Review: Apple Smart watch

Introduction

The smartphone world was turned upside down with the introduction of the original iPhone. In just a matter of a couple of hours, it undoubtedly pushed things forward into new heights that hadn’t been obtained before – seemingly putting all other smartphones before it in the dust; outdating them in the process.the Apple Watch, the company’s ambitious take on the modern smartwatch, which has yet to see a champion that rises above all others. Indeed, we can mention a few models from the Android Wear camp that have piqued our interest, but for the most part, there’s still not a single, dominant one that can transform the smartwatch’s reputation from a want, to a necessity. Can the Watch achieve that? Knowing Apple’s track record, we’re confident that it’s plausible, but at the end of the day, it’ll need to prove to all of us that it can.

Package contains: 

• Apple Watch
• Wall charger
• Black sports band
• Magnetic conductive charging disc
• User's guide

Design

The Apple Watch isn't an 'instantly mind-blowing design' type of thing, it’s one of the more favorable looking smartwatche – boasting a concoction of simplicity, modernism, and premium into one. Constructed from what Apple refers to as 7000 Series Aluminum, with unit sporting the Space Gray color (there’s also a Silver option) and a matching black fluoroelastomer band, it certainly has a pleasant uniform look, but of course, a higher contrast can be achieved by picking up any of the handful of colored bands that Apple sells.

Versus other smartwatch designs, this one is an undeniably favorable one with its sturdy feel, but at the same time, it’s not something we’d classify as class-leading. the 38mm Apple Watch Sport might look a little small for most men, but it’s something that many women feel to be better sized for them. Of course, the 42mm model is more proportionally correct for those with bigger wrists, but frankly speaking, it’s a nice looking watch either way. That’s partly due to how the edges of the Apple Watch are rounded, offering a uniform look – while the glossy front helps to contrast the aluminum casing. And then there’s the fluoroelastomer band, which is rubbery in texture and offers great fidelity with physical activities thanks to its water resistant properties. Adjusting the strap is a cinch too, as all that’s needed is to find the correct cutout.

the 18-karat rose or yellow gold casings with the Edition. Add in the various straps that Apple sells, like the link bracelet, modern buckle, Milanese loop, classic buckle, and much more, there’s significantly more personalization achieved by the Apple Watch than anything else around. Depending on which one you go withthe so-called Digital Crown - that’s a modern twist on a classical feature. Much like what you find on a standard watch with a crown, it can be rotated and pressed – where the former function allows us to scroll through certain lists or zoom, while the latter is used to turn it on, move between the homescreen and apps tray, and act as the ‘back’ function. Honestly, it’s pretty smooth and responsive, and we’re really impressed by how precise it is with its movement.

Designated with an IPX7 certification, it means that the Apple Watch is water resistant – not waterproof. Essentially, it can withstand immersion in water up to 1 meter deep for 30 minutes at the maximum. However, you should know that not all of the bands are resistant to water either, so you’ll need to be aware about that. Even though it’s safeguarded against sweaty workouts, washing our hands, and even being caught in the rain, it’s not meant to be used prolonged for activities like showering or swimming.

Display

The centerpiece of the 38mm Apple Watch Sport is its 1.32-inch 272 x 340 OLED display, which is the first time we’ve seen the company dive into the world of OLED screens. And boy does it make a compelling splash! Interestingly, Apple classifies the screen’s pixel density figure of 272 ppi as being a Retina Display. Regardless, while we certainly have no qualms about its detail and sharpness, the 42mm variant gets treated to a slightly larger, 1.5” display panel with better resolution - 312 x 390 pixels.

the screen pops magnificently and gracefully with its potent brightness and vibrant colors. Topping it off, too, is the fact that the Sport edition is safeguarded by a layer of Ion-X strengthened scratch resistant glass, which is similarly employed by the iPhone 6. Meanwhile, the Watch stainless steel and Edition version are protected by the even tougher sapphire glass. From various angles and lighting conditions, we’re astounded by the screen’s ability to maintain its clarity – so colors don’t distort, nor is there much glare.

Interface and Functionality

Apple’s iOS, the Apple Watch dives right in with a comprehensive user interface that’s powerful right from the onset . Okay, to a certain degree, even veteran iPhone users will still need some adjustment getting used to the software, but it’s something that can be achieved in about a day. For those unfamiliar with iOS, obviously, the experience might seem a little bit overwhelming – more so when interacting with the UI can sometimes be done in multiple ways

Siri

Yes, you can long press at any time to get Siri’s attention, but she can also be summoned by speaking “hey Siri” at any time when the screen is on – it won’t work if it’s locked or the screen is off. Just like what we get from Siri on the iPhone, we’re able to accomplish a handful of tasks. From asking what’s the weather condition, getting directions to a destination, and even answering trivia questions, Siri works rather well in being a useful personal digital assistant on our wrist – though, she doesn’t speak, so it’s more about the visuals here.

