Assessing the Apple Watch
For as long as I’ve remembered I’ve always been an Apple user and I’ve always been fascinated by the way the company builds its product. When the watch was released I was reluctant to get it because I felt I never needed it. I’ve never really been one for wristwatches because there were always wall clocks around my house growing up and digital devices that tell time. Summer 2018, I got a job at the bank and they discourage using cellphones in the lobby. The Apple Watch provided a way to get around it so I caved and got one around late 2018. With time I completely changed how I carried out activities and went about my day.
The Watch takes the most used aspect of the iPhone as it helps simplifies the effort users would have depleted using their iPhones or Macbook. The first is the passcode, while the use of Touch ID in 2016 and the Face ID in more recent time has limited the use of passcodes, once in a while Face ID or Touch ID tend not to work and users have to use the codes once again. The Apple Watch eliminates this by using a Single passcode once you put on the watch until you take it off. Also, it gives users the ability to unlock their Macbooks using their watch which as at now neither the iPhone nor Airpods gives that ability. And this is the definition of UX where simplicity meets efficiency.
Secondly, is the ability to ping your iPhone. Every now and then my iPhone ends up somewhere I don’t know whenever I’m at home. Sometimes it falls in between the couch, some other times while I’m gaming in my room and this amazing feature makes it so easy to identify where my iPhone is and find it without having to utilize find my iPhone on someone else’s iPhone.
Finally, this is what I consider the most important part of the Apple Watch, the Activity app. This app although at times frustrating is the best thing apple ever did especially on the Watch. I can’t count how many times I’ve had a lazy day and my best friend **aka my Apple Watch** was like “I’ve had a slow start to my day” encouraging me to catch up with my usual Move, Stand and Exercise goals. It helps me monitor my speed during my runs, and gives a thrilling breakdown of how my Activities have been Daily, Weekly, Monthly, and Yearly. Indicating where I have gotten better and slacked. I can’t also forget the awards. I’m not the most fitness-focused person but these awards motivate me to workout more. I’m currently trying to burn 15500 calories the month to get the June award.
These three features are only a tiny bit of why the Apple Watch is a perfect device/product. The messaging app which gives users the ability to dictate or scribble, although sometimes there’s is a little difficulty with users writing, mobile banking apps — eliminating the use of a password or Face ID, and the email app-very easy access to scan or skim through your emails at any given opportunity. As beautiful as these features are, the Watch does fall a bit short from being perfect for one because you can’t exactly view your photo gallery on the watch. One can argue “The Watch is not meant for viewing pictures” but why do Photos exist on the watch if I can’t view pictures. Secondly, I wonder why hasn’t Touch ID being implemented onto the Watch. I understand Apple is passed the Touch ID era on the iPhone but the Watch doesn’t have a camera yet and in my opinion, could use a feature like the Touch ID or maybe even Face ID if they can add a camera to the watch “I know its not that easy LOL.” This doesn’t make the watch any less great than it is, in my opinion, it is one of the best devices in the 2010 era and that explains why so many people use it. It depicts the famous Albert Einstein quote “Keep it simple as possible but no simpler”. Simple products/devices are often the most difficult to create and I give kudos to Apple for creating one that is not only simple but aesthetically pleasing and efficient. It makes me wonder how I survive before getting one.
