
Apple Watch Review: You’ll Want One, but You Don’t Need One - yawz
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2015-04-08/apple-watch-review-you-ll-want-one-but-you-don-t-need-one
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meesterdude
I think the demand is enough that it doesn't really matter how useful this is.
people want it and will pay for it. It's very much a fashion piece, and priced
as such. And really, nothing wrong with that.

I have a phone, internet, camera, GPS, and music player on one device. That's
a pretty big deal! What the watch adds is not nearly as exciting to me, in
that light.

Also, I don't like that it more or less needs an iPhone. While I don't see
myself buying an android anytime soon, I can only eyeroll at yet another apple
lock-in. That is probably what stops me from buying the apple watch more than
anything.

~~~
StavrosK
On the flip side, it doesn't need to be upgraded every six months, because
it's pretty much a dumb display for an iPhone.

~~~
unprepare
I would be surprised if most people followed this line of thinking.

People rush to the door to buy the newest model of iphone, why would the same
not be true for the watch?

Surely the next generation will offer improved battery life, improved design,
improved feature set, refinements, and knowing apple may even have an entirely
incompatible set of straps.

Especially given that the watch is cheaper than a new iphone, i expect that we
will see even more people upgrading from version to version.

~~~
aetherson
Because phones are actually useful. They aren't just fashion pieces. They may
ALSO be fashion pieces, but they aren't JUST fashion pieces.

People are willing to repeatedly pay for the latest model of something that
they use constantly throughout the day as one of their chief tools for
mediating the world. If (and that is a meaningful "if") it is indeed true that
the aWatch is fundamentally a status symbol that has little functional value,
we would expect many fewer people to rush to upgrade it.

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lnlyplnt
On an unrelated note, what does everybody think about the design language
Topolsky brought to Bloomberg? I'm torn, on the one hand it's "trendy" on the
other hand, it looks like a 70's acid trip and not in a good way.

~~~
what_ever
This is the first time I saw this redesign and it's awful. The article title
is so hard on the eyes and so is the border.

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brk
I'm really torn on these smart watches. I really don't see the utility benefit
vs. the tradeoff of a another gadget to care for.

They seem more fragile than a traditional watch, and also quite fugly.

I think watches have become a bit of fashion accessory or other outward
statement over the last several decades. Seeing things converge on 2 or 3
dominant watch faces and some minor variations among bands just seems
...bad... to me. Like a tiny piece of individually has to be traded in for
technological advancement.

My current watch collection is almost all items that have emotional ties to
people, life events, etc. Maybe I'm very much in the minority, but I don't
think so, not to the extent required to truly make a "market" for smart
watches.

~~~
deelowe
I'm in the same boat. I received a smart watch as a gift and never use it.
Pulling out my phone simply isn't enough of a hassle to warrant using the
watch and the watch alone doesn't bring any new features to the table. My
watch is a piece of jewelry for me and as a piece of jewelry, smart watches
just aren't the same.

I believe we are seeing the tipping point of technology as fashion. Others
have predicted a resurgence of non-digital goods. Perhaps watches and glasses
will be the first examples where tech fails hard?

~~~
brk
Yes, it's difficult to invest heavily in a tech fashion accessory that you
know is going to be regarded as one step short of useless in a few years. All
of my watches are either made of precious metals, or have diamonds (or both)
(yes, in that regard I may skew more towards the non-geek spectrum). But in
buying each of them I had little concern for them suddenly being eclipsed by
an updated version in the near future.

In fact, you can own a decent Rolex for almost $0. There is a big hit on
resale value from initial purchase, much like the "driving a car off the lot
decreases the value by 10%" thing. But I could sell the Rolex I'm currently
wearing that I bought used for about what I paid for it. However if I buy a
smart watch, I'll be lucky to get 10% of the cost of it back 5 years later.

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borgia
I've seen 5 Apple Watch related threads pop up on the front page of HN already
today, including this one. What is going on?

~~~
pacofvf
Probably Apple gave these journalist an Apple Watch for a pre-release review
with the sole condition that they must wait until today to release their
reviews.

~~~
calciphus
Fortunately, this kind of press embargo helps you see who is on Apple
Marketing's take and who isn't.

I can now happily write filters for all these "journalists" who are just
republishing marketing materials.

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smackfu
On the contrary, people with a review unit tend to actually use it before the
review. People who have to buy it on release date and then get a review out
ASAP tend to do much more republishing of market materials.

