7 ms·

This article felt very weak and empty. The biggest complaint seemed to be that other people noticed she had it, and started small talk about it. Oh the horror.

This article felt very weak and empty. The biggest complaint seemed to be that other people noticed she had it, and started small talk about it. Oh the horror. It's an article in search of minor reasons to not like the watch. I don't care if it wasn't life changing to you. Not newsworthy.

edgyswingset 11y ago
I think there's some substance here. My impression from reading it was that the watch was purchased as a fashion device, but it's still too much of a gadget to really be one.
- matwood 11y ago
  A fashion item means the wears wants people to see it worn. If people are asking questions it means the watch did the job the user wanted.
  - amelius 11y ago
    Perhaps there is more the wearer wants than just be noticed by others? For example, that it looks good.
  - interpol_p 11y ago
    Well you can notice a nice ring, or a nice mechanical watch, and not feel compelled to ask about it or try it on. Generally with jewellery you would expect someone to say something like "that's a nice ring," not "hey is that the new Apple Watch? Can I try it on?" Of course the latter will fade with time. So if that's her biggest complaint then I imagine it won't exist in a few months.
  - astine 11y ago
    If I brought my quadcopter to work and started flying it around, people would take notice and comment on it. Some might also want to try it out. No one would mistake it for a fashion accessory, however. That's because it is a toy; which is what people who aren't tech geeks think of gadgets: they're expensive toys. The author doesn't want to be perceived as the kind of person who has en expensive toy strapped to her wrist.
  - pcurve 11y ago
    That's partially true. But it's also about how it makes you feel. Will most people be able to tell $250 Thomas Pink shirt from $25 shirt? Probably not, especially if the $25 one has good fit. But plenty of people plunk down $150-$250 for a shirt because they appreciate its feel, workmanship, fit, etc.
- knodi123 11y ago
  That's not just your impression, it's literally the last paragraph of the article.
- zamalek 11y ago
  > too much of a gadget I thought about it quite a bit before the launch and decided against it. The reason is the same reason I haven't gone for any of these: AW is putting all its effort into being something that it's not (a fashionable watch) instead of being the best of what it is (wearable arm tech). The watch started out as a utility on the arm and evolved into the time masterpiece or fashion piece that it is today. These 'watches' are attempting to skip all of that evolution instead of defiantly re-evaluating what a modern utility on the arm could be. I'm personally in agreement with the author but not for the same reasons. I think the AW, Android Gear and what-have-you are definitely going to fizzle out in face of some future revolutionary device, possibly before then: people are going to grudgingly realize that they have a phone in their pocket and that they don't need another one on their arm.
  - edgyswingset 11y ago
    Yeah, I feel the same way, too. The watches for iOS and Android really aren't anything more than an extra notification device for me ... my phone already does that, and arguably too much. My $24 Mickey Mouse watch still tells the time when I'm not staring at my phone, and it didn't cost me $400 like the Apple Watch would.
  - wmeredith 11y ago
    I agree. I wanted a PiP Boy 3000[1]. Apple delivered another piece of wrist jewelry, of which there are far more compelling options in the market. I'd have camped out overnight for something like this: http://toddham.com/blog/iwatch-concept/ http://toddham.com/blog/iwatch-concept/ 1) http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Pip-Boy_3000 http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Pip-Boy_3000
    - zamalek 11y ago
      > I'd have camped out overnight for something like this That's technology! Exactly the type of revolution I was implying.
    - roc 11y ago
      The problem of "more capability" is that everyone has a smartphone in their pocket. Any interaction that lasts more than 2-3 taps, or 2 seconds, is a failure because the user would have been better served by retrieving their phone. (niche "phone not accessible" situations notwithstanding) The right answer to wearable tech is less interaction. The value has to be in the device presenting you the right 1-second functionality at the right time. (ala notification triage, Apple Pay, and the laundry list of Home Kit integration that's still TBD)
danso 11y ago
Sure...but the other, implicit side of "I'm quitting it because of all the social awkwardness" is: "This device is not good enough to warrant tolerating all the social awkwardness". The iPad was the only Apple device that I've waited on opening day for and when I used it at subways or at the coffee shop for what seemed like the first two months, I always got questions. And it was fun at first, then kind of annoying. But I never felt the urge to "quit" the iPad because its form factor was just so damn useful. If I couldn't stand the public attention, I could always use it at home and feel like I got my money's worth. Apparently that's not the case with the OP and the Watch.
- altcognito 11y ago
  It can't nearly be as bad as the social awkwardness around Glass.
  - danso 11y ago
    I've never used Glass, but what it has going against it besides social awkwardness, is physical design limitations and massive cost...substantially improve 1 or 2 of those categories, then it seems like an easy sell. And if it's the case that augmented-vision glasses don't ever make it to the public mainstream (imagine legislators passing sweeping regulations/restrictions)...I think it'd still be useful to wear for a wide variety of technical tasks...for example...instead of doing a DIY project and having to hold an iPad in one hand, with Glass and a specially designed app, have your field of vision augmented by the instructions. It's possible to imagine an ideal Glass device (basically indistinguishable from normal glasses) and how that could be integrated into daily life. But it's hard to imagine how the ideal Watch, when it's finally implemented, would be drastically different than what it offers now; given its inherently small screen and its physical attachment to your wrist, what could a 5mm thin, 8-week-on-a-single-charge, heavily developer-supported Watch change how we use a watch-like device...and how would those changes compare in magnitude versus the changes brought by similar advancements in phone and eyewear technology?
    - kleer001 11y ago
Someone1234 11y ago
