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Dorian Gray
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Join Date: May 2005
Location: Paris, France
 
2014-09-09, 16:45

The first film here, “Reveal”, does a good job of showing off this gorgeous new watch. Only two minutes long. Go watch.

The second one, “Introducing Apple Watch”, shows the novel user interface. It’s clever.

The third one, “Health and Fitness”, I haven’t yet watched, because I don’t really do health and fitness – at least in this ditzy Californian way.

Re the missing GPS receiver: I believe that would use too much energy to be viable. Already the battery demands of this Apple Watch must be at the very limits of the technologically feasible. I fear the battery will barely make it through a day.

My initial impression is that this watch will appeal to a wide variety of people. The technology is impressive in itself, and the design and materials will appeal to the kind of people who buy lifestyle magazines – which is an awful lot of people. And remember: among the fashion set the iPhone already has an approximately 100 % market share. So the fact that the Watch needs an iPhone may not be a great inconvenience.

I am shocked at how much it appeals to me!

Starting at $349.

… engrossed in such factional acts as dreaming different dreams.
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Dorian Gray
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2014-09-09, 17:16

One significant thing about the Watch is that Apple created a new and highly legible typeface for it. I am not a font geek, but it looks very different from anything I’ve seen on the iPhone – and drastically different from Apple’s currently favoured Helvetica. It has a huge x-height and feels vaguely like Frutiger (cue shoot-down from drewprops or 709!).

Kind of exciting to see a whole new typeface for this new product. I’m impressed by how much thinking has gone into this watch. It must have been a huge project at Apple.

… engrossed in such factional acts as dreaming different dreams.
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addison
Formerly “AWM”
 
Join Date: May 2009
 
2014-09-09, 17:47

Appeal to a wide variety of people? Not so sure about that. It will probably sell better than any other smart watch but that's not saying much. And most of those sales will be to men. Can't see a lot of women considering this device. It's still a pretty big device with features that aren't must have. So far I'd rather have the $350.
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ronmexico
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
 
2014-09-09, 17:48

Are any of these water resistant or water proof? I have looked at some pages, but haven't had time for the video yet, so I don't have confirmation. I would think that is a critical feature since it is absent from the phone.
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psmith2.0
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Join Date: May 2004
Location: Tennessee
 
2014-09-09, 17:50

They showed a still photo during the presentation of a guy who looked like he'd been swimming. His hair was wet, his arms were, water was dripping/flying off him, etc. Because I saw it and thought "oh, so it's waterproof?". I'll see if I can find it...
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Robo
Formerly Roboman, still
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Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Portland, OR
 
2014-09-09, 17:50

I think it's absolutely beautiful. It doesn't feel like they just took their iPhone design language — chamfered edges, Helvetica and whitespace, &c. — and just shoved it on a watch. It looks like something really and truly new from Apple, and it just blows every other "smartwatch" out of the water.

To make a good smartwatch you have to make a good watch first, and that means you have to make something desirable even if people didn't know about the smart features. And I think Apple succeeded.

My guess on pricing:

$349 38mm Apple Watch Sport
$399 42mm Apple Watch Sport
$449+ 38mm Apple Watch (depending on band, this price = sport band)
$499+ 42mm Apple Watch (depending on band, this price = sport band)
Who knows— Apple Watch Edition

I'm glad it's early 2015…gives me time to save $499 or so. My first glimpse was of the steel/sapphire model with the white band and just fell in love with it (even before I knew what it did!).

and i guess i've known it all along / the truth is, you have to be soft to be strong
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Robo
Formerly Roboman, still
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Location: Portland, OR
 
2014-09-09, 17:54

Quote:
Originally Posted by ronmexico View Post
Are any of these water resistant or water proof? I have looked at some pages, but haven't had time for the video yet, so I don't have confirmation. I would think that is a critical feature since it is absent from the phone.
Pogue says Apple told him water resistant, not waterproof.
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psmith2.0
Mr. Vieira
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Tennessee
 
