Everyone expected it to be called the iWatch, but Apple Watch is on the horizon. The recent announcement about the release date of April 24, 2015 (made right after clocks were changed for Daylight Saving Time so everyone’s watches were wrong…) has been met with less enthusiasm than other Apple electronics. Is the Apple Watch going to do as well other Apple electronics?
Apple is jumping on the wearable tech bandwagon with its Apple Watch. They claim it will use the iPhone to keep time within 50 milliseconds of global time standards. That’s about the only actual “watch” use to the product. The face is a touchscreen, enabling alerts and notifications with taps, sketches, and heartbeats.
You can set your “inner circle” and access friends via the touch of a button. You can message or call or even use your finger to sketch a drawing that your recipient can watch as you do it on their screen. The tap is the equivalent of a Facebook poke, only it’s a physical sensation. Taps let you know someone is thinking of you. Taps may be customized so you know who it is from without looking.
Most wearable tech is focused on fitness or activity, so the Apple Watch has to include it. It provides three rings of data that indicate moving, standing, and exercising. Users can set goals and the app provides reminders. The heart monitor uses two fingers on the screen to check heart rate. You can send your heartbeat to someone in the form of … a beating heart.
The Apple Watch has three collections: The Apple Watch that has black or silver stainless steel casing and a sapphire crystal with a range of band options; the Apple Sport Watch in an anodized aluminum case in silver or gray with Ion-X glass – a variety of colorful bands are offered; the Apple Watch Edition has an 18 karat gold case in yellow or rose gold with a sapphire crystal – multiple bands are offered.
And just in case you’re wondering, yes, the watch can actually take and make phone calls. There are plenty more features and every iPhone is going to be equipped with an app in the next update.
So, what are the downsides? That app that comes on every iPhone? You can’t delete it. It’s an app like the Stocks app that is stuck there whether you have the watch or not. The watch starts at $349, which is reasonable compared to other watches, but if you won’t use the functions, is it worth it? You have to have an iPhone for integration, so if you have a Samsung or other brand, you are out of luck. There is no way to know how long the watch will work. Buy a good watch and will last for decades. This one will become obsolete as tech advances.
The biggest drawback in my mind is the battery life. 18 hours per charge is the average. If you use a lot of texting, phone calls, or other apps, you will likely get closer to 10 hours. This means remembering to charge it every night or you don’t have it for the next day.
Like any new tech product, it’s a good idea to wait for the second generation to be released so the bugs are all worked out, and you can decide if you really want to spend the money so you can talk into your wrist like a secret agent.
