I’m always curious when new products try and break the market. I used Diskmans that skipped, USB players that where horrible to navigate, and then there was the iPod. Tablets never where done wright before the iPad and I still have yet to see a tablet that is as easy to interpreted as an iPad. If both my computer illiterate grandmother and a 2 year toddler both know how to use it, you know there is a winning combination.
The Apple Watch is a new addition to the wearable market. Pebble and Android Wear both are well known brands with the technokids. I wore a Connected Watch for a week while I worked at national broadcast agency VRT. Yet as with the Pebble, there wasn’t a way to respond to them, in fact, they asked for even more attention.
Enter the Apple Watch. At the launch I was excited, and today, I put it on for the first time.
Mine is ordered, but I am still waiting for it to arrive. So when my buddy Thomas walked in today, the moment his watch appeared on his wrist, that little device everyone has been talking about grabbed my attention. And yet, nothing about it screamed for it. After a few glances I was able to hold and wear it.
Compared to other watches I have worn, it feels light and well constructed. The Digital Crown is made for being touched. The screen has to be seen to believed. In fact, it looked like the content is printed on top of the screen and is magically moving. The vibrations are a special kind of feelings, and feeling someone’s heartbeat just magically appear is another deeper level of personal communication. When Apple said it is their ‘most personal device yet’ they didn’t exaggerate. The moment you put it on, it feels like a logical extension.
Speed? When using it, in a completely different way that you would think a device like this works, you do find each time the Watch connects to the device it takes a while to load, however, this is just the first generation of apps, with developers being able to create native apps later this year.
What are you going to use it for? I’ve been trying to reach 10k steps a day, but I want the Apple Watch to help me move more and better. Perhaps even get me into shape more, just like Pedometer++ got me walking around more. It tells the time, and gives a more focussed way to handle the constant stream of notifications my phone is known for.
Killer Apps? With the limited time I have used it, Siri was able to understand English and Dutch perfectly clear, I replied with smileys and pre-set messages. I can turn on and off my lights, it will navigate me around, and it can trigger my camera from a distance. And that’s just the beginning.
Is it for me? I don’t know. It’s true that I have a preference for the products coming out of Cupertino, but I do not agree with everything the company produces, and I’m not a blind fanboy. But this thing, just like the products that do surround me, feels like it will fit with me.
But before you will give an opinion on this, try it and wear it. You might not find a use for you, but you can’t deny one thing. It has style.
