First Impressions after a Few Days Use

[Nodger]

I ordered a 42mm SG Sport and 42mm Sport WB on 2 May. My girlfriend's Sport arrived last week so I had the pleasure of un-boxing and using it for a few days, so here are some initial impressions - coming from a Pebble Steel user.

The un-boxing experience and device hardware/design is typical Apple - first-class.

The white strap is incredibly soft and comfortable. I actually like the white strap for casual wear but it felt a little conspicuous for work.

Pairing was simple and set-up was painless, if a little slow, inc. updating the software to 1.01. The myriad of options with the Apple Watch app on the phone would I guess be confusing to some users and I'm not sure I worked through them all.

Notifications took a bit of setting up. With Pebble I'm used to receiving notifications on phone and watch. With Apple Watch it took me a while to realise the notifications are 'intelligent' in that they don’t appear on watch if you are using your phone, or if you're not wearing the watch (which makes sense)

Wrist raise - worked most of the time. Definitely wouldn’t think of turning it off

Haptic feedback - I soon became immune to notification taps and had to activate prominent haptic feedback in order not to miss alerts

Battery life was better than expected - I'd regularly finish the day with more 50%+ left. On Saturday I ended the day with 70% battery left!

User Interface - the UI on the watch takes a bit of getting used to - unusual for an Apple device. It’s hard to quantify why, it’s just not immediately intuitive - a juxtaposition of button presses, hard-presses, screen swipes and crown scrolls.

Heart-rate monitor - I have to say that having read the 'furore' re- heart-rate tracking on 1.01 I actually have not really noticed a problem. Even post 1.01 my watch mostly appears to register my heart-rate every 10 mins, not missing many.

Fitness Tracking - the rings did get me motivated but I wish Apple would provide more clarity/transparency in relation to certain aspects, such as what qualifies as Exercise, difference and qualification of Active vs Resting calories etc. There are other threads covering this with some people making reasoned assumptions but Apple should come straight out and state clearly the design intention and rationale.

Calls - felt a bit star-trekky using watch to answer calls on the wrist. Surprisingly clear but my arm ached after a couple of minutes of holding it up!

Messages - got used to using Siri to dicating and replying to texts - handy in the car - though still needs a screen press or two to reply and confirm send. New emoticons are cute and can be sent to iPhone users too.

Third-party apps - slow to load and pretty unimpressive so far. Probably have to wait for developers to get access to full SDK. Used Hue app to control my lights but thats about it.

Overall, as has already been pointed out, there’s no killer stand-out feature - no-one needs one - but I wanted one and enjoyed using and wearing it. I appreciated the convenience and fun-factor and I definitely used/accessed by phone less. The 'issues' with health/heart tracking I'm sure will be overcome - or at least Apple will provide some clarity - and I'm definitely looking forward to the software/apps evolving and maturing to add to the overall experience.

Unfortunately, I've had to give the watch back to my girlfriend while I await my Space Grey Sport....currently 17 -23 June window. My Pebble Steel already feels like a relic from a bygone age!

...and I'm also wondering whether I should have gone for the SS!!

 

[2macORnot2mac]

...and I'm also wondering whether I should have gone for the SS!!

Yes

 

[Nodger]

Yes

I did try on a SS on Saturday. I'm still inbetween - the SS can more easily be dressed up and feels more premium. I was surprised how much weightier it felt side by side, but I'm pretty active and like the more casual look of the SG - which does look great with an optional white strap. I'll prob wait till v2 before trading up to SS.

 

[2macORnot2mac]

I did try on a SS on Saturday. I'm still inbetween - the SS can more easily be dressed up and feels more premium. I was surprised how much weightier it felt side by side, but I'm pretty active and like the more casual look of the SG - which does look great with an optional white strap. I'll prob wait till v2 before trading up to SS.

I don't blame you. I mainly did it for the sapphire display.

