(Tried to upload this yesterday before my appointment, but WordPress Mobile doesn’t like my ancient installation of WordPress. It’s definitely time to upgrade…)
I managed to snag a try-on appointment for the Apple Watch tonight.
After all this hype and speculation, really the only way to know if this product makes sense is to see it in action and feel it on your own wrist. I don’t care what it does if it’s uncomfortable or heavy or something unexpected like ‘the band smells like burning feathers.’
For me as a user, it’s not as expensive or frivolous as it may be for some. I use a fitness band that makes a terrible watch and lacks heart rate monitoring.
Withings makes a watch that costs nearly as much, but fails to understand the compulsive measurement aspect of health monitoring, with its analog activity dial. It also lacks the heart rate monitor. I have a Timex heart rate monitoring watch that sits in my drawer because it requires putting a huge rubber band across your chest. (Actually the rubber band isn’t huge enough for a big guy, which is even worse.) The Apple Watch solves these problems and throws in much more functionality, so it’s not an expensive item relative to the universe of health gadgets.
The proof will be in the wearing, though. I don’t care that much about the looks — I’ve owned clunkier and nerdier watches. But if it smells like burning feathers, or checking the time isn’t at least as seamless as TouchID, it’s a non-starter. Your mileage may vary, but that’s kind of the point with wearables.