“Apple Watch isn’t so much a lifestyle revolution as it is a collection of small enhancements that add up,” Anick Jesdanun writes for The Associated Press. “Apple’s smartwatch has a wider range of apps than rival watches.”
“In my few weeks with one, I’ve been following my favorite baseball team more closely. I’ve walked to places without staring at a phone screen for directions. I’ve even stepped away from my desk more often — despite my annoyance at the watch for nagging me to move,” Jesdanun writes. “You’ll find ways to use it if you decide to spend $349 or more on one, though that isn’t saying you absolutely need one. Think of it as a Swiss Army knife with a collection of tools that don’t seem necessary — until you find yourself using them.”
“With Apple Pay on iPhones, I’m able to leave my wallet in my pocket to pay at several chains, including McDonald’s and Whole Foods. With the watch, I’m able to leave my phone in the pocket, too.,” Jesdanun writes. “The watch can also generate barcodes for Starbucks’ payment card, Fandango movie tickets and boarding passes for some airlines. I don’t have to fish for paper or a phone while carrying luggage or popcorn.”
Read more in the full review here.
MacDailyNews Take: It all adds up, it really does. You’ll find yourself with more time because of all of the efficiencies Apple Watch offers. And you’ll spend less time distractedly poking at your iPhone, too.
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Tech.pinions’ Ben Bajarin reviews Apple Watch: ‘Powerful’ and ‘completely new’ – April 8, 2015
WSJ’s Stern reviews Apple Watch: ‘Good looks and coolness’ – April 8, 2015
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Off topic, sorry, but, as a public service announcement, I would suggest that people should not bring their children to the likes of MacDonald’s and KFCs — chemical taste enhancers are addictive, so to keep children from being overweight, parents should avoid introducing children to junk food, whenever possible.
Of course, there is limitation to this advice: if you are poor, there is no money to allow your family to eat in less-chemical/junk food restaurants, and there is no time to cook on your own as often times poor people work more than one job to survive.
Anyway, I hope Apple Pay will work in better quality food chains, too.
If more people would supervise their kids’ food intake and encourage them (coerce them) to engage in physical activity there would be fewer obese kids (and adults).
Generally agree with the second paragraph. Awareness and opportunity go a long way.
I like the Swiss Army watch analogy. That seems about right from my experience so far. Nothing absolutely spectacular in the Watch, but great utility throughout. I’m really excited to see the Watch-native apps that will soon materialize.
How’s the screen when viewing it outside, for instance in the sunshine or shade?
Actually I’m outside in the bright sun now and there’s no problem. If you have the sun shining directly on the screen it’ll be slightly washed out. Just turn away from the sun a bit and the screen is completely legible. I did shower with the watch on and it’s still working 😉
I fully charged the watch around 10am and around 10 pm it was at 46% battery. I charged it in about an hour and at 11pm-ish went to bed with the watch on. I woke up around 8am and there was still ~86%. I charged it while eating and it was full charge in less than an hour.
I’ve had my iPhone inside, connected to my MacBook downstairs while I was outside working and and the Watch functioned perfectly. There are distance/barrier issues you can encounter, however. For example, eTrade can be slow to show account info. if I’m far enough away. I suppose it’s my fault being at the edge of the Bluetooth connection range and the amount of data required to display.
Oh, and, yeah, there is a slight learning curve but within a day of playing around you’ll pick it up. Updating apps can take several minutes on the Watch (and renders them temporarily unusable) but, like on the iPhone, you can see the graphic representation of the update process.
I’m hooked!