READ: 10 Apple Watch Reviewers' Opinions
The Apple Watch is almost here!
Apple’s new luxury wearable represents its first major device-line launch since the iPad. And though general consumer interest has been high, unless you’re a prestigious technology journalist, or a judge on NBC’s The Voice, it’s unlikely that you’ve had the chance to wear one yet.
So to entertain your enduring Apple Watch curiosity, below we’ve put together a roundup of the best summarizing excerpts from Apple Watch reviews written by expert journalists who have had the opportunity to spend some quality time with the device.
(Note: We have not included Pharrell Williams’s thoughts on the Apple Watch.)
“Despite upticks in the way some nascent watches functioned — and just as importantly, how they looked — I was never quite tempted enough to buy one.
“Now that I’ve spent more than a week wearing the Apple Watch, I’m reserving a prominent spot on my wrist. Apple Watch is an elegant combination of style and purpose, even if it indeed often serves as a stand-in for the iPhone tucked away in your pocket or purse.”
(The Verge)
“There’s no question that the Apple Watch is the most capable smartwatch available today. It is one of the most ambitious products I’ve ever seen; it wants to do and change so much about how we interact with technology. But that ambition robs it of focus: it can do tiny bits of everything, instead of a few things extraordinarily well. For all of its technological marvel, the Apple Watch is still a smartwatch, and it’s not clear that anyone’s yet figured out what smartwatches are actually for.
“… If you’re going to buy an Apple Watch, I’d recommend buying a Sport model; I wouldn’t spend money on how it looks until Apple completes the task of figuring out what it does.”
“The New York Times announced last week that it had created ‘one-sentence stories’ for the Apple Watch, so let me end this review with a note that could fit on the watch’s screen: The first Apple Watch may not be for you — but someday soon, it will change your world.”
— Farhad Manjoo, New York Times
(Bloomberg)
“So Apple has succeeded in its first big task with its watch. It made something that lives up to the company’s reputation as an innovator and raised the bar for a whole new class of devices. Its second task — making me feel that I need this thing on my wrist every day — well, I’m not quite sure it’s there yet. It’s still another screen, another distraction, another way to disconnect, as much as it is the opposite. The Apple Watch is cool, it’s beautiful, it’s powerful, and it’s easy to use. But it’s not essential. Not yet.”
“Apple Watch does as much, maybe more, than competing smartwatches, but it doesn’t demand that you pay attention to it. It also succeeded in its most important task: Getting me to keep my iPhone in my pocket. That’s a pretty impressive feat.
“Is my life better because of it? It’s too soon to tell. But what I do know is that I thoroughly enjoy wearing it.”
(Re/code)
“From a technology standpoint, [Apple Watch] is an extension of the iPhone. And just like the smartphone, it starts to change your habits over time.
“… It’s trying really, really hard not to look at your wrist when you’re in the middle of a meeting. In our new world of too-many-devices, it somehow becomes the second thing you reach for when you roll out of bed.
“Smartwatches are still unproven, but Apple has made a pretty strong case for them.”
“The Apple Watch is the most ambitious, well-constructed smartwatch ever seen, but first-gen shortfalls make it feel more like a fashionable toy than a necessary tool.”
(The Telegraph)
“I’m quite a fan of Android watches. Google Now tells you when to leave so you don’t miss appointments, for instance, and is arguably more useful in many ways than the Apple Watch.
“… So with the Apple Watch, again, existing functions are rethought and combined in a new and uniquely appealing way.
“That’s not, however, to say that even Apple fans with £299 burning a hole in their pocket should rush out and buy this first generation Watch. It’s beautifully designed and frequently rather useful — but history suggests version two or three will be even better.”
“For now, the Apple Watch is for pioneers. I won’t pay the $1,000 it would cost for the model I tested, only to see a significant improvement roll in before too long. But I plan to pay $400 for the 42mm Sport version once it’s on sale. That’s worth paying for a front-row seat for what’s next in tech.”
— Geoffrey A. Fowler, Wall Street Journal
(Yahoo Tech)
“The Apple Watch is light-years better than any of the feeble, clunky efforts that have come before it. The screen is nicer, the software is refined and bug-free, the body is real jewelry.
“… But the true answer… You don’t need one. Nobody needs a smartwatch. After all, it’s something else to buy, care for, charge every night. It’s another cable to pack and track.
“In the end, therefore, the Apple Watch is, above all, a satisfying indulgence. It’s a luxury. You might buy it to bring you pleasure — and it will — much the way you might buy a really nice car, some really nice clothes, or a really nice entree.
“Or a really nice watch.”
Email me at [email protected]. Follow me on Twitter at @danielwbean.
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