Friday TechMunch: (Apple) Watch This Space

If you have been anywhere near the internet this week, the chances are that you will have heard about the latest great leap forward in human civilisation / over-hyped trinket (delete according to personal preference) from Apple.

Yes, to much excitement, on Monday 9^th March, Apple finally unveiled the full details of its first wearable device; the Apple Watch.

As usual with Apple announcements, opinions were well and truly divided so we wanted to share some of the most interesting reactions to the Apple Watch so far.

Kyle Vanhemert at Wired was pretty sceptical:

Tim Cook and associates showed off a grab bag of features, but they once again failed to give any overarching sense of why this thing exists. What is the Apple Watch? How will we use it? Where does it fit in our lives? In what ways does it replace our phones? In what ways does it complement them?

It may be the case that Apple doesn’t need to answer these questions for the watch to be successful. But it’s starting to seem like Apple might not have answers for them at all, and that’s troubling.

The BBC’s Richard Taylor also had mixed views:

It certainly boasts unique features, like the ability to use it to buy products with Apple Pay and even open hotel doors – but other innovations – like sharing doodles with friends with “digital touch” – feel a bit gimmicky.

But some, including the FT, were more positive:

Though perhaps a little odd, heartbeat is startling in its intimacy. When you feel someone else’s pulse racing on your wrist you can instantly tell how they’re feeling.

While others think that wearables could be a force for social good:

Imagine a smartwatch as the little angel on your supporter’s shoulder, well … wrist.

Using an app you could make their smartwatch gently vibrate when they’re near a social issue, such as anti-homeless-people spikes that are inspiring petitions in London and Manchester.

Not only would it raise awareness of an issue, but would prompt action, such as signing a petition with just a tap, or entering a charity shop.

Finally, when it comes to the battle for market share, Techcrunch expect the wider ecosystems to be the biggest factor in individual’s choice of smartwatch:

Right now, it’s pretty easy to tell most people which smartwatch you should get. Hardcore iPhone user? Get an Apple Watch. Love the customization features in Android? Pick an Android Wear device on the Google Play Store. Don’t think you spend too much time on your phone? You probably don’t need either.

What do you think of the Apple Watch? Tweet us your views at @fleishmanUK.