My 8 Initial Apple Watch Impressions

On Friday, I was lucky enough to have the first appointment at a Phoenix Apple Store to try on the new Apple Watch.

I have been looking forward to the Apple Watch release since its announcement last fall. Yet, even this close to launch, much remains to be seen about the device’s use and functionality.

Read on, for my initial impressions from a hands on with the Apple Watch.

Apple Watch Initial Impressions

I arrived at the Apple store before it opened. There were more than 30 Apple employees on the sales floor doing a pre-opening meeting.

When the time finally came to open, they whooped it up and clapped as the doors were opened. While I appreciate the attempt at spectacle, this wasn’t as exciting as the iPhone launch. No one would be leaving the store with a watch that day. You could look and touch, but that was about it. The watches aren’t being released until two weeks later. (April 24th)

I understand the anticipation building, and the need for people to try on this personal device. Yet, it seemed a little anti-climatic to be “just trying on the watch” and then leaving empty-handed.

I was greeted by several enthusiastic Apple employees who told me that they had been in the store overnight preparing and training.

Within a few minutes I was shown to a try-on table, and using her iPhone, the associate unlocked the drawer with the Apple Watches.

I tried on probably half a dozen different models. Most of them were off and not charged. I did manage to get one of the Sport Editions to power on (Much to the surprise of my Apple associate). Separate from the “try on area” there were demo watches for playing with the UI.

Here are my 8 Initial Impressions with the Apple Watch:

1. Apple Watch is Smaller Than I Expected – And that is a good thing. I was expecting the watch to be bigger and chunkier. I had been worried that the 42mm model would be too big for my wrist, but it was just right.
2. Sport Band is Much Softer Than Expected – Not sure why, but I expected the Sport band to be a hard rubber-like band. To the contrary, it is soft and flexible, even supple.
3. Apple Watch is Very High Quality. The Apple Watch is not cheap by any means, yet the build quality impressed me. Apple doesn’t do cheap quality, and the watch lives up to that reputation. The watch just feels good to touch and wear.
4. Apple Employees are New to Apple Watch – During my visit, it was apparent that Apple Watch is just as new to Apple employees as it is to the public. I am sure they received training, but they were learning it at the same time I was.
5. Apple Watch is in Short Supply – This is a bit of conjecture. But, from what I have seen, Apple Watch seems to be in short supply. Part of this presumption is due to the lack of in-store sales at launch. (And the now sell-out online.) As well, even in-store presence seemed light. For example, there was only 1 tiny Watch in each of the large window displays.
6. Sport Edition is My Favorite – After trying on the Apple Watches, I prefer the sport edition. I like the lightweight materials. The mid-tier Apple watches, while having stainless steel and sapphire glass, were heavier and clunkier.
7. Apple Watch is a New UI – Many reviews have made comments about whether or not the Apple Watch is intuitive to use. I can’t definitively comment, except to say that is does present a difference UI than we are used to with iPhone/iPad. The second button below the Digital Crown presents additional actions that will take some learning.
8. Taptic Feedback is Impressive – Similar to Force Touch trackpad, the new Apple Watch has haptic (or as Apple calls it taptic feedback) in the form of small taps from the watch. The watch is elegant in that it doesn’t buzz or vibrate like many devices. Rather it gives the user notifications in the form of small taps on your wrist. This will be a more elegant experience than today’s buzzing notifications.

More Apple Watch Thoughts

On Wednesday, I will write about whether I think the Apple Watch will save time or take time from our daily activities. Will it be a productivity tool or another shiny gadget to interrupt our day?

We will know soon enough. Until then, I can track my Apple Watch order that should arrive on April 24th.

Question: What are you initial thoughts on the Apple Watch? You can leave a comment by clicking here.