Apple watch

[page3]

Still very much liking mine and have not worn my automatic since.

It feels far closer to a 'real' watch than it does to a bit of technology.

[Bungleaio]

I've worn mine exclusively since I bought it. A few people have asked whats the point and to be fair there isn't one until you get used to notifications etc. I try and explain it's like an iPad, life was fine before they had one but now they've got one would they like to go back to not having it. Most say definitely not.

Battery life is very good, easily lasting a weekend but I do tend to charge it every night anyway.

[Variomatic]

el stovey said:

I looked at the Apple Store again today.

I saw a nice watch with a stainless steel bracelet but it's heading up towards a grand.

That's what puts me off. You can't really hand down an iPhone or apple watch or iPad to your children. After a few years they won't work as the OS will no longer be supported.

At least a watch doesn't become no longer a watch.

It probably won't take "a few years" seeing as, unless they've made huge leaps in battery technology (which a 24 - 28 hour life suggests not), the battery will reach EOL in a couple of years and that "no problem" 28 hours life will start to get shorter and shorter until you have to carry a generator around to keep it plugged in.

Check the battery life on even a year old laptop or mobile to see how much it's degraded - if you only have a few hours spare to start with then it won't take much degradation before it's less than a day between charges. Being Apple proprietory it's unlikely that a replacement cell will be economic, or even available.

[Hoofy]

Bungleaio said:

I try and explain it's like an iPad, life was fine before they had one but now they've got one would they like to go back to not having it. Most say definitely not.

Until they try playing a racing game and realise it's a front delt endurance workout.

[tigerkoi]

kitz said:

The writing on the wall for the Swiss watch industry ?

I think there are two ways of looking at it.

Either:

A) It's not really the luxury Swiss, Japanese, German and British watchmakers that should feel threatened but instead the likes of Suunto, Casio and Garmin. So for instance, the market could remain solid for products that play more on exclusivity, luxury and prestige (fancy wristwatches) but where people actually crave real-life usefulness, then the digital incumbents have something to really be worried about: as soon as Apple and other smartwatch makers up their game in terms of capacity / capability / commodity, then for the average user what would you choose - the heavily marketed, internet-enabled and feature-rich v3.0 of the latest eGear or iWatch....or another iteration of a G-shock with standard ABC utility?

Casio are at an interesting juncture: they have their 'hedgehog concept' well and truly nailed. They know what they do, and they do it well. But are they wearing blinkers to emerging and real threats? My thoughts are that major Japanese companies find it extremely difficult to transform; witness the painful Sony turnaround. Tight management discipline allied to metronomic output laced with some silver bullet products (think Walkman) has always been their way. But when faced with industry concerning challenges (i.e. the Tohuku trifecta of tsunami, earthquake and nuclear accidents) their much vaunted just-in-time production, the Toyota Way and all that, just fell apart. Chickens and one basket.

or...

B) yes...the Swiss Watch industry will end up having it's wings clipped. Take Audemars Piguet. They make 30,33k watches a year. And they are a company with .5bn revenues. Huge marketing campaigns, sponsorship expenditure, R&D investment, and most certainly executives wanting to get paid. Add on JLC, then the Swatch Group, Kering, De Bethune, Cartier, Montblanc, Longines, Richard Mille, Rolex.....all this only comes to a £15-20bn yearly export industry in total. Apple have cash reserves that are 18 times that number. I know most people think luxury Swiss begins and ends with Rolex, but there are literally hundreds of companies out there. Some hugely niche like HYT, some like DeWitt, playing off iffy legends in the hope of boosted sales.

So on one side you have an industry that is definitely susceptible to worldwide trends - with all due respect the market in the UK for luxury swiss watches isn't that important in the scheme of things - with enormous capacity and structurally unready to pivot to meet new market threats. All the majors and minors gear production for the Far East, and, fundamentally, if China sneezes then the industry will suffer (reference above the Tohuku effect and impact on numerous industries). The UK and western European market is a bit Mickey Mouse in comparison.

And on the other side, in just one player - Apple - you have a company that, if it wanted to, could buy an industry's entire yearly output for the next ten years...and just burn it if it wants to. That's not to say these things happen, but when you conceptualise it like that, that one entity is rich enough / powerful enough to purchase whatever it wants, do whatever it likes, then...if it wants to win, and if it wants to smash its way into another market, then it can be done. Rockefeller did it. It's nothing new.

Very few (great) companies soldier on indefatigably forever. Families are always rising and a falling, as they say. Sony was the electronics company for nigh on two decades. It made products people desired. And then it lost its way. It may come back to previous glories or it may soldier on in the 'doom loop'.

But the very same may happen to Casio.

And to Apple.

And, of course, to Rolex. To any company in fact.

Any industry in a heartbeat can verge on demolition. Bonuses on Wall Street were at scales unheard of in 2006-7. Jimmy Cayne made c.1.5bn ($) over six or seven years. Total comp. Come the crash, he's looking to sell his condos and mansions just like Dick Fuld and the rest of them.

How the mighty can fall.

[y2blade]

OS 2.0 is going to make these even better

[CubanPete]

Not for me.

I like my technology, don't normally wear a watch, but have a longings in the drawers for Sundays and a timex for sporty stuff.

[tigerkoi]

[y2blade]

This amazing bit of tech was never going to get a fair suck of the sausage in this sub-forum was it.............

[devnull]

kitz said:

Battery life is for me an easy all day life span .

I've managed to squeeze nigh on 72 hours out of mine as a test.

Disconnect from charge at 8 in the morning, put it into power reserve mode at around 1030/11 until the next day, rinse and repeat.

