It’s always a great idea to start these posts with the assurance that these thoughts are my own and any thoughts I give on technology isn’t an endorsement by any employer, client, partner or anyone I’m affiliated with professionally. I have to balance my love of consumer technology and gadgets with what I do for a living. It’s difficult but throughout the years, trying out new tech and writing about it has been a fun hobby and I’d like to continue doing that.
For those skimming, I love the Apple Watch. It’s possibly the coolest new technology I’ve bought in many years. It’s too early to give it the classification of revolutionary but I do see it as a start to a new category of computing that we’ll look back on 10 years later as a part of the wearable technology revolution and not in jest like Microsoft Zune.
I’ve given Apple Watch a full go for the last week. It arrived early on Thursday and I’ve used it at the gym, on walks, runs, driving, working, camping and with 3 different bands. I’ve also used it while away from my iPhone and in areas of complete disconnection where my iPhone has zero cell service (quite common up here in the woods of New Hampshire). I’ve also swam with the watch, worn it 6AM to 2AM and in various conditions like being sprayed with bug spray and banged against a few walls. I feel like it’s been through a lot this past week.
I’m going to break this mini-review into a few sections.
Build Quality of the Watch and Bands:
I won’t make any comments on any watch that isn’t the Stainless Steel Space Black 42MM with Black Link Bracelet. That’s the only watch I’ve used for more than 10 seconds. I will make further comments on the 42MM Milanese Loop and Black Sport Band as I ordered those with the watch. All in, I spent $1099 for the watch, $149 for Milanese Loop and $49 for the Black Sport Band. New Hampshire is a tax-free state so that’s what I spent. Shipping was included.
First impressions of the watch was that its build quality is absolutely impressive beyond anything I could have expected. It’s the smallest full-featured smartwatch I’ve seen and of course the build is leaps and bounds above products from Jawbone, Fitbit and Nike for which I own and subsequently stopped using after a few months. The watch is beautiful and its color matches perfectly with the link bracelet also in Space Black but, outside I’d say it’s more gunmetal than black. Gorgeous nonetheless.
The bands are each uniquely special. The Space Blank Link bracelet I picked because I’ve always owned watches with links. The ability to resize links without having to visit a jeweler was a huge plus. The bracelet only pinched my hairs 2 times in the first week. Maybe the only complaint not fixable is the link fits my wrist too tight and when I add 1 link, it’s just slightly too loose and causes the heart rate sensor to fail. Around 8PM, I’m sort of ready to take the link bracelet off. Partly due to weight (it’s the heaviest Apple Watch band) and partly due to the tightness.
The Milanese loop is my favorite. Infinitely adjustable with a quick snap and much lighter than the link bracelet. I was afraid the shiny steel link would contrast with the black steel Apple watch. They do up close but from afar, they look great.
The black sport band is the lightest of the 3, pitch black and looks fantastic on the watch. It’s easy more comfortable than I expected for $49 and obviously is the most ideal band for any physical activity. It repels water, doesn’t feel gross with sweat or water and is very easy to put on and off. I can wear it all day and have zero uncomfortable moments.
The Setup Experience:
Unboxing the Watch had the same experience of every other Apple product I’ve owned. Really exceptional unboxing process and completely easy and very luxurious. The new tape they use on boxes that you tear open like a FexEx envelope is fantastic.
Before I even put on the Apple Watch, I plugged it into my Mac to charge and I started the iPhone setup application. Setup took a while. It was about 30 minutes to update the watch to the latest software and another hour of configuration and installing of apps from my iPhone to Watch. It took another few minutes to synchronize a music playlist to Apple Watch. Throughout this time, I realized one of the security features which is a passcode lockout when you’re not wearing your watch and try to use it.
When I put the Apple Watch on, I have to enter my passcode. When I take it off and the screen turns off, entering the passcode is necessary to use it. This is by design and important since my credit cards are stored on it. However, with the phone off-wrist, a passcode is needed every time you interact with Apple Watch. This hasn’t been an issue since the initial setup completed.
