13 Reasons Why I Want an Apple Watch

Having now had an opportunity to try on an Apple Watch, I wanted to respond to David’s post and give some reasons why I won’t be buying one.

1. Apple’s failure to sell me a good reason for wanting an Apple Watch.

It’s hard not to look at Apple’s marketing of the Watch and question whether this is a product still in search of a market. There are numerous things about the Apple Watch which have me curious, but I have still to find a use case or killer application which makes for a compelling reason to actually buy one.

2. It’s not the best wearable health and fitness tracker.

The Watch’s health and fitness tracking capabilities are perhaps it’s strongest features. However, there are better options available which offer more features and sensors. I would also want a fitness tracker to be able to monitor my condition both day and night, something the battery life of the Apple Watch is likely to preclude.

3. Sorry Apple, but this is not a piece of jewellery.

Reluctant to over-emphasize the health and fitness capabilities of the Watch because doing so might limit its reach into the mass market, Apple has instead chosen to present the Watch as a piece of jewellery. This is clearly not true of the Sport model. The 2 other models perhaps have better credentials to be regarded as jewellery. However, I simply cannot regard anything with built-in obsolescence as being jewellery. Perhaps I am unreasonable and unrealistic, but I would like to think that any jewellery I own might stand some chance of being passed down through future generations, and just possibly might acquire the status of a family heirloom. I would also hope that any jewellery that I purchase is a little more exclusive than having been sold to millions of others.

4. Apple, please stop treating me like a 10 year old child.

Perhaps it’s due to the fact that Apple itself still doesn’t know exactly what a smartwatch is. But, please stop getting up on stage and talking about the ability to send your heartbeat or a doodle to another Apple Watch as if it were some wonderful, life-changing feature. I might do it once, but I am pretty sure that even the 10 year old boy in me will quickly become bored with this.

5. Oh boy, how about that price!

Apple pricing should never really surprise. However, for something which is likely to be obsolete within 12 months, it’s a price that’s going to be hard to justify for many. This is even more true if you want anything other than the Sport Model, where prices quickly rise and in terms of actual features you are getting nothing more for your money. Yes, I know that the same argument could be used for many Apple products. However, my gut instinct is that the Watch isn’t going to hold its resale value in the same way that some of those other products do. It may have more than scrap value after the release of the second generation, but I wouldn’t like to have to rely on the resale money to make a significant contribution towards the purchase of that second generation Watch. The fact that it’s going to be worn on your wrist, without the protection of the cases which most of us use to protect our iPhones also means that it’s likely to gain a few dings which will be a hit on its resale value.

6. That battery life.

Do I really need to say any more? And that’s before we know how much of a further drain VoiceOver will be on the battery.

7. The less than impressive early reviews.

If you’ve not already seen them, go and read or watch the reviews of those who have been given review units by Apple. These people have generally been living with the Watch for a week or more, so it’s long enough to get a good idea of its performance and features. Considering that Apple is only likely to have given review units to people who are traditionally positive about Apple, they are likely to be seriously disappointed by the overall tone of the resulting reviews. One particularly notable and recurring observation is the amount of time that the Watch took to retrieve and display information. Because most Watch apps don’t retrieve information dynamically, they have to go and get it from your iPhone whenever you ask for it. Apparently, this can be a painfully slow process. Some times it can even fail completely. Supposedly, this is something that Apple is working to improve before the public release of the Watch. If they don’t, it could leave many users deciding that they might as well get their iPhone out of their pocket, as that would be quicker than using the Watch.

Most reviewers are willing to recognize that the Apple Watch is the best smartwatch currently available. However, in nearly every case, that comes with the caveat that the bar is set very low.

8. Do I actually want to wear any kind of watch?

I am somebody who has traditionally worn a watch from first thing in the morning to last thing at night. A number of articles discussing the possible success (or not) of the Apple Watch have mentioned the growing number of people who don’t wear watches, instead relying on their mobile phone as a time teller. So, curious to experience this, I stopped wearing my watch just over a month ago. I had anticipated that this wouldn’t last long. But, one month on, and my wrist still sits empty.