I picked up the stainless bracelet from CEX for £250 - there were a few to choose from and the one i chose did not have a single mark on it (unlike some of the others they classed as A grade).

If i walked across the shopping centre to the apple store, it would have been £380.

That said, the bracelet is a beautiful piece of engineering. Easily as good as the big names, if not a smidge better .

[Emonda03]

Yes I agree, the rest of the watch industry needs to look at the apple stainless steel band. It slides in and out of the case lugs, so you can swap it for another bracelet in seconds, handy as I wear a silicone rubber strap for workouts etc, and the stainless steel for work ...the links in the bracelet slide in and out with the press of a button, so you can change the length in seconds..it is a beautifully engineered item,so refreshing when the rest of the industry has never bothered to move the design from annoying spring bars & tiny screws in bracelets that many require a visit to a jewellers to change. So again well done the apple design team on that one...catch up please the swiss crew!!

[Variomatic]

Emonda03 said:

Yes I agree, the rest of the watch industry needs to look at the apple stainless steel band. It slides in and out of the case lugs, so you can swap it for another bracelet in seconds, handy as I wear a silicone rubber strap for workouts etc, and the stainless steel for work ...the links in the bracelet slide in and out with the press of a button, so you can change the length in seconds..it is a beautifully engineered item,so refreshing when the rest of the industry has never bothered to move the design from annoying spring bars & tiny screws in bracelets that many require a visit to a jewellers to change. So again well done the apple design team on that one...catch up please the swiss crew!!

Casio used slide resin straps at leasy 20 years ago. They never really took off because it limited you to their straps. Spring bars may be fiddly if you're not used to them, but they're universal. They also help kerp the cost and variety of aftermarket straps down.

Which is probably why Apple didn't use them!

[lostkiwi]

I think what is far more likely to happen is a 'fusion' of technologies along the lines of this:


Kairos also have this idea which is equally promising:


I think both these ideas have a lot going for them. A smart watch integrated with a mechanical movement (its a Miyota in the one shown here) or a smart band which can be used with almost any watch.

Some time ago I bought a Motorola Smart watch - well made, very light, pretty easy to use and very customisable it was taken off after two weeks and parked on the dresser. I found it frustrating that it was dark until you made an appropriate movement to wake it up.If it had been 100% reliable at detecting when I was looking at it then maybe I could have stuck with it, but it just became annoying.

[Ved]

Bought one in the US for a good saving and while it won't replace my Seamaster that's not really the point. For me it's useful for some notifications and the health/fitness tracking. Consider it a toy or a convenient information snacking screen for your iPhone. Apple Pay seems useful but I haven't tried it yet.

That's it.

[Leins]

I find mine useful during the working week as I normally keep my phone on silent in the office and my watch notifies me if I have an incoming call

At the weekends I revert to my IWC or Omega Sensor though

[Mad Dave]

I finally succumbed a few days ago and bought a 42mm Sport. I really expected to get buyers remorse in hours but I'm totally sold on the thing now, to the point where I really wish I'd got the stainless one rather than scrimping on the Sport. It doesn't do anything to really revolutionise your days but it's there there, helping out with things and blends seamless into everyday life - Apple Pay is handy, notifications are useful and it's beautifully finished too. It'll never replace the joy of owning a really special watch, because it's neither special or, imho, a watch - it's a tiny computer which happens to tell the time, but it's a nice thing to have

[Eddw86]

Found this thread after posting on the one in the Gadgets forum - this seems to have more users/ replies so here goes:

Before I pull the trigger and get one - serious case of gadget fever and man maths going on - any further updates from people who have one? I've noticed some reviews saying it could be a bit slow and the screen can be a bit laggy/ not that responsive which I would imagine would be hugely frustrating. How do people find that?

Thanks. (apologies for using both threads - pistonheads search!

[Bungleaio]

Mad Dave said:

Snip

I'm totally sold on the thing now, to the point where I really wish I'd got the stainless one rather than scrimping on the Sport.

Snip

I did think this too but I'm really pleased with my sport, I've had it a while now and it's yet to pick up any scratches. My plan was to upgrade to the stainless for watch2 but I'll see, after years of silver watches I'm liking the black.

Eddw86 said:

Found this thread after posting on the one in the Gadgets forum - this seems to have more users/ replies so here goes:

Before I pull the trigger and get one - serious case of gadget fever and man maths going on - any further updates from people who have one? I've noticed some reviews saying it could be a bit slow and the screen can be a bit laggy/ not that responsive which I would imagine would be hugely frustrating. How do people find that?

Thanks. (apologies for using both threads - piston heads search!

It is a little laggy at times but thats generally when it's pulling info from the phone. Just get one and enjoy it, I haven't worn a traditional watch since I bought mine.

[va1o]

Same here, but my other watch is a Pebble which I use occasionally when I need better battery life

I went for the Stainless Steel version of the Apple Watch and very happy with it. Few minor scratches to the strap and casing but screen seems fine so far, touch wood! And only time I notice any lag is opening third party Apps reliant on the iPhone providing data. The Apple ones tend to work fine

[Mad Dave]

Bungleaio said:

Mad Dave said:

Snip

I'm totally sold on the thing now, to the point where I really wish I'd got the stainless one rather than scrimping on the Sport.

Snip

I did think this too but I'm really pleased with my sport, I've had it a while now and it's yet to pick up any scratches. My plan was to upgrade to the stainless for watch2 but I'll see, after years of silver watches I'm liking the black.

I've decided exactly the same - I'll let it prove its worth and then when the Watch2 inevitably comes along I've get a nice stainless steel with Milanese loop