Apple Watch long-term test report: Usage scenarios are limited

I am usually willing to try out new products launched by Apple, so I bought the black sports version of Apple Watch as soon as possible. I don't know if this can be considered as an Apple fan's sentiment, after all, it is a happy thing to experience the potential behind these new technology products.

Wearable devices have always been in a vicious circle of high popularity but low sales. Many people are willing to attribute this to the lack of rigid demand. Therefore, although Apple itself has high hopes for the Apple Watch, in fact, the attention it receives is far different from that of the iPhone. Perhaps this is the fundamental reason why Apple has been reluctant to disclose the specific sales figures of the Apple Watch.

Back to the product itself, many netizens reported that they are quite satisfied with the design of Apple Watch. But the question that entangles them is whether Apple Watch can really make the metal watch on their wrist sit on the bench? What is the effect after long-term use? In this regard, I have some new insights to share with you after using Apple Watch for three and a half months.

Simple pairing method

First of all, I have not upgraded to the latest Watch OS 2 beta system, because I was not satisfied with the iOS 9 beta system before, the application compatibility was not good, and the system was prone to freezing. And the premise of using Watch OS 2 beta is that it must be used with iOS 9. So if you want stability, I suggest that you do not try Watch OS 2 now.

The first thing you need to do when you buy a new Apple Watch is pairing it with your iPhone via Bluetooth. Please note two things: your device must be iPhone 5 or above, and the phone system must be upgraded to iOS 8.2 or above. Once the Bluetooth pairing is completed, the pairing between the watch and iPhone will be done by default without the need for tedious pairing again. Please note that the distance between the two devices should not be too far.

In iOS 8.2, you will see an Apple Watch icon. Follow the instructions to pair your watch with the initialized Apple Watch. The whole process will take about 10-20 minutes, depending on the number of apps in your system. After that, the apps on your phone that support Watch OS will appear on your Apple Watch, and the pairing is complete.

There are two ways to set up Apple Watch. In addition to adjusting it directly in the settings of Apple Watch, you can also control it through the "Apple Watch" icon under the iOS system of the mobile phone, including the layout of application icons in the Apple Watch dial, notification content, and even screen brightness and font size. You can also set the push function of a certain application separately. But there are only 12 frequently used contacts, which is not enough to be honest. Family members and colleagues cannot be added.

Analysis of several usage scenarios

In addition to checking time information and reminder notes, the most common use of Apple Watch is to receive push notifications of various messages, such as WeChat, QQ, emails, and news clients. The role of Apple Watch is more of a push notification device. The biggest benefit of this push notification is that it reduces the frequency of checking messages on my phone, especially some WeChat notification messages or emails, which can be quickly obtained through Apple Watch, which is very convenient.

But I am very dissatisfied with the push notifications in two aspects. One is that the messages pushed through the Bluetooth connection are always half a beat slower than those sent through the phone, sometimes 1 minute slower, sometimes even more than 5 minutes slower. The timeliness is really poor. Another point is that if I want to reply to messages through Apple Watch, I can only keep speaking to it and use voice recognition to convert it into text. Although the recognition accuracy is still very good in a quiet state, in most cases I prefer to use a few fixed preset words to quickly reply, but this scenario is very limited.

I have downloaded a total of 24 third-party apps on my Apple Watch, but apart from instant messaging and news apps, I rarely use other apps. This is mainly because of the small size of the Apple Watch. I don’t want to stare at this small screen for a long time.

When I travel, I am used to using Apple Watch to quickly locate and check my location information. Apple Watch has no difficulty coping with Apple Maps. Not only is it very fast, but it is also very smooth when zooming with the crown.

With an Apple ID, Apple products can be synchronized. What's interesting is that when a call comes in to my iPhone, iPad, MacBook and Apple Watch all ring at the same time because they are all under the same account. I can answer the call immediately with any device. Although I don't use other devices to answer calls in most cases, when I can't spare my hands, such as when driving, it is obviously safer to quickly turn on the speaker mode of Apple Watch and tell the other party that it is inconvenient to answer the call now than to answer it with a mobile phone.

