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Apple Watch: Right and Wrong Questions

Apple Watch: Right and Wrong Questions

April 9, 2015

Mark Miller:

In my opinion, I don’t think we yet know how the answer to these questions regarding Apple Watch. These kinds of questions are impossible to answer in a 15-minute hands-on session and are hard to answer even after one week with the device (one reason I’ll be do a week-by-week review for the first month). But if, as we evaluate Apple Watch, we ask the wrong question, we’ll focus on how the watch is similar to the phone. We’ll miss what makes it uniquely valuable, whether that value outweighs the cost and, perhaps most importantly, what the cost is of not having those unique benefits.

This has been one of my major criticisms of the many Apple Watch reviews. To some extent, I blame Apple for sending out these devices to reviewers and giving them a week before the embargo is lifted. This is not like a smartphone where we have an understandable frame of reference from previous smartphones. This is a new product with a new UI, new input methods, and even a new way of feeling information. How can you truly gather its value when its not yours and you’ve lived with it for just a few days?

In my mind, all of these reviews should have really been “first impressions.”