If you don't like the Apple Watch, don't buy one
Since yesterday's Apple announcement of the Apple Watch (or Watch or just Watch) I have seen a cavalcade of arguments against the device. This is to be expected. I'll grant you, Apple isn't fighting against a bunch of crappy smartphones. This isn't some huge problem to solve, it's more like a smoothing out of rough edges in one's life. In a way, the benefits of Apple Watch are nuanced. This is good.
I had really high hopes that the inside the big white structure next to the Flint Center was a miniature home or living room, or any "context" for new devices and services. I think it would be important to see more about how the Watch fits into your daily life and makes it better. Of course I can see these things -- I've been using a Pebble for months now and love it. I'm also a gadget nerd. But more importantly, not having to take my phone out to check the time or glance at a notification has been lovely. I'm also the guy who has lost enough Fitbits to give up on them entirely. For me, the Watch definitely fills a need. Perhaps not as glaring a need as a device that can replace dozens of things I own already, but I see plenty of uses that justify the cost. (I do wish it were completely waterproof, however.)
Some of the criticisms I've seen thus far:
It's too big. Well, it's actually not that big when compared to a number of other watches, and the smaller size wasn't shown much. I might even get the smaller size for myself because I have impossibly small wrists.
It doesn't solve a problem. Technically speaking, people were able to play music before the iPod. People made calls before the iPhone. And people... well I've got nothing for the iPad. Fact is, the Watch solves a number of pinch points when it comes to interacting with your iPhone, most of which occur in day-to-day use, and are probably things your brain has squished deep into your subconscious so you don't even think about them any more. After using my Pebble for a while I miss when I can't just glance at my wrist to see the time or a notification, especially when I'm wearing jeans.
I don't wear watches. Fair enough, and like Peter Cohen used to do with his watch, I often remove my Pebble so as not to scratch my Mac or have it bother me while I type (which is often). Our own Dave Caolo is also a non-watch kinda guy. If you're just not into watches, I get that. Personally I'm a bit of a watch nerd myself -- nowhere near as into it as John Biggs over at TechCrunch -- but the potential for other uses beyond "hey, can you tell me the time down to within 50 milliseconds?" here is pretty enormous.
I have a fitness tracker. Yeah, I did too. In fact, I had about half a dozen. All Fitbits. All either died or were lost. For that kind of money I can probably afford a mid-range Apple Watch (if we only knew the pricing beyond the base models). Also, there are very few devices on the market that look to record as much and as accurately as Apple's product claims to do. Add onto that HealthKit, which will centralize your data. This is also pretty huge because even as nerdy as I am, with the aid of 1Password for logging in, I absolutely loathe having to go to three sites to see my data. Then what? Am I to scribble it down like some caveman? No, I'd much rather be sensor-laden and have my data conveniently collected for me in one easy-to-read interface. Or on my wrist, available with a tap and a twist.
It does too much and will have terrible battery life. Well, it seems it will have a day's worth of charge. Granted, that isn't "magical" but neither is chemistry. That's science and no one has yet to break the laws of physics (try as Apple might). I charge my iPhone 5 almost every night and somehow I've survived this long. But I will concede that something like a sleep monitor will be impossible if your Watch is not on your wrist.
As for the "it does too much" argument, I'd say anyone who says that will be happier with a "dumb" watch or a Pebble -- because you can't have power-hungry applications and great battery at the same time. And limiting yourself to the same stuff watches have always done basically says it doesn't matter how amazing this thing is, you're not buying it. Personally I'm not buying the arguments Felix Salmon posits, because it sounds like he's gonna be a lot happier with a Timex from the 1980's. Or maybe he's one of those sad sacks Douglas Adams was referring to.
It needs the iPhone to do anything. This might be valid, but it's similar to the iPad "who needs it?" argument. It's pretty simple -- like the iPhone, if you don't want one, don't buy it. It's also worth noting we don't know exactly how much you will be able to do with the Watch when your iPhone isn't nearby. But seriously, how often is that?
Apple is just copying Samsung. Shut up. No, really, shut your mouth because you apparently woke from a coma in 2012 and have no idea what is going on in our modern society today. We all know damn well Samsung launched a half-baked product so the average idiot would make this claim. And they are. And it's dumb. So stop.
It isn't waterproof. OK, this had me really concerned as well, but a lot of high-end watches are also not waterproof. Leather bands also don't fare well when swimming in pools. Look, if you want a watch you can use for swimming I recommend an actual sports watch or, better still, this really cool gizmo from Garmin that detects your swimming and logs it. Granted, you'll have to go to one of those fragmented data silos to see your progress, but I'm guessing if you've been training for a triathlon or something similar, you're pretty used to the sorry state of health tracking already. The no-waterproof thing is even giving me pause, especially since I love being able to see if that message I inevitably get exactly three minutes into a shower necessitates getting out of the shower to respond.
It isn't fashionable or "it's ugly." Well I have to say any time you go out on a limb with a design you run that risk. The iPad was a slate. The iPhone was basically a monolith. While refinements have happened, they are relatively unchanged in that primary form (a tabula rasa). The Watch, like all watches, makes a fashion statement by default. The fact that it isn't someone's cup of tea? I get that. Could it be sleeker? Of course, but at the risk of functionality and battery. Is my Apple II still "gorgeous"? I doubt anyone would call it that today, but at the time is looked magnificent. Styles change and tech progresses. For a first effort, I think the design is utterly spectacular.
Technically speaking no one needs an iPad. I remember watching the iPad reveal and it struck me that this "middle child" between Mac and iPhone didn't scream for purpose. Yes, it has a purpose, but no, it is not immediately apparent to everyone. But that doesn't mean some people want it, or might even find use for it. Federico Viticci and Harry McCracken use iPads for work extensively.
It's much the same with the Apple Watch. People, having barely seen the full feature list and of course having not so much as touched the device, are very quick to judge it. It's Apple, and there's a whole industry based on saying everything the company does spells doom for investors. But then there's good old human nature, or to be more specific: desire. Maybe the best thing I read was from Kevin Roose, noting that, over time, you'll see people using the Apple Watch and you will eventually want one. You may not even need one, but boy howdy you're gonna want it.
I remember many of the same arguments around the iPhone. Software keyboard? No way! No MMS? Ok, that was lame. EDGE? Yeah that too. I also remember seeing people say stuff like "I have an iPod and a GPS, I don't need this" or a million variations thereof. This has all happened before, it will all happen again. You don't have to go far to be a cynic in 2014. We still haven't even seen everything the Watch can do!
For me, the bottom line is that I definitely see how the Apple Watch could make my life better. I'm currently trying to lose weight and have given up on the fitness trackers I've been using because of failure or just inadequacy. I'm hopeful, like Jeremy Olson, that the Watch will help me change my habits. I like being able to glance at my wrist for the time while out and about versus taking my watch out of my pocket. I also like being able to play music, skip songs, or see other notifications. I can do all of that with the Pebble, of course, but Apple adds a bunch of other functions to the table. Oh, that and I'm sitting here looking at my Mac SE/30, iPad 1, iPhone 1, Photo iPod and Apple II and realizing... I'm an early adopter. Here's to all of us in 2015.
Update: After posting this I found an amazing review of the Apple Watch by someone who happens to be a bonafide "watch guy." He agrees with some of the tweets I saw in response to this article, namely that if you're a "watch guy" as well, you probably won't wear the Apple Watch all the time. You might buy it, and Switzerland should take note, but it's not the end of the watch industry as we know it.
Finally, here's Douglas Adams talking about digital watches and faucets and, really, about user experience and the innate human need to keep making things better.
