Using my Apple Watch

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I’ve seen a bunch of articles lately discussing the Apple Watch. Some folks feel the Apple Watch is a complete failure. Others argue that it’s a flawed success. But I’m going to take a slightly different take… Instead of telling you what doesn’t work, I’m going to tell you how I use my Apple Watch* every day.

Time. I know it's simple, but the Apple Watch does a great job of telling time. I forgot how much I missed wearing a watch. And I like that I can use different faces when I feel like it.

Schedule. I’m a long time Fantastical user on iPhone and I use the Fantastical complication to keep an eye on my upcoming meetings and schedule. I prefer the Fantastical watch app to the stock Apple Watch calendar app.

Weather. Apple Watch is perfect for getting a quick forecast. I've used Dark Sky on my iPhone for years and I like the Dark Sky watch complication better than the Apple weather app.

Activity Tracker. I used to wear a Fitbit, but I had syncing issues all the time. The Apple Watch tracks my steps and activity. I wish there was a better interface for viewing the data, but it syncs everything perfectly.

What’s the score of the Cubs game? I love that I can ask my watch for the score of the Cubs game. Siri quickly displays the score. Really helpful because the Cubs are awesome this year...

Apple Pay. As I’ve mentioned before, I love Apple Pay. And Apple Pay on the watch is even more effortless.

Timers and alarms. Apple Watch makes it easy to set timers for cooking and alarms for upcoming appointments.

Find my iPhone. Apple Watch lets me ping my phone and find it quickly. Helpful when I’m not sure exactly where I put it down around the house.

Remote. We love our new Apple TV. But occasionally, we can’t find the remote because it is ridiculously tiny and gets lodged between couch cushions. The Apple Watch is actually a great emergency remote for the Apple TV.

Quick response text message. I actually use the canned responses for text messages on my watch. Sometimes, all you need to answer with is “OK,” “Yes” or “No.” Or just an emoji. Apple Watch is great at that.

VIP. My notifications are mostly turned off for emails, but not from the VIPs that I’ve identified in Mail app on my phone. I get a quick buzz when someone important emails me. (I get too much email to get a notification every time anyone emails me.)

Directions. If you use Apple Maps, Apple’s implementation of directions on the watch is really nice. When I get driving directions, the next exit number or turn is on my wrist. And it buzzes when I need to make a turn. 

Sending stupid sketches to my wife. Liz also has an Apple Watch. Sometimes, sending a silly sketch is more fun than sending a text message.

Switching watch bands. It’s so easy to change out the watch band. I’ve got two and like to flip between them. I’m probably going to buy one or two more.

So is the Apple Watch worth the investment?

I feel like Apple Watch is worth the investment. Your mileage may vary. I really enjoy wearing the watch and get more than enough use out of it to justify the $300 I paid.** But people use the watch in different ways and you may come to a different conclusion.

The Apple Watch is an accessory.*** It’s not a full fledged computing platform. The screen is tiny. The interface isn’t as intuitive as it probably should be. There are plenty of first generation rough edges to iron out. 

But I find the Apple Watch fun and useful and I enjoy wearing it. For me, that’s enough.

* Apple Watch Sport, Space Gray, 42 mm.
** On sale at Best Buy.
*** I would argue that all smart watches on the market today are just accessories.

Trying out the Apple Watch

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We made the trek to Southpark Mall in Charlotte Saturday to check out the Apple Watch. The process was simple. Walk in, tell them your name and they can pull it up the appointment on their device. If you favorited any items in the store app, they can see those, too. The Apple Store employee was great. Well-trained and genuinely excited about the watch.

I tried on several different models, all in the 42mm variety. I really liked the Milanese Loop and the Space Gray Sport. I've seen reviewers complain about the leather loop, but I actually liked it, too.

The watch is smaller and lighter than I expected. My current watch is bigger than the biggest Apple Watch so size and weight wasn't an issue for me.

The watches that you try on are in demo mode, so you can't really interact with them. The demo does include "taps" so you can feel them. The taptic engine is pretty crazy and not at all like what I was expecting. Not really sure how to explain the feeling other than to say that it feels like someone is lightly tapping you on the wrist. It's very subtle.

In the store, it's hard to get a feel for how you will interact with the watch. Watch displays are set up around the outside edges of the store and are connected to iPads that explain the features as you navigate the watch. It's a very well designed experience. However, I don't think you will be able to fully appreciate what an Apple Watch can do until you have it on your arm and it's paired with your phone.