2014-09-09, 17:56

Ah...there you go. Don't swim with it, but you can probably run in a drizzle or sweat all over it.
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Brave Ulysses
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2014-09-09, 17:56

Quote:
Originally Posted by Robo View Post
Pogue says Apple told him water resistant, not waterproof.
not good.
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ronmexico
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
 
2014-09-09, 18:02

Quote:
Originally Posted by Brave Ulysses View Post
not good.
Agreed...that's an important "sports" feature that is missing.
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709
¡Damned!
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Purgatory
 
2014-09-09, 18:04

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dorian Gray View Post
One significant thing about the Watch is that Apple created a new and highly legible typeface for it. I am not a font geek, but it looks very different from anything I’ve seen on the iPhone – and drastically different from Apple’s currently favoured Helvetica. It has a huge x-height and feels vaguely like Frutiger (cue shoot-down from drewprops or 709!).

Kind of exciting to see a whole new typeface for this new product. I’m impressed by how much thinking has gone into this watch. It must have been a huge project at Apple.
That's so funny, because as soon as I saw the word WATCH in bold on the screen behind Tim, I said to myself, "Well that's not right. wtf is up with that C?"

I can't really put my finger on on. It's definitely on it's tippy toes without being condensed. Not a Trade Gothic or Univers, but 'round about that tree.

So it goes.
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709
¡Damned!
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Purgatory
 
2014-09-09, 18:20

As for the watch itself, if I wore a wrist watch I would definitely get one. Maybe down the line when some 3rd party makes a nice case/chain for it that turns it into a pocket watch I'd start wearing one again. The design is sexy without being gaudy, the 'crown' input design is fucking genius that only could come from someone like Apple and some of the new input tricks are delightful.

Anna will likely get one though. She's a watch freak and I'm sure she's already either on Etsy or talking to a metalsmith/leatherworker to get a custom band made for herself.

So it goes.
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Messiahtosh
Apple Historian
 
Join Date: May 2004
 
2014-09-09, 18:26

I'm in. Won't spend more than $399 though. Seems like it'll be a big hit for them. Can you do anything with Apple TV from it? Only wish is that it had an automatic charger via movement for time-telling purposes only, for when the battery goes out.

EDIT: I guess you can navigate Apple TV from it. Very nice. A $400 remote. LOL

"We are reviewing some 9,000 recent UNHCR referrals from Syria. We are receiving roughly a thousand new ones each month, and we expect admissions from Syria to surge in 2015 and beyond." - Anne C. Richard, Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration
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709
¡Damned!
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Purgatory
 
2014-09-09, 18:28

During the demo part of "too many things to mention" Tim mentioned that you could control your AppleTV via the watch.
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Dorian Gray
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Join Date: May 2005
Location: Paris, France
 
2014-09-09, 18:38

One thing you can do with it is listen to music without an iPhone. So it must have at the very least a fair bit of local storage and Bluetooth A2DP.

Quote:
Originally Posted by addison View Post
And most of those sales will be to men. Can't see a lot of women considering this device. It's still a pretty big device with features that aren't must have.
Perhaps it will sell more to men – the jury’s out on market acceptance here (by the way, it’s great to see Apple taking a big risk like this) – but you shouldn’t pretend to know what women want. For a start, they don’t all want the same thing. For example, several women I know wear larger watches than I do. And all but one of my girlfriend’s watches are larger than mine.

Second, I think it already does many things that will become must-have features to people who get used to them (a bit like Touch ID on the iPhone 5S). But the better question is not whether it has a must-have feature, but will anyone want one? And my gut instinct says it will appeal to many people.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Robo View Post
I think it's absolutely beautiful. It doesn't feel like they just took their iPhone design language — chamfered edges, Helvetica and whitespace, &c. — and just shoved it on a watch. It looks like something really and truly new from Apple
I agree completely. It feels new and important. And scroll down this page. It feels a million miles from the stack-’em-high and sell-’em-cheap world of plastic electronics. It feels like significant design and desirable materials. It’s exciting to see Apple doing this, and that’s before you even consider the technology and usability.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Robo View Post
Pogue says Apple told him water resistant, not waterproof.
I doubt that means anything. Nothing is truly waterproof. Watches are water resistant to a specified depth (i.e. pressure), and you can bet your last dollar the Apple Watch will be waterproof in any practical non-scuba-diving sense.