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FreakyT
I think the Apple watch will, ultimately, be a success, but only once Apple
lowers the price. They're trying to price it as a luxury watch, but it's
evident that, as a first-generation tech product, there are clear areas for
improvement in future versions. Unlike the luxury watches that it is competing
against, it will be obsolete in a year or two.

For example, in the video linked here, the reviewer demonstrates how sometimes
the watch won't turn on the display when raising the watch to look at it. The
_only_ real way to permanently fix this is an always-on display. However, that
will almost certainly require a hardware revision, not a software one.

~~~
aetherson
There are a lot of meanings for "success." I think that Apple Watch will sell
comfortably well at launch. Apple has earned brand loyalty from its customers
and is adept at gauging or generating demand and selling to it.

And, having the watch, my sense is that the overwhelming majority of Watch-
owners will, you know, where and use it. Nothing I'm getting from any of these
reviews is "oh my god, this is a disaster," and the people I know who have
Pebbles or Android Wear watches like them pretty well and continue to wear
them. This suggests that once you've shelled out for a smartwatch, the watch
has to be pretty bad for you to just not use it.

Now: will people who bought the watch like it enough to want to upgrade it
regularly? Will they evangelize it to their friends? Will they drive demand
for apps that creates a robust app ecosystem and potentially clever new
products that are uniquely suited to the watch form-factor?

I don't think they will. Which has little to do with Apple per se and more to
do with the inherent limitations of the form factor. But, if I'm right (and,
hey, I'm predicting the future, I'm probably wrong), that's not good news for
Apple, which more than Google really needs the watch to be successful.

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skizm
Do I need an iphone to use apple watch? I really just want it for the
bluetooth music player, stopwatch, and heartbeat monitor for when I am
running, but currently have an android phone. If not are there any good
android watches that do this?

~~~
timmins
Moto 360 owner and Microsoft Band.

I won't echo the sentiments of the other comments but you may want to explore
the Microsoft Band. It falls short on bluetooth music player. However, whether
iPhone, Android or WP, you have cross-integration. Something not afforded by
the other main products currently (though, rumored Wear will interface with
iOS). The ergonomics of the Band needs minor improvements. The dedicated GPS
and range of sensors is mostly in a class of its own. Dedicated GPS is only on
the Sony Wear as far as I recall.

~~~
skizm
> It falls short on bluetooth music player.

That's the #2 function (next to accurate time/timing) I want from my smart
watch: bluetooth music without the need for my phone. Dealbreaker without it.

A decent heartrate monitor that works with at least some accuracy when
sweating would be amazing and I would pay a decent amount for a watch that
also included that, but it isn't a dealbreaker like the bluetooth music
without the phone.

~~~
timmins
I believe the Sony is close to your requirements but not perfect. Wear can
support local storage. The Sony is the only Wear on the market that has
standalone GPS. The bad news is that heart rate monitoring is not a feature. I
can't believe that function was omitted.

[http://www.sonymobile.com/global-
en/products/smartwear/smart...](http://www.sonymobile.com/global-
en/products/smartwear/smartwatch-3-swr50/)

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ChuckMcM
I find that I'm both hoping that Apple will find success with the watch and
fail, but the emotions around those wishes are complex. I like my Pebble
watch, I really appreciate as my hearing in high frequencies goes away, being
able to reliably here an alarm/alert. And the Apple watch takes that to a new
level. But beyond telling time, providing a display for my current step count,
and letting me know when something is happening that I need to pay attention
too, that's all I need. I'm really curious about how this plays out.

~~~
raldi
_> But beyond telling time, providing a display for my current step count, and
letting me know when something is happening that I need to pay attention too,
that's all I need._

C'mon, remember ten years ago when people said all they wanted from a phone
was the ability to make calls?

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untog
_> C'mon, remember ten years ago when people said all they wanted from a phone
was the ability to make calls?_

Actually, no. I remember people saying that the iPhone was too simple - that
it only had half the functionality of a Symbian phone and even less
connectivity.

~~~
raldi
Check out the comments here, for instance:
[https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20061229/004931.shtml](https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20061229/004931.shtml)

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mholt
No mention of battery life. Anyone know if this lives up to what Apple claims?

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kaipakartik
Nobody needed an iphone as well at the time it was launched.

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higherpurpose
Then I don't want one :).

