As with all Apple products, there has been endless debate surrounding the release of Watch – the giant’s latest ‘necessity’. In the six or so months before going on sale, this involved guesses, many of them educated, around what it would bring to the digital world, how it would affect us, whether it would signal the dawn of the wearables era. Now, following the release, discussions have turned to opinions, outcomes, next steps; and it makes for interesting reading.
If, as so many of us, you’ve been on the roller coaster ride that is Apple fandom since the start, you’ll be well versed in the need to wait for second-releases of new products so that problems can be ironed out. Luckily for those of us who wait, there are many out there (millions in fact) who really, well, just can’t.
To Buy or not to Buy?
If you’re one of the people that can wait for second-releases, most reviews suggest you’d be well in your right mind to do so. Whilst Watch in many respects appears to be a positive step forward for wearables, there are still issues that need to be rectified and aspects that can be improved.
First-party apps – those by Apple that come stock standard with the watch – seem to deliver on most of what they promised. Notifications are easily dealt with and Siri’s voice interpretation seems pretty good for text dictation.
There are complaints however. Many users feel that the use of the two dials on the side of the face involve too many inconsistencies. From the ‘Home’ face the main dial will do one thing, whereas the same action within an app will see a different function performed; this is a steer away from the mainstay of the iPhone – one touch on the Home button will take you, naturally, home.
As for third-party apps, the list will grow for companies offering such. The disappointing thing so far is that they must be connected to the corresponding app on the phone. That means no ‘purely Watch’ apps which would probably spurn a whole new world of possibilities.
If you run a business, you should definitely keep your head in the game when it comes to wearables like Watch, because whilst we recommend you wait for subsequent roll-outs it will likely happen relatively quickly and companies left behind will miss out on the ability to really push through effective channels of audience engagement.
I’ll leave you with a quote from Andrew Cunningham at Ars Technica, who says in a list of good, bad and ugly features: the ugly is that
“no matter how many gadgets you buy, one day you will die.”
That sympathy in itself suggests you’re well within your rights to bide your time on Watch. For now.
