Apple Watch

[vansmith]

Funnily enough, they do mention in the article about maybe Apple will have a upgrade program, for the insides of the Watch. I made this prediction in another thread here. In 3-4 yrs, the OS will be obsolete, and 2-4 yrs after that, maybe the Hardware will be too. So what will happen to all these really expensive watches, when the OS can't keep up with todays computing ??

Normally, I'd say that hardware upgrades wouldn't make sense but given that this is, by far, the most expensive product Apple has (or, it can be), I can see them offering some sort of upgrade option for those who buy the really expensive ones (maybe not an upgrade to the watch itself but perhaps some sort of offer for new versions).

 

[dbm]

Interesting perspective from someone who has been using one for a while now: Hands Free Computing.

 

[vansmith]

Interesting perspective from someone who has been using one for a while now: Hands Free Computing.

You need to touch the screen, a screen that is on a watch which is as close as we can get to having a "hand dependent" technology that isn't actually on your hand...

As I've said before - if you like the watch, that's wonderful and I hope you really enjoy it (not specifically you dbm although I hope you do as well!). I continue, however, to have a difficult time ascertaining its use value in a world in which a smartphone is infinitely more powerful and not all that inconvenient comparatively so.

 

[chas_m]

I'd suggest two things for the more close-minded among you:

1. Have a look at the video tutorials Apple has posted on its site, particularly the one for Activity. Most of you really appear to be arguing against the concept of wearing a watch at all. I think after watching those videos you'll have a better understanding that this device does, in fact, quite a few things the iPhone doesn't do, and in working together with it it does more than (a) any other watch and (b) notifications.

2. Go to an Apple Store and get a demo from the staff instead of speculating about stuff you haven't actually tried out.

The best fitness bands run about 2/3rds the price of the Apple Watch, so when you consider it as a better fitness band than any other AND the other things it can do, THEN the $350 entry point starts to look pretty reasonable. Not having to pull my iPhone out of my pocket 70 times a day to check the time or the latest notification will actually be kind of nice, and I'm looking forward to seeing if that makes a big difference. I'm also, as an iPhone 5s owner, looking forward to using the Watch with Apple Pay. Call me old-fashioned, but I think your wrist is, in fact, a better place for what Apple calls "glances" rather than pulling out the iPhone all the time.

 

[lclev]

Just had to throw this in. If you have an arm tattoo that would be under the watch - it malfunctions!

Tattoos may cause Apple Watch to stop working | www.news965.com

Apple Watch, heart rate sensors, and wrist tattoos: What you need to know! | iMore

Interesting.

Lisa

 

[chscag]

Well, looks like half of the NFL players will have to pass on an Apple Watch! ;D

 

[dtravis7]

I know some of the Mac Evangelists will hate me for this but: Hey watches can fall to the ground and 3 feet is not very far.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fwqANb9Acg

 

[dbm]

Any hard substance is vulnerable to smashing under impact. It's the downside of hardness.

My current Rado watch is made of ceramics twice as tough as steel. This means it is absolutely scratch free after about four years of daily wear, but if I dropped it onto concrete it would probably shatter, too.

It's hardly an Apple problem, it's just physics.

 

[vansmith]

It's hardly an Apple problem, it's just physics.

Pfft, that's no excuse.

I watched some video the other day outlining its water resistance which is basically mandatory for a watch given that it has direct contact with the elements. It handled the (granted, informal) tests quite well. Any word on its durability?

 

[dbm]

It's still early days. Some people have reported what appear to be defects of manufacturer, but I haven't heard of any real-world, normal use failures yet.

 

[TattooedMac]

I know some of the Mac Evangelists will hate me for this but: Hey watches can fall to the ground and 3 feet is not very far.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fwqANb9Acg

This was quite surprising actually. Hard or not, a 3 foot fall to pavement, my iPhone5 HAS survived !!

 

[dtravis7]

This was quite surprising actually. Hard or not, a 3 foot fall to pavement, my iPhone5 HAS survived !!

My niece dropped her 3GS 100 or more times. I guess she is prone to dropping things. Even after all those drops, most on concrete and some from head level it still worked and just had a few minor cracks in the glass on the display.

My original 3g went down a few times but not one crack. What finally killed it one day was I was with a friend shopping and got out of his car with bags of food. Somehow the phone fell out of my jacket pocket and I did not notice it till 5 min later. Went out there and a car drove up and parked and RAN OVER the poor thing. That killed it!

 

[pigoo3]

Went out there and a car drove up and parked and RAN OVER the poor thing. That killed it!

At least it went out with style!!!

- Nick

 

[chas_m]

Watches, being strapped to your wrist, are actually pretty hard to drop ... unless you're using a watch in an entirely different way than what I would think of as "normal" ...

 

[dbm]

It all depends on how the device impacts. When I got my iPhone 5 I initially decided to try going without a case. I managed to drop it onto concrete on day 2 of ownership! But it impacted on a corner so it just got a couple of small gouges in the metal frame with no effect.

By contrast, I had a later phone in my inside jacket pocket, which I put over the back of a swivel chair that had arms. I turned round and the phone got caught between chair and desk, with the pressure applied to a point on the screen. It smashed.

On my Rado watch, the saphire screen is the most prominent part. It is the bit which makes contact with the world when it happens. The other day I was doing stuff in my garage and accidentally bashed it against a cinder block wall. Absolutely no effect.

 

[Macisaverb]

I'll wait till the next gen

I've spent a little bit of money on the latest stuff. Remember Palm Pilot? I'll just take it easy until the next gen of watches comes out. I can't say what the improvements will be, but I imagine they'll be significant.;P

 

[vansmith]

Watches, being strapped to your wrist, are actually pretty hard to drop ... unless you're using a watch in an entirely different way than what I would think of as "normal" ...

I think the issue might be bumping into things or having the watch make contact with something hard given that people's arm move constantly. I imagine, for this reason, that it's built to take a beating (or at least I hope so).

 

[dtravis7]

I think the issue might be bumping into things or having the watch make contact with something hard given that people's arm move constantly. I imagine, for this reason, that it's built to take a beating (or at least I hope so).

Agreed completely. I know though some very uncoordinated folks drop their watch sometimes just trying to put it on!

 

[TattooedMac]

Agreed completely. I know though some very uncoordinated folks drop their watch sometimes just trying to put it on!

Ding, Ding, Ding !!!! Me in my 20's and while in the Military . . . . I'll leave the rest to the imagination ;P

 

[RONE]

Put the phone in your pocket? Your suggestion seems to be one premised on buying something to solve what could easily be a change of habit. And, honestly, given that most people seem to be wedded to their phones these days, missing a notification or two may not be all that bad.

Don't take this the wrong way, but you're a little out of touch with women. Have you seen the clothes they wear? Have you seen their purses? My mother-in-law could lose a small child in her purse. And there's no way she would routinely carry a phone in her pocket.