9. The Apple Watch Sport is oh so light.

Because of some the reasons that I have already mentioned, the Sport is going to be the only model that I could come close to justifying. However, as somebody who is used to wearing a heavy and quality watch, the Sport felt like a toy on my wrist. Not just because it’s light, but because of it’s strap. Sorry again Apple, but this does not have the feel of quality that I would personally expect and want at this price point. Perhaps I am just a watch snob, or it’s simply due to what I am used to feeling on my wrist. But, the Watch Sport simply didn’t make me feel like I was wearing a quality product.

10. Do I really want to get even further locked into the Apple eco-system?

The iPhone best suits my needs right now. However, at some point that might change to be an Android phone (or, at least something that I wish to explore). But, without an iPhone, an Apple Watch would essentially be little more than a time piece that needs frequent charging to do just that.

11. But I want to use that other hand for something else!

Walking home from the Apple Store earlier this week served to demonstrate how nice it is to be able to use the iPhone with just one hand. I had my guide dog’s lead and harness in one hand. Had I been wearing an Apple Watch, I would have needed to stop, and juggle things around to interact with it. However, with my iPhone I was able to do most of what I needed to do without breaking my stride - answer a call, read some notifications and start/stop music.

12. But, the iPhone’s going to be right there in my pocket.

There’s no getting away from the fact that in most cases the iPhone is likely to offer a more satisfying and complete experience for now. So, how many times will I actually end up reaching for the iPhone in my pocket rather than have the more limited and compromised experience of using the Watch?

13. Do I really want to keep getting ‘tapped’ on the wrist.

I know that this is something that I am really supposed to like, and that it has so much potential. But, do you know what, I actually had to remove the Watch whilst talking to the sales person in the Apple Store because I found the tapping on my wrist to be over-intrusive and irritating. As somebody who already hates the way the push notifications and instant messages make me feel like I should immediately drop everything to go read/respond to whatever has happened, the thought of having these notifications turned into something physical, demanding my attention … well, lets just say that it doesn’t excite.

What it does though, is perfectly demonstrate how the decision of whether to buy an Apple Watch at this point is a very personal and subjective one.

David has already given lots of reasons why buying one is the right decision for him. For me, lets just say that I don’t believe the time is right.

Some very good points to consider David G, but equally, I am sorry to say, in my opinions, some very week points as well especially number 13. i don't like push notifications myself except for text messages, so I simply turn them off or respond "no" to being prompted upon opening new applications.
I would think that one could customize the same with the Apple Watch.

Its the first watch, so it won't be brite enough, but maybe in five years I will consider. Rite now, it have to little memory, and it cannot really do much of what I would like it to do. Once it can get an fm radio, the ability to record high quality and enough storage, then I will smile. But very interesting the way it is and the things it can already do.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: if the only way this watch has of communicating the time to me is via Voiceover, it's useless as a timepiece for a blind student, large groups of blind professionals, or just blind folk who want to look at their watch without disturbing anyone. I wear a Braille watch every day and when appearing in court, giving lectures or tutorials, in a meeting and so on and so forth, a talking timepiece simply will not do the job. The point about inheriting watches is also a very good one. None of David's reasons is a 'bad' reason, but Apple haven't persuaded me sufficiently at this stage.

Just because this whole thing about the watch not coming with a non-verbal way of telling time keeps coming up... The Apple Watch will support third party apps, won't it? Is it really that hard to believe that someone could (and will, given the amount of interest in it) write an app that provides some manner of elegant time-telling using the taptic feedback, even if such a feature isn't built in?

I have no problem in believing that. When something like that happens, whether through Apple or a third party, I will be delighted. The fact that this point has been made so often is great in bringing that forward. Purely from a personal point of view (and as someone has already said, these things are entirely personal) I am not going to buy one on the basis of a likelihood.

Hi all,

I realize this is a rather old post, but I got one of these for Christmas and of course had to do my research. thoughts and an interesting question below.

• the time it takes for the watch to update/ reboot. however, I do suspect that this is because I was gifted series 1.
• call quality. I have taken a few calls on my watch and have had to repeat myself quite often.

All in all, I do love having one now.

I have the modular watch face and the weather conditions as a complication. I know folks that can get that complication to speak high/low temps along with current city.

however, mine only speaks current condisions. for example, "fair, 20 degrees. any Ideas?