Handles messages well. A solid fitness tracker. Hundreds
of apps. Can send and receive voice calls via an iPhone. Lots of design
choices. Apple Pay-enabled. Stores music for local playback over
Bluetooth.
The BadBattery
only lasts a little more than a day. Most models and configurations
cost more than they should. Requires an iPhone to work. Interface can be
confusing. Many apps load slowly. Lacks built-in GPS.
The Bottom LineA
year old and even more affordable, the Apple Watch remains the best
designed and most capable smartwatch you can buy -- but we're hoping
that the inevitable sequel makes it more of a must-have product.
I'm up early to try to kickstart a
habit at the gym, trying to teach myself to like the routine. My phone
and wallet and car keys get in the way; I like to come here as
minimalist as possible. My watch is the only thing that feels natural
and it's comforting to start recording an elliptical workout from my
wrist. I still find it hard to keep glancing at my wrist as I exercise.
But this is the dream: a little world on my wrist.
I
look at it for the weather; I look at it to peek at how the Mets are
doing. I have it thump me to remind me where the exit is as I'm driving.
I think to myself, "At least I'm connected." But isn't that why I have
my phone? Yes. The Apple Watch is another security blanket. The Apple
Watch and the iPhone act as a pair. I can ping and find out where my
iPhone is through the watch, and I feel more hooked-in to what I need.
After a year, I don't look at my phone any less. In fact, I might look at it more.
All the time people ask me if they need the Apple Watch.
Short answer: I say no -- wait for the inevitable sequel.
Longer
answer: I say that, in a lot of different ways, the Apple Watch can do
things for me that I like. That it represents a taste of a future we're
all rapidly heading toward.
I've used the Apple Watch off and on
for the last year, mostly on. And it's become one of my favorite
smartwatches. But since its April 2015 release, three things have
happened. Apple has released a few round of software updates; a lot of
competing smartwatches and watch-like fitness trackers have been
released; and -- most importantly -- Apple dropped the price of the
entry-level Sport model. As of this March, the 38mm model now starts at
$299, (£259, AU$429), and the 42mm one starts at $349 (£299, AU$499).
With those changes in mind, should you get one? Or should you wait?
I'd
lean towards waiting. If you can find a deal on one and are curious
(and, have an iPhone), maybe get one. But my year-old thoughts on the
Apple Watch largely stand: I think it's more of a toy than a tool.
That could change...I just don't know when.
View full gallery
New nylon bands come standard with Apple Watch Sport -- they're better than those older elastomer ones.
James Martin/CNET
Why you should consider the Apple Watch
Here's what I like best about the Apple Watch: Great for quick-glance info.
Need weather at a glance, or don't want to miss a call? Are you working
in a place where it isn't easy to use your phone or even check it? This
is for you. Easy wrist payments. I'm not saying Apple Pay on my wrist always makes sense, but as more terminals get Apple Pay I feel more and more like I'm in a wallet-less world. Turn-by-turn directions while driving. But you have to use Apple Maps to get the best experience, which doesn't always pick the most efficient routes. It's a pretty good fitness tracker.
The Watch tracks steps, heart rate, and little daily achievements. And
it works with a lot of third-party apps, even though they're not all
great. Nice design, for a smartwatch. Lots of finishes and really good-looking bands.
View full gallery
Black Milanese band...very nice.
Sarah Tew/CNETApple's
smartwatch is compact, really nicely built, and packed with features.
Too many, probably. It can vibrate when you get messages. It gets phone
calls on your wrist, which you can answer in public if you dare. It's a
fitness tracker. It has Apple Pay. It can store a little bit of music
from your phone and connect with Bluetooth headphones
like a mini-iPod (which I rarely ever do, but runners might). It has
hands-free Siri (but you have to raise your wrist and say "hey, Siri."
And it tells the time.
It's the easiest smartwatch to accessorize;
a variety of bands, from Apple-made models to designer labels, cover a
broad gamut. And the Apple Watch models themselves come in different
metal finishes and colors.
Apple Watch has a lot of apps that
cross-load onto the watch from your phone. Many are lackluster, and some
load so slowly I'd rather just take out my phone, but they're mini
tools. Far better are the little at-a-glance bits of info you can put on
your watch faces called complications, many of which launch apps with a
finger-touch.
I check weather; I use the watch faces to add bits
of info; I sometimes pay for things in cabs. I keep up on messages that I
might have missed, like texts, calendar appointments, Facebook
Messenger or tweets. I can see when my home alarm has been deactivated
(I monitor it via an Alarm.com app). Like most smartwatches, it's a
pager on your wrist.
And the Apple Watch's handling of messages
and bits of info is better than nearly any other smartwatch. Its
microphone for on-wrist calls is great, too (that speaker, not so much).
I
also use it while driving, to get directions on my wrist. Basically,
it's my catch-all way to get info without looking at my phone.
