Now of course some people may ask what “2.0” means. I mean this is round four right ?
Actually I have had every Apple Watch since the beginning and have desperately tried to love them. I acknowledge that if you use a number of the key features, e.g. fitness tracking, message notification, etc. you could make a case for the watch. But basically it just felt like a toy to me. A very nice toy, but still a toy. The requirement to keep it near the iPhone at all times meant it was more bauble then business. The requirement to charge mid-day meant it was nothing that could be used on holiday, or even far out of the office, the slow nature of the sensors, particularly the heart sensor, made it not the useful for trend monitoring, where it’s all at for fitness and health and lastly the weak signal holding and temperate nature of its remote functions, including Apple Pay, made it an unrealiable helper.
But I decided. Let’s take a look at the 4. Every function is now at least version 2 and I have to say that not only is the Apple Watch 4 a different level from the previous watches but I think I can finally glimpse the future.
You see in 10 years I can really see the my iPhone staying at home !! To qualify this statement, I take an iPad into work every day and use it for browsing the web, purchases, email and Netflix. Now the watch can answer calls and texts, show where my children are on find friends, listen to internet radio and mp3, etc. the utility of the phone is just diminishing, and I can honestly see a point where I can’t be bothered taking it in. Even upgrading it seems a waste of time, which for the first time this year I can’t be bothered. My X can last another few years ...
So how about Apple Watch 4 ? Well firstly it’s gorgeous, and, yes, that’s really important. For someone that takes joy from their possessions and normally wears a Tudor, Omega, Ball or Rolex, it’s an essential.
I had to buy the stainless steel one. Horror stories about scratched glass on the Alu watch abound and sapphire seemed the way to go. Stainless steel in polished silver just about goes with any strap. As a mechanical watch owner I have to laugh at comments of weight. This thing weighs nothing
Of course the extra 2mm of vertical size combined with 1mm of width decrease makes the watch much more wearable but at the same time more usable.
The screen is really stunning and super sharp. A key advantage of a smart watch over a conventional watch is the amount of information it can display, so the new screen with 9 complications is just what the doctor ordered. I really like the clever display of the edge complications in a curve utilising the resolution of the new screen (9 in total on the new Infograph screen as I am including the calendar alert in the inner dial curved at the top).
The myriad of small changes have exceeded “the sum of the parts”. For example the thinner but more robustly bound crown just makes it feel like a more quality piece.
The next generation sensors are now properly effective. The heart sensor is fast enough and accurate enough to see continues readings through work, exercise and sleep, for example, combined with the accelerometer and microphone sound readings we now are able to obtain a really in depth analysis of sleep.
The battery has also been significantly improved (I am using the 44 watch). It now easily covers a day, and can do two days in most cases. This is a big breakthrough. I remember running out of battery part way through the day on most days with my Apple Watch 1 and 2 (never had a 3).
So what are the development points ? My main ones are: (i) Many of the phones apps that come with watch apps are useless as they need both activation and opening on the phone, and the phone has to be in range - what’s the point of that, I might as well use the phone. Developers really must start to develop apps which are totally independent; (ii) The sketch keyboard (e.g. for messages) is actually pretty good but still needs a lot of work; (iii) The inclusion of ambient time (i.e. a dim time on all the time) would be great combined with a cpu that can slow to a single core on virtually no power; (iv) and a battery that lasts a week IMHO would finally kill off the phone for more applications. We are really talking about wrist computers that pretty much do everything (did I leave out the 3D holographic projection display
)This is a beautiful watch that can now be used on its own merits. It has enough applications that are useful to be missed when reverting to lesser watches and its fast enough and reliable enough to be a real realisable companion. I think I can say now that the Apple Watch has moved from a novelty to a useful companion and is on the way to being an essential for busy active people, and, lastly, after a discussion this morning with a surgeon who has just bought one, a future essential health accessory.
Well done Apple. Perseverence pays off!
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