Updated 05:06 PM EDT, Fri, Apr 19, 2024

Apple Watch: Top 5 Best & Worst Features

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With the announcement of the Apple Watch this week, many people are already eagerly anticipating spending upwards of $400 for Apple's first smartwatch. And rest assured, there will be more Apple Watches. This is only the beginning. But enough with the ominous tone. We've broken down the five best and worst features about Apple's upcoming wearable. Check them out.

The Good Stuff

Different Sizes - People's wrists come in all shapes and sizes, actually, just sizes. Most wrists are the same basic shape. Moving on. Not everyone wants a giant watch. Apple gets that, so it introduced two sizes for the Apple Watch: a 42 mm model and a smaller 38 mm model for more dainty wrists. The only small gripe we have with the larger size is will it be large enough for people who like large watch faces? It's not that much bigger than the 'small' one.

Watch bands - This is a bit of a surprise, but then it isn't. Apple figured out that it can make way more money by selling a slew of different watch bands which will allow people to 'personalize' their Apple Watches. Brilliant move. Because nothing says "i'm an individual" more than an Apple Watch watchband that only thousands of other people have instead of one that millions of other people wear.

The customizability is sort of a new thing for Apple, though. Typically the iPhone and iPad come in two or three different colorways, so it's understandable that Apple fans are excited that they've been granted the freedom to choose from a myriad of watchbands as they customize their new wearable.

Wireless Charging - This seems like a no-brainer for new wearables since no one wants another charging cable to worry about. Also, a charge port would probably be ugly on a smartwatch. The magnetic aspect of the Apple Watch's wirelss charging interface is a nice touch too. It's odd that Apple didn't include wireless charging support in the iPhone and iPhone 6 Plus, though. Perhaps that decision was made in favor of keeping the devices as slim as possible. Yes? No? Guys?

Health Tracking - The Apple Watch has a built-in heart rate sensor, a feature that seems to be pretty standard these days on all mobile devices. But Apple has really gone a step further with the HealthKit app suite, which will aggregate all your health and fitness data. The Apple Watch will also alert you when you've been sitting too long, and will also track your activity and inactivity levels so you can adjust your exercise routine accordingly. Basically, it judges you. Awesome.

Apple Pay - The most important and innovative announcement Apple made this week might have been Apple Pay. Apple Pay will allow iPhone and Apple Watch users to make payment transactions simply by waving the phone or watch over a pay terminal. Apple is hoping to eliminate the need for physical wallets over time with Apple Pay. We'll see how it goes when it launches this fall. 

The Not-So-Good

Buttons and Crown Placement - If you look at an Apple Watch, you'll notice that it has a physical button and watch crown on the right side of its body. This seems like an odd choice for a few reasons. First, it will require left-handed users, or those who wear their watch on their right wrist, to contort their hands across the face of the watch to use the crown.

Second, if you're going to design a watch primarily for right-handed users, the button would ideally be on the left side. This is because users naturally have more leverage with their thumb to press a button on the left side than they do with their index finger to press a button on the right side. Don't believe us? Try it out for yourself on any watch.

Odd Touch Controls - Apple's tap vs. hard press interface controls for the Apple Watch just seem awkward, to say nothing of unintuitive. A long-press gesture would make much more sense. A hard press gesture, which doesn't yet appear in any other version of iOS, seems like a bad idea. 

Expensive - The entry point for the Apple Watch is $349, which is $100 more than the best and most expensive (and waaay better looking) Android Wear watch, the Motorola Moto 360. Apple has announced three different models: the Apple Watch, Apple Watch Sport and the Apple Watch Edition. So, if the cheapest version will cost $349, we can only imagine how much Apple will charge for the gold-plated Apple Watch Edition. It staggers the bad imagination.

But it just doesn't make sense for people to pay essentially the price of an iPad mini for a device that gives them a fraction of the value. There are currently plenty of fitness trackers (with accompanying iOS apps!) that can duplicate the health and fitness info of the Apple Watch, and for a fraction of $349. Might wanna try to think different about this one. Sorry. Moving on.

Uninspiring Design - We have to be honest with ourselves and ask if we'd be impressed at all with the Apple Watch's design if anyone else had made it. The obvious answer is no. Aside from its digital crown, there is nothing remarkable about the Apple Watch's design--at all. Would you honestly consider purchasing a non-smartwatch with that same 'design'? I seriously doubt it. It's an ultra-conservative, safe, not-wanting-to-offend-anyone-so-we-can-sell-as-many-as-possible design. Though no doubt inspired, the Apple Watch's design is far from inspiring.

"But, so what?" you might say. "I want it for the functionality!" Really? Well you're the exception. Because everyone else in the world wears watches to look awesome, or to give ourselves the impression we look awesome, or maybe just to do everything we can so someone else might perceive us as awesome. Ok? 

Release Date - Apple announced the Apple Watch in September, but it won't go on sale for another five months at the earliest! Yikes. Looks like someone was a bit desperate to make sure they didn't get left behind in the smartwatch race. Or, maybe January is the new November? Or maybe this article is over.

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