Apple Watch hands on review
The Apple Watch has been ticking away on my wrist just shy of 24 hours, and while it's no longer called the iWatch, it really is "my watch" and Apple's most personal gadget yet.
The iPhone-compatible smartwatch comes in 38 flavors, with different case materials, colors, sizes and interchangeable Apple Watch bands. None are inexpensive.
Starting at $349 (£299, AU$499) and climbing all the way up to $17,000 (£13,500, AU$24,000), the lightweight Apple-designed wristwatch is meant for early adopters and boutique store regulars.
Is it worth that tough-to-swallow Apple Watch price? Beaming apps like Messages, Mail and every iPhone notification to an always-on-hand gadget is a wonderful convenience.
I no longer have to find my seemingly always-hiding iPhone 6 every time someone texts me, yet I can ping the iPhone when I really do want it thanks to the best Find my iPhone method yet.
But not having to fetch your phone for each and every vibration in your pocket is a luxury, and not one most iPhones users need this very moment - at least for the current asking price.
Where does that line get drawn? What can it do better than a smartphone? We've known the Apple Watch specs for months, but now we know these answers too and how it feels to wear it for much longer than 15 minutes.
What does Apple Watch do?
Apple Watch is often oversimplified as an iPhone on your wrist, and almost everyone I have talked to this week has accidentally referred to it as "your phone." Even I slipped up once.
It's not an unreasonable comparison. The square-shaped smartwatch is like a mini iPhone; it lets me read emails, summon Siri and receive phone calls from my wrist.
Combining the features of an iPhone-tied watch with a fitness tracker, Apple Watch also lets me track my steps walked, calories burned and heart rate. Surprise: I need to move more.
Custom watch faces, like we've seen from Android Wear watches, are here, as well as new exclusive technology like the pressure-sensitive Force Touch touchscreen.
That said, there are plenty iPhone features that aren't carried over to the wrist. Apple Watch is not an iPhone replacement, a weird disappointment to a lot of people who are missing the point.
"Wait, I still need my phone?" is the response I've heard from baffled people. Certainly. It's not meant to watch YouTube videos on the tiny display or scan dozens of Facebook posts sans a keyboard.
Who would want to don a giant watch capable of such specs or a large enough battery to run that? You still need an iPhone with you at all times, but you use it less than before.
Design and comfort
I've tried on every Apple Watch model outside of the 18-karat gold Apple Watch Editions during first 15 minute appointment, but I stuck with the entry-level 42mm aluminum Apple Watch Sport in white.
It's the cheapest of the 38 designs, and, in my opinion, slightly more comfortable than its two posh counterparts that are made of heavier stainless steel and gold.
In fact, its anodized aluminum case and Ion-X glass make it 30% lighter. That adds up on my wrist when I'm wearing this thing for 18 hours a day before the battery life is zapped.
Its aluminum frame matches the iPhone build and is therefore duller than the shiny stainless steel Apple Watch, but it still goes with a steel band like the Milanese Loop just fine.
My Apple Watch Sport is also missing the even tougher sapphire crystal glass, but the Ion-X glass has proven resilient so far. I don't expect to have to spring AppleCare.
Everything else is the same. The case sits 10.5mm off of my wrist with stylishly curved glass on the top and a slight bump to the black composite back for the heart rate sensor.
It's reasonably thin for now, but I can already imagine Apple making a "world's thinnest watch" several times over in the proceeding years for the Apple Watch 2 and beyond.
A classy sounding digital crown and an uninspiringly named side button are located on the right side for twisting and pressing through menus. A microphone and speaker are on the left side.
The Apple Watch Sport band is made of fluoroelastomer, which is Apple's fancy way of saying synthetic rubber that's supposed to be extremely durable.
The smooth strap, available in white, black, blue, green and pink colors, feels comfortable and is easier to buckle than any prong-clasped Fitbit I've tested. It tucks the excess band in a hole so that it hides behind the beginning the strap.
My watch came with two bands, a larger and short size in the same white color. Changing the strap was incredibly simple and required no tooling, unlike the Moto 360.
Although many Android Wear smartwatches work with third-party 22mm bands, the transition to a new band - like the Milanese Loop I ordered - is more seamless and still secure. Cheaper third-party straps are also said to be on the way.
