• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Apple Watch |OT| Apple invents the watch!

mrklaw

MrArseFace
Most of the problems with the current Watch are software, honestly.

Yep. It seems responsive enough when navigating the UI and some apps, it just needs a rethink on how it is used.

- more caching of content locally so apps can respond quickly without refreshing live from the phone (do that in the background)
- let me choose to have the phone not mute for all notifications (I would definitely want my phone to light up for calendar reminders for instance)
- custom vibrations (mirror the vibration on the iPhone would be enough). As an aside, also update iOS so I can have custom sounds and vibrations for third party apps and not just Apple apps.
- I'd like the option to trade battery life for an always on glance mode. Even just a small digital clock at low brightness with no animation(hours:minutes) that moves around the screen to avoid burn-in. I often look at my watch without a gesture big enough to trigger the screen. Battery seems good enough that I'd probably still get a solid day with that turned on. That was a great feature on my android wear G watch R
 
I don't think they will change the size of the casing, so interesting to see what they change to make it a better product; better processor, better battery, better screen. Is that enough? watchOS 3 probably won't be out until September.

I think the bezel will be thinner and narrowed. Better resolution screen, slightly faster processor and they might for OS3.
 

Red

Member
I don't think they will change the size of the casing, so interesting to see what they change to make it a better product; better processor, better battery, better screen. Is that enough? watchOS 3 probably won't be out until September.
I don't think they are limited on the size of the casing. They can create any new design they like, as long as they maintain compatibility with current watch straps.

I think the current Apple Watch looks great, but maybe a little chubby. If they can shave off a millimeter or two it'd look pretty sleek.
 

Guess Who

Banned
- I'd like the option to trade battery life for an always on glance mode. Even just a small digital clock at low brightness with no animation(hours:minutes) that moves around the screen to avoid burn-in. I often look at my watch without a gesture big enough to trigger the screen. Battery seems good enough that I'd probably still get a solid day with that turned on. That was a great feature on my android wear G watch R

I'm not so sure how that would work out. WatchOS 2 has an option to make the screen stay on for 70 seconds after tapping instead of 15, and when I've used it I've noticed a very significant decrease in battery life.
 

mrklaw

MrArseFace
I'm not so sure how that would work out. WatchOS 2 has an option to make the screen stay on for 70 seconds after tapping instead of 15, and when I've used it I've noticed a very significant decrease in battery life.

presumably thats the full animated colour face though? I'd only need a simple grey number with no animation or anything so should be low power consumption (its an OLED screen isn't it?)
 
Apple making their own watch dock:

dock1.jpg


dock2.jpg


http://www.macrumors.com/2015/11/17/apple-watch-magnetic-charging-dock/

$79

CUCFKc3U8AAP7iG.jpg:large
 

SuperPac

Member
Stand looks fine. If it had been out around launch I would have bought one. As it is I bought a stand from Twelve South that I like a lot so there's no need anymore.
 

sc0la

Unconfirmed Member
I bet for apple watch gen 2, Apple would change the packaging design where this new dock is included.
And miss out on an 80 upswell opportunity? Not on your life.

It will include the charging cable it already has and no more (except Edition which already comes with a charging stand/box).
 

Chittagong

Gold Member
How is it terrible looking? I want to hate it too, because I don't want to be tempted to pay $100 for it.

It looks like a CD. Too many splitlines, bevels and circles. Pillowing shape not typical to Apple. Compare it to the geometric simplicity that is the iPhone dock. Also the mode where you lift up the centre bit looks like an afterthought. Some bracelets like the look link one can't lay flat, but this solution looks like the normal charging cable shoved into a door stop.

If we wouldn't know this is from Apple most people would think it's a lasy third party solution.
 

