Read This Before Buying an Apple Watch
For the first time in five years, there is a new device added to the Apple eco-system. This is an exciting opportunity to imagine and design products for a new type of screen, in a different world than we are used to. We have been using an Apple Watch for 2 weeks and here are some of our initial thoughts.
Design: Hardware
Overall the hardware design of the Apple Watch is top notch and up to the standards you’re used to with Apple. Perhaps it’s actually a step up in comparison with the iPhone 6, as we really dislike some of the details of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, such as the plastic edges on the back.
On the watch, all the edges are seamless and it feels very refined when you’re swiping from the edge. Though the device appears to be a bit bulky, the size is acceptable while wearing the watch on your wrist. The design has several similarities with the iPhone 1, and we wonder if it will follow the same evolution as the iPhone.
We shipped an Apple Watch Sport 42MM from France (thanks Dviance!). Compared to traditional timepieces, the screen is definitely smaller than most watch faces. The watch works great for things like the time and Glances (which is a quick way of consuming data), but you really start notice to the lack of screen estate when playing around in apps. It shows its limitations in the small amount of content and the small hit areas for navigational buttons.
For example, in Mail you can only read about 8 lines of text with 3–5 words per line. And don’t get me started on the hideous hyphenation.
Design: Strap
The Apple Watch comes with a wide selection of straps you can choose from. As we obtained the device before being available in our country, we did not have a lot of choice but to go with the default light blue Sport Strap. The word Sport is definitely applicable, because it’s an odd look if you’re not dressed for working out.
The blue tone looks a bit childish and is really bright. The Sport Strap reminds us of the iPod Touch, which features very bright colors as well and has probably the same target audience. The straps made from steel or leather are closer to a traditional watch, and thus would make it look and feel more premium. The Watch comes with a Small/Medium and Medium/Large strap.
Design: Watch OS
The operating system for the Apple Watch is pretty good. If you’ve been using an iPhone for a while, you feel right at home on the Apple Watch. Gestures are very similar to iOS, like swiping from top to bottom to reveal Notifications.
The Homescreen of the Apple Watch works quite good too, the interaction of moving your Homescreen to browse the different apps is a great UX for this tiny screen. We have read some reviews that mention the device being really slow, but we find the speed acceptable in most cases. We have to remember this is a great time to be alive and let’s not act too spoiled.
Design: Apps
Overall there is a very consistent look throughout all the apps on the watch, which is both a good thing and a bad thing. After we used a few apps we were having a deja vu. A similar trend was seen when iOS7 was released with the flat design trend. On release, all the apps looked the same and lacked a lot of imagination. Over the years, apps got back their identity and most products have an app that resembles their brand.
That said, we understand the WatchKit is quite limited and we shouldn’t put all the blame on the designers and developers. We do expect that apps will look better over time. We especially hope that during the WWDC this summer, Apple will push great updates that allow more possibilities.
Now that we’ve covered some of the design related topics, we can move on to the user experience.
Bad: The Apps
There are already quite a few apps for the Apple Watch, but there are very few that we actually use. Almost none of the apps add value that is specifically better on your Watch than on your iPhone. Because of the small screen and limited features, we took out our iPhone more often than using the Apple Watch.
Bad: Glancing at your Watch
The Taptic Engine triggers you to look at your device, but it’s a bit rude to repeatedly look at your watch when you’re with company. Glancing at your watch is generally interpreted as wanting to know the time, and if you keep looking at the time, it means you either have to be somewhere or you’re really bored. We’d say people will have to get used to a watch being more than just a timekeeper.
Good: Battery
While being a 1.0 device, there are definitely some great things about this piece of hardware. For starters, the battery is actually quite good. We’ve had very low expectations of the battery as this is a trend for all smaller, mobile devices these days. But with normal usage it could go up to 1,5 day without needing to charge again. Power Reserve is also nice if you temporarily want to put it on hibernate, e.g. when you go swimming.
Good: Notifications
Having something on your wrist that shows notifications is a great use case. Instead of having to grab your phone from your pocket each time you feel or hear a notification, you can just rotate your wrist and you know what’s up. It’s a really nice solution to be able to know if you need to act on something or not.
At this time, this is the biggest use case for the Apple Watch for us.
Good: Having both hands available
The Apple Watch enables you to have both hands free, while still providing information. You can imagine this works great when working out, but also in less obvious cases like doing groceries or while riding a bike. Clear was especially neat during grocery shopping.
Good: Possibilities and the Future
This is just the beginning, and its noticeable in everything. From the hardware being a bit bulky to no-real-value apps. That said, we can definitely see a future where everybody wants a smart watch. Something on your wrist to keep you up to date while being subtle and offering functionality without having to grab your phone can be great.
It’s up to all of us to create and design apps that make the Apple Watch really useful. We can’t wait for the next wave of apps for the Apple Watch.
Thanks to Demi for hand modeling and Dviance for sending us the watch.
Originally published at blog.yummygum.com.