 

[redman042]

Beware of the nagging desire for the SS. It will eat at you. I finally gave in and am upgrading. I've had an SGS for a week. Love the functionality but only like the appearance. I just found it too dark of a look. Thankfully I put a "backup" SS order in on 5/3 and should get it in a couple weeks. I've already made a return request on the SGS and have two weeks to ship it back.

 

[Nodger]

Beware of the nagging desire for the SS. It will eat at you. I finally gave in and am upgrading. I've had an SGS for a week. Love the functionality but only like the appearance. I just found it too dark of a look. Thankfully I put a "backup" SS order in on 5/3 and should get it in a couple weeks. I've already made a return request on the SGS and have two weeks to ship it back.

Arrgghh - not quite what I wanted to hear! Especially as I don't have an order in for a SS, though I'm guessing they may even be in the Apple stores by the time I get my SGS! Being too dark is partly my worry too, though I'd def get a white band for outside of work.

 

[pirateRACE]

I was a launch day recipient of the Space Gray Sport and yesterday I sold it on craigslist. I am not a jewelry guy, hell I don't even wear my wedding ring. I thought the utilitarian styling of the SGS would fit me perfectly. Except since the day I received it, I was trying to figure out what Apple and 3rd party adapters/bands I could get to "dress it up". Unfortunately they all had me feeling underwhelmed. I ordered a SS last week with a blue leather loop and a black sport band. Of course the only thing that got me to this point was getting a SGS with middle-of-the-road expectations and a month later finding it a invaluable tool that was deserving of the additional investment.

 

[teknikal90]

I was a launch day recipient of the Space Gray Sport and yesterday I sold it on craigslist. I am not a jewelry guy, hell I don't even wear my wedding ring. I thought the utilitarian styling of the SGS would fit me perfectly. Except since the day I received it, I was trying to figure out what Apple and 3rd party adapters/bands I could get to "dress it up". Unfortunately they all had me feeling underwhelmed. I ordered a SS last week with a blue leather loop and a black sport band. Of course the only thing that got me to this point was getting a SGS with middle-of-the-road expectations and a month later finding it a invaluable tool that was deserving of the additional investment.

this makes no sense you opened up the post by saying youre not a jewellery guy but then go on to say the SS is the better choice because you can dress it up better..?

 

[pirateRACE]

this makes no sense you opened up the post by saying youre not a jewellery guy but then go on to say the SS is the better choice because you can dress it up better..?

After wearing the sport watch, I came to appreciate wearing the watch daily, where I had never done with jewelry before. I felt the need for it to be dressier for work and such. I guess I wasn't clear. Thanks for the feedback!

 

[Karnicopia]

I'm really loving it. All the information in one glance is amazing. Hey Siri is so convenient kicking off directions I my car. I really like how it works in conjunction with my phone in the car, showing navigation voice on phone haptic feedback on watch in case I'm not paying attention. I can also kick off music with hey Siri which is nice because I use Bluetooth audio and sometimes my phone doesn't kick off music every time. Hated having to dig out the phone for this.

Notifications have been really great. I just have the phone on mute get all notifications and can handle most without needing my phone. It's been really great and convenient.

The health aspect has been great the rings really do motivate well and I really appreciate the stand reminders as I have a desk job and work from home often. We'll see how long these motivate but for now it's been great. Also absolutely love the sport band they did an amazing job with those.

Some things they can improve on is the delay between when you say something to Siri and it displays what you said. It can take a really long time sometimes and you can feel like a bit of a jackass waiting. It usually gets it but something letting you know it's calculating or speeding it up would help. Real hands free dictation would be nice so you don't have to hit ok or send buttons but can say it. Edit texts would be great kind of sucks when you have to start over. Really overall Siri has been awesome but they just need to tweak a few things. 3rd party apps are pretty slow but honestly I don't use much, I do really like the hue app it would be really cool if it would integrate with Siri like hey Siri turn on/off my lights but that's probably a long way off.