Glances

As its name implies, they’re best described as a collection of mini apps/widgets that are arranged in a carousel. The important ones like the connectivity options, battery capacity, and fitness overview are there from the start, but in addition to them, we can set it up to show third party apps. Specifically, we can set the Twitter app to show recent tweets from friends – or go between radio stations with Pandora. Now, as much as we appreciate these Glances.

Notifications

they can only be seen by swiping down from the homescreen. Indeed, this implementation is discrete, but it’s also deep as well, because for most of them, we can make actionable choices – like replying to text messages. When multiple notifications arrive, however, it becomes a bit overwhelming because there’s no way to clear all of them simultaneously.

Organizer

It’s no surprise that the Apple Watch can do the same. Whether it’s the calendar, stock, or timer apps, they all function in the manner we expect – though, it’s just a matter of getting adjusted to interacting with them through such a tiny-sized screen.we can use the Apple Watch to get in touch with our contacts through other unconventional means. With the aid of the Apple Watch’s Digital Touch feature, we can send finger paintings, taps, and an animated emoji to other people in our phonebook that are using an Apple Watch too. Even better, for that personal touch, we can send our heartbeat to them – where the Taptic Engine inside of the watch, a linear actuator, delivers a human touch of providing haptic feedback

Messaging

No folks, you’re not going to text by typing using the tips of your fingers on some sort of on-screen keyboard – that’s just not practical, of course. Instead, when it comes to replying or composing messages, the Apple Watch provides some common phrases and emojis to choose from, but the best result is relying on Siri to compose the message for us. In our experience, the dictation is pretty spot on!

Alternatively, there’s the mail app that displays all our emails in one universal inbox. Unfortunately, it can’t be broken down or separated into their individual accounts – nor is there a way to respond or reply, so you’ll need to do all of that through your iPhone.

Apple Pay

The Apple Watch aims to streamline the process of paying for goods and services even easier. Looking through the apps tray, there’s an icon for Passbook, which not only allows us to access the existing set of cards in our catalog, like the Starbucks one that displays our scannable membership number, but also the credit card we’d like to use for payment. Well, it needs to be set up again, even if it’s activated and working on our iPhone.

Health and Fitness

the Apple Watch is also a motivator with its health and fitness services. First, let’s talk about the Activity App, which is also a separate app that’s installed on our iPhone apart from the standard Apple Watch app. Talk about simplicity again! The Activity app is a simple and effective tool that visualizes our activity through the day by representing data through the ‘move’ ring. Gathering the data from the Apple Watch’s sensors, it’s able to tell us how frequently we’re moving, the amount of time spent on exercising, and the total time we’ve spent standing up.

Processor and Memory

The Apple Watch performs much like the gamut of Apple’s device portfolio – buttery smooth with simple operations. There’s no arguing about its smoothness navigating and running apps, but we’ve experienced, on a handful of occasions, just a little bit of delay. It’s not bad to the point of stopping us dead in our tracks, but still noticeable enough to the eye. In comparing it with some Android Wear watches, we’ll certainly say it exhibits a similar performance to some of the more notable, high-end models.Billed as having 8GB of internal storage, that tally translates to 6.2GB out of the box – where up to 2GB of it can be allocated to music, while another 75MB can be put aside for photos.

Camera

there’s no physical camera on the Apple Watch itself. Well folks, the Apple Watch merely acts as a remote shutter for your iPhone’s camera. Not only do we see the viewfinder through the Apple Watch, but we can take a snapshot at a moment’s notice by pressing on the corresponding button on-screen. It’s not something new, as many Android Wear watches offer this too, but it’s nice that touch focus and burst mode controls are offered

Multimedia

If you happen to own an Apple TV, you can make good use out of the Apple Watch’s remote app. Either that, or go to your computer that’s running iTunes and associate it with that too – so you can control what’s playing in your library or iTunes Radio.

With the Music app, however, it not only acts as a remote too, but it’s a full functioning app that permits us to select a song that’s stored in our iPhone’s catalog. In staying true to the platform’s foundations, the Music app boasts a simple interface that breaks the categories down to artists, albums, songs, and playlist. Not only can we select something, but once it’s playing, we’re given music controls and volume adjustment.

Call Quality

Due to the weak output of its internal speaker, voices are easily subdued by background noise and disturbances. On the other end of the line, our callers struggle to make out our voices, which could be due to how close or far away the microphone is from our mouth. Sure, there’s a cool factor lifting our wrist near our mouth to handle phone calls, but at times it can be a meddling experience.

Battery

The Apple Watch, much like the many notable Android Wear smartwatches floating around, produces a typical one-day of battery in our experience with its 205 mAh battery. By the end of the day, it’s typically running under the 15% mark, which is still commendable, but nothing spectacular.