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This watch looks like it was designed by a committee: Two ways to navigate the interface (wheel for zooming, to avoid touching the screen, and panning by...tou

This watch looks like it was designed by a committee: Two ways to navigate the interface (wheel for zooming, to avoid touching the screen, and panning by...touching the screen). Tasteless misfeatures like customisable emoji [1] and drawing your own fail whale on a tiny screen [2], and most inexplicable of all for an expensive watch - very little attention paid to the actual watch face designs, which are not even adapted to the square frame, and some of which have numbering superimposed awkwardly over images like a butterfly or globe, or mickey mouse...ugh [3] [1] http://tctechcrunch2011.files.wordpress.com/2014/09/apple0243.jpg http://tctechcrunch2011.files.wordpress.com/2014/09/apple024... [2] http://tctechcrunch2011.files.wordpress.com/2014/09/apple0252.jpg http://tctechcrunch2011.files.wordpress.com/2014/09/apple025... [3] http://tctechcrunch2011.files.wordpress.com/2014/09/apple0216.jpg http://tctechcrunch2011.files.wordpress.com/2014/09/apple021... Combining all that stuff with materials like 18 carat gold or brushed steel doesn't really make sense - it's as if they asked a different person about each feature included and then mashed it all together in some frankenstein mess. The fitness features look quite nice in contrast. I actually think in future we'll all be using wearables like this far more than phones - little status bands or com badges or glasses/contact lenses, but this is not a glimpse of the future so much as a glimpse at the dysfunction in the current Apple design process, post Steve Jobs, and their inability to produce coherent products.

threeseed 12y ago
It's designed to appeal to broad audiences. Just because you're too sophisticated for emoji and Mickey Mouse doesn't mean everyone else is.
deleted 12y ago
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berberous 12y ago
I'm not sure how I feel about those Mario 64-esque emoji, but to the extent they become popular and don't work so well cross platform, it helps lock people in to the Apple ecosystem. I know many people who were hesitant to switch from Blackberry because they would lose BBM (I still miss those BBM emoji actually...), and many people who were hesitant to switch away from iPhone because Emoji didn't always work as seamlessly on Android. Perhaps a sad fact of today's world, but true.
stefan_kendall3 12y ago
My friends and I love the stickers on messenger. On a new sticker day, it's like the highlight of the day. They're fun and sometimes terrifying, and it adds some fun to group conversations. Maybe you're not the target audience.
nzealand 12y ago
You are probably right. It is impossible to tell until you have held the device in your hand. The presentation however was awful. Jobs took a very complex phone/internet/music playing device and made it seem very simple. I can still remember his three selling points. Its a phone. Its an internet device. It plays music. These guys took something that should be simple, and made it appear complex. It is a fitness tracker... And something about apps that look like a pimply teenager. I think they designed that presentation by committee. This does not bode well.

threeseed 12y ago

It's designed to appeal to broad audiences. Just because you're too sophisticated for emoji and Mickey Mouse doesn't mean everyone else is.

deleted 12y ago

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berberous 12y ago

I'm not sure how I feel about those Mario 64-esque emoji, but to the extent they become popular and don't work so well cross platform, it helps lock people in to the Apple ecosystem. I know many people who were hesitant to switch from Blackberry because they would lose BBM (I still miss those BBM emoji actually...), and many people who were hesitant to switch away from iPhone because Emoji didn't always work as seamlessly on Android. Perhaps a sad fact of today's world, but true.

stefan_kendall3 12y ago

My friends and I love the stickers on messenger. On a new sticker day, it's like the highlight of the day. They're fun and sometimes terrifying, and it adds some fun to group conversations. Maybe you're not the target audience.

nzealand 12y ago

You are probably right. It is impossible to tell until you have held the device in your hand. The presentation however was awful. Jobs took a very complex phone/internet/music playing device and made it seem very simple. I can still remember his three selling points. Its a phone. Its an internet device. It plays music. These guys took something that should be simple, and made it appear complex. It is a fitness tracker... And something about apps that look like a pimply teenager. I think they designed that presentation by committee. This does not bode well.