The next big thing?

When Apple announced its long-awaited smartwatch, discussions appeared almost simultaneously to the first productvideo. How long will be the battery life? Is a squared display better than a round? And so on …

Most interessting to me, as somebody who makes his living on user interfaces, was the way how Apple focused on the Digital Crown as a revolutionary input device.

My first idea about it was, that the thing I like most about my radio-controlled watch is the fact, that as long as I stay in a supported timezone, I will never have to use the crown on it. Sure, the Digital Crown is a bit larger then a crown on an analog watch and thereby better to handle. But I think it’s quite obvious, that the Apple Watch will reduce it’s thickness with every generation to come, and with any reduced sized, the user will face more problems interacting with this device. Nevertheless, a final statement about the usability can be done first, when we can put our hands on it.

But, do we need that much interaction with a smartwatch?

The value of a smartwatch

Almost all of the smartwatches presented to the public are depending on a connected phone. So it’s fair to say, that smartwatches will be a fine addition to the device you already own.

Probably it will reduce the number of times you take your phone out of your pocket as it lets you decide wether the incoming notification is worth a reaction or not. It will inform you about the current time, the directions to your next appointment and the weather. It might track your steps, record your bloodpresure during the day and log the places you’re visiting. But it surely will not be the favourit device for writing emails, update your Facebook status, surfing on the internet or what else you’re doing in your daily routine. Generally speaking, smartwatches will be passive devices and tech-companies will be well advised to focus on semantic processes then on input options.

Android vs. iOS

As an interfacedesigner I have an iPhone as well as a Moto X to keep up to date with the two major operating systems on mobile devices. Alternating between this two devices, I became more and more aware of the differnt ideas behind Android and iOS resulting in the different backgrounds of Apple and Google. While I was interacting with the iPhone more frequently, I never felt I’d be less informed while using the Android phone.
As on iOS it’s more about the devices and interacting with them, Google seems to be more focused on the information your phone will provide you. (Okay, they are focusing on the information you will provide them as well, but what tech-company isn’t …)

In my opinion, this difference leads to the importance of product-lifecycles for Apple while Google focuses on developing its services.

You can see the difference

With the latest version of Android, Google pushed the look and feel of Google Now deeper into the operating system, including the SDK for Android Wear. Best example for this, is the card-based styleguide Google provides on their developer site. Here you will get an impression of the importance of notifications. They are almost presented as a keyfeature on wearable devices based on Android.

This styleguide underlines perfectly the role of notifications. It’s always the same information, no matter where it’s been shown.

Although Apple is bringing iOS and OS X closer to each other, including the user interface, they almost show no consistence between the interfaces of the Apple Watch and iOS.

Taking a look at the features on Apples website, you’ll see more an idea of what you can do with your watch instead of what your watch will do for you. In my personal point of view, I get the impression of another timeeating gadget instead of a supporting tool.

Conclusion

2014 was the year, tech-companies showed us what’s possible in the field of wearables nowadays. This year we will be surprised by many good apps showing us features we couldn’t think about.
One of the biggest questions will be, how people will deal with information vibrating on their wrist. Will smartwatches be seens as gadgets making our lifes more comfortable or will there be a trend of rethinking the amount of information surrounding us on a daily base? This questions won’t be answered within a year and won’t affect peoples buying behavior much initialy. To a greater or lesser extend, the first round of smartwatches will be decided by the companies selling them.

Although I am seeing Google at least on step ahead in terms of connecting services as an integrated product, I’m pretty sure, that the Apple Watch will outsell its competitors in high numburs based on the current standing of Apple products and the disposition of their customers buying first gen products.