Quote:
Originally Posted by 709 View Post
That's so funny, because as soon as I saw the word WATCH in bold on the screen behind Tim, I said to myself, "Well that's not right. wtf is up with that C?"
Fonts all look the same to me in caps. But I could tell the lowercase letters were pretty big, presumably to improve legibility at small sizes.

… engrossed in such factional acts as dreaming different dreams.
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addabox
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Join Date: May 2004
Location: oaktown
 
2014-09-09, 19:23

So as I read around the web about the watch, I notice that there are two statements that get made-- 1) ApplePay uses TouchID to secure the transaction, and 2) you can use the Apple Watch for ApplePay.

So does that mean you have to have an iPhone on you to use the watch for ApplePay? Or does the watch have TouchID implemented somehow? If the former, do you then have to pull out your iPhone and use TouchID to do the transaction? If so, that kind of makes using the watch pointless, doesn't it?

Seems like they would have mentioned it if the watch had TouchID, but seems very unApple like to tout payments as a feature of the watch if you have to get your phone out anyway. I am bemused.

That which doesn't kill you weakens you slightly and makes you less able to cope until you're completely incapacitated
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turtle
Lord of the Rant.
Formerly turtle2472
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Upstate South Carolina
 
2014-09-09, 19:25

I am very much looking forward to getting one of these. I've been holding out on getting a watch for a long time and was planning to get a Fitbit Force. I use a Fitbit Ultra and it's falling apart to say the least. I'll happily move to an Apple device that means I don't have to pull my phone out more than really needed. Right now I'm using it as a pocket watch more than anything.

I personally love the design of the watch though I do wish they made one with the crown/button on the other side. I'm odd like that I know. I've gotten used to using watches the wrong way.

One thing that wasn't clear was using the watch as a phone. Am I going to be talking to this thing like Penny in Inspector Gadget?


Either way, I love all the features and it looks like a device that will fill several gaps I currently have. With a 5S, I'm not compelled to upgrade to a 6 with this Watch because I will have NFC/Pay built into the watch. Most of the features I would really want are going to be available via an app on Watch too.

Now I just need to talk Mrs T into getting one. She doesn't like watches really and I would love to be able to tap to her like they demoed on stage. Again, faster than texting.

Louis L'Amour, “To make democracy work, we must be a nation of participants, not simply observers. One who does not vote has no right to complain.”
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709
¡Damned!
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Purgatory
 
2014-09-09, 19:43

Speaking of that, and of the little drawings that you do and then they delightfully puff away, I would love to know the ratio of small watch: playful hearts to large watch: crudely drawn balls and dick. I bet it's roughly a 1:1, and likely the most common drawings back and forth. We'll never know, of course, but I'm pretty sure I'm correct.

So it goes.
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turtle
Lord of the Rant.
Formerly turtle2472
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Upstate South Carolina
 
2014-09-09, 19:51

I think you're right.

In the other thread security of Watch was mentioned...the more I think about it I'm not sure it is needed. If your phone is required for specifics then there is likely noting valuable stored on Watch.

I'm looking forward to more details coming out in the near future. I was also wondering how this might play in with HomeKit but I'm not seeing anything about it other than what was mentioned at WWDC.

