The Absolutely Optional Apple Watch

Andrew Cunningham, ArsTechnica:

If I were spending $400 of my own money instead of my employer’s money, I would stand by my earlier assessment: don’t buy the Apple Watch, not yet. At a bare minimum, wait until the operating system and the app ecosystem have some time to mature, something that they should both do rapidly if past Apple products are any indication. Ideally, hold off until second-generation hardware hits, both because it will bring improvements that software updates can’t and because it will tell us more about what we can expect the watch’s support lifecycle to be.

A great review by Cunningham. My only issue with these types of “techie” reviews is that they undermine much of the reason why people buy watches in the first place. Looking at Apple Watch with a “why” magnifying glass is going to lead to all sorts of criticism. And that criticism is fine so long as you understand that all first-generation products compromise some feature(s) in order to get something out the door. This was true with the iPod, iPhone, and iPad.

Another issue is that Cunningham’s advice to wait is based on knowledge and experience of the upgrade timelines of other products in different markets. He’s telling you to wait, but he doesn’t have any idea how long that wait will be. What if the Watch is on a 30 month (or even a three-year) upgrade cycle? What if software updates and better apps make Apple Watch way more desirable in six months’ time, and you finally decide to pick up the first-gen model next year after version 1.5 or 2.0 doesn’t launch when the pundits expected? Now you’ve paid full price for a first-gen Apple Watch with an even shorter product lifespan. Wouldn’t you have been better off just buying Apple Watch as soon as possible, using it till the new one comes out, and then selling or gifting or handing down the original?

Sure, you don’t need an Apple Watch now, but you won’t need one in 2016 or 2017 or 2018, either.

Remember, all watches today (and tomorrow) are accessories. Apple Watch is hardly different in that regard. That’s what so many people are failing to understand. Apple Watch is as optional right now as it’s going to be several revisions down the line. You can certainly wait for a better one, but that will always be true.