Interface and apps
Apple Watch's setup is fairly seamless too. I booted up my iPhone's Watch app, which came with iOS 8.2, and it asked me to take a photo of my new Apple Watch. Done. It was paired.
Syncing my existing apps happened automatically too, but took a couple of minutes. After that, I was able to customize my watch face and load up a springboard of circular apps.
I immediately started receiving texts on my wrist, mostly asking if I got the Apple Watch yet, and emails about important travel plans to next week's LG G4 event.
All of this happened while my iPhone was plugged in several feet away, already drained after doing an unboxing video on the Periscope app.
The interface has taken a while to get used to and the My Watch menu within the iPhone companion app is astonishingly complex, which may end up being a good thing.
I can disable notifications for specific apps and just about every setting can be mirrored from the iPhone or be set up individually, from Do Not Disturb to how Messages notifications. They repeat twice all the way up to ten times if I hate myself.
Apple Watch has taken me some time to learn and a number of essential third-party apps are missing, at least in native form. This includes Facebook and the iOS Gmail app.
Sure, Facebook notifications pop up on the watch, as do emails snippets from the Gmail app, but seeing anything beyond "Lily posted a comment on your timeline" or reading the full email requires an iPhone for now. This is unlike Instagram's native app or Apple's built-in Mail app.
Many third-party apps need to load faster than they do currently and include finer controls that go far beyond "Show App on Apple Watch." This is up to developers. Like me, they clearly need more time with this newly launched smartwatch to get used to it.
Apple Watch has "millions" of watch face combinations thanks to complications, but just nine default faces. Curiously missing is a way to include a custom photo as a watch face, an option that was at the original watch announcement back in September.
I appreciate how easy it is to switch up the existing watch face colors and add widgets like the date or my next calendar appointment around the on-screen dial, but only when developers can create truly custom watch faces of their own can this feature compete with Android Wear.
Fitness
Apple Watch isn't a fitness band, watch or fashion accessory, despite taking a bit from each of those camps. It's hard to define what it really is, which means that users may struggle to justify the purchase.
I think its greatest chance of success is in the health market, as Apple has made this a decent choice for people looking to get a little bit healthier.
That said, the Watch will still have decent health ability. Not just checking steps or heart rate once in a while, the watch will be able to help you be a bit less sedentary as well as noting when you run around and how hard the exertion is.
Of course, it needs an iPhone to work really effectively, but it works very well autonomously too in terms of tracking the above. However, with no GPS on board it can't be classed as a running watch - although the interface is nice.
This partly explains why Samsung has teamed up with Nike to make the Gear S a running companion – but at least Apple has got its own version of a full running system to make up for it.
Battery life
Apple Watch is supposed to have 18 hours of battery life, which would translate into a full day if I were to ever keep to a normal sleeping schedule. That's impossible to gauge on day one due to all of the heavy use.
I took several battery-taxing phone calls with my watch, which Apple says depletes the battery in three hours. Just checking the time every so often boosts it to 48 hours.
While I plan to update this review with a fair battery life test, I can confirm that it charges faster than Apple had lead me to believe. It was juiced back up to 100% in two hours.
Officially, the Apple Watch recharge time is supposed to be 1.5 hours to 80% and and 2.5 hours to 100%.
My faster-than-expected charging time may be due to the 72 hours that Apple Watch can remain on in a limited time-checking state called Power Reserve mode. I charged the watch when it reached 0% and entered this mode, so it technically had some juice left to it.
Early verdict
Apple Watch is the best iPhone-compatible smartwatch for early adopters looking for the next big thing in a small package. It essentially relays some iOS apps and all notifications to my wrist without requiring me to constantly pull out and unlock my phone.
This concept is going to become more useful when the hype dies down, new apps emerge and I have more time to get acquainted to the interface and controls. The best smartwatches work better as an unexciting fashion piece or fitness tracker that fades into the background, which contrasts with an iPhone or an iPad that you train your eyes on and fill with multimedia. If you're asking why it can't play YouTube or take photos, you're really missing the point.
It's a time-telling and time-saving convenience, though one that still requires a nearby iPhone and a hefty sum to buy. The Apple Watch price is rightfully getting mixed reviews from fans. That's why I ultimately recommend the cheapest aluminum Apple Watch Sport. It has same dimensions, functionality and battery life as the pricey steel and gold models. And it'll justify the inevitable upgrade to Apple Watch 2 when the time it up for this edition.
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