Apple iwatch review

The wait for the Apple watch is moving towards the final minutes. Surrounded by curiosity, the iPhones-ready watch arrives in some countries on the 24th, promising to take advantage of a category that still sparks little consumer interest.

Apple Watch design

Constructed from a single piece of aluminum, the watch has a "premium" style common to Apple products. The dark glass on the front is chipped on the case and curled on the sides, thus recalling the iPhone 6. On the side, there is still a "Start" button and a rotary one just below which gives access to the contacts.

Currently, it is possible to find the watch in two sizes: 38mm and 42mm. The former tends to fall in small pulses or for those who want a more discreet accessory. The 42mm is not enough to be much bigger, but the difference is remarkable and excellent for those who want to wear the smartwatch.

Apple also tries to offer bracelets for all tastes and occasions. The range of rubber models for sports practice to metal options for more formal occasions. Each of them can be easily interchanged and has a different type of closure, which is generally quite easy to operate.

Two points, however, deserve more company attention. The first is the thickness of 10 mm. Although it is an acceptable size close to the competitors, it is an Apple watch that would certainly be fine if it would be more elegant.

Since the adoption of the exclusive rectangular format of those who prefer to leave the watches around without option. The initial screen of the smartwatch, even, would fit very well in a circular device like the Moto 360, since it uses and abuses the rounded icons.

Apple Watch operating system and usability

Apple Watch brings its own operating system, called WatchOS. There are two key areas on the platform: the welcome screen, where the applications are launched, and the contact center, which allows the social interaction of the device.

The opening screen presents a strange and courageous proposal from Apple. It consists of scattered small icons, Just remember a bee hive or blisters. To open an application, it is possible to play or zoom even using the rotary button. Although the original idea did not work.

The big criticism of the watch interface is: "can you walk on the street?". Barely. The icons are small and too mixed to carry out a command on the move and with few taps. In addition, zoom opening requires the user to centralize the application in the center of the screen before taking an action. An unnecessary waste of time.

The contact window, on the other hand, stands out. She brings your friends' photos via centralized exchange and the rotary button, which works great here. With a touch of the contact face, you can access his information, make calls, send messages or interact with him.

The interaction system, in fact, is the most attractive. You can select a friend with the Apple watch and tap on the screen. A simple and friendly way to say "Hello, I am here."

The WatchOS also offers a set of automatic text responses for messages, audio sending, Siri personal assistant and has its own configuration, which is synchronized with the phone. In fact, almost everything is, because without your iPhone 5 or higher, the smartwatch loses much of its functions.

Apple Watch applications

The watch comes with an interesting set of applications for those who want to transfer part of the phone tasks. You can access your cards in the passbook, do GPS navigation, read email messages and event calendar and track your physical performance on followers and sensors embedded in the watch. Well adapted to the small screen of the device and its limitations.

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A smartwatch obviously couldn't trust a special app. The watch brings a set of covered analog masks to digital models, bearing a nice animated Mickey Mouse pointer. Apart from that, there are countdown, stopwatch and other functions associated with this type of apparatus.

If you want to expand Apple's watch capabilities, you can still count on an App Store exclusively for the device. It is more than a thousand applications available for the gadget.

conclusion

Considered a potential savior for the smartwatch market , the Apple watch leaves a lot to be desired in a short test. First of all, it struggles to carry out the proposed tasks: it is too complex to be a watch and its smart functions are limited by the characteristics of the product.

The WatchOS goes far from exciting in its debut. The operation of the platform proved to be difficult even for the Apple employee who is trained in its use. That is, the user will have to learn how to use a touch watch well. At this point, using Android seems to be a better option.

There are important issues that require more detailed testing with the device, such as the battery, which has been disappointing since the official product announcement. The limited environment imposed by Apple in this initial phase of testing still prevents the use of interesting functions such as heart rate sensors and communication with the smartphone.

Finally, the general impression is that the Apple watch is a State-of-the-art toy for anyone who wants to try another connected product. It lacks any unique features that convince the user to spend hundreds of dollars so they don't have to keep taking the iPhone out of their pocket when looking at the time.