There's
a lot that the Apple Watch could be better at. A year into its life,
the top annoyances are basically the same as they were on day one: Short battery life. Keep that charger handy, because you'll need it. You'll get a day and a half max. It still needs an iPhone. You need one to pair it and sync it, and you need one nearby for the Watch to be truly useful for most apps. Most of its apps run really slowly. And they're annoying to find, hidden in a grid of tiny icons. That needs improvement. Its interface still feels too complicated. Pull-down messages, pull-up glances, and lots of pressing and swiping to get to many features.
If
you're looking for something simple and easy on your wrist that you
don't have to deal with much, don't get an Apple Watch. I find it
helpful, but a regular watch would be a lot easier to maintain. It also
wouldn't give me messages.
Other smartwatches like Pebble and
Fitbit's Blaze are less expensive, lower-maintenance, and easier to
check messages on thanks to an always-on screen -- and the Pebble is
waterproof for swimming. Google's Android Wear watches work best on Android phones, but you could use one for basic functions with an iPhone.
Apple
Watch isn't great at being connected without an iPhone paired to it. It
can do some things over Wi-Fi, but it's hard to guess what will load or
work and what won't. The Apple Watch is water-resistant, but I'd like
full waterproofing. Along with that, better battery life. A day and a
half isn't great.
A smaller watch would be great: lighter,
sleeker. I'd prefer battery life over a smaller size, though. And
really, I'd like the Apple Watch to just be more aware of the world
around me. Tell me what to look for when I arrive someplace; give me
reminders contextually; show me remote controls for connected gadgets I
use as I approach them.
All this will take a more connected world that isn't here yet -- and a more advanced Apple Watch. (Rumors of a next-gen Watch with cellular connectivity
are bubbling up, but that seems like it would involve a bad battery
tradeoff.) I want a real-world companion, not just something that
siphons off the notifications on my phone.
While the Apple Watch
has Siri, its voice recognition and speed is nothing like the Amazon
Echo. I'd love the watch to be quicker, more attentive and more
intuitive at handling voice commands. Usually Siri on the Apple Watch is
just too slow to be useful.
And even though the Apple Watch is
better at fitness than most smartwatches, it's lacking quite a bit. No
social networks to challenge friends like Fitbit. No predictive
life-coaching that can study trends like Jawbone. No sleep-tracking,
like most long-battery fitness trackers. The Watch's nutrition-tracking
and weight management flows into third-party solutions, instead of using
the built-in Activity app. And a way to back-up my Watch to iCloud so
when I switch phones down the road I won't lose any data.
Most
importantly, there isn't a watch face store yet. Apple Watch is stuck
with the dozen or so customizable watch faces it comes with out of the
box. I want my New York Jets watch face, or a weird animated magic trick
watch face that makes a coin turn into a rabbit. Or a They Might Be
Giants watch face. Whatever you want, Android Wear and Pebble have tons
of funky options that Apple Watch just doesn't.
Note, too, that the big 2015 software update (Apple Watch OS 2),
wasn't the big fix we were hoping for. All of the watch's major issues
-- slow-loading apps, a limited collection of watch faces, and a
functional but not-great battery life -- are largely still present. For
big changes, we're stuck waiting for Watch OS 3, and new hardware.
Waiting for Apple Watch 2
So
if Apple does release a new Apple Watch, what will it have and when
will it arrive? Most likely, it'll come alongside the iPhone 7 in
September. It might be smaller. It might have better battery life. It
might have better water resistance. It might have improved speed, and
maybe even work without a phone using cellular. Or it could get
something crazy, like a front FaceTime camera to talk to friends. We
don't know. But odds are it'll at least perform better than the
first-generation Apple Watch. On the other hand, it might just be a
slight upgrade, or even a step-up model.
At this point, if you're
looking to spend $300 on your wrist, you might just want to wait and see
what happens. The current version works well enough for what it does.
Not good enough to be a must-have; I'm not even sure anymore that the
idea of a smartwatch is something that everyone should get onboard with.
I like having one, but I don't like charging it. And I wish it were
better.
Smartwatches may one day be the future of phones, or a
seamless extension of both them and your home, or any number of
connected devices. Right now, they function as phone accessories. And
that's where the Apple Watch lands. It's helped me stay more connected,
but I still use my phone more than I should.
Below is the review
of the Apple Watch as I updated it in July 2015, months after my
original take at its April 2015 debut. If we were to recommend one now,
it would still be the entry-level Sport. Don't spend a lot. And be
forewarned, there could be a new one
as soon as September. I prefer having one to not having one. You might
feel differently. And unless you're desperate to try one, I'd say you
might as well wait. This review has been updated several
times, most recently on May 3, 2016. The content below is largely how
the review originally appeared in April 2015, with some subsequent
updates rolled in to reflect software and price changes.
Much like most other smartwatches, the Apple Watch
isn't a standalone device -- it's a phone accessory. Android Wear,
Samsung Gear, Pebble and others work the same way. But here, you must
own an iPhone 5 or later to use the Watch. A few Apple Watch functions
work away from the phone, but the watch primarily works alongside the
phone as an extension, a second screen and basically another part of
your iOS experience. It's a symbiote.