Louis L'Amour, “To make democracy work, we must be a nation of participants, not simply observers. One who does not vote has no right to complain.”
Visit our archived Minecraft world! | Maybe someday I'll proof read, until then deal with it.
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gsxrboy
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Join Date: Jul 2004
 
2014-09-09, 20:28

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dorian Gray View Post
Watches are water resistant to a specified depth (i.e. pressure), and you can bet your last dollar the Apple Watch will be waterproof in any practical non-scuba-diving sense.
That's not strictly true. A watch that states WR50 on it (or 5ATM), implies from the manufacturer that it's resistant to 50m but it's nothing of the sort. In a lab, tested with no moving liquid over it, the pressure might be the same but it's not in real life. Anything below WR100 and you're lucky if it doesn't die even jumping in a pool. WR50 should never be submerged in liquid for any period of time and ATM3 or 30m (notionally) can die from a splash of water or rain in the wrong direction. The best case ratings from manus are fresh from the box, with perfect seals, and in idea lab conditions.

A watch that states "divers 100" or "divers 200" etc are properly* tested and can be scuba dived with to those real depths etc.

* Providing it's a reliable manufacturer and not cheap marketing logo/font/branding/etc/blahblah.
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PB PM
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2014-09-09, 20:31

Looks great, and the functionality is interesting. It looks like Apple has done everything that nobody else did. Copy cat Samsung model in, 5, 4, 3, 2...

The question is, would I get an Apple Watch? Not likely. I've never spent more than $100 on a watch, haven't used one since high school (11 years ago), and don't plan to change that any time soon.
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Wrao
Yarp
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Road Warrior
 
2014-09-09, 20:37

Disagree with the sentiment that it looks new. It looks a lot like the original iPhone 'design language' wise, it also resembles an App Icon.

Sure it doesn't look like the new iPhones but it doesn't look brand new either.
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Messiahtosh
Apple Historian
 
Join Date: May 2004
 
2014-09-09, 21:25

The criticism about immersing people further into gadget zombie world is off, I think. It creates LESS screen time and gets the interface out of the way more quickly.
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psmith2.0
Mr. Vieira
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Tennessee
 
2014-09-09, 22:47

That remains to be seen. It was just unveiled 10 hours ago, and nobody actually owns one (and and they won't until next year). We'll revisit this once it's actually been out in the real world for at least a couple of hours.

I'm failing to see how introducing another screen (full of icons, numbers, animations, actions, gestures, messages, information, etc.) into people's lives is somehow going to magically result in less bent-neck screen-gazing and general oblivitardation. But if I'm wrong on that, I'll have no problem copping to it!

I actually saw my first door hit three days ago...a girl walked smack-dab into the glass door at Walgreens (because it didn't open automatically fast enough and she was walking with her head looking down into her phone, and not even noticing/paying attention...and BAM!!) I thought I was gonna piss myself. She looked like she'd been shot with a potato gun, the look on her face.

"Nice goin', sweetpea...only about 10 or so people saw it".

Last edited by psmith2.0 : 2014-09-09 at 23:02.
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Wrao
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2014-09-10, 02:36

So. I have a running commentary with a friend over the years whenever new tech products come out that have been heavily hyped. We say that the harsher the internet reaction the more successful it will actually be. Watch has been getting panned in a lot of ways similar to iPad and iPhone and iPod and Wii and Xbox 360 and PS4 and Galaxy Note and Beats and several others. So I guess that means buy AAPL.

I keep thinking about whether I care or would get one and one thought does occur to me, that the iPad wasn't really seen as revolutionary because it was 'just a big iPhone', but as it happened that simple difference in size actually did make for an entirely different experience that was amongst other things quite plainly more enjoyable to use. I think it will truly only take a couple of things that the Watch is "more enjoyable" to use for it to be a success. Where it's easy to say "why not just pull out your phone in 2 seconds?"(and funny it's always '2 seconds') just as it was easy to say "it's just a big iPhone", until you use it and realize "it's much more than that".

Time will tell I guess(no pun intended, shoot me) I definitely am not interested in the first iteration, but somewhere down the line I'll probably end up with one.

I wonder also if a future edition will move away from being tied to the phone for connectivity. Perhaps through new wireless tech or whatever.
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Dorian Gray
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2014-09-10, 03:07

Quote:
Originally Posted by Wrao View Post
I wonder also if a future edition will move away from being tied to the phone for connectivity. Perhaps through new wireless tech or whatever.
It might, I suppose. The iPod touch (and iPhone? I didn’t have one until the 5) initially required a PC or Mac with iTunes to set it up. Later, it was set free.

