Apple Watch Review

I was visiting a client who had just purchased an Apple Watch and it was just left on a desk not being used. I had looked at them a few days previously thinking I might want one but I wasn’t sure what it was supposed to do. It is funny that many technology products are purchased without a real understanding of what they are for. I agreed to help my poor client and product test his device for him; meaning I would be able to justify a purchase of my own.

My first impression was that it is no bigger or heavier than a large watch. The Watch needs the iPhone to pair with in order to operate; pairing was an easy process and within 20 minutes it was ready to go. Applications are being written for the Watch all the time, and applications that you have installed on your phone that support the Watch are automatically installed to it. You can add more apps for the Watch from your phone.

The first thing I did was upgrade the WatchOS to v2.1. I noticed I was able to reply to texts and emails once this upgrade was complete.

So what can you do?

You can use the phone as a remote for the iPhone camera: get the iPhone ready and press the button on your Watch.
You can make and answer calls directly on the watch.
The built in Maps app plus Google Maps means walking haplessly round London waiting for your phone to be snatched will be a thing of the past.
It tracks your pulse, steps, and distance covered.
It calculates the calories burned for the day against a goal defined by you. The default is 360 calories which is way too low. I can see this becoming addictive as you will want to beat your goal.
You can track your fitness activities. It may encourage me to get down the gym more often.
You can play music which you have synchronised to the Watch direct to your wireless headset.
You can keep up to date with Twitter and Facebook messenger.
You can view you favourite pictures.
You can keep up to date with BBC news.
The National Rail Watch app has proven extremely useful.
There are many other application that extend the Watch’s functionality.
If you get bored with the watch face and/or straps you can change them. This may be the only watch you will ever need.
It is water resistant. Apparently good for 30 minutes at 1m depth but a triathlete did a very long swim with one.

So is it worth having? I suppose if you love your tech (and I do) you will be able to justify this purchase. For the non-technical maybe stick to a normal watch; I am in the IT support business and taking calls from end users struggling to work out how to use the features would be challenging. For me I think I will be sad to see this watch go back … Looks like a visit to the Apple Store is looming!

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