Hands-on with the new Apple Watch

Apple laid to rest much of the speculation regarding its highly anticipated smartwatch this week. We now know the pricing and release date of the Apple Watch along with some of the apps that will work on the device. Social media immediately blew up with mixed reactions following Tim Cook’s presentation. Some felt it was too expensive for what it can do, while others fell in love with the concept.

I’ve now had the chance to get my hands on the Apple Watch not once but twice. Last year I was one of just a handful of Canadians to see it in person when it was first announced. Back then I was only allowed to try it on. I couldn’t play around with the features as the watches were all in a locked demo mode. This week I had a second opportunity to try out the device. This time, however, I played around with the user interface and had a chance to see some of the apps in use. I have to say, I’m impressed and intrigued.

The first thing you’ll notice when you try on the Apple Watch is the build quality. There are many smartwatches already on the market, but none feel quite like the Apple Watch. It feels more like a piece of jewellery than a gimmicky plastic gadget for your wrist. You almost forget you are wearing a piece of technology, especially when you get into the pricier models which are made from stainless steel and sapphire crystal. Even the sport bands which are made from fluoroelastomer, a synthetic rubber, feel impressive.

The ultimate weight and feel of the Apple Watch depends on which case size and band you choose. While the Sport models are quite light, the metal bands in the collection give the Apple Watch a bit of heft, not unlike wearing a high-end mechanical watch.

The screen itself is quite beautiful. The Retina display shows vivid colour and dark, rich blacks. The watch face can be customized depending on your mood. I was shown at least nine watch faces ranging from a simple classic clock to Mickey Mouse, who tells time with his arms and taps his foot every second. If you wanted you could change the face of your Apple Watch every day depending on your outfit or mood.

Time will tell (no pun intended) how many faces come with the watch. Rest assured you will have the option of buying additional designs from the app store.

Navigation is quite unique on the Apple Watch. While all Apple Watches have a touchscreen, the pinch to zoom feature many of us have grown accustomed to is now gone. Even with the larger 42mm watch face, the screen is a bit too small to pull off pinch to zoom, so zooming now relies on a digital crown on the side of the watch face.

Pressing the digital crown will cause the watch face to disappear, bringing up your apps. Turning the digital crown (which has a subtle resistance) from the main app page will enlarge all app icons. If you continue to turn the crown, the app in the centre of the screen will open. You can also launch apps by simply pressing the app icons from the home page. The crown will function differently depending on the app you are using.

Beneath the crown sits a small button used to bring up your contacts. There may be other uses for this button but that remains a mystery for now.

The screen can also differentiate between a tap and a hard press. Apple calls this Touch Force. This feature is used to access hidden menus and controls without having to rotate the digital crown.

If you swipe up from the bottom of the screen you’ll see what Apple refers to as Glances. These are basic apps such as weather, stocks, calendar, and activity monitor, giving a quick look or “glance” without opening the full fledged app. Developers will have the ability to make their apps compatible with Glances so expect the selection to change dramatically after launch.

I found the new navigation to be a bit confusing. It doesn’t appear to be quite as intuitive as an iPhone or an iPad. Even after 10 minutes of hands-on time I still had to ask how to get back to certain apps. Of course it will more than likely become second nature after spending quality time with the device.

One of the more fun and unique features of the Apple Watch I got to play with is the ability to communicate with other Apple Watch owners. Essentially Apple Watches can talk to each other. Apple calls this Digital Touch. At this time we don’t know how each watch connects to one another. One would assume they would have to be in your list of contacts to initiate communication.

Once two watches are connected a user can tap a pattern on their watch face, within seconds the other user can feel these series of taps through a series of vibrations on their wrist. Think of it as Morse code. You can make up your own little language and send secret messages to one another.

You can also draw a doodle on the screen and send it to another Apple Watch. I was asked to draw a star on one watch and moments later it appeared on a second watch nearby. It’s a fun feature to play, almost like sending notes in class.

If you want a more intimate (and somewhat bizarre) way to communicate, you can send your heart rate to someone. They will feel your heart rate on their wrist thanks to the built-in heart rate sensor. You can bet at some point a dating app or something of that nature will make use of this feature.

One thing that became quite evident as I played with the Apple Watch is how much it requires your iPhone in order to have full functionality. By itself the Apple Watch can do basic tasks like tell time, measure basic health stats while exercising, play music and display images from its small built-in storage, but to get the full advantage of what the Apple Watch has to offer you really need an iPhone.

The watch is capable of displaying the same notifications you would receive on your iPhone including messages, social media notifications, email and more. Since the screen is too small to type on, you can respond to messages and email via pre-programmed messages, animated icons or through voice dictation. It’s important to note both the Apple Watch and the iPhone must be within bluetooth range or on the same WiFi connection.

Unfortunately I didn’t have the opportunity to explore the voice dictation in great length. The atmosphere of the hands-on area was too loud. Even Siri, which is built-into the watch had trouble hearing me.

As I walked out of the hands-on area I was left with many questions. How well does it handle phone calls? Is the heart rate monitor accurate? Does the battery really last 18 hours? How many apps will be available at launch? Will Apple Pay arrive in Canada in time for the Apple Watch launch? How will Apple ensure the device will remain relevant a year from now, as technology improves? So many questions about the Apple Watch with just more than a month left before launch, and yet Apple remains confident it will be a success.

I can’t help but feel a sense of potential. The Apple Watch feels like a powerful device, and with the right apps from the right developers Apple could have a success on its hands in a product category that has proven difficult for other companies. One thing is certain, I am looking forward to running the Apple Watch through the paces once it launches on April 24.