Now that the early Apple Watch reviews are in, the consensus is clear: Apple has designed the best smartwatch yet, but it’s not an essential purchase. (Read our full summary of those reviews, including the positives and negatives, here.) In an interesting break with past traditions, quite a few of Apple’s hand-picked reviewers either clearly or subtly advised most readers to hold off on buying the Watch. Another surprise was that the reviews contained quite a few previously unknown or under-reported details about the Watch’s real-world performance, so we’ve summed them up here for you.
While all of the Apple Watch reviews were mostly positive — and some were, predictably, entirely positive — the quotes below mostly focus on user experience problems identified by multiple reviewers. The topics include Watch OS’s overly complex user interface, reports of awkward screen activation issues, overwhelming notifications, slow speeds, and even some unexpected conflicts with cultural norms…
- An Overly Complex UI. Concerns about over-complexity of the Apple Watch’s interface began to leak out after last month’s Spring Forward event, but quite a few reviews have quantified the issues, some in such detail that average people will get confused trying to keep track of all of them. The New York Times’ Farhad Manjoo led two separate articles with discussions of the Apple Watch’s “steep learning curve,” first noting in his review that:
If you want to dive deep into all of Watch OS’s complexity, Manjoo’s separate diary extensively discusses all of the new UI and control issues, eventually concluding:
Getting The Screen To Turn On Can Be Challenging. In one of the more critical looks at the Apple Watch’s performance as a watch, Bloomberg’s Joshua Topolsky wrote:
Notifications Are Annoying By Default. Many of the reviews mentioned that notifications were incredibly annoying by default, requiring manual management and time to reduce down to acceptable levels — the opposite of Apple’s typical “it just works” user experience philosophy. Bloomberg’s Topolsky offered a particularly vivid description of the problem and his eventual solution.
Similarly, Manjoo wrote for the New York Times:
Fitness Sensors May Require Swapping On Apple’s Sport Band. Some people suspected this might be the case based on the way optical heart rate sensors operate, but the Apple Watch might need to be attached to a tight band — likely the Sport Band — for fitness tracking to work fully on some wrists. Joanna Stern of The Wall Street Journal said:
The Speakerphone Is Only Semi-Useful For Phone Calls. Several reviewers said that the Watch’s integrated speaker is underpowered, particularly outdoors; others noted that the microphone often picks up ambient noises that can interfere with calls and Siri. In an otherwise very positive review of the Apple Watch, David Phelan of The Independent amusingly mentioned:
Lauren Goode of Re/code suggested a different workaround that really doesn’t need the Apple Watch at all:
The Apple Watch Is Slow, A Particular Problem For Maps & Location Services. Several reviewers complained about the Watch’s speed, most notably The Verge’s Nilay Patel:
You Need (At Least) Two Hands To Use It. Unlike the iPhone, which can be used with one hand, Patel noted that “you simply can’t one-hand the Apple Watch. It’s the simplest thing, but it’s true: because it’s a tiny screen with a tiny control wheel strapped to your wrist, you have to use both hands to use it, and you have to actually look at it to make sure you’re hitting the right parts of the screen. You have to carry your coffee cup in your other hand if you’re not interested in spilling on yourself.” The Wall Street Journal’s Stern commented that “snapping the sport band’s little clasp to your wrist, however, makes you wish for a third hand.”
Apple Pay and the Passcode Lock. Many reviewers described Apple Pay as one of the Watch’s best features, though it requires security measures — the Watch is passcode-locked, and must be unlocked every time you put it back on your wrist. The Independent’s Phelan said:
However, at least one review noted that the Watch could be unlocked automatically by bringing it into proximity with your iPhone. Shamrock Shake-loving Lance Ulanoff from Mashable described the Apple Pay process:
Other than that, it’s incredibly easy to make purchases with Apple Watch. I bought a Shamrock Shake at McDonald’s, where the clerk didn’t bat an eye when I double pressed on the side button, selected the credit card I wanted to use and then waved the watch over the NFC reader.
- Third-Party Apps Aren’t Very Good. Many of the reviewers said that the first round of third-party apps don’t do much, and some described problems even getting them to work reliably. For instance, Manjoo of the New York Times said:
Mashable’s Ulanoff concurred:
- iPhone Dependence Is More Complex Than Previously Understood. Several reviewers pointed out details about the Apple Watch’s link to the iPhone that weren’t known before. Yahoo’s David Pogue said:
That can be helpful, as you’ll notice a battery hit on your iPhone when the Apple Watch is being used. The Independent’s Phelan noted:
A few reviewers (including the WSJ’s Stern) also pointed out that the Watch’s ability to operate independently during fitness activities, including runs, was impacted by distance/location accuracy issues caused by a lack of access to iPhone GPS data. However, they generally felt that the Watch’s performance improved in this regard over time, as Marissa Stephenson of Men’s Journal explained:
- Apple Watch’s Battery Life Lives Up To Apple’s 1-Day Claim, Most Of The Time. Battery life was discussed at least briefly by many of the reviewers, who generally seemed satisfied by the Watch’s ability to last through a single day of regular use. Almost every review found that the Watch consistently survived until the evening, including Re/code’s Goode:
However, battery life remains a point of user anxiety, as noted by Patel at The Verge: “By the end of each day, I was hyper-aware of how low the Apple Watch battery had gotten. After one particularly heavy day of use, I hit 10 percent battery at 7pm, triggering a wave of anxiety. But most days were actually fine.”
- Despite the MagSafe-Style Connector, Apple Watch Still Has Some Charging Issues. Several reviewers noted odd recharging issues, but tended to write them off as anomalies, like Mashable’s Ulanoff:
Lauren Goode of Re/code:
Apple Watch’s Music Playback Is Mediocre. The Verge’s Patel noted that the Apple Watch’s music player isn’t great. “It’s not as good as wearing an old iPod nano on your wrist,” he said, discussing issues with the UI design. Mashable’s Ulanoff pointed out that the Bluetooth range is also limited, saying that “the effective range was no more than 25 feet between the watch and my Jambox before the audio started breaking up.”
Siri Is Pretty Restricted. Several of the reviewers pointed out that Siri’s performance on the Apple Watch isn’t great, including Re/code’s Goode:
Similar comments were made by Patel at The Verge: “When Siri did work, it was for the small stuff Siri is generally good at, like converting units in the kitchen or setting a timer. Anything more complicated generally resulted in Siri prompting me to use my iPhone.”
Hey Siri, what time is the national championship on? Siri: Use Handoff to search the web for [insert question] on your iPhone.
Hey Siri, how much rain has fallen in California this year? Use Handoff to search the web for [insert question] on your iPhone.
- Apple Watch Breaks Cultural Norms In A Bad Way. Serious concerns about the Watch’s cultural impact were raised by The Verge’s Patel, who described his experience attempting to use the wearable in public while out with a co-worker.
Bloomberg’s Topolsky sounded a similar alarm:
