Slashdot Mirror
Apple's Smartwatch Draws Competition And A Very Bad Review (businessinsider.com)
Apple's share of the smartwatch market actually started declining in 2016, dropping down to just 52.4% (down from 63%), according to Business Insider. And following up on Apple's first drop in earnings in over 10 years, Slashdot reader Zanadou shares a Gizmodo's latest story about the Apple Watch.
"I stopped wearing it two months ago, and I'm not sure if I'll ever wear it again. That's because it doesn't really do anything that anyone needs, and even when it does, it doesn't always work like it's supposed to. Here are some things I learned over the past year of strapping the screen vibrator to my wrist."
The article describes wanting to try a new form factor, but ending up confused by the watch's two-button interface (where the buttons perform multiple functions). Gizmodo's writer complains that "there's literally no comfortable way to actually use it," and while he did appreciate things like the time-of-sunrise feature and the ability to read text messages on your wrist, most Apple Watch apps "just end up being a shell of the iPhone app". And worst of all, it was difficult to use the watch to actually tell time, since "the screen doesn't always turn on when you raise your wrist like it's supposed to."
"I stopped wearing it two months ago, and I'm not sure if I'll ever wear it again. That's because it doesn't really do anything that anyone needs, and even when it does, it doesn't always work like it's supposed to. Here are some things I learned over the past year of strapping the screen vibrator to my wrist."
The article describes wanting to try a new form factor, but ending up confused by the watch's two-button interface (where the buttons perform multiple functions). Gizmodo's writer complains that "there's literally no comfortable way to actually use it," and while he did appreciate things like the time-of-sunrise feature and the ability to read text messages on your wrist, most Apple Watch apps "just end up being a shell of the iPhone app". And worst of all, it was difficult to use the watch to actually tell time, since "the screen doesn't always turn on when you raise your wrist like it's supposed to."
Apps take too long to launch to be useful, but features such as calendar display, notifications, find my phone, ApplePay, temperature make it worth putting on every work day.
If it doesn't work for you then fine, I actually find it quite handy. (note that it's nowhere near perfect though but the real issues have been discussed before (battery life being the biggest)).
My test of usefulness was a week long trip I took for business and forgot to grab it on the way out. I missed being able to figure out what phone call to ignore or answer, seeing the next meeting or the text I just got without dragging the phone out of the pocket all the time is where it's a time/effort saver for me.
I can see if you are one of those people who get hundreds of notifications a day then it might be a pain but I only have family and work setup to buzz the watch. So if I get buzzed more than a couple times an hour that is unusual. Everything else I check when I have time.
It reminds me of the first apple phone, I came from using a palm treo so it wasn't an evolutionary jump for me (I also a couple windows devices). The first apple phone really didn't do much. Apple is frustratingly slow to market with features.
I probably won't buy v2 of the apple watch, I'm saving up for the next Garmin Forerunner (9xx) if it is a big enough jump from my 910XT but I do wear the apple watch daily and like it.
I found it interesting that Apple's 'digital crown' concept apparently isn't very comfortable to use while my Android Wear watch (an LG G Watch R) is perfectly serviceable with just a single button (to wake it up) and the rest of the UX being driven via the touch screen itself. (The apps you open most often are always at the top of the list, so getting to my groceries app is a simple swipe left and a tap.) Similarly, it's screen is always on, so the most basic function of telling the time is always right there, no matter whether the accelerometer noticed me raising my wrist or not.
Of course, it does suffer from the same 'what can you do with it' problem that the Apple Watch does. Apart from dismissing notifications, using voice commands to set Google Now reminders or start the occasional timer/countdown, there really isn't that much useful functionality to benefit from. App-wise, I really only use two: one to track my groceries (Bring!) and one to tell me I've left my phone somewhere by alerting me of the Bluetooth connection loss (Cerberus).
It means you aren't in the crowd that would appreciate a Rolex. Its like showing up for a fast food job in a 3-piece suit- so out of place as to not be recognized for what it is.
On the flip side wearing an apple watch to the Rolex set is like wearing a cheap poleyester suit when every one else is wearing $5,000 suits that are hand tailored for that social event.
Exception and Corollary: The high money tech crowd *might* eat up your smart watch. The big money lawyer and finance guys will look at you like you are wearing a polyester suit.
An aside:
In business: Suits are a form of war paint. Expensive suits, matching belts and shoes, tie tacks, cuff links, watches, impeccable grooming and cologne are all part of the war paint. If you don't show up looking like you are on your A-game: People won't take you seriously and you have to work that much harder to be treated seriously. The best analogy is your suit gets combo bonus when everything is at the same tier and matches. Apple watches do not get combo bonuses with the clothing set the Rolexes get combo bonuses with. If you show up without all your combo-bonuses in place you will be treated like you deserve to be at the kiddie table.
Architectural plans are like computer source code with a couple of differences: You only compile once.