Apple Watch Transformed Me — Other Reviewers Myst Like Windows

EE Times ^ | July 10, 2015 | R. Colin Johnson, Technology Editor, EE Times

[Swordmaker]

The Apple Watch has changed my life for the better, solving all the problems I had with the iPhone (such as missing calls while I tried to find it) as well as solving other problems I didn't even now I had until I got it.

I didn't want to write this blog about the Apple Watch, because I didn't want to seem like an Apple geek. But after reading the misleading reviews by other editors that shall remained unnamed, I just felt like I had to set the story straight. For one thing, all the features that one reviewer panned (he had put his Apple Watch on Craigslist because of them) were exactly the ones that not only work for me, but have streamlined by workflow and changed my life for the better.

I know that Apple CEO Tim Cook showers with his Apple Watch and its supposed to be water proof to 5 meters or some such, but I put my Apple Watch on as soon as I get out of the shower--it doesn't seem right to me to shower wearing a watch. But as soon as I put it on I start using it. I check the weather first, which tells me hour-by-hour (on a round display that shows temperatures instead of hours) so I know what layers to wear to make it through each day. While I'm dressing I turn on some mood music from the watch which is paired to my "bedroom" Mac. And at breakfast I continue listening to music in the kitchen by streaming it from my iPhone to my Bluetooth headset I wear all day to answer the phone. Whenever a phone call comes through I get a tap on the wrist then it goes straight to my headset, or if I'm not wearing it, it "rings" on my wrist where I can them answer directly from the watch, which has a small but very hearable speaker, to which I answer back by talking into the MEMS microphone on the same side of the watch (opposite the crown) just like Dick Tracey.

To do a selfie, all you do its put your iPhone where you want it (I have a stand built into my ZeroChrome case, so it can be propped up either horizontally or vertically). Using the photo app on the Watch I can see in realtime what the iPhone's camera is seeing, and after getting every-one, -thing or -whatever framed properly I snap the shutter directly from the watch.

The edition I bought was 38 millimeter (because the 42 millimeter doesn't look like a watch on your wrist unless you are a giant) with the black anodized aluminum case for light weight and sweat-resistant band which is curved underneath so it breathes).
(Source: Apple)

I never miss an appointment anymore, because it taps me on the wrist in plenty of time, even if I have to account for driving time to get there--which the calendar keeps track of for me. It also gives me a summary everyday of what I need to do and even reminds me to get up and walk around at least every hour to maximize circulation or something which it keeps track of with infrared sensors on the bottom side of the watch that look through my skin to track my heart rate by the minute. (You can also send an "intimate" heartbeat message to someone, if you're into that kinda thing).

It also reminds me to do my exercises everyday (which for me is yoga, but it can track any type of exercise, multiplying your heart rate times your movement to estimate calories burned). When I walk the dog everyday it keeps track of that too, telling me afterwards how long it took, how far I went, how many calories I burned and a bunch of other details it automatically transfers to my iPhone for long-term logging and for setting automatic goals. Its smart about goals too, normally encouraging me to gradually increase them everyday, but also letting me drop back and get a new start (say after a business trip when I haven't been exercising).

The edition that only millionaires can afford, but whose functionality is essentially the same as mine.
(Source: Apple)

I also use the timer daily for all sorts of things--from timing how long things are baking in the oven (yes, the oven his its own timer, but you have to be in the kitchen to hear it) to keeping me from wasting water by tapping me on the wrist when its time to turn off the sprinklers.

I also check the sports scores I am interested in and have switched to only watching games (on replay) when my team wins (its too depressing to watch games where I know my team is going to lose).

At Starbucks I pay for my drinks with two taps on the screen, likewise at the airport I just show them my boarding pass bar code at the gate-again with just two taps. My friends all have their credit cards scanned into their Apple Watches so they can pay for things with their watches, but for me that's just an invitation to accumulating credit card debt (so I carry cash on a money clip, and when my discretionary money of the month runs out, I stop spending, which my girlfriend says makes me "cheap" but I'm wise to that trick).

The app screen lets you touch it to activate it (usually running on your nearby iPhone).
(Source: Apple)

I could go on and on, such as about turn-by-turn warnings it gives with a tap on the wrist and a voice in my headset (or coming out of my iPhone), the notifications it gives of incoming mail, the instant access to Siri (which seems to work even better than Siri on the iPhone), the voice-based dictionary access and a hundred other apps I haven't even tried yet.

I got the cheapest model ($349) which is more than I've ever spent on a watch, but the Apple Watch is more like an iPhone on your wrist. I've started carrying my iPhone in my tiny briefcase that's just big enough to hold my 12" Macbook, a single file folder and my iPad too. I hardly pull the iPhone out anymore (except to read the funnies everyday). Likewise, I've stopped carrying my iPad all the time (unless I want to use it as a second screen for my Macbook--yes, there's an app for that). But I still use my iPad everyday at home for things like watching sports on the back porch.

Now I've gone and revealed I'm an Apple nut. Sprint gave me a Samsung tablet for free--all I had to pay was $10 per month for 4G access--but I took it back after a week and had to argue with them to not charge me a $75 restocking fee. Samsung must have made a lot more tablets than people are buying. Others rave about Android, but it just seemed as clunky as Windows to me.

The message app lets you respond by just dictating verbally which almost always seems to duplicate your voice perfectly--at least for my voice.
(Source: Apple)

So if you are an iPhone and Mac user, the Watch is an essential accessory in my book. I guess those other reviewers must be Android lovers or (shudder) Windows lovers, or are just used how they work, but for me Apple's stuff all fits together nicely and the watch is definitely worth $349 even if it will be obsolete next year.

