That reviews are in and it is not good news for the new Apple Watch. Complaint from across the Internet seem to be that the watch is too intrusive, always buzzing or Tapping on your arm when new notifications come in from emails, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
To fiddly, difficult to open new apps and shut down things like alarms and suggestions you need doll hands to select the item you need from the front screen.
Bad battery life, even with basic use, you know like telling the time, checking emails on its minuscule screen and maybe even paying for a few things via the built in Apple Pay, has been complained about constantly, less than a day with normal activity, and a few hours with active use.
There has also been complaints that it is slow to start Apps once you have managed to make your selection from the baby sized icons.
Let’s be honest this is a 1.0 version of the product. The first version of iPod was not great, battery life sucked, and version 1 of the iPhone had similar complaints.
But the regular version of the Apple watch looks good and fees good, it is made of steel and sapphire glass, with a ceramic back, and as Apple proved with the iPad and iPhone if you make a gadget that feels good and look good, they will come.
There are suggestions the Sports version of the watch, made of aluminium and glass which does not feel like the same quality, will be the most popular model, because it will be about two hundred bucks cheaper. I am not so sure, the watch does not have much going for it, cept the quality of feel and design, so why go for the cheaper version?
The biggest complaint that should worry the Apple team is that the watch is not user friendly, not easy to use, which has been their traditional strong point. the reason I brought grandma a Apple Mac was it was easy for her to understand and use, and wasn’t going to take her down in technical paths she could not back away from. The watch, not so much, just turning off the notifications on such a small screen proves to be a challenge.
On top of the complaints Apple have to contend with the trend that people have not been wearing watches for years. I told my sixteen old son that he could have my Tag Heuer and Rolex watches when I finally leave this earth, he response was “how much can I sell them for, cause nobody using them now Dad”.
To be honest though, Apple have proven before that it does not have to be the best technology to win, they have their fan boys who will buy it anyways and the iWatch is very stylish (well not the sports model) and feels like quality, which as the iPhone has proven are features that can dominate a market.
I have little doubt the Apple iWatch will dominate the watch market, but can they beat the trend that nobody wants watches anymore? Hmmmm, that might be a tougher battle to win. If you want a watch then only ten days to go, global release date is officially set for April 24, expect shortages.
Oh, and Apple are saying the best way to order and get your watch is to order online.