My wife also tried on the Apple Watch and she liked the modern buckle in the 38 mm. She hasn't really been paying attention to the Apple Watch hype so she had lots of questions for the sales guy. She's struggling to figure out how it would work for her. She's a teacher so during the day, the communications functions would be pretty useless for much of the day. But several other features - like fitness and maps - intrigued her. 

I'm excited to buy one. I think it will work well for me and my routine. I'm leaning toward the Space Gray Sport. The Milanese Loop is really nice and stainless steel finish gives you more flexibility by matching a wider selection of bands. So I may change my mind. 

Other notes from the Apple Store:

  • They don't sell the Gold Apple Watch Edition at Southpark. Considering that the cars on display inside the mall included Maseratis and a Ferrari, that should tell you how exclusive the Apple Watch Edition is. 
  • Apple's going to sell a lot of watch bands. Let's hope that the watch bands will work for at least a few generations. Most people are going to have multiple bands.
  • The new MacBook. Wow. Love it in Space Grey. So unbelievably thin. I know there are lots of compromises with it. But once an USB-C ecosystem exists, I could see opting for one of these. 
  • Bluetooth headphones are going to be necessary to use the Watch while you are running. While I knew that, it puts a new perspective on why Apple purchased Beats.
  • I received an email survey after the try on experience. I've written before about how sales people push you to give them the highest score. Well the Apple Store folks didn't do that. They didn't mention the survey to me at all. I used the opportunity to explain the issue I had signing up, but gave the entire experience high marks.  

Getting an appointment with Apple Watch

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I'm trying on an Apple Watch today. I live in Columbia, SC – which incomprehensibly does not have an Apple Store. So I'm heading up to Charlotte.

Last Monday night, I decided I wanted to try on an Apple Watch. And considering that I'm taking the whole family with me, I wanted to go ahead and see if there were appointments available for the next weekend. When I searched, I discovered a couple of things:

  • There were appointments for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday but there were "No Appointments Available" on Friday, Saturday, Sunday or Monday. Okay, the Southpark Apple Store is a busy store. It prompted me to check other stores so I checked Augusta Mall, which is actually closer anyway... Same story... Checked Charleston... no availability for the weekend... Checked Greenville... Nope.
  • So I figured I'd book for the weekend after. But you couldn't. You could only book a week out. Monday was the last day listed.

Ugh. Nevermind. 

Except I knew Apple was going to continue to do try on sessions. A quick theory developed: Apple only allows you to book an appointment a week out. The next day I logged in and sure enough, Tuesday was now available for booking.

But there was something else, too. Thursday, which previously had "No Appointments Available" now had a full slate of appointments available. Yesterday, there was nothing. So after a little testing, I figured out the rules:

  • Apple shows you only the next week of dates.
  • You can only book appointments for the next three days.
  • The days that you can't book say "No Appointments Available," but actually should say "No Appointments Available, Yet."
  • Nowhere on the reservation site is this explained.

I'm not sure if this is for all Apple Stores or just the ones in the Southeast. It seems very sloppy. Maybe Apple assumes that most appointments are impulsively scheduled. I don't know, but I almost didn't go to a try-on appointment because I thought – incorrectly – that no appointments were available.

It's easy to fix. Show only three days instead of seven. Or just explain it somewhere.

That said, I'm very excited to try on an Apple Watch today. My wife and I both have appointments. I'll write a detailed post on my impressions later this weekend.

Where's the jewelry counter?

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Everyone has questions about the Apple Watch. What will it cost? How long will the battery last? How well will third-party apps work? But I have a completely different question:

Where's the jewerly counter?

When I buy a watch, I want to try it on. See how it feels. Test out different bands, styles and sizes. And the more I think about it, the Apple Store as it is currently configured is a terrible place to buy a watch.

And that's why I think the most expensive versions of the watch will never make it to Apple Stores, or any other mass market retailer for that matter.

The base Apple Watch Sport will cost around $350. And I'm sure you'll buy those like an iPhone or an iPad. They will be on display at your local Apple Store and when you are ready to buy one, they'll bring a box out from the back. And you'll probably be able to get them at other retailers, too, like Best Buy and Target.

But the more expensive models — ones that cost thousands of dollars — will never make it to the Apple Store. Or Best Buy. Or Target. Because quite frankly, that's not how you buy a $10,000 solid gold watch.