— R. Colin Johnson, Advanced Technology Editor, EE Times

[Swordmaker]

I do have to make one snarky comment though... he's never spent more than $350 on a watch? He's definitely not a watch guy. LOL. I'm not gonna say how much the watch I'm looking at right now costs, though several I've really drooled over were almost $20k. There's no way I could talk the wife into letting me drop the hammer on that though.

My Stührling Meteorite in rose gold retails for over $3K but I set it aside for my Apple Watch. . . because even though it's a beautiful watch, all it does is look good and tell time. My Apple Watch looks good and does one heck of a lot more for me.

I have a Longines Wittnauer chronograph I bought when I was in college 50 years ago. Today that watch is worth north of $5K, but it needs work to get it going again, probably just tuning up and lubrication. But it just looks good and tells time with a stop watch/ tachometer and day/date feature. I have several more Chronograph watches including a Citizen Eco, a Seiko, and a couple of top end Invictas. I doubt I will ever wear them again except for the meteorite for dress. The Apple Watch is now my everyday watch because it is useful for so many things beyond just being a time piece.

[CodeToad]

“You have a choice not to click his links.

Who’s the troll?
“

You posts we comment. That is how FR works. Don’t like it then stop trolling Apple.

[CodeToad]

“More graffiti all over this thread. . . feces thrown agains the wall by the capering monkeys.”

The ONLY capering monkey is you that craps all over FR with Apple social media propaganda.

[Admin Moderator]

Stay off of this thread.

[Magnum44]

Hey, what the heck happened to this thread? it was pretty funny for a while but to have everyone’s comments deleted except sword-swallower seems a bit Orwellian, since he was the instigator of most of the bashing

[Admin Moderator]

Unless you plan to stay on topic without making personal attacks and trolling, stay off of this thread.

[Magnum44]

Please define trolling

[zeugma]

Thanks AM for policing this thread. Your work is appreciated.

[tubebender]

Thank you…

[Swordmaker]

Thank you.

[IncPen]

Thank you.

[MediaMole]

FWIW, I am Apple through and through — on my 4th iPhone, Mac laptops and desktops — but I can’t justify the watch.

[PA Engineer]

Thank you.

[Swordmaker]

FWIW, I am Apple through and through — on my 4th iPhone, Mac laptops and desktops — but I can’t justify the watch.

Legitimate comment. A lot won't. However, if even ~20% of iPhone users buy the watch, that's 150 million watches sold at an average selling price of ~$500, that works out to ~$75 Billion in revenues and figuring the ~42% margin Apple is claiming on the Watch, ~$31.5 Billion in profits. That's nothing to sneeze at. There's good indications it may reach that in a couple of years.

[zeugma]

I doubt I will ever wear them again except for the meteorite for dress.

Are you in the mood to sell anything?

[zeugma]

Legitimate comment. A lot won't. However, if even ~20% of iPhone users buy the watch, that's 150 million watches sold at an average selling price of ~$500, that works out to ~$75 Billion in revenues and figuring the ~42% margin Apple is claiming on the Watch, ~$31.5 Billion in profits. That's nothing to sneeze at. There's good indications it may reach that in a couple of years.

Absolutely true. A revenue stream is a revenue stream. I don't know what the margins are on these things, but I suspect it is not a pittance. Many companies would be happy for total revenues to equal the profits Apple will make off these watches. Will it be a profitable enough revenue stream for them to stick with for the long haul? I suspect so.

[amigatec]

Reading down through these Apple threads reminds me of something I experienced recently on a totally different topic.

Last year I was remodeling my kitchen. I found a Maytag Dishwasher I was considering buying, the price was good, and it had the features I wanted, steam cycle, food chopper, low noise, etc. But i wanted to find out more about it. So I decided to read a few reviews first.

I visited a few websitesl, and found a lot of 4 and 5 star reviews, overall most were very positive. But their are always a few of those only give 1 star, and a few nasty comments, so I decided I wanted to read a few of these.

There was one that was partiality negative, it was a 1 star, and when asked if the reviewer would recommend this product to their friends, the answer was a very resounding NO!!

As I began to read, (the reviewer was obviously a women), It was clear she was almost in tears as she was writing this. I was looking for the reason for such a low rating. Did it leave the dishes dirty, did it leak water al over the floor, was it hard to figure out, or did it break down a lot? None of these questions were answered. Instead her entire negative review was based on the fact she had bought the model with the Stainless Steal front, all of her kitchen appliances had the Stainless Steal fronts. But her single complaint for this unit, was that the Stainless finish didn’t match the Stainless finish of her other appliances. It appears the front of the dishwasher had a brushed finished and her other appliances had the polished finished. She was so distraught over this “imperfection” she couldn’t even invite her friends over to show off her new kitchen. It was just horrible to her that she spent all that money for such an ugly dishwasher!!

Well needless to say I tagged this “review” as ‘Not Helpful’.

I see the exact same thing on FR in the Apple topics. A few Freepers that absolutely hate Apple, Tim Cook, Steve Jobs, iPhone, etc and so on, people who have never owned a single Apple product join in on the conversation, just to sow hatred and discontent, they have NOTHING positive to say about a product they have NEVER owned. Just like this lady writing a very negative review about a product that wasn’t pretty enough for her kitchen.

Personally I could care less who Tim Cook is sleeping with, just like I could care less who these Apple Haters are sleeping with. If you don’t like Apple Products, DON”T BUY ANY, but don’t come into Apple thread to spew hatred, and lies.

[Enigo54]

Thank You

[mad_as_he$$]

Apple accepts it's suppliers working 16 year olds in a factory environment. Illegal anywhere in the US. They made billions doing it. Enough said.

http://qz.com/183563/what-happens-when-apple-finds-a-child-making-your-iphone/