Apple’s Lovely, Potentially Overwhelming Wristwear

Apple’s Lovely, Potentially Overwhelming Wristwear

My admittedly short time trying the Apple Watch makes me wonder if it might be able to do too much.

One version of the Apple Watch features a stainless steel case and a black leather strap.

The Apple Watch looks and feels fantastic on my wrist—unlike most smart watches I’ve tried, it’s not too big or heavy, it has a bright, crisp display, there are just two buttons for navigation, and its touch screen is incredibly responsive. But you know what? It’s also a little overwhelming. 

I’ve been itching to try out a fully functional version of the device since Apple first showed it off at a media event last September. At the time, the company only allowed us reporters to check out a clearly unfinished device running demo software meant to show off a few marquee features (see “The Apple Watch May Solve the Usual Smart Watch Annoyances”).

But on Monday, at an event in San Francisco where Apple showed off the watch again, along with updated laptops and other products, I got my chance to play with the real thing for a few minutes. A demo attendant strapped an Apple Watch on my wrist: a luxurious gold version of the device, completely out of most people’s price ranges with a starting price of $10,000, and available at select Apple stores when the device goes on sale April 24 (presales will begin April 10). There are much cheaper versions—Apple Watch Sport, which will start at $349, and Apple Watch Collection, which will start at $549—but when you’re in a room filled with reporters angling for hands-on time with a hot new gadget, you take what you can get.

And so I got the fancy watch. And at first, it was really cool. Its leather band felt buttery on my arm, and the crown—traditionally used to wind a watch but in this case used for navigation on the tiny screen—turned smoothly. The display, which is force-sensitive, had just enough resistance to my fingers that there was no mistaking swipes for firm presses. The battery life is supposed to last for 18 hours, which is a smidgen of the week-long battery life you’d get with the much simpler Pebble smart watch, but then the design and capabilities of the Apple Watch are far greater.