I cannot deny that the Apple Watch is an amazing little piece of technology. This little computer succeeds in pulling the most common notification and response tasks from our phone and setting them squarely on our wrist. A tract of personal real estate whose sole tenant was once jewelry or the now classic and somewhat antique watch.
The Apple Watch and other wearables have succeeded in making a standard watch obsolete, but the Apple Watch goes a step further and tries to take the place of other fashion accessories with its beautiful design and gold bands. The I watch has what is truly an imaginative new user interface that uses the crown as a dial for selecting and scrolling and a screen that is not only touch sensitive but pressure sensitive as well. You can check the time of course, but you can also check your appointments, see who is calling, and respond to Facebook or twitter notifications. The Apple Watch is also a health sensor as well, collecting heart rate and activity levels to store in the Health App. If you like you can even send your heart beat to that special someone who can see and feel it on their own Apple Watch.
So is the Apple Watch worth it? The little device starts at $549 and goes to $1,099 for the Apple Watch “Edition” which is the premium luxury car model of the Apple Watch. I say constantly that apps are what make a smart phone useful. I believe the same will hold true for the wearable class device. Initially, smartphones were digital assistants that let you make phone calls. Tablets where glorified smartphones that didn’t let you make phone calls. What they have in common is they were designed for viewing and consuming media. Another thing they have in common is today we input almost as much data using these devices as we do on a desktop or laptop. The Apple Watch and other wearables have arrived to fill that little void for a device that we use solely for quick bite-sized media consumption. There are already a number of apps available for the Apple Watch that let you map fitness activities, pay for your ice cream afterwards with Apple Pay, and even open you hotel room door. If we base usefulness of the device solely on the apps that are available today then yes for many, not all, people the features make the Apple Watch entirely worth the $549 price tag. The jury is still out on the “Edition” pricing. Over $1,000 for a watch seems a bit outlandish to me.
One of the biggest features of the Apple Watch is its fashion flexibility. There are 2 different sizes, 5 different metals, and 6 different bands from which to choose, allowing you to match your Apple Watch to any outfit, for any occasion. For all of the things this little device does, Apple is claiming an average 18 hour battery life. For a device with a color touch screen I find that fairly impressive. Nightly charging of the Apple Watch is done using a magnetic connector that attaches to the back of the watch and “wirelessly” charges the battery. Your night stand just got a little more crowded, and so did that surge strip you had to get to accommodate all the devices you charge next to your bed at night!
I think the Apple Watch is a fabulous device though it is way too expensive for the current perceived value and the personal real estate it wants to call home. I will wait and save my pennies for maybe the version 2 or 3, and hope for an even lower priced version in the future.