The Apple Watch • Hacker News Board

Re: The Apple Watch

#621

Post by 72deluxe » Wed, Sep 10, 2014, 8:53 AM UTC

MCRed wrote: post #334

dkulchenko wrote: post #313

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But what's really interesting to me is that Apple has clearly put a lot more thought into how interactions on a device like this should work than anybody else. I strongly disagree. I think that Apple actually took the easy way out here - they seemed to have approached the problem as "how can we make iOS usable on a smaller screen" and came up with interfaces like the crown and the (albeit pretty) circle-based homescr…

I am old enough to remember when the first Mac came out. There was a response to it very much like you see here (only it happened on BBSes because there wasn't much of an "internet") then. It's been the same way for every major product- iMac was chastised for lacking a floppy drive, the iPod, iPhone and iPad were all poo-poohed. In every case someone has said "X is better!" And in every case so far that X has turned…

Very informative, thanks. It made me chuckle when you said that Metro UI was innovative - it really was. Unfortunately, for some of the use-cases they put forward, it isn't really suited or very good.

I mean, on a Mac how many people use Launchpad?

Re: The Apple Watch

#622

Post by theon144 » Wed, Sep 10, 2014, 8:53 AM UTC

prawn wrote: post #539

arihant wrote: post #492

Here are my first thoughts (I kind of won't be doing device specific nitpicking as this is the first iteration. We are sure the concept will evolve with time): Good things: 1.) The Tap-talk feature is an absolute genius for me. This, exactly this, is the perfect non-intrusive yet hyper connected way to intimately stay in touch with someone. Just tap on their wrist, so simple. Make a little scribble to show emotion, s…

I'm surprised that the Apple Watch looks so much like a watch. I was keen to see how they might break that concept apart and create something really novel.

I'm sorry? I don't really want to sound like I'm bashing Apple, but I'd never see something round, rectangular and bulky and think "watch" up until the recent advent of smartwatches. Apple Watch is as un-watchy as any of the competing smartwatches, in my opinion.

Re: The Apple Watch

#623

Post by rimantas » Wed, Sep 10, 2014, 8:54 AM UTC

drzaiusapelord wrote: post #384

georgemcbay wrote: post #29

Who would have thunk that of all the end-of-2014 smartwatches, the one that would make you look the least like a dork would be the one from Motorola? Shame about the battery life, though. Please fix that Motorola, I want to give you my money so bad, but cannot do it until you fix the battery life.

I was really expecting, from a looks perspective, that the Moto would look like garbage compared to the Apple watch. Instead we got the opposite. A made a little write-up here: http://nothingjustworks.com/android-may-have-just-won-the-sm...

Android makes watches now? :O

Re: The Apple Watch

#624

Post by 72deluxe » Wed, Sep 10, 2014, 8:55 AM UTC

wildfire wrote: post #375

MCRed wrote: post #334

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am old enough to remember when the first Mac came out. There was a response to it very much like you see here (only it happened on BBSes because there wasn't much of an "internet") then. It's been the same way for every major product- iMac was chastised for lacking a floppy drive, the iPod, iPhone and iPad were all poo-poohed. In every case someone has said "X is better!" And in every case so far that X has turned…

I'm old enough to remember to spell, and remember when the first Mac came out. The response has always been the same; one segment pointing out problems, another pointing out how "visionary" the new thing is. If you are as old as you claim to be, and still fall foul of corporate machinations - then "sucks to be you". Next you'll tell us what your current corporate master told you to say. There a many things wrong with…

I don't think iOS copied windows. It doesn't support sizeable overlapping windows. Sure, it displays text and images, but then that isn't really copying Windows is it?

Also, I don't think that the parent commenter said how visionary the products were. He/she merely highlighted the common responses to Apple's releases.

And before you label me a "shill" (is this Slashdot...?!??!!!!?!??!), I am a happy Windows/Mac/Android developer, and I don't have an iPhone.

Re: The Apple Watch

#625

Post by 72deluxe » Wed, Sep 10, 2014, 8:58 AM UTC

MCRed wrote: post #334

dkulchenko wrote: post #313

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But what's really interesting to me is that Apple has clearly put a lot more thought into how interactions on a device like this should work than anybody else. I strongly disagree. I think that Apple actually took the easy way out here - they seemed to have approached the problem as "how can we make iOS usable on a smaller screen" and came up with interfaces like the crown and the (albeit pretty) circle-based homescr…

I am old enough to remember when the first Mac came out. There was a response to it very much like you see here (only it happened on BBSes because there wasn't much of an "internet") then. It's been the same way for every major product- iMac was chastised for lacking a floppy drive, the iPod, iPhone and iPad were all poo-poohed. In every case someone has said "X is better!" And in every case so far that X has turned…

One thing that Google does really innovate in: releasing products to keep up with the competition (typically web-based), then letting them be unmaintained, fester, and then terminating them much to the chagrin of the users.