It is in the fashion section. In the technology section, yes, this is vapid but in fashion it is par of the course.
jusben1369 11y ago
I kind of know what you mean. But I've noticed a strange thing with the Apple Watch. Going back even 5 years ago it wasn't "will I wear a watch?" but rather what watch will I wear? A digital one with big buttons said I was a triathlete, an elegant one with a simple face said I valued simplicity etc. But then many of us just stopped wearing watches. So now when I see an Apple Watch on someone I'm having two reactions i) Oh, they're wearing an Apple Watch and ii) It's actually so important to them to have an Apple Watch that they've gone and put a new thing on their body that wasn't there before. So it _seems_ more pretentious to me than it would have a few years back. (sorry I don't mean to say you're pretentious because you have an Apple Watch just that I'm viewing it as much more of a deliberate two part thing) BTW I know 5 years ago many people didn't wear watches then. I'm talking about the relative trend of significantly decreased watch wearing and buying coinciding with the rise of the smartphone.
xxdiamondxx 11y ago
Well, to add some anecdotal evidence, it is my biggest complaint about owning one :P
- jasonlotito 11y ago
  People think I'm joking, but yes. I've had people walk up to me in the store and ask about it. It's a flip on the old joke: How do you know you are wearing your Apple Watch? Everyone will ask you about it. And they are all looking for me to tell them that it's great, that it's wonderful, and that it changed my life. And when I don't, they inevitably have a glint of disappoint in their eyes.
kumarm 11y ago
Didn't Google Glass had the same issue?
- Nicholas_C 11y ago
  I think Glass's main issue was that it was obnoxiously obvious and disruptive (in the bad way) and even a little creepy.
- jpreiland 11y ago
  Yes, Glass always garnered a bit too much attention for me. It's really awkward when people ask to try it on and you don't want to hand over your $1500 device to a stranger. It suffered from the additional issue of negative social interaction - some people (luckily none that I've run into) are really opposed to face-phone (Glass) as opposed to in-your-pocket-or-hand-phone. I don't really understand why people think you're invading their privacy just because of an unusual device form factor.
  - hondaz54 11y ago
    How can you not understand that? If you talk to something wearing google glass you are in the camera's viewport. A smartphone however is mostly kept in you bag, or you have it placed on a table and you are probably NOT in the cameras viewport. So it's not about the form factor, but the fact that in case of google glass, the camera is pointing on your head!
JonFish85 11y ago
The device that screams "I'm a nerd (with $600)" causes people to notice that you have it? The same one that required preordering that is just being finished now, months later? And on a product that is, by definition, meant to be seen in public. Yeah, who could have seen that coming?
nilkn 11y ago
I don't agree with you. I think the complaint is completely legitimate, and it's the main reason I want to wait a year or two before taking the plunge with smartwatches. I think the Apple Watch is really cool and I want one. But I'm very much like the author. I hate being ostentatious and I don't want to wear something that will be very noticeable. The author was still willing to risk it in order to give it a try. There's nothing wrong with that. (Also, for me the usually-off screen is sort of a dealbreaker, because it really harms the aesthetics of the watch when the screen is off.)
- schrodinger 11y ago
  FWIW, I've got the Apple Watch Sport in black, and I haven't been getting significant attention. I think in black, it doesn't really stand out that much. I live in NYC
  - xauronx 11y ago
    Agreed. I just used it to pay for my lunch at Panera today and it was the biggest response I've gotten so far, with an outrageous, over the top.... "heh, that's neat" as she grabbed my cup and continued with her day.
- wffurr 11y ago
  Android Wear has an option to have an always-on watch face. When I wore one of the nicer looking ones with that turned on, nobody even noticed it wasn't a real watch until I did something wacky like scroll on it or talk to it.
JustSomeNobody 11y ago
I am to the point where I try not to even read articles that begin "Why I broke up with...", "Why I no longer use...", "Why I quit...". At best, they come off as immature ramblings.
- ionforce 11y ago
  "Why I no longer write informative article headlines..."
- droidist2 11y ago
  Especially when the product in question has been out for like 2 months. Not really a huge break up. Now if you were breaking up with indoor plumbing, that'd be a headline.
  - JustSomeNobody 11y ago
    Haha. Indeed! I would definitely read that one.
  - mikeash 11y ago
    Exactly my thought. Oh, you tried it and you didn't like it? Big deal.
mc32 11y ago
Exactly. If she really felt like not talking and that the watch was subverting her own being, she could have just said, oh it's a no name knockoff. If I have something which catches attention I don't want and want to end that line of conversation, I introduce the conversation kill switch. I found it at a garage sale, I got it at jc pennys or tj max. I have no idea what brand it is. No, she's actually doing the inverse of what she claims to want to do. She's calling attention to herself by announcing how she goes out of her way to not call attention to herself. Reporters, as if their life wasn't about small talk and schmoozing.
- 7Z7 11y ago
  Maybe she isn't comfortable having to lie just to get by, when she clearly didn't find enough benefit from the device to continue through what she perceived as the social issues attached to it.
  - mc32 11y ago
    Ok, so then stop wearing it. Return it. Why make it so melodramatic. It's really not a big deal. People deal with so many more annoying things in daily life -coworkers, digestive tract, bad food, selfish people, inconsiderate people, disease, weather, etc.
pmelendez 11y ago
> The biggest complaint seemed to be that other people noticed she had it --"Granted, all of this would likely pale in importance if the watch were truly transforming my life, as my iPhone has" --"And the small screen is simply too small to really read on ... when I saw a headline, all I wanted to do was find the rest of the story" Those sounds like valid points to me.
xauronx 11y ago
As soon as I realized it was posted in Fashion, I realized that it wasn't going to have any content that I care about. "It makes me feel this, people think that about me, etc etc" Hint: If you're going to buy products from the company with the strongest brand in the world, and you hate brands, you're going to have a bad time.

