I have been living with an Apple Watch for the last 2 months, and I just do not understand what all the fuss is about.
It is a beautifully designed and realised technological marvel that does not serve any useful function for me.
I have not worn a wristwatch for almost three years, except on rare occasions as a piece of jewellery. There are clocks in the house, the office, the car, and on my phone, so I worked out did not need a watch to know what the time is.
So going back to wearing a watch – in this case the Apple Watch – felt a little strange, but I soon got used to it. Lift your wrist, a watch materialises, and now you know what the time is. A great idea that takes me backwards by three years.
Without proximity to your iPhone, the Apple Watch does not do much more than show you the time.
Close to your phone it can do wonderful things. Checking messages and mail on your wrist seems a great idea – especially if you did not want to take your phone out of your pocket. I particularly like the remote camera control. Given that I only really use the iPhone camera in work situations to image whiteboards and the like into OneNote, that isn’t of too much use. You need the phone in your hand anyway.
The battery life for me is around two to three days. That means when I am travelling I need to carry yet another specialist charging cable with me.
It will not replace a single device I carry around with me. It does not change, or even assist any of the communication practices I follow. It does not make access to information any easier or different.
Until I find the killer Apple Watch app, I think this will be consigned to the white elephant drawer. Thankfully it was a prize, rather than bought.
Sure, it appears cool. But, there is a fine line between being cool and being a wanker; I am not sure which side of the line the Apple Watch sits on.