The obvious problem with the Watch is that it is tiny and therefore has extremely limited battery capacity. It offloads a lot of energy-sucking operations to the iPhone (GPS, cellular radio, perhaps CPU-heavy activities in thin-client style).

I can envisage ARM CPUs getting better and better and eventually drawing so little power that the Watch could do anything it needs to under its own power.

But GPS receivers have been around for several decades and they still suck a lot of power. Any progress here will be slower. I have a Garmin Edge 800 for my bicycle that does nothing but run a GPS and a map, and it’s huge but only lasts something like 10 hours (with the backlight off).

And cellular radios have much greater limitations. The emitted signal isn’t wasted power that can be reduced – it’s needed for the tower to pick it up. There will be progress, but it will require new standards, industry-wide adoption, etc., i.e. it will take many years.

… engrossed in such factional acts as dreaming different dreams.
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Messiahtosh
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Join Date: May 2004
 
2014-09-10, 07:33

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dorian Gray View Post
It might, I suppose. The iPod touch (and iPhone? I didn’t have one until the 5) initially required a PC or Mac with iTunes to set it up. Later, it was set free.

The obvious problem with the Watch is that it is tiny and therefore has extremely limited battery capacity. It offloads a lot of energy-sucking operations to the iPhone (GPS, cellular radio, perhaps CPU-heavy activities in thin-client style).

I can envisage ARM CPUs getting better and better and eventually drawing so little power that the Watch could do anything it needs to under its own power.

But GPS receivers have been around for several decades and they still suck a lot of power. Any progress here will be slower. I have a Garmin Edge 800 for my bicycle that does nothing but run a GPS and a map, and it’s huge but only lasts something like 10 hours (with the backlight off).

And cellular radios have much greater limitations. The emitted signal isn’t wasted power that can be reduced – it’s needed for the tower to pick it up. There will be progress, but it will require new standards, industry-wide adoption, etc., i.e. it will take many years.
Agreed, but that is the likely roadmap. A watch that ends up as a standalone product with celluar connection, airplay capabilities, etc. It'll take a while, but I see a day where the only two products most people need to do 90% of their communication will be an iPhone and an Apple Watch. The computer will be for "war and peace" activities like Jobs said a few years back. The Apple Watch will reduce the screen overuse and inconvenience of the iPhone, in my estimation. People have to reach into their pockets, bring the device up to their faces, press a button, perform a gesture, and type out a reply in the hope of not dropping the phone onto sidewalk. With Apple Watch, the threat of the dropped phone is gone, phone stays in pocket most of the time and checking can take 3 to 5 seconds vs 10-20. It's enough of a difference, I think. The auto-formed replies and simple "yes" "no" prompts will help get the interface out of the way, so people can get on with life.

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kieran
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Join Date: Jan 2005
 
2014-09-10, 10:25

This is turning into something that I'm very much interested in, after being kind of "meh" about it before yesterday.

Anything that can keep my phone in my pocket/bag/etc.. is a good thing.

I'd love to get some (not all) of my notifications on my wrist and just keep my phone away.

I regularly wear a watch anyways, so it's not like I'd be changing up my routine, but getting an Apple Watch with a few different watch bands is something I'm looking forward to once it comes out.

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turtle
Lord of the Rant.
Formerly turtle2472
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Upstate South Carolina
 
2014-09-10, 11:28

That is my thought on it exactly. My phone can stay put away. Less likely to have something like this from happening just to check the time:
Click me

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addabox
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2014-09-10, 13:13

As I was saying in another thread, when I think about it I'm not sure there's even that much of a downside for the Watch to need an iPhone. The one use case I've seen where that's a problem is running-- but a lot of the functionality is still there, just not GPS.

So given that a watch is never going to replace your phone outright (the fact that Apple was obliged to make bigger phones should be proof enough of that), how often are you going to be wearing a smart watch but inexplicably not want to have your phone?

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