Overall really love the watch!

 

[Nodger]

I've seen a few delays with Siri but in the main its translated my garbled messages rather well. I've noticed that when its slow its usually because I have lost 3G/4G signal on my phone so the data connection is slower. In the UK, on the O2 network I find I cannot get any data connection if it drops to GRPS - which is about half of the time!

A few simple Siri tweaks would aid usability - like being able to tell siri to send the message you just dictated rather than having to press a button. Allowing quick replies to email would also be handy.

I'm hoping that HomeKit will be the catalyst to open up third party access to Siri so I can tell Hue to 'Turn on the lights' or 'Turn up the heating'.

 

[SarZ]

So many people justified buying the Sport instead of SS because it’s a 1st generation product and cheaper. I have both and in my opinion the Sport looks like a fitness watch and cheap looking. The SS is a lot classier and the extra cost of the SS is definitely worth it. If you’re going to wear a watch daily the SS is the way to go

 

[Jontif]

I dont necessarily agree...I wavered between the SS and Space Grey and now I have the space grey think it looks a lot nicer in the flesh and Ive dressed mine up with a blue leather loop and loads of people have commented how cool it looks and its so much lighter than the SS

 

[jday7757]

OP, just a quick question. You mentioned you had a Pebble. I'm a longtime Pebble wearer and am still trying to decide between the 39mm and 42mm Apple Watch. I've read all the sizing advice and seen pictures but they haven't really helped me. Can you simply tell me how the 42mm compares in size to the Pebble? It is the same size, slightly smaller, slightly larger, etc? That would truly help me decide. Thanks.

 

[Nodger]

OP, just a quick question. You mentioned you had a Pebble. I'm a longtime Pebble wearer and am still trying to decide between the 39mm and 42mm Apple Watch. I've read all the sizing advice and seen pictures but they haven't really helped me. Can you simply tell me how the 42mm compares in size to the Pebble? It is the same size, slightly smaller, slightly larger, etc? That would truly help me decide. Thanks.

If you have the original Pebble then the 42mm is quite a bit smaller in terms of footprint (or should that be wris-print?) thought Apple is marginally thicker. I have the Pebble Steel and the 42mm is a similar size to it (def no bigger). I haven't got huge wrists but I'd def stick with the 42mm

 

[jday7757]

If you have the original Pebble then the 42mm is quite a bit smaller in terms of footprint (or should that be wris-print?) thought Apple is marginally thicker. I have the Pebble Steel and the 42mm is a similar size to it (def no bigger). I haven't got huge wrists but I'd def stick with the 42mm

Thanks. Yes, I have the original Pebble and have been wearing it since it first hit the store shelves. So, now I know that the 42mm will be just fine for me. Without that confirmation I was thinking I'd have to drive 150 miles to the nearest Apple Store to actually try them on.

 

[Nodger]

Thanks. Yes, I have the original Pebble and have been wearing it since it first hit the store shelves. So, now I know that the 42mm will be just fine for me. Without that confirmation I was thinking I'd have to drive 150 miles to the nearest Apple Store to actually try them on.

You'll def be pleased with the 42mm! Here's a pic of my girlfriends (small) wrist with original Pebble and her new 42mm Apple Sport side by side

 

[ZebraDude]

I've seen a few delays with Siri but in the main its translated my garbled messages rather well. I've noticed that when its slow its usually because I have lost 3G/4G signal on my phone so the data connection is slower. In the UK, on the O2 network I find I cannot get any data connection if it drops to GRPS - which is about half of the time!

A few simple Siri tweaks would aid usability - like being able to tell siri to send the message you just dictated rather than having to press a button. Allowing quick replies to email would also be handy.

I'm hoping that HomeKit will be the catalyst to open up third party access to Siri so I can tell Hue to 'Turn on the lights' or 'Turn up the heating'.

OMG! your data connection drops to a First Generation Data technology! holy moly! I complain when I am dropped to 3G.