If you're gonna get an I-Watch, might want to get 2 or 3

wvjohn · Post by **wvjohn** » Tue Mar 10, 2015 9:05 am

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/shoppin ... hours.html

Apple’s new watch has a battery that lasts as little as three hours, the technology giant has quietly admitted.

Using the device - which costs up to £12,000 - for phone conversations means it will die after three hours, Apple said in a post buried deep on its product page.

Listening to music will get you just six-and-a-half hours of battery life and working out while the Apple Watch monitors your health will give you just seven hours.

The admissions are significantly less than the 18 hours that Apple chief executive Tim Cook announced in the glitzy launch on Monday.

They could prove a major problem for users who will have to charge up multiple times in a day using the magnetic clip-on charger.

Apple Watch was launched on Monday to much fanfare by Mr Cook, who said that the models will cost between $349 (£231) and $17,000 (£12,000) when they are available next month in the UK on limited release.

He claimed it would be "revolutionary", but now it seems that the battery might be what one tech website described as its "Achilles Heel".

On its website, Apple gave figures for battery life based on the smaller 38mm (1.4 inch) version. The 42mm (1.7 inch) version will last longer, though no figures were given.

Leaving it in reserve mode will last up to 72 hours, and leaving it in "Watch Test" mode will last up to 48 hours.

But should you use any of the features Mr Cook talked about in his press conference, it will last significantly less.

Apple tried to make the figures more impressive by giving an example of a typical user chewing up their 18 hours of battery life as follows: 90 time checks (five per hour), 90 notifications, 45 minutes of app use, and a 30-minute workout with music playback via Bluetooth.

But on the product page of the watch website, it also gave the lower figures for talking or using it to workout.

The Apple Watch was launched by Tim Cook (EPA)

To charge up, users will have to take the watch off and connect the magnetic charger to the back of the device.

They will have to leave it there for one-and-a-half hours to get to 80 per cent full and two-and-a-half hours to get to 100 per cent.

On its website, Apple says: "Battery life varies by use, configuration, and many other factors; actual results will vary."

Batteries have long been an issue with iPhones and iPads with users for both complaining that they drain out after just a few hours.

They have also been an issue with Google’s Glass eyewear - now discontinued in the UK - and when connected to the Internet it lasted just 30 minutes.

Apple Watch Sport, Apple Watch and Apple Edition

By comparison, users of the LG G Watch, which runs Google’s Android Wear system, get two days before it dies.

Writing on Techcrunch.com, Matt Burns said that "Apple clearly does not foresee selling the Watch based on its battery life".

He wrote: "Battery life could be the Achilles heel for the Apple Watch. It’s unquestionably a beautiful and capable device, but if the battery life falls short even a touch from these advertised claims, it will leave many users wearing a device that can just tell the time and not call an Uber (taxi)."

At the Apple Watch launch on Monday, Mr Cook said it will be available in three models: Apple Watch Sport, the Apple Watch and Apple Watch Edition.

Apple Watch Sport is the cheapest and is made of custom silver anodized aluminum whilst Apple Watch is the mid range option and is made of a specially designed stainless steel.

Apple Watch Edition is made of 18 carat solid yellow or rose gold and comes with a gold case and buckle, plus a sapphire crystal protecting the display.

The Apple Watch wirelessly connects to your iPhone and lets you do many of the same functions only without having to reach into your pocket for your mobile.

All three models will do a huge range of things such as checking you in at your hotel, ordering you a taxi or letting you check in to your flight.

The speaker and microphone on the watch let you have a phone conversation or reply to messages via dictation.

Losbot · Post by **Losbot** » Tue Mar 10, 2015 2:08 pm

$17,000 !?!?!?!
WTF?!?!

I love watches and have a nice collection but I'm not paying that for some Apple branded piece of crap. If I were going to spend that sort of cash on a watch, I'd get something that will appreciate in value over time. I have a couple of nice watches that have gone up in value over the years.

Pugsley · Post by **Pugsley** » Tue Mar 10, 2015 4:27 pm

17,000 would get me 3 NIB pinball machines!

EvilHorace · Post by **EvilHorace** » Tue Mar 10, 2015 4:47 pm

Losbot wrote:$17,000 !?!?!?!
WTF?!?!

I love watches and have a nice collection but I'm not paying that for some Apple branded piece of crap. If I were going to spend that sort of cash on a watch, I'd get something that will appreciate in value over time. I have a couple of nice watches that have gone up in value over the years.

Found elsewhere:

As previously revealed, the Apple Watch comes in two sizes and three versions. At the March 9 event, Apple announced that the Sports model will have a starting price of $349 (the 42-mm model will cost $50 more). Additional models range from $549 to $1,099 with the exception of the 18K gold watch, which will run $10,000 and up. "It's the most beautiful expression of the Apple Watch," said Cook. Preorder begins on April 10. The target to launch: April 24.

.....but still, it's JUST a watch. Doesn't look like this thing even connects to your phone (err, the one in your pocket) like the other ones by Apple and Samsung.