That's innovative! Apple certainly doesn't do that! Hah!

(I jest, I jest. GMail and Maps have been going for years, and are pretty great , although I don't like the new UI on maps - things pop up from all over the place and the UI elements are teeny weeny. But yes, I'm a happy Google/Android user thanks).

EDIT: Hey! This was meant as a joke! Don't take it too seriously! Don't downvote me to oblivion! Please! Have mercy and compassion!

EDIT: Again! It's a joke! It's a joke! Such downvoting enthusiasm.

Re: The Apple Watch

#626

Post by jawr » Wed, Sep 10, 2014, 8:59 AM UTC

kingkawn wrote: post #594

2xlbuds wrote: post #468

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I completely agree, having watched this year's Google I/O panel on smartwatch interaction design, it is very obvious that Google has put an enormous amount of thought into their watch platform. They came to a fundamentally different conclusion for what a smartwatch should do, and I really enjoy the experience. The contextual information from Google Now is incredibly useful and it feels like my watch tells me not only…

Your comment has given me my first quantifiable measured sensation of feeling old. if you go out every Tuesday, you will learn the traffic patterns, and will naturally develop a series of contingency routes that you could take in the event of traffic. The watch is novelty more than useful. It will make you forget how you used to do things and in turn feel dependent on it, when in fact it is simply a novelty that dist…

^ This.

I was actually quite disturbed with the Apple unveiling of the watch, I know it has been expected and what not. But a device that is literally monitoring my heart rate constantly all day, guiding me down a street with "gentle taps like a person" to tell me which direction to go. I feel like a small part of humanity is being optimised away. It's an incredibly scary thought.

Re: The Apple Watch

#627

Post by ozgung » Wed, Sep 10, 2014, 9:00 AM UTC

rebel wrote: post #30

Am I the only one who thinks the available/previewed watch faces don't match the intended goal of the device? This event was all about fashion, inviting all of the fashion journalists and talking about personalization. Not a single one of those watch faces look appealing, and worst off they do nothing to shake off the "geeky" stigma attached to smart watches. I think the design has potential when it gets a little bit…

I wonder if app developers are allowed develop custom watch faces. Possibly not.

Re: The Apple Watch

#628

Post by 72deluxe » Wed, Sep 10, 2014, 9:00 AM UTC

Zombieball wrote: post #538

deong wrote: post #472

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The good thing is that we all should benefit. I've had NFC on at least my last two phones (maybe 3?), but the hardware is not ubiquitous enough to matter. I'm assuming that there's nothing locking the POS hardware into Apple Pay, and so NFC payments become a thing everyone can use.

Out of curiosity are tap-to-pay credit cards and POS devices common where you live? (Also where do you live? lol) Here in Vancouver, BC I would say these sales terminals are becoming quite common place.

Here in the UK there are NFC payment points all over the place, but no mobile payment systems support them; it's all US-only.

Re: The Apple Watch

#629

Post by deong » Wed, Sep 10, 2014, 9:00 AM UTC

Zombieball wrote: post #538

deong wrote: post #472

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The good thing is that we all should benefit. I've had NFC on at least my last two phones (maybe 3?), but the hardware is not ubiquitous enough to matter. I'm assuming that there's nothing locking the POS hardware into Apple Pay, and so NFC payments become a thing everyone can use.

Out of curiosity are tap-to-pay credit cards and POS devices common where you live? (Also where do you live? lol) Here in Vancouver, BC I would say these sales terminals are becoming quite common place.

I'm in Iceland, and I don't really see them much (if ever). Chip and pin readers are the norm here, and you can completely function without cash, but I don't notice contactless options really.

I'll take this opportunity to also say that Apple Maps still don't work here. By which I mean, they don't work at all. They have no data. The entire app is little more than a graphic of a map and a UIAlertView that says "No results found".

Re: The Apple Watch

#630

Post by antaviana » Wed, Sep 10, 2014, 9:01 AM UTC

beedogs wrote: post #576

JohnTHaller wrote: post #546

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It absolutely did. You may have forgotten, but the early success of iTunes/iPod was in being able to organize your music and get it on your device. iTunes/iPod was the first to really get this right on any kind of scale. And, compared to the competition of the time, they really nailed it. So, a phone that had that integrated was a really big deal, even if it couldn't run any apps (as the first iPhone did and couldn't…

There was no "early success" for the iPod. It was a failure until the third generation, when it finally got PC support.

The fact that Macs were a small niche was instrumental for the music industry to accept to put legal songs online after the Napster coup. It allowed Steve Jobs to convince them to support trying the model of all songs at the same price because the potential market was so small it didn't really matter if it worked or failed. By being able to conduct a business experiment in a way no one else could, Apple had a huge edge here. The music industry would not have accepted to try such a model directly on Windows at the time and Apple got a huge lead.