Communication, fitness, information, time: these are the core Apple
Watch functions, but the Watch is incredibly ambitious, packed with
many, many features and apps. In scope, it reminds me of Samsung's
ambitious Gear smartwatches, but more fully realized.
Apple Watch receives messages from friends, send texts and lets you
dictate messages, make speakerphone calls, ping people with animated
emoji, give love taps long-distance or send your heartbeat as a sort of
long-distance hug. It tracks your steps, logs runs and monitors your
heart rate. And yes, you can use Apple Watch to listen to music via
wireless Bluetooth headphones. You can play songs like an iPod, get
notifications and run apps like a mini iPhone and make payments with
Apple Pay. And it has a totally new force-sensitive display that's never
been seen before.
And yes, it tells the time.
But, once again, this watch needs your iPhone to do most
of these things. And it either needs to be in Bluetooth range (30 or so
feet), or it can connect over Wi-Fi in a home or office to extend that
range further.
Apple wants you to think of the Apple Watch as fine
jewelry. Maybe that's a stretch, but in terms of craftsmanship, there
isn't a more elegantly made piece of wearable tech.
Look at the Apple Watch from a distance, and it might appear
unremarkable in its rectangular simplicity compared with bolder,
circular Android Wear watches. It's clearly a revamped sort of iPod
Nano. But get closer, and you can see the seamless, excellent
construction.
I reviewed the stainless-steel Apple
Watch, with a steel link band -- a $1,000 configuration. I also wore it
with two different Sport Bands, one white and one blue.
The Apple Watch feels a bit chunky compared to Apple's stable of
super-slim gadgets, but it doesn't look big on the wrist. The larger
42mm version has length, width and thickness similar to the Pebble Steel
, one of the smaller smartwatches available. The 38mm version is even
smaller. The 42mm version I reviewed felt great on my wrist and didn't
feel uncomfortable at all.
View full gallery
Apple Watch next to the Moto 360, the Pebble Steel and the 2011 iPod Nano with wristband.CNET
Apple Watch's curved-rectangle form will polarize: some
will find it looks great, others will see it like some sort of space-age
iPod. Others will be annoyed it's not circular, or isn't thinner. Some
won't like the curved glass (or sapphire crystal) that covers the edges
and makes it seem like scratch magnet. The steel version I've worn for
months has gotten a lot of scuffing and scratching all over its polished
body, but the display has stayed pretty scuff-free.
The Digital Crown, Apple's specialized way of interfacing with the
watch, sits off to the side, looking just like the part of the watch
that used to wind older watches. But in this case, the crown is a mini
scroll wheel. You can click it or turn it, and it moves smoothly and
beautifully. A second button below brings up favorite contacts, or
triggers Apple Pay with a double-click.
View full gallery
CNET
Most navigating happens by swiping and tapping the
display, but that crown can be used for some navigation in some apps, or
as a pinch-to-zoom replacement. I kept forgetting to use it at first,
except to press it to get back to app menu (that grid of apps which I'll
get to in a bit). Over time, I got used to it, but I still tended to
use my finger for swipes instead.
Under the hood
All Apple Watches have a new S1 processor made by Apple, that
"Taptic" haptic engine and a force-sensitive and very bright OLED
display, which is differently sized on the 38mm and 42mm models. The
watch has its own accelerometer, gyrometer and heart-rate monitor, but
no onboard GPS. It uses Bluetooth 4.0 and 802.11b/g/n 2.4GHz Wi-Fi to
connect to your phone or your home network. There's a built-in speaker
and microphone, but no headphone jack.
The many-nested worlds of the Apple Watch interface
The old iPod Nano had a grid of apps to swipe through,
like an iPhone. Samsung's Gear watches use a similar approach. Google's
Android Wear uses a blank slate at first, pushing notification cards
while hiding its apps behind a scrolling menu.
The
Apple Watch has its main watch faces, but also two levels of apps:
Glances, which are a lot like the quick-glance app summaries in iOS 8's
pull-down "Today" menu (or the occasional cards that appear in Android
Wear), and full-fledged apps. You swipe up for Glances, down for
on-watch notifications like texts or Twitter/Facebook alerts and click
the Digital Crown button in to get to that "home screen" grid of glowing
circular apps you've seen in all the ads.
Let's start from the top.
Watch faces: Things of beauty
Apple
has spent a lot of time making its collection of watch faces great, and
the effort shows: these are a beautiful bunch. The old iPod Nano had
fun watch faces, but many of Apple's are actually clever and useful: a
chronometer becomes a customizable stopwatch; a solar cycle face shows
actual sunset and sunrise times, presenting changing arcs depending on
the season; a jaw-dropping planetary face shows the Earth and Moon, but
properly lit to reflect day, night, and lunar cycles. You can see all
the planets in their current alignment, or spin the crown and see their
positions change by date. There's also Mickey Mouse.
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