Random Thursday: Why I Will Not Be Buying an Apple Watch

[hrj]

I confess that despite some necessary rules about acquiring new toys ("you must demonstrate that you'd really play with it once you have it"), in the end I always seem to be a sucker for each new Apple thingie. I love my iPhone. I held out on the iPad until I'd come up with a list of five things that I could/would do with it that I couldn't do with any other appliance. Not so much with the "get the complete set of sizes" thing -- I can't imagine what I'd want a mini-iPad for that I couldn't do better with either the full size or the phone. And of course my Mac laptop IS my brain. (Though I'm probably getting due to upgrade. Just need to do a complete analysis of how the newest OS will fuck over my current favorite programs first.)

But I cannot see myself buying an Apple Watch.

I was in Walnut Creek last Saturday for a haircut (this was just at the leading edge of when my current lung crud was raising its head so I still had brain power) and decided to swing by the Apple Store to check things out. Yes, I know the Apple Watch has been on the market for quite some time now, but there's no rush, right? I had only the vaguest notion of what the functionality of the thing was -- basically a sort of micro-iPhone, right? But it talks to your iPhone so it can delivery a more convenient interface without needing the internal capacity? OK, as far as it goes that was the right impression. But I hadn't quite realized just how limited the functionality was.

So as far as I can tell, you've got basically 20 functions. A quarter of them are essentially clock functions of some sort. Another quarter are informational interfaces equivalent to the "swipe down info" on the phone screen (calendar, weather, various notifications). Another quarter are basically "remote control" options for programs on other devices (camera, music, passbook).

The only really specialized functionality are the "fitbit-type" activity monitoring functions. But even more than a fitbit(tm) device, it must be worn on the wrist to function (due to body sensors) and therefore may be selective in what types of activities it detects. (If it's using an accelerometer, then vigorous activity that involves little hand motion may be under-reported.) And while it's "water resistant", wearing it while paddling still sounds counter-indicated. So all the issues I had with an actual fitbit still hold.

That brings us around to the final two factors.

Back when I got my first cell phone, I stopped wearing watches and never looked back. The tan on my left wrist has been seamless for quite some time now. I like not having anything on my wrist. Everything I ever wore a watch for now happens on my phone far more conveniently. One of the reasons I disliked the fitbit (and one of the reasons I took to wearing it on my ankle) was that annoying presence. If there were an Apple Watch that you could wear as a pendant, as a pocket watch, as a brooch, or as any of these interchangeably, then I might consider it. But it needs that body contact for the fitness functions. And that puts me off.

And then there's price. Let's just say that after taking phone plan discounts into effect, I'd end up spending more for an Apple Watch than I did for my full-function phone. More than I did for my iPad. I'm not saying that I judge on a price-per-gram basis, but I do judge on a price-per-function basis. And I just can't see that there's any way it would be delivering hundreds of dollars worth of function-value to me.

So, Apple? I'm happy that you're exploring new ways to entertain the gadget-geeks (in which category I do, indeed, fall) but you've seriously missed the target with this one as far as I'm concerned. I'll pass.

Comments

[trystbat.livejournal.com]

Even tho' I'm an ENORMOUS Apple fangirl, I agree with you completely about the watch. I don't want a FitBit, I don't want a wearable thing, & I don't want an Apple Watch. Yet apparently they're popular bec. the thing is already surging right behind FitBit as the #2 selling wearable & rising fast. Ugh.

[abd07.livejournal.com]

Exactly. As a stockholder, I'm thrilled that people are buying it, but despite being a true Apple fangirl I really don't understand why they are.

[figmo.livejournal.com]

I can't justify getting an Apple Watch, and yeah, I'm an Apple fan, too. Unlike you, I still wear a watch, but that's largely because I was conditioned into doing so while growing up. My father used to say, "If you don't have your watch on, you're naked." Yup -- I was not allowed to leave the house without my watch on! (This also led to some interesting semantics: "No Dad, I wasn't naked with him. [I had my watch on.... ;-)]")

There are features the Apple Watch lacks that my cheap Timex has:

• My cheap watch is gold. I'd have to pay a ridiculous amount to have a gold Apple Watch, and I almost never wear silver. Making a "cheap" Apple Watch "gold" is a lot of work.
• My cheap watch is waterproof. The Apple Watch isn't.
• My cheap watch has a twist-o-flex, stretchable metal band. There is no such band for the Apple Watch, even from third-party companies. At best I could get a buckle-able leather or metal band (I am allergic to the plastic resin stuff they use in watchbands and Fitbits).

[mdlbear]

Yeah; this. Haven't worn anything on my wrist for at least a decade; probably more. Like it that way.

[green-knight.livejournal.com]

There's a lot more interesting stuff coming to the Apple watch, software wise, but WatchOS2 is still in beta, so you won't see it for another week, and then it probably won't be visible for several months as people discover software, write more software, and tell their friends about it.

My price point for an Apple watch would be around $100, so I'm unlikely to ever end up with one. I, too, love not having a watch and see little incentive to change, even though a lot of possible features sound very, very neat.

(As for the iPad mini vs. full size: I have a mini, and I cannot see a use for a full size one. The mini I can hold in one hand, which makes it more suited to public transport.

[hrj.livejournal.com]

Whereas for hand-held convenience, I'm already carrying my phone. I agree with you on price point. And I'm active enough that the body-monitoring stuff would be useful if the various issues were resolved. But at the moment ... meh.

[green-knight.livejournal.com]

There are things I can do on my 64GB (2nd hand), running-OS8 iPad mini that my 16GB iPhone 4 just won't master, so it's not just screen size. I use my iPad for video courses and spend many happy hour on the tube (hah) with downloaded Coursera etc content. Phone is useless for that. (Though fine for reading: finally grabbed Mystic Marriage, will try to NOT start reading now. It being midnight and all that.)

On the upgrade thing: I've been beta-testing ElCapitan for a while, and while the early betas had some visual crud going on where you'd sometimes just get moire lines, quitting and restarting resolved that. I've also had a problem logging into iCloud. Other than that, almost everything ran without the slightest problems (my main problem being the Wacom tablet driver). Word, Filemaker 13, Keynote, and the million-and-one odd apps I'm running: if they're ok with Yosemite, they seem to be ok with ElCapitan. (Next year might be different...)

[bruceb.livejournal.com]

I'm much the same way. My friend who's really happy with his Apple Watch spends a fair amount of time on planes, thanks to the demands of his work, and likes having some things on tap without fishing anything out of pockets. That makes sense, it just isn't my life.