LCfiner

Member
I like how it can switch between flat and horizontal charging depending on band. but i'm not a fan of the overall dimensions.

as it is, i'll stick with my 10 dollar silicone blob that put the watch in nightstand mode when charging.
 

mrklaw

MrArseFace
think I'm going to sell mine. I bought it used so I shouldn't lose too much on it. It is ok, but there are some things that are just frustrating, and for a device I wanted mainly to improve notifications, it isn't really doing it for me. Mainly:

- custom vibrations on iphone don't carry across to watch.
- when you're wearing the watch the phone is muted to any notifications that are set to appear on the watch, other than phone calls.
- no always on mode. My habit with normal watches is to glance at them rather than do a 'wrist raise' gesture, so I have to tap the apple watch to see the time. My GWR had enough battery to have the simple time display always on and still last a full day. I'd guess apple watch would too, but we may never know.

The end result is a series of dull 'pings' on my wrist, I can't tell which are emails vs text messages so I have to screen all of them. When I'm not wearing my watch, the iphone in vibrate mode is more useful to differentiate between different notifications.

The core technology is fine - the taptic engine in particular works way better than android wear's simple vibration. And I like the idea of a smartwatch. I'll probably be back once the software has matured a bit more.
 
Ended up selling my watch a few days ago. It's a nice idea, but I have to say it's probably the worst smartwatch I've owned out of several different Pebble and Android watches. The OS is so slow and choppy at times and that really ruins the whole point of why I use a smartwatch when it takes forever for me to access the information or settings on it. Not to mention WatchOS 2 seems to be a dud because nobody's developing apps for it.

Maybe things will be different next year, but I doubt I'll be able to justify the high price point for what it does compared to other watches.
 

cakefoo

Member
It looks like a CD. Too many splitlines, bevels and circles. Pillowing shape not typical to Apple. Compare it to the geometric simplicity that is the iPhone dock. Also the mode where you lift up the centre bit looks like an afterthought. Some bracelets like the look link one can't lay flat, but this solution looks like the normal charging cable shoved into a door stop.

If we wouldn't know this is from Apple most people would think it's a lasy third party solution.
I'm looking at the iPhone dock and.. It's a flat rectangular base. The Apple Watch dock is ... a flat disc-shaped base.
 

jts

...hate me...
I agree that the iPhone dock is nothing to write home about.

About the Apple Watch dock, I do kinda like it actually. Maybe not $80 like it, but still think it looks good and the 2 position mechanism is a great touch.

Feel like its general design, details and even box are an intentional nod to the CD shape. Ive, you cheeky c*nt.

PS-notice how Lightning accessories and applications are just blowing up? Siri remote, new keyboard, mouse and trackpad, Apple Pencil, this dock. Guess Lightning is not going anywhere soon in lieu of USB-C. Wonder why they didn't choose Lightning for the service port on the new Apple TV though...
 
Ended up selling my watch a few days ago. It's a nice idea, but I have to say it's probably the worst smartwatch I've owned out of several different Pebble and Android watches. The OS is so slow and choppy at times and that really ruins the whole point of why I use a smartwatch when it takes forever for me to access the information or settings on it. Not to mention WatchOS 2 seems to be a dud because nobody's developing apps for it.
When they announced the APIs for WatchOS 2, this was immediately clear to me. None of the APIs were going to allow for mind-blowing or clever experiences. It was just about giving third-party apps the ability to do what Apple's native apps could do. I'm going to be closely following the features of WatchOS 3, as it's going to be very indicative of how much of an immediate future there will be for this device.

Wonder why they didn't choose Lightning for the service port on the new Apple TV though...
Or at least a Lightning to USB-C cable. No freaking way to charge the remote unless you buy a separate adapter or have a PC.
 
Question for people who own the Sport Edition, does the screen stay strong and stay relatively scratch proof with normal use?

My Apple Watch with the sapphire crystal screen got so many small scratches on it, and FINALLY got a crack on the small bottom right corner of the screen. I did purchase Apple Care with it, so I think I may finally cut my losses, pay the $75 replacement fee for it, and sell my the new Apple Watch I receive locally for $500.

Using that money, I think I might purchase a Gold Sport edition, this works out nicely for me since I wanted to downgrade anyways from the 42mm to 38mm, and right now BestBuy is selling all Watches for $50 off, so $299 for a watch doesn't sound awful at all.

