
The pebble display is retina* too
*at normal watch/wrist viewing distance; don't need to raise your arm up close for a Pebble ;P
Technosteve
Banned
i am going to buy one for work, i can't feel my phone's vibrations and I only want to use it for exercise and calender notifications
Eh, I raise my wrist about a foot from my eyes all the time.
A fictional, melodramatic ADHD day with the Apple Watch.
Huh? How are you going to look at the watch if you don't move your arm to look at it?
This sounds like Wii all over again with "if I have to play games while waving my arms all over I am going to get tired".
You look at your watch, it shows you the time. Who cares if the screen is off when you are not looking at it? You don't have to do interpretive dance to make the display show.
Her profile picture and timeline picture are hysterical. She has some great tweets and is a seriously underrated tech writer, imo.
Dreamwriter
Member
Here's why screen resolution, size, and refresh rate are high up on my qualifications:
Now imagine that on a Pebble Time:
Even a simple text-based app like that would be much easier on the eyes and faster to read on the high resolution OLED screen (and the scrolling schedule list much faster/smoother to move through with a high speed refresh rate).
Main problem is that it is a worse watch than a regular one, aside from accuracy. Moving your arm won't always activate the screen, and when it does there will always be a slight lag, which will get particularly annoying if you're in a situation where you need to constantly check it. Also, if you're using it to time something for more than 6 seconds then it'll be a lot more inconvenient since the screen will turn off and you need to navigate to the stopwatch. There's also the fashionable aspect of the watchface itself. So I can understand why some people would want an always on smartwatch.
SuperPac
Member
OP updated with blurbs from the reviews and the new videos that landed today.
BTW Apple launched a new Siri web page highlighting all the things you can do with it. Maybe not completely relevant to the Watch but as someone who never used Siri for much before I found it helpful.
BTW Apple launched a new Siri web page highlighting all the things you can do with it. Maybe not completely relevant to the Watch but as someone who never used Siri for much before I found it helpful.
Not everyone acts like that WSJ goof that isn't Joanna Stern. I find myself sitting in class with my arms folded or working through an assignment glancing down at my wrist without moving it more often than I dramatically raise it to my face.
Obviously a small flick of the wrist would ideally turn the screen on but I've found that I use casual "glances" without really moving my wrist quite a bit with my watch.
I went in to the Genius Bar at the Apple store for Macbook service and as I was talking to the service guy I noticed him look down and read his watch. He had an Apple watch on.
It was like someone pulling out and using their phone in the middle of a conversation.
My feeling towards wearable technology has changed.
I understand he was working and maybe it was a work related update, but is this going to be the norm from now on?
If you can get your Twitter feed, emails and texts on your wrist, when WON'T you be looking at it?
(In a few years from now I will probably look back at this post and wonder how I even functioned without a smartwatch.)
It was like someone pulling out and using their phone in the middle of a conversation.
My feeling towards wearable technology has changed.
I understand he was working and maybe it was a work related update, but is this going to be the norm from now on?
If you can get your Twitter feed, emails and texts on your wrist, when WON'T you be looking at it?
(In a few years from now I will probably look back at this post and wonder how I even functioned without a smartwatch.)
Fixed that for you.
JonathanNemo
Member
OOOH I USED TO WORK THERE.
I REMEMBER THAT RESTAURANT.
I REMEMBER THOSE RANDOM FAMOUS PEOPLE.
THIS IS THE BEST VIDEO EVER.
Watch looks alright, curious as to who really ends up digging it.
SuperPac
Member
I feel like the Verge and Bloomberg reviews brought this up a lot too in the context of "THING IS TAPPING ME I HAVE TO LOOK AT IT NOW NOW NOW. OH IT IS JUST AN INSTAGRAM LIKE. WE CAN RETURN TO MEETING."
I understand the lure/desire but if it's just a tap on the wrist type nudge (the strength is configurable) why do you have to look at it immediately at all? It's different if the notifications are set to only be important apps/people/things but it doesn't seem like many reviewers did any of that filtering.
Most do. Smartwatches are still very much a niche and the need for a device to tell time in a world of ubiquitous clocks and computers and smartphones is very small - most people buy watches for the aesthetic, design, or craftsmanship.
And I'd also argue most people do not want to wear something visible on their body at all times that they think is ugly. The Pebble is an absolutely utilitarian design.