edgyswingset 11y ago

I think there's some substance here. My impression from reading it was that the watch was purchased as a fashion device, but it's still too much of a gadget to really be one.

matwood 11y ago
A fashion item means the wears wants people to see it worn. If people are asking questions it means the watch did the job the user wanted.
- amelius 11y ago
  Perhaps there is more the wearer wants than just be noticed by others? For example, that it looks good.
- interpol_p 11y ago
  Well you can notice a nice ring, or a nice mechanical watch, and not feel compelled to ask about it or try it on. Generally with jewellery you would expect someone to say something like "that's a nice ring," not "hey is that the new Apple Watch? Can I try it on?" Of course the latter will fade with time. So if that's her biggest complaint then I imagine it won't exist in a few months.
- astine 11y ago
  If I brought my quadcopter to work and started flying it around, people would take notice and comment on it. Some might also want to try it out. No one would mistake it for a fashion accessory, however. That's because it is a toy; which is what people who aren't tech geeks think of gadgets: they're expensive toys. The author doesn't want to be perceived as the kind of person who has en expensive toy strapped to her wrist.
- pcurve 11y ago
  That's partially true. But it's also about how it makes you feel. Will most people be able to tell $250 Thomas Pink shirt from $25 shirt? Probably not, especially if the $25 one has good fit. But plenty of people plunk down $150-$250 for a shirt because they appreciate its feel, workmanship, fit, etc.
knodi123 11y ago
That's not just your impression, it's literally the last paragraph of the article.
zamalek 11y ago
> too much of a gadget I thought about it quite a bit before the launch and decided against it. The reason is the same reason I haven't gone for any of these: AW is putting all its effort into being something that it's not (a fashionable watch) instead of being the best of what it is (wearable arm tech). The watch started out as a utility on the arm and evolved into the time masterpiece or fashion piece that it is today. These 'watches' are attempting to skip all of that evolution instead of defiantly re-evaluating what a modern utility on the arm could be. I'm personally in agreement with the author but not for the same reasons. I think the AW, Android Gear and what-have-you are definitely going to fizzle out in face of some future revolutionary device, possibly before then: people are going to grudgingly realize that they have a phone in their pocket and that they don't need another one on their arm.
- edgyswingset 11y ago
  Yeah, I feel the same way, too. The watches for iOS and Android really aren't anything more than an extra notification device for me ... my phone already does that, and arguably too much. My $24 Mickey Mouse watch still tells the time when I'm not staring at my phone, and it didn't cost me $400 like the Apple Watch would.
- wmeredith 11y ago
  I agree. I wanted a PiP Boy 3000[1]. Apple delivered another piece of wrist jewelry, of which there are far more compelling options in the market. I'd have camped out overnight for something like this: http://toddham.com/blog/iwatch-concept/ http://toddham.com/blog/iwatch-concept/ 1) http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Pip-Boy_3000 http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Pip-Boy_3000
  - zamalek 11y ago
    > I'd have camped out overnight for something like this That's technology! Exactly the type of revolution I was implying.
  - roc 11y ago
    The problem of "more capability" is that everyone has a smartphone in their pocket. Any interaction that lasts more than 2-3 taps, or 2 seconds, is a failure because the user would have been better served by retrieving their phone. (niche "phone not accessible" situations notwithstanding) The right answer to wearable tech is less interaction. The value has to be in the device presenting you the right 1-second functionality at the right time. (ala notification triage, Apple Pay, and the laundry list of Home Kit integration that's still TBD)

