It’s finally here! After months upon months upon months of rumours and whispers about a new Apple Watch – one has finally hit the shelves. But does this new Apple Watch manage to live up to expectations? If it does that will be no mean feat as the expectations of Apple products are almost always much higher than any other manufacturer.
When Apple enter a new market it is expected that they will shake it up just like they did with the iPod and the iPhone. This is why, despite releasing a fantastic smartwatch last year, the first Apple Watch did not come anywhere near to meeting expectations. As it is now two years since the announcement of the first generation, the new Apple Watch comes with – perhaps – more realistic expectations. But people still expect it to bring about the conversion of the masses to the smartwatch.
Will it succeed? Read on to find out what we think…
The New Apple Watch is Undoubtedly a Sports Watch!
The biggest problem with the first Apple Watch is that it didn’t really seem to know what it was. Sure it had notifications, apps, Apple Pay and a billion other features – but it didn’t seem as though it really had a purpose. It seems as though over the last year Apple have recognised that manufacturers like Mondaine and Garmin had actually found the one area where smartwatches had a unique selling point.
For most people, getting their phone out of their pocket to check messages is not really that big of a problem – at least not one that warrants spending over £300 to fix. However, there is a big market of people who want an accurate, reliable, stylish fitness tracker… so the new Apple Watch is undoubtedly targeting that market.
What is so strange about this – for Apple – is that it doesn’t seem to do what Apple have always done – think differently. The new Apple Watch really doesn’t bring anything to the table that hasn’t been done already by someone else. And, more worryingly, other than GPS tracking and water resistance, it doesn’t really bring anything that the original Apple Watch didn’t already bring.
In many ways, it seems more like a rebrand than a completely new device.
That said, there is something that Apple really do need to be applauded for.
WatchOS 3.0 is Brilliant
For those who already own an Apple Watch, the best thing about the new device the latest upgrade to Apple’s WatchOS – because it is backwards compatible with the original Apple Watch. And it is a brilliant upgrade. One and a half years of data on how people use their watches has been put to great use in building a lighter and quicker version of WatchOS. While some people may be disappointed to see “Glances” disappear – most will agree that the changes do make it a much better OS. And for users of the original Apple Watch it does feel almost like having a completely upgraded watch.
There are new watch faces (although Apple still won’t allow third party watch faces), you can share your activity with friends and the new “Instant Launches” feature is brilliant if you use a lot of apps. A very interesting feature is the new “Time To Breathe” feature, which reminds you to take a bit of time out of your day to breathe and de-stress. This fits in with Apple’s aim to push breathing and mindfulness – which is something that will certainly be welcomed in the high-stress world we live in today.
Is It Just For The Rich and “Healthy”?
One accusation which has been levelled at Apple in regards to the new Apple Watch is that it is just for the “rich and “healthy””. When you look at the prices of the new Apple Watch devices – it is hard to disagree with that statement. While the “Series One” device is available for £249 (the original Apple Watch but featuring the new WatchOS 3 and a better processor), the entry level “Series Two” device costs a whopping £369.
This seems counter-intuitive when you consider that the cheaper end of the wearables market is growing while the higher end smartwatches declined by 27% in the second quarter of 2016 from last year. Apple will be hoping that their trusted name, and that of Nike, with whom they have produced a special edition, will be able to help boost the market.
It does seem as though Apple are hoping that this device will appeal to those who are happy to pay a premium to show the world that they love to exercise (even if they actually don’t). This especially seems the case when you take into account that important features for serious athletes (pace calculations, distance tracking, the activity app) are often not as accurate as you would like. Casual walkers or joggers may find the features work as well as they need, but when the average pace calculations are as wrong as they often are, serious athletes will be very frustrated. If Apple want people to see the device as a serious option for serious athletes, they need an update to fix these issues – and quick.
Should You Buy The New Apple Watch?
Despite a lot of the criticisms – there is no doubt that in many ways this is the ultimate smartwatch – just as the first one did. The problem is that it doesn’t live up to the billing of an “Apple device” – just like the first one!
The iPod took something that everyone loved (a portable music device) and made it both cool and easy for non-techys to use. The iPhone did exactly the same thing with the smartphone – as did the iPad with the touch-screen computer. The trouble is that, while the smart watch seemed a logical next step – no-one had managed to find a reason for the majority of people to own one. There wasn’t really a problem that the smartwatch actually solved – and Apple didn’t seem to find one – they just made a very cool looking smartwatch!
While the new Apple Watch seems to have found a problem that the smartwatch can solve, by marketing it as a fitness tracker. It doesn’t really do anything to shake up that market. Most of the fitness features are found on devices released by Garmin, Fitbit, Casio and Mondaine among others. Many other devices even seem to do a better job than the new Apple Watch does in terms of accuracy and features.
It seems that the only thing Apple seem to do better is make a smartwatch which looks incredible on the wrist and, for many people, that will be more than enough reason to buy one!
