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How Apple Watch Is Really a Regression In Watchmaking

Nerval's Lobster writes Apple design chief Jony Ive has spent the past several weeks talking up how the Apple Watch is an evolution on many of the principles that guided the evolution of timepieces over the past several hundred years. But the need to recharge the device on a nightly basis, now confirmed by Apple CEO Tim Cook, is a throwback to ye olden days, when a lady or gentleman needed to keep winding her or his pocket-watch in order to keep it running. Watch batteries were supposed to bring "winding" to a decisive end, except for that subset of people who insist on carrying around a mechanical timepiece. But with Apple Watch's requirement that the user constantly monitor its energy, what's old is new again. Will millions of people really want to charge and fuss with their watch at least once a day?

13 of 415 comments (clear)

  1. Re:How big a fuss is it, really? by RevSpaminator · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Years ago, when I wore watches, they had to be waterproof because I never took them off. One less thing to have to f' with in the morning.

  2. Bleh by Anrego · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Bleh

    This "article" could have just been jammed in the summary, hell Bennett writes larger blog posts in the summary all the time! I can also honestly say I thought to myself "well this is really lame" before noticing it was a shameless dice self post.

    I hate apple and have no interest in a "smart watch", but having to charge the damn thing all the time is a well understood problem, something which is weighed as a con vs whatever pros people find in these things. If I had any interest in the features, I doubt this would be a show stopper. It just becomes a slight addition to the list of things I do before going to bed. If value of that effort exceeds the annoyance of that effort, then it's worth it?

    This article doesn’t do anything besides point out the issue and make a fairly obvious correlation (something the author probably felt was way more clever than it actually was)?

  3. Re:How big a fuss is it, really? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It's a big enough fuss that people stopped using mechanical watches in the first place.

  4. Re:Better question: by RevSpaminator · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Nerdlinger? Nothing nerdy about this device. A nerdy device would have an expansion port and, possibly, an open chip socket. The OS would be definitely be user-flashable. This is a wanna-be device all the way. Remember, real nerds play First Edition rules. :)

  5. Re:I really don't understand smart watches... by sexconker · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Running, for one. Not having to carry a phone is useful. Yes, there are hundreds of fitness trackers. Why not a multi-purpose tracker that also lets me reply to the wife?

    You still have to have the phone on you. The watch talks to the phone.

  6. Re:I really don't understand smart watches... by pnutjam · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Smart watches fail on look good and discrete. They look gaudy and are designed to catch others eyes so they know how cool you are.

  7. Re:Better question: by idontgno · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Real nerds don't call it "First Edition."

    There was only one edition. Any assertion to the contrary will be vigorously ignored.

    --
    Welcome to the Panopticon. Used to be a prison, now it's your home.
  8. Re:I really don't understand smart watches... by jythie · · Score: 3, Insightful

    That sounds like a design flaw in the specific smartwatch as opposed to a problem with the utility of such devices in general.

  9. Re:How big a fuss is it, really? by neoritter · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Oh there's a point to requiring a different charger. More money from you.

  10. Re:I really don't understand smart watches... by Austerity+Empowers · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Has there been some change over recent years that has made phones hard to get out of your pocket?

    Skinny jeans.

  11. The airplane is a regression in train making by Old97 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    As a train, the airplane is pitiful. It can't haul as much freight or as many passengers. It costs more. It needs to land and be refueled more frequently. And who needs an airplane anyway? Trains are safer as you are less likely to die in an accident. Trains may not be as fast, but what's the hurry? I like sitting in the car and seeing the country go by at ground level. You can't see a damn thing from an airplane and what you do see looks like little toys. Yep, only an idiot would build or buy an airplane because I like trains.

    --
    Very often, people confuse simple with simplistic. The nuance is lost on most. - Clement Mok
  12. Re:cell phones and notepads by bondsbw · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Would people complain as much if Apple called it the Apple WristComputerWithTouchScreenAndBluetoothSpeakerAndHealthMonitoring?

    I mean, that's what it is. But Apple's marketing decided on a somewhat better name.

    --
    All my liberal friends think I'm a conservative, all my conservative friends think I'm a liberal.
  13. Re:I really don't understand smart watches... by David_Hart · · Score: 4, Insightful

    5) You can have class and style and look a hell of a lot better for a lot less money. You just won't look like a trendy fanboi.

    This.... Anyone attributing a smart watch from Apple, or any other company for that matter, to class or style just do not understand class or style. Some people easily confuse popularity or celebrity with class and style. It's been my experience that people who have true class and style do not wear gadgets or toys that can distract from enjoying people and the event, whether intimate or in public.

    Personally, as a geek I think that gadgets are cool but very few actually have class or style...