danso 11y ago

Sure...but the other, implicit side of "I'm quitting it because of all the social awkwardness" is: "This device is not good enough to warrant tolerating all the social awkwardness". The iPad was the only Apple device that I've waited on opening day for and when I used it at subways or at the coffee shop for what seemed like the first two months, I always got questions. And it was fun at first, then kind of annoying. But I never felt the urge to "quit" the iPad because its form factor was just so damn useful. If I couldn't stand the public attention, I could always use it at home and feel like I got my money's worth. Apparently that's not the case with the OP and the Watch.

altcognito 11y ago
It can't nearly be as bad as the social awkwardness around Glass.
- danso 11y ago
  I've never used Glass, but what it has going against it besides social awkwardness, is physical design limitations and massive cost...substantially improve 1 or 2 of those categories, then it seems like an easy sell. And if it's the case that augmented-vision glasses don't ever make it to the public mainstream (imagine legislators passing sweeping regulations/restrictions)...I think it'd still be useful to wear for a wide variety of technical tasks...for example...instead of doing a DIY project and having to hold an iPad in one hand, with Glass and a specially designed app, have your field of vision augmented by the instructions. It's possible to imagine an ideal Glass device (basically indistinguishable from normal glasses) and how that could be integrated into daily life. But it's hard to imagine how the ideal Watch, when it's finally implemented, would be drastically different than what it offers now; given its inherently small screen and its physical attachment to your wrist, what could a 5mm thin, 8-week-on-a-single-charge, heavily developer-supported Watch change how we use a watch-like device...and how would those changes compare in magnitude versus the changes brought by similar advancements in phone and eyewear technology?
  - kleer001 11y ago

Someone1234 11y ago

It is in the fashion section. In the technology section, yes, this is vapid but in fashion it is par of the course.

jusben1369 11y ago

I kind of know what you mean. But I've noticed a strange thing with the Apple Watch. Going back even 5 years ago it wasn't "will I wear a watch?" but rather what watch will I wear? A digital one with big buttons said I was a triathlete, an elegant one with a simple face said I valued simplicity etc. But then many of us just stopped wearing watches. So now when I see an Apple Watch on someone I'm having two reactions i) Oh, they're wearing an Apple Watch and ii) It's actually so important to them to have an Apple Watch that they've gone and put a new thing on their body that wasn't there before. So it _seems_ more pretentious to me than it would have a few years back. (sorry I don't mean to say you're pretentious because you have an Apple Watch just that I'm viewing it as much more of a deliberate two part thing) BTW I know 5 years ago many people didn't wear watches then. I'm talking about the relative trend of significantly decreased watch wearing and buying coinciding with the rise of the smartphone.

xxdiamondxx 11y ago

Well, to add some anecdotal evidence, it is my biggest complaint about owning one :P

jasonlotito 11y ago
People think I'm joking, but yes. I've had people walk up to me in the store and ask about it. It's a flip on the old joke: How do you know you are wearing your Apple Watch? Everyone will ask you about it. And they are all looking for me to tell them that it's great, that it's wonderful, and that it changed my life. And when I don't, they inevitably have a glint of disappoint in their eyes.

kumarm 11y ago

Didn't Google Glass had the same issue?

