First impressions of the Apple Watch | Hacker News Reader

First impressions of the Apple Watch

bilue.com.au

21 pointswhalec12 comments

The previous article on that site is essentially an announcement that they (they're a consulting company, I gather) have developed a big, early Apple Watch app: http://bilue.com.au/helping-woolworths-innovate-on-the-apple...

Yeah, we're a consultancy based in Sydney. Woolworths is a big supermarket chain down here in Oz and we've done an Apple Watch app for them.

I do remember seeing the Woolworths logo in the background of the keynote and checking that it really was the Woolworths Australia logo. Seems Wesfarmers missed a trick - congrats on landing that gig! :)

If you're not still under NDA, are you able to say if that means the app was developed without access to Watch hardware? (I assume that's the case from the first impressions of Apple Watch post.)

For me the review stopped being relevant when the author mentions being a Pebble watch owner. Ie I don't personally relate to people who already own a smart watch (to me a pebble watch is geekery for the sake of geekery).

I'm more curious about the impressions of someone who has no smartwatch and doesn't think they need one but are happy to give it a whirl and see how useful they find it after a week.

> I don't personally relate to people who already own a smart watch (to me a pebble watch is geekery for the sake of geekery).

I'd argue Pebble (specifically, the Pebble Steel) is the opposite of your impression.

It's life altering (lets you leave other electronics in your pocket or bag and manage notifications w/o geeky hard interruptions). It's practical (week+ long battery so you can wear it 24/7). It's not particularly more expensive than other digital watches with brushed stainless steel cases and leather bands. It is not recognized on the street as a "smart watch".

Fair enough.

What I meant is that Pebble is probably bought by early adopters. Ie people who want to have a smart watch.

I'm more looking for experience of those who don't feel like they need one but tried it nonetheless.

I think the biggest issue with the Apple Watch is clearly the battery. Recharging my watch everyday seems problematic. Especially when keeping in mind that the "17 hours" will probably melt down and soon become barely enough to last the whole day.

You probably charge your phone everyday though, and I know my dad never sleeps with his watch on his wrist and isn't the only one with this habbit. So why couldn't you charge your watch every night ? Also, charging your apple watch is probably going to be wireless in the coming years, so it'll be as easy as setting it on your night stand before going to bed.

As for the battery, I have no idea how the hardware is set up, but it's the same for many many watches? Don't you have to change the battery every (few) year(s)? I'm obviously not talking about the fancy Rolex style mechanisms that power the watch using your wrist's kinetic energy

I think a lot of it depends on how accustomed you are to wearing a "traditional" watch but still, I've had a similar experience with my smart watch (Moto 360).

Compared to the watches I stopped wearing probably 5-10 years ago, sure, the battery is terrible but as I mentioned, I had gotten out of the habit of wearing watches so this is more like using a phone. It comes with a little wireless charging cradle that sits on my nightstand right next to my cell charger. When I go to bed I take it off and put it on the cradle.

Otherwise, it just lasts me all day with no issues and has been a very neat bit of gadgetry. Nothing life-altering by any means but I got it on sale for $175 and found that to be acceptable for a watch that allows me to view notifications at a glance or occasionally toss off a voice command while driving. Even little things like mirroring turn-by-turn navigation directions are great when on a bike or motorcycle and you don't want to pull out your phone or mount it on the handlebars.

And the biggest (and possibly guiltiest) pleasure: I can make the face look like whatever I want. Loads of great designs out there for apps like Watchmaker and Facer allow you to download free faces from the creative community or make your own with some quick presets or some more ambitious Photoshop. I'm hoping Apple eventually adds this in later software revisions the way iOS eventually allowed you to change your wallpaper and ringtones.

I think the whole smart watch thing will be a minor hit for a while as the various models offer some level of gadgetry, a bit of gimmick, and a decent amount of usefulness at anywhere from $150 to $500+ depending on the maker. And in a way, I think that the non-essential nature of them makes the battery thing less of a problem. You charge it overnight (and in the case of my watch, you can recharge from empty in an hour or two if you plan on staying out late) and in the odd event that you forget your cradle while out of town, you still have your phone for all of the really useful and important stuff.

There's a definite fear this time around to pan the Apple watch given how so many such predictions have been proven wrong in the past.

But reading between the lines , you can sense that many reviewers feel that it's a dud.

I never got that sense at all from reading the reviews. It seemed to me that most felt that it was a good product with some serious deficiencies e.g. the loading time for apps.

Now that it's in stores to try out (they have units on the table you can use the UI on in addition to the try on appointments) people should just go check it out for themselves.

I got the same sense from reading reviews, most seemed negative on it, like it was unfinished and not ready for primetime (wait till version 2 or 3 most would say).

I can tell you after going into the store and trying it out I left thinking it was a great product. The fit and finish is top notch and the UI is smooth and responsive. I couldn't test watch kit apps out so that might be an issue, but that'll be resolved once Apple releases a separate SDK for running on the watch which they said they would do later this year.

I'd say if you were previously worried by the reviews go check it out in person and you might be surprised.

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