Expense watches and jewelry are sold through a network of high-end fashion retailers and small jewelers. And it would make sense for Apple to work with these retailers to sell the most exclusive models. I would imagine that at launch, there will only be a handful of locations in the world where you can buy an Apple Watch Edition. (The lack of leaks coming from these retailers would tend to indicate that it's a very small, very selective network.)

But what about the regular non-sport, non-edition Apple Watch? The stainless steel versions? Where will you be able to buy those? John Gruber's detailed and logical post on Apple Watch pricing estimates these will cost at least $1,000. That's an expensive watch to sell though the Apple Store, but I do think they will carry them. And I would assume that high-end fashion retailers will carry them as well.

(As a random aside, what if one or more versions of the Apple Watch were available exclusively through the Apple Store? Maybe the Milanese Loop?)

So basically:

  • Apple Watch Sport will be available at the Apple Store and other retailers like Target and Best Buy.
  • The Apple Watch will be sold through the Apple Store and a select network of high-end retailers.
  • And the solid gold Apple Watch Edition will be sold in exclusive high-end retailers only.

I'm still skeptical about the buying experience for the more expensive watches at the Apple Store. There's no room for a jewerly counter.* And when the Apple Store is crowded — and it's always crowded — I can't imagine an Apple Store employee pulling out watches for a customer to try on. And I can't imagine a customer buying a thousand dollar watch without ever having tried in on.

I'm sure Apple has a solution for this. I'm sure they are aware that a crowded Apple Store is a less than ideal experience for purchasing a high-end watch. I can't wait to see what they come up with.

*Unless they completely redesign the Apple Stores... 

Apple Watch: Cost isn't my biggest question…

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When the iPhone was released in 2007, I had never paid more than $15 for a phone. Whatever phone was free with contract was what I purchased. I simply didn't see the point of spending significant money on a phone. But when the iPhone was announced, I wanted an iPhone. And now, 7 years later, every two years or so, I drop significantly more than $15 on the newest model of iPhone.

I've never paid more than $150 for a watch. I don't wear one every day. I really didn't see the point in investing a significant amount of money on a watch. But now I look at the newly announced Apple Watch.

And I want a watch.

I read John Gruber's thoughts on the new Apple Watch the other day. And what he's thinking is what I was thinking. The Apple Watch Sport will be $349 and the prices will increase significantly from there. Luckily, I like the Sport. But I really like a bunch of the other models as well — especially the stainless steel Apple Watch with Milanese Loop.

Price increases significantly as you move from left to right.

Price increases significantly as you move from left to right.

I have lots of questions about the Apple Watch. But cost really isn't the major concern. I expect a quality device with a premium price tag. But the more expensive the watch, the more these questions impact my decision.

Will the battery charge last for the entire day? For me to buy an Apple Watch, the charge has to last for at least a full day. And then hopefully, I'll remember to charge it every night. (I stink at remembering to charge my devices nightly.)

Will the Genius Bar become a jewelry counter? If I'm going to spend this kind of money, I want to try it on. See how it feels on my wrist. Think about the current Apple Stores. How in the world would they accommodate that type of customer interaction? They are already incredibly crowded. Will other retailers sell the Apple Watch? Can you see Best Buy selling solid gold watches? My guess is that Apple will offer the Sport through various retail channels, but the more expensive models will be sold exclusively through the Apple Store.

What will the upgrade cycle be like? Most of us buy an iPhone every two years. But that's because it's tied into a contract. I update my iPads and my Mac less frequently. How frequently will I upgrade my Apple Watch? For me to invest in a more expensive version, it's going to need to last more than two years.

Can I run with my Apple Watch without my iPhone? If I want to use my watch to workout, I don't also want to have to carry my iPhone. If all the GPS and network connectivity is in the iPhone, won't you need both with you to take advantage of apps like Nike Plus? And who wants to run with a giant iPhone 6 or an enormous iPhone 6 Plus? If I can leave behind my iPhone and run with just my Watch, then I'm interested. Otherwise, I'll leave the watch at home and run with my iPhone like I do now.

As we get closer to the release, we'll discover the answers to some of these questions. I have confidence that Apple will do its best to address these issues.

I intend to buy an Apple Watch. Will I spurge and go with the more expensive option? Probably not initially. I have trouble with the idea of investing in an expensive watch that is obsolete after a few years. But just like how Apple changed my attitude towards buying mobile phones, I think they will radically change my attitude towards buying watches.