Nicholas_C 11y ago
I think Glass's main issue was that it was obnoxiously obvious and disruptive (in the bad way) and even a little creepy.
jpreiland 11y ago
Yes, Glass always garnered a bit too much attention for me. It's really awkward when people ask to try it on and you don't want to hand over your $1500 device to a stranger. It suffered from the additional issue of negative social interaction - some people (luckily none that I've run into) are really opposed to face-phone (Glass) as opposed to in-your-pocket-or-hand-phone. I don't really understand why people think you're invading their privacy just because of an unusual device form factor.
- hondaz54 11y ago
  How can you not understand that? If you talk to something wearing google glass you are in the camera's viewport. A smartphone however is mostly kept in you bag, or you have it placed on a table and you are probably NOT in the cameras viewport. So it's not about the form factor, but the fact that in case of google glass, the camera is pointing on your head!

JonFish85 11y ago

The device that screams "I'm a nerd (with $600)" causes people to notice that you have it? The same one that required preordering that is just being finished now, months later? And on a product that is, by definition, meant to be seen in public. Yeah, who could have seen that coming?

nilkn 11y ago

I don't agree with you. I think the complaint is completely legitimate, and it's the main reason I want to wait a year or two before taking the plunge with smartwatches. I think the Apple Watch is really cool and I want one. But I'm very much like the author. I hate being ostentatious and I don't want to wear something that will be very noticeable. The author was still willing to risk it in order to give it a try. There's nothing wrong with that. (Also, for me the usually-off screen is sort of a dealbreaker, because it really harms the aesthetics of the watch when the screen is off.)

schrodinger 11y ago
FWIW, I've got the Apple Watch Sport in black, and I haven't been getting significant attention. I think in black, it doesn't really stand out that much. I live in NYC
- xauronx 11y ago
  Agreed. I just used it to pay for my lunch at Panera today and it was the biggest response I've gotten so far, with an outrageous, over the top.... "heh, that's neat" as she grabbed my cup and continued with her day.
wffurr 11y ago
Android Wear has an option to have an always-on watch face. When I wore one of the nicer looking ones with that turned on, nobody even noticed it wasn't a real watch until I did something wacky like scroll on it or talk to it.

JustSomeNobody 11y ago

I am to the point where I try not to even read articles that begin "Why I broke up with...", "Why I no longer use...", "Why I quit...". At best, they come off as immature ramblings.

ionforce 11y ago
"Why I no longer write informative article headlines..."
droidist2 11y ago
Especially when the product in question has been out for like 2 months. Not really a huge break up. Now if you were breaking up with indoor plumbing, that'd be a headline.
- JustSomeNobody 11y ago
  Haha. Indeed! I would definitely read that one.
- mikeash 11y ago
  Exactly my thought. Oh, you tried it and you didn't like it? Big deal.

mc32 11y ago

Exactly. If she really felt like not talking and that the watch was subverting her own being, she could have just said, oh it's a no name knockoff. If I have something which catches attention I don't want and want to end that line of conversation, I introduce the conversation kill switch. I found it at a garage sale, I got it at jc pennys or tj max. I have no idea what brand it is. No, she's actually doing the inverse of what she claims to want to do. She's calling attention to herself by announcing how she goes out of her way to not call attention to herself. Reporters, as if their life wasn't about small talk and schmoozing.

7Z7 11y ago
Maybe she isn't comfortable having to lie just to get by, when she clearly didn't find enough benefit from the device to continue through what she perceived as the social issues attached to it.
- mc32 11y ago
  Ok, so then stop wearing it. Return it. Why make it so melodramatic. It's really not a big deal. People deal with so many more annoying things in daily life -coworkers, digestive tract, bad food, selfish people, inconsiderate people, disease, weather, etc.

pmelendez 11y ago

> The biggest complaint seemed to be that other people noticed she had it --"Granted, all of this would likely pale in importance if the watch were truly transforming my life, as my iPhone has" --"And the small screen is simply too small to really read on ... when I saw a headline, all I wanted to do was find the rest of the story" Those sounds like valid points to me.

xauronx 11y ago

As soon as I realized it was posted in Fashion, I realized that it wasn't going to have any content that I care about. "It makes me feel this, people think that about me, etc etc" Hint: If you're going to buy products from the company with the strongest brand in the world, and you hate brands, you're going to have a bad time.