So, how's the screen quality on the Sport?

edit: actually I've never had to use Apple Care before. When they give you your replacement device, is it a brand new device? Like new Box, charger, etc, or is it just the device in a generic box? Or is it just a refurbished device?
 
Question for people who own the Sport Edition, does the screen stay strong and stay relatively scratch proof with normal use?

My Apple Watch with the sapphire crystal screen got so many small scratches on it, and FINALLY got a crack on the small bottom right corner of the screen. I did purchase Apple Care with it, so I think I may finally cut my losses, pay the $75 replacement fee for it, and sell my the new Apple Watch I receive locally for $500.

Using that money, I think I might purchase a Gold Sport edition, this works out nicely for me since I wanted to downgrade anyways from the 42mm to 38mm, and right now BestBuy is selling all Watches for $50 off, so $299 for a watch doesn't sound awful at all.

So, how's the screen quality on the Sport?

edit: actually I've never had to use Apple Care before. When they give you your replacement device, is it a brand new device? Like new Box, charger, etc, or is it just the device in a generic box? Or is it just a refurbished device?
Just the device in a generic box, normally. As for your first question, my Sport has lots of tiny surface level scratches , but nothing that is a true scratch. I, too, have Apple Watch, just in case, but I've no problem with how well the screen's holding up.
 

Ninja Dom

Member
think I'm going to sell mine. I bought it used so I shouldn't lose too much on it. It is ok, but there are some things that are just frustrating, and for a device I wanted mainly to improve notifications, it isn't really doing it for me. Mainly:


- when you're wearing the watch the phone is muted to any notifications that are set to appear on the watch, other than phone calls.

The core technology is fine - the taptic engine in particular works way better than android wear's simple vibration. And I like the idea of a smartwatch. I'll probably be back once the software has matured a bit more.

This is exactly how it is supposed to be and how I always imagined it would be before the Watch came out. I don't see why you'd want notifications still going to your iPhone while you're wearing Watch.

If I'm at home and watching TV with my girlfriend and the iPhone is on the table, it's nice and unobtrusive for the Watch to vibrate with the notification rather than the iPhone light up with the notification on the table. And other situations too.

Getting the notification to Watch and iPhone at the same time means there's no real point in having the notification coming to the Watch at all, as you're just going to deal with the notification in the same old manner that people were doing before they had the Watch.

Phonecalls are different - that's a person immediately wanting to speak to you right there and then.
 

tmdorsey

Member
This is exactly how it is supposed to be and how I always imagined it would be before the Watch came out. I don't see why you'd want notifications still going to your iPhone while you're wearing Watch.

If I'm at home and watching TV with my girlfriend and the iPhone is on the table, it's nice and unobtrusive for the Watch to vibrate with the notification rather than the iPhone light up with the notification on the table. And other situations too.

Getting the notification to Watch and iPhone at the same time means there's no real point in having the notification coming to the Watch at all, as you're just going to deal with the notification in the same old manner that people were doing before they had the Watch.

Phonecalls are different - that's a person immediately wanting to speak to you right there and then.


Exactly. I don't get the problem at all.
 
This is exactly how it is supposed to be and how I always imagined it would be before the Watch came out. I don't see why you'd want notifications still going to your iPhone while you're wearing Watch.

If I'm at home and watching TV with my girlfriend and the iPhone is on the table, it's nice and unobtrusive for the Watch to vibrate with the notification rather than the iPhone light up with the notification on the table. And other situations too.

Getting the notification to Watch and iPhone at the same time means there's no real point in having the notification coming to the Watch at all, as you're just going to deal with the notification in the same old manner that people were doing before they had the Watch.

Phonecalls are different - that's a person immediately wanting to speak to you right there and then.

Exactly. I don't get the problem at all.
Give me the ability to play my custom alert tone on my Watch. That's what I care about most.
 

japtor

Member
This is exactly how it is supposed to be and how I always imagined it would be before the Watch came out. I don't see why you'd want notifications still going to your iPhone while you're wearing Watch.

If I'm at home and watching TV with my girlfriend and the iPhone is on the table, it's nice and unobtrusive for the Watch to vibrate with the notification rather than the iPhone light up with the notification on the table. And other situations too.

