“After over a week of living with Apple’s latest gadget on my wrist, I realized the company isn’t just selling some wrist-worn computer, it’s selling good looks and coolness, with some bonus computer features,” Joanna Stern writes for The Wall Street Journal. “Too many features that are too hard to find, if you ask me.”
MacDailyNews Take: Successfully suppresses sexist rant. Miracles do happen.
“There are so many things the watch can do, so many menus and features you must spend time figuring out, that for better or worse, you end up shaping your own experience. Some may find usefulness in hailing Ubers with a tap on the wrist, or transmitting a heartbeat to a beloved. My colleague Geoffrey Fowler explored the Apple Watch as a gateway to the iPhone for many quick activities. I sought a simpler experience, turning it into a stylish watch to keep me on schedule and a workout companion to keep me moving,” Stern writes. “The Apple Watch succeeds where the fitness trackers have failed. Not only does it provide more accurate data and a platform with big promise, but it’s an accessory I love to wear all day long.”
“On Sunday morning, I went for a 2-mile run. But instead of looking like a marionette with an iPhone in hand and earbuds hanging from my head, I ran with just the stainless-steel, 38-millimeter watch, attached via a $50 blue sport band to my wrist,” Stern writes. “Years ago, the iPod liberated us from jogging with a giant Discman. Apple now has the potential to change the workout again. With Bluetooth earbuds paired directly to the watch, Taylor Swift blaring in my ears and the sun shining on my face, I ran for 21 minutes, burning 156 calories. When I ended up at Whole Foods—no phone, no wallet — I bought an iced latte by just tapping my wrist to the reader.”
Read more in the full reviews here.
MacDailyNews Take: Unfortunately, Stern’s concluding advice to not buy an Apple Watch because “the next Apple Watch will be better” is, to put it plainly, stupid and self-defeating. If you do not buy because the “next generation will be better,” you’ll never own anything at all.
We are so unbelievably glad that we bought the first iPhone and the first iPad. Outside of our “jobs,” we’ve never regretted either purchase and, in fact, we’d have enormous regret if we sat around waiting around for the “next gen.,” depriving us of participating in and experiencing major paradigm shifts. We knew they were first generation products. That made us want them all the more.
If you’re on the fence, get the Apple Watch Sport. Its resale value will hold up just fine and you’ll get much out of being an “early adopter.”
Related articles:
The Verge’s Patel reviews Apple Watch: ‘A masterpiece of engineering’ – April 8, 2015
WSJ’s Fowler reviews Apple Watch: ‘The first smartwatch worth buying’ – April 8, 2015
Yahoo Tech’s Pogue reviews Apple Watch: ‘Magical’
New York Times’ Manjoo reviews Apple Watch: ‘A power you can’t live without’ – April 8, 2015
Bloomberg’s Topolsky reviews Apple Watch: ‘The world’s best smartwatch’ – April 8, 2015
USA Today’s Baig reviews Apple Watch: ‘Second to none; I want one’ – April 8, 2015
Wow, you can use Apple Pay without having your phone with you? I didn’t know that. That’s really cool. I thought the phone would at least have to be in your pocket to do that.
My understanding is:
You put on the watch, and pair it with the phone, at which point the ID is confirmed using Touch ID, until the pulse stops (remove watch, die, etc…) so the phone is apple pay ready even if phone is not with you
Look how much she enjoyed the watch in just a few days. She will deprive herself of all that for a year or two because the next version will be better? Except for food and shelter, which we have to have on an almost daily basis, lots of other things we spend our money on fall into that category. Does she postpone an automobile purchase because the next one will be better? Does she postpone clothing purchases because the next one will look better? Is she still writing her stories on a typewriter because the next word processor will be better? Well, maybe she is.
I think the point most people are making when they say this is that the second version of an Apple product is always leaps and bounds better than version 1.0. Think of the jump from the first iPhone to the iPhone 3G.
But yeah, no way am I depriving myself of an Apple Watch for a whole year. I’ll just sell my version 1 when version 2 comes out.
Can’t wait to no longer carry my phone from room to room in my house or constantly take it out of my pocket when it buzzed only to find out that USA Today thinks I need to know about a 7-car pileup on a freeway in a state that’s a thousand miles away.
I agree with MDN. “Just wait for the next version” is terrible advice. My first iPad — purchased on the debut day — is still in active use. And my first iPhone, also purchased on debut day, is still in use, having been given several times to friends and family members. Just really stupid advice.
Funny, that strategy has proven very useful to me. My iPad 2 lasted all the way to iOS 8. (First gen iPad left behind in iOS 7). My Mac Pro second generation is still viable and I can’t justify upgrading it because it does what it needs very efficiently still, and better yet, I am able to run the latest and greatest software since I was able to upgrade the OS to Yosemite, unlike the first generation that was relegated to Mountain Lion. So no, it’s not terrible advice at all.
As a senior, I go with the “Death is Immanent” idea. Wait for the next model and you may die without ever having the ownership experience.😱👀
MDW I would disagree about buying the first version. History shows that version 2 devices have been substantially better than version 2. I did not buy my wife version 1 IPad just for that reason. She is still happily using her IPad while if I had gotten her version 1 I don’t believe it would still be usable. Once beyond version 2 your comment is valid. Don’t delay because a better version is coming.
My version 1 iPad is happlily residing in our kitchen, displaying recipes daily using the Paprika Recipe Manager. From time to time, we take it to another room to use it there for adding recipes. Or on a trip so the kids use it to watch movies. As far as I can see, these things may never wear out. No drives to fail! Maybe I’ll have to replace the battery…someday.
My wife did too. No airplay, now sluggish, unsupported and unused. iPad 2 still has a lot of life! Al nailed it.
I wonder how Dell ever sold more than a few computers as they never got better!
Pretty good advice. He is by no means suggesting the apple watch is not a great device. I never buy the first edition of any new Apple Or other tech) product. You only need to look a the first iPhone and iPad as proof. Very cool devices but first adopters learned to regret it.
How would you know “…first adopters learned to regret it.” When you “never buy the first edition….” I think you better go back to windowsWorld or wherever you come from.
She has lost me on her “Soon, we won’t have to charge the battery every night” — which is nonsense since battery technology does not have a breakthrough in more than decade already, it improves incredibly slowly.