Apple Watch also has a feature that allows you to "send messages to your friends over long distances", that is, two people who both have Apple Watch can send vibrations and pictures to each other, and the other party can reply after receiving them. However, I have hardly used this feature too many times, because it is often "sent but not returned".

What I want to complain about is that there are too few different watch faces in Watch OS. I basically choose a simple watch face, but the aesthetics are not satisfactory. There are also few other options. The apps are densely spread on the watch face, which makes it very difficult to find them. Fortunately, Watch OS 2 will improve this shortcoming in the future.

Satisfactory sports assistant

I always carry my Apple Watch with me when I go out for exercise. At the beginning, you need to set your basic information, including height, weight, and training goals. The device will record your daily training status from three dimensions: activity, exercise, and standing according to the goals you choose, and the monitoring results can also be displayed in the form of specific numbers. If you achieve your goals, you will receive specific reward badges. The incentive mechanism is a bit creative.

Since I bought the sports version, I don't feel any discomfort when I wear it for running or playing badminton. The strap is relatively soft and fits my wrist well. In short, I am very satisfied with the performance of Apple Watch in sports, because it can help me record a lot of sports data and urge me to get medals for activities. However, I am still skeptical about the accuracy of heart rate testing, because the results of two close tests are sometimes quite different.

1.5 days of charging is the norm

Another reason why wearable devices are popular but not popular is closely related to battery life. Think about it, charging your phone every day is enough, and you have to buy a watch this time, which is really hard to solve. Take my own situation as an example. In the past three months of using Apple Watch, the time from full charge to the next charge of Apple Watch can last about 1.5 days.

For example, I put on the watch at 7 am, and the next time I charge it is around 12 noon the next day. I use it non-stop during this period, mainly to receive various real-time push notifications. I am quite satisfied with this battery life. At least if I forget to charge it the night before, it won't be Game Over the next day. When the battery reaches 10%, the system will automatically switch to power saving mode for you. At this time, Apple Watch can only be used as a tool to tell time, and all other functions are disabled. This process can last for another half a day without any problem.

Don't worry too much about wear and tear

As for the wear and tear, you don't need to worry too much. Although the tempered glass used in the sports version is much more brittle than the sapphire used in the standard version, if you make sure it is not dropped and take good care of it, and try to avoid scratching the dial in crowded places such as subways and buses, there will basically be no obvious scratches. It's just that the color of the bracelet will become much darker after long-term exercise, and the back of the Apple Watch is very easy to get dirty due to sweating, so it needs to be cleaned regularly.

Expectations for Apple Watch 2

I asked many friends who bought Apple Watch and people who like iPhone but didn't buy Apple Watch. Everyone gave the same answer, that is, it is useless. Some people have even started to plan how to sell it. Some of the people who bought it are real Apple fans who bought Apple Watch with the mentality of buying every product, while some rational friends think that smart watches are not a must-buy, so it's better not to buy them. Presumably, this kind of real user feedback is the main reason why Apple Watch has not received much response.

Although I have no plans to sell my Apple Watch in the short term, I am looking forward to the next generation of Apple Watch and its system. There are reports that Apple will consider making the next generation of Apple Watch more independent and able to download exclusive Apple Watch apps. The advantage of this is that there will be more apps and the app itself will load faster.

At WWDC in June this year, Apple announced that the changes in Watch OS 2 are mainly in customization, supporting more options for changing the screen. You can turn your favorite photos into wallpapers and put them on the standby interface. The options for various applications or services will also increase, which will make it more convenient to use.

On the other hand, the current usage scenarios of Apple Watch have not been fully explored. For example, in the United States, many Apple Watch users have begun to use Apple Pay to complete payments or scan QR codes to board planes. Once this usage habit is formed, it will be more practical to pay with the thin and light Apple Watch than with cash or mobile phones. If it becomes popular in China in the future, it will definitely promote the demand for Apple Watch to some extent.

All in all, the future of Apple Watch should be based on independent use from the iPhone. This route is not wrong, but in order to achieve this experience, Apple still has to overcome many problems, such as the most difficult battery life issue and the relatively high price.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.