Getting the notification to Watch and iPhone at the same time means there's no real point in having the notification coming to the Watch at all, as you're just going to deal with the notification in the same old manner that people were doing before they had the Watch.

Phonecalls are different - that's a person immediately wanting to speak to you right there and then.
...actually I explicitly turned off vibrate and leave my phone on silent because otherwise that stuff does come through on the phone so I was confused by that post, unless something changed in 2.0?
Give me the ability to play my custom alert tone on my Watch. That's what I care about most.
Same, course I just leave my watch on silent too and go by vibrations so I'm not sure how big a deal that would actually be for me. In any case there's still the utility in custom vibrations too then.
 

mrklaw

MrArseFace
Different people like different things? I wouldn't have the phone going off for emails, but I might for incoming messages from my favourites, or calendar events. Let me choose is all I wanted.

Perhaps if they let custom vibrations pass to the watch that would have been enough - then I could have figured out who a notification is from without looking at it.
 

Anion

Member
Anyone think the 42 mm is too big? I just got mine today cause of a deal and Im not sure if I should keep it or return it when the 38 mm gets back in stock. I havent tried it yet though, I should point out
 
Anyone think the 42 mm is too big? I just got mine today cause of a deal and Im not sure if I should keep it or return it when the 38 mm gets back in stock. I havent tried it yet though, I should point out

Both sizes are fine for me, but you want to keep the 42 for the better battery if the size is suitable for you.
 

border

Member
Anyone think the 42 mm is too big? I just got mine today cause of a deal and Im not sure if I should keep it or return it when the 38 mm gets back in stock. I havent tried it yet though, I should point out

I think that it ultimately doesn't matter. The extra 4mm on the larger model doesn't make much of a difference. Go with whatever you think looks and feels better...but remember that there will be a lot of bands that don't work with the 38mm model.
 

Anion

Member
Both sizes are fine for me, but you want to keep the 42 for the better battery if the size is suitable for you.

I think that it ultimately doesn't matter. The extra 4mm on the larger model doesn't make much of a difference. Go with whatever you think looks and feels better...but remember that there will be a lot of bands that don't work with the 38mm model.

Ah thanks! I couldnt resist, so I opened it the box last night. The 42mm didnt seem really big I though lol, so Im glad I went with it.
 
Anyone think the 42 mm is too big? I just got mine today cause of a deal and Im not sure if I should keep it or return it when the 38 mm gets back in stock. I havent tried it yet though, I should point out
Depends on how big your wrists are. I got a 38mm Space Gray Sport a few days ago because I tried both sizes on at the store and the 42mm looked very silly on my small wrist. For size reference I wear the S/M size Sport band on the third largest hole. 38mm Sport is also a very nice weight for me, as the only other watch I've ever worn daily was a tiny digital Casio.

Really enjoying my Watch so far. I don't feel so naked without my phone in my pocket now. Made a 4 hour drive yesterday and the thing kept telling me it was time to stand up while I was driving though, lol.
 

Anion

Member
Depends on how big your wrists are. I got a 38mm Space Gray Sport a few days ago because I tried both sizes on at the store and the 42mm looked very silly on my small wrist. For size reference I wear the S/M size Sport band on the third largest hole. 38mm Sport is also a very nice weight for me, as the only other watch I've ever worn daily was a tiny digital Casio.

Really enjoying my Watch so far. I don't feel so naked without my phone in my pocket now. Made a 4 hour drive yesterday and the thing kept telling me it was time to stand up while I was driving though, lol.

Haha thats great. It really is a cool extension for the phone for me.
I feel like the 38mm might look slicker on my wrist, since my wrist are somewhat small. I also use the S/M band but on the 4th largest hole, so a bit bigger than yours. Wore slim analog watches before, but this isnt too bad for me.
People tell me it helps them become a bit more productive, however Im just tinkering with it all day so far lol. Maybe in a week I'll get over this phase haha
 

mrkgoo

Member
Haha thats great. It really is a cool extension for the phone for me.
I feel like the 38mm might look slicker on my wrist, since my wrist are somewhat small. I also use the S/M band but on the 4th largest hole, so a bit bigger than yours. Wore slim analog watches before, but this isnt too bad for me.
People tell me it helps them become a bit more productive, however Im just tinkering with it all day so far lol. Maybe in a week I'll get over this phase haha

Maybe I'm reading this wrong but when I read the other posters post, I took 3rd largest to mean third from the largest. I have a 38mm and I wear the second largest (1off the largest).