From unboxing to on-wrist took about 90 minutes most of which was waiting for the watch to boot and install applications and update.
On-Wrist, the first 7 days:
The Apple Watch already has one small scratch where the sapphire connects to the steel body. I think this came about from banging it into my washing machine as I took clothes out. It won’t buff out. That was on day 4 of wearing it. I’m pretty clumsy and I bang my wrist against walls, doors and soda machines when i walk by. It happens a lot so I bought the higher-end watch mostly because I knew it would hold up to a beating I inevitably would be giving it.
The water resistance, heat resistance and overall keeping it clean factor is A+. I can rinse it off with water, it cleans up very well and looks good as new. Fingerprints show up but are easily removed with a wipe of my shirt.
Other than the minor tightness of the Link Bracelet, it’s incredibly comfortable. I know it’s there (just like any other watch) but it’s not intrusive.
One thing I’m trying to cope with is the raise to wake functionality that turns on the screen when you raise your wrist. The screen comes on in meetings or when I move my hand from keyboard to my water bottle. When I raise wrist @ keyboard to see a notification, I put my wrist back down on keyboard and the screen is still on with that notification. I have learned to simply ignore the screen and it goes off in a few seconds.
The battery has never been below 30% any day I’ve used the device. It’s 6PM and I put the watch on at 6AM and I still have 54% battery. It’ll be well above 30% by the time I go to bed at around 10PM.
Software Experience:
There’s nothing to write here that has’t already been written. The watch is exceptional on day one. There are improvements that will inevitably come. It’s not really my job to convince people this is worth $349+. I love the watch and it’s a great watch and there are a lot of extra things like fitness, apps, maps that make it really amazing. Paying for food with my wrist will never ever get old or boring.
Some aspects of the watch like Siri, Maps, iMessage and such are obviously not available when your iPhone doesn’t have cell or WiFi service. If you walk away from your iPhone in an area that has WiFi that you’ve connected to before with iPhone +Watch, you’ll still have iMessage and other services. The Watch informs you quite clearly with a small iPhone icon at the top of the watch when you’re actively using Apple Watch without the phone connection. I think Apple Watch assumes if you have an iPhone, you have cell service so there’s not a notification when the watch notices no connection to the Internet. I don’t expect engineers in the ultra-connected Bay area to account for those of us up in the woods with very spotty cell coverage :)
The Watch is so harmoniously tied to iPhone that the two can’t exist separately but this allows for some amazing features like handing off a Siri web search to iPhone or mapping to my house from Apple Maps on iPhone and it showing up on my Apple Watch with the haptic feedback and instructions automatically. The watch feels magical and everything works very well. It’s another testament to one company owning the hardware and software and engineering it all together.
Overall:
I’m incredibly happy with Apple Watch. One of my biggest concerns was finding a place for it in my life. This is an issue I always deal with when a new Apple Product category arrives. Where will the notebook, desktop, AppleTV, iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch fit into my life? Where will Time Capsule fit in and bring me value? What is the advantage of using iCloud Photo Library over my current setup?
Luckily, I’ve never had an issue with this. There are a lot of consumer devices I’ve bought and sold after a few weeks. The more I pay for them, the more likely I am to sell them right after purchase. Apple continues to find a perfect time and product that fits in so well.
I have an iMac, MacBook Pro, AppleTV, Home NAS, iPhone 6, iPad Air 2 and all kinds of consumer devices and yet Apple Watch is very powerful and immediately having a great value in my life as a fitness tracker, information center and way to keep on top of notifications and messages while my iPhone is docked a few feet away.
For the past 6 months, I get home or to my office, iPhone gets docked and is mostly out of sight the rest of the day. I’ll go to bed and check my iPhone and realize I’ve missed a lot of messages and calls from my friend. Now I see those on Apple Watch and can react from my couch. With Bluetooth 4.0 the Apple Watch stays in touch with iPhone across the house, at my mailbox and down in my basement all while the iPhone is docked in my bedroom. Pretty amazing.
I love Apple Watch. Can’t wait to see how the software evolves over time.
