How Smart Should A Smartwatch Be?
There have been multiple reports of people who have been using the Apple Watch saying that they started using their phone less thanks to the Watch. There are instances where we can use smartwatches to quickly do something like skip that song we don’t want to listen to or quickly check in on Foursquare or dictate a reply to a message, but smartwatches cannot replace our phones just like smartphones did not replace computers.
Clearly, Ron isn’t in touch with a huge part of the world where smartphones have replaced computers. And that’s not a knock against him or anyone else; it’s just that, in order to understand who Apple Watch is for, you have to wrap your head around who iPhone is for, too. Between Apple and Android (and a host of lesser players), there were an estimated 1.4 billion smartphones in active use worldwide at the end of 2013. I think it’s safe to say that for a large number of these users, their smartphones are their only reliable computing platforms. I know several people like that myself, and it’s not always by financial necessity. Sometimes, it’s a very deliberate life choice.
However, Ron makes a great point:
While smartwatches might be able to become the default medium for the instances where we want to quickly do something, we are not going to be replying to long emails or playing complicated games or watching videos or reading long articles on our watches. … I’ve been saying this for a long time: the smaller display means you need smaller interactions and you have smaller capabilities. Smartwatch makers should not be trying to replace your phone – they should be trying to use that tiny space on your wrist for the important and quick things.
I completely agree.
The smartwatch’s goal should not be to be the default input device. Instead, I prefer to think of it as a little helper. For example, last night as I was preparing dinner, I heard a ding from my iPhone notifying me that I’d received a message. I was dressing up a raw chicken so my hands had oil and a bunch of spices caked on them. In that instance, I imagined how great it would’ve been to be wearing an Apple Watch. Rather than having to wash my hands and run over to my phone, I could have just looked at my wrist and promptly ignored the non-emergency for the time being. Honestly, this kind of scenario is the biggest part of what I think the overall goal for Apple Watch is. I don’t see it as a smartphone replacement, but I see it as a friction reducer.
And at least for me, I think it’s going to make life a lot more comfortable.