So I took your post to read as 4th from largest meaning dead in the middle of the 7 holes, meaning it's actually a bit smaller than the previous poster's.

Regardless I have the 38mm and while it's a little bit more fiddly to use due to smaller screen, the actual watch is a MUCH better fit and size for my wrist.

I've actually had comments about how good it looks. I remember when apple first showed off the watch - the stainless steel link looked so amazing to me (still does), but for me it's such a casual accessory in both my use and presentation that I feel I couldn't pull off such a "dressy" model as the stainless steel so I'm super happy that the sport is the one for me.
 
Your interpretation of my size measurement was correct. And yeah, the Link Bracelet is hawt, but the price is absolutely absurd and I find the Sport band to feel great and goes with most if not all of my wardrobe well enough.
 

Anion

Member
Im sorry, you were right. Im wearing it tighter then lol.
A smaller watch might look better but Im fine with the 42 mm it seems.

So I thought my watch was vibrating randomly today. I was thinking about what it could be since my iPhone was turned off when it happened. I believe it is my sport band rubbing on the table with resistance as I slightly, unintentionally move it. So that "creates" a vibration. Not sure if that's what it is or what, but odd nonetheless.
 
Apple is currently planning a March 2016 event to unveil the second-generation Apple Watch, according to sources with knowledge of the plans. The second version of the Apple Watch would then ship by April, nearly a year after the original model first went on sale. Apple has also been working on a new “iPhone 6c” with a 4-inch display, which also could appear at this event, according to the sources…

As we previously reported, Apple has been working on new camera, wireless, sleep tracking, and health sensor technologies for the wearable device, but it is currently unclear which of these additions are will appear on the model planned to be introduced in March.

http://9to5mac.com/2015/12/08/apple-watch-2-march-4-inch-iphone-6c/
 
Looks like watchOS 2.1 is out. Not showing up on the iPhone yet.

edit: is now. "new language support and bug fixes."

"Addresses issues that could prevent third party apps from launching"

yissss
 

Ninja Dom

Member
Looks like watchOS 2.1 is out. Not showing up on the iPhone yet.

edit: is now. "new language support and bug fixes."

"Addresses issues that could prevent third party apps from launching"

yissss

Bug fixes and language updates. No new features. Should have been names 2.0.2
watchos_2_1-800x703.jpg
 
Looks like watchOS 2.1 is out. Not showing up on the iPhone yet.

edit: is now. "new language support and bug fixes."

"Addresses issues that could prevent third party apps from launching"

yissss
It could just be my mind playing tricks on me, but transitioning between the watch face and apps screens are really smooth in 2.1. Before it was hardly noticeable there was a transition animation, now I see it quite well.
 

ecurbj

Member
Why don't you wait till next year? There is already talk Apple will be holding a March Event debuting a new Apple Watch revision.

This seems like Best Buy is just clearing out the stock of the current generation Apple Watch since it is holiday season still.
 

btrboyev

Member
For those still on the fence, Target is offering a $100 gift card with an Apple Watch purchase. Not sure why anybody would buy one now, but of course there will be plenty.
 

aparisi2274

Member
I may be getting a watch for Christmas (42mm Sport) and I am not a fan of the band that comes with it, and was looking up some 3rd party bands, and came across these three..

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ZY9UDI6/?tag=neogaf0e-20

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00WWRCRUA/?tag=neogaf0e-20

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B013OWLBK8/?tag=neogaf0e-20

Anyone have any experience with these?

Also, I'm wondering if I do get the Watch for Christmas, do I just return it and get a Apple Gift Card and wait for Watch 2...
 
Top Bottom