Gotta think that for $10K on up for the 18K watch, I bet it keeps damn good time, maybe even as good as my $30 Timex

Just not getting it.

Post by **FlyingPenguin** » Tue Mar 10, 2015 4:48 pm

$10 - 17K (no set price yet) is for the Gold version. Unless you're a Kardashian, or or a drug dealer, you're not buying one of them.

I'm a watch user, and like Los I have a couple of expensive watches for going out (a titanium Citizen Eco-Drive, and stainless steel Folio automatic). For every day use, however, I wear a $50 Casio G-Shock (practically indestructible, and the battery lasts 5 years!). I've bought the same G-Shock model every 4 or 5 years for the last 20 years.

The only e-watch that even holds my interest is the Pebble. It's e-ink, and as such the battery lasts a week on a charge. That seems a lot more practical.

I didn't like the look of the Pebble, however, until the Pebble Steel came out.

I think the problem with these watches is that they're trying to make them do too much. The Pebble just does what it needs to do: notifications and some limited remote control. I just want to see who's calling or texting or emailing WITHOUT pulling the phone out of my pocket. That, and do what my Casio already does (time, date, stopwatch, timer). I never use a watch alarm anymore - I use the phone - but if the watch tells me about the phone's alarm and lets me mute it, that's cool too.

That's it. I don't need to play games on my watch, I don't need to talk to it like Dick Tracy.

Pebble Steel really looks nice:

Err · Post by **Err** » Tue Mar 10, 2015 7:54 pm

The iWatch is ridiculous but they will sell well. If I'm going to spend $550 on a watch, it's not going to be something that is obsolete in two years. I'll buy something that will still be running generations from now for that coin.

I wonder if anyone has tried incorporating a self winding mechanism into an e-ink watch to help keep it charged longer.

Losbot · Post by **Losbot** » Tue Mar 10, 2015 9:43 pm

Err wrote:The iWatch is ridiculous but they will sell well. If I'm going to spend $550 on a watch, it's not going to be something that is obsolete in two years. I'll buy something that will still be running generations from now for that coin.

True. There are those who will buy it just because they can and it's Apple.

I wear a nice but inexpensive Kenneth Cole for work everyday. I own it in Brown and Black to match what I wear. If I'm going out to a nice function, I have over a dozen to choose from that were <$500. If it's a REALLY nice event, I afraid to admit I have (collected over time) about 10 that range from $2k to $6k.

Yes, it seems extreme but I enjoy wearing them and years from now, they'll continue to look amazing, function flawlessly (most are automatics) and still be "in style" as opposed to that Apple watch.

mile

Who knows? Maybe many years from now, if I actually like the guy that my daughter marries (one can only hope) I'll leave them to him when I kick the bucket. Hopefully not for a few decades.

EvilHorace · Post by **EvilHorace** » Wed Mar 11, 2015 7:03 am

If one of these watches was 100% stand alone, like a real Dick Tracy watch without requiring your phone to be with you (which I think will happen eventually) and they didn't cost so much (considering that no matter what they'll become obsolete in 6 months when the next version comes out), then maybe I'd be interested.

The latest gen 2 Gear watch versions for Samsung users looks much better than the new iwatch:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/mobile-phon ... ksdevice=c

wvjohn · Post by **wvjohn** » Wed Mar 11, 2015 7:11 am

Me, I but a new Timex for ~$35 when the one that I am wearing quits working. They usually last 2-3 years.

EvilHorace · Post by **EvilHorace** » Wed Mar 11, 2015 11:05 pm

wvjohn wrote:Me, I but a new Timex for ~$35 when the one that I am wearing quits working. They usually last 2-3 years.

Much longer here for me but then I rarely wear a watch now.

Anyway, does this make sense? Here Forbes predicts failure on the basic iWatch yet in another story seems to think that the rich will splurge for the $10K gold versions "just because" (basically).

http://www.forbes.com/sites/danmatthews ... wont-sell/

Yet...:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidthier/ ... -be-a-win/

wvjohn · Post by **wvjohn** » Thu Mar 12, 2015 6:46 am

Apple just replaced ATT in the Dow. You have to wonder about a company that basically has only one or two products and is extremely vulnerable to supply chain disruption. They should take all the cash they have offshore so they don't pay taxes and buy Greece.

Post by **FlyingPenguin** » Sun Mar 15, 2015 12:18 pm

"Eight years after convincing us to give up our watches for a smart phone, Apple wants to sell us a watch." - Peter Segal

Post by **Genom** » Sun Mar 15, 2015 6:12 pm

I havent worn a watch in 20 years. If I was buying, I'd get the new Pebble with the color screen. At least it's usable.

Post by **FlyingPenguin** » Fri Mar 20, 2015 10:16 am

EvilHorace · Post by **EvilHorace** » Sat Mar 21, 2015 7:49 pm

LOL, very much like Android pocket watch minus the clip and chain. Doesn't sync with my Timex however