Initial Thoughts About The Apple Watch

The Apple Watch has been shipping for almost a week. The team at Circuits and Cable Knit was lucky enough to get our hands on one. Almost 7 days in, the Watch has been a very interesting experience. We are excited to be providing a review but want to do it right. With that in mind, we have decided an extended use review was important. Yes, the Watch is an amazing little device, but how will we feel 4 weeks from now when we strap it on our wrists? Will it become something to rely upon or will we even take notice if we forget it one day? A device like this is so nuanced that we have come to the conclusion that this is the only fair way to review the Apple Watch.

That said, here are some brief initial thoughts.  

First, the battery life is a non-issue. Originally I customized every watch face to display the battery meter. After a few days it was clear this was something not even worth thinking about. I would often end the day with well over 30% of the battery remaining. I have now removed the battery “complication” from every watch face.

Second, navigating it takes some getting used to. In concept it seems simple, but there is a learning curve. I was surprised by this, but am sure soon it will be second nature (I keep thinking the “contact” button on the side should be a lock button).

Third, the Sport version is solid. The build quality is impressive of the Watch. The casing, the screen, the glass – all fantastic. Speaking of the screen, the blacks are so deep that most of the times you can not discern where the screen stops and the bezel begins; the colors are pleasingly oversaturated and pop off of the screen. Finally, the included band with the Sport version is much better than we anticipated; it is comfortable and soft.

Some other thoughts: the software is good but not great. A lot of the 1st party apps have obvious missing features. Want the music player to remember to play the internal library, nope. Want to initiate a phone call from the watch to your iPhone’s wired headphones with a mic, nope. Want to view your reminders, nope. It is clear that a lot of the 3rd party apps were designed without a lot, if any, time being spent with the device (I would expect these apps to improve shortly). Also it would be amazing if the watch had one handed operation like Android Wear introduced, where you flick your wrist to progress through notifications.