Apple Watch unveiled: Fails to convince critics, investors thanks to unanswered questions

Apple launched their watch yesterday and it’s called the Apple Watch. All those articles (including ours) with iWatch in the headline look pretty stupid now. It was also the first time after Steve Jobs passed away that we heard Tim Cook utter the words ‘One more thing…’ at an Apple conference. And the one more thing was the Apple Watch.   But was it all things that everyone had hoped for? Revolutionary, innovative? Well not really,  according to tech critics.  Nor did Apple’s investors as the company’s shares were down ending the day down 37 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $97.99.   “We didn’t make the first mp3, smartphone or tablet. But you can say we made the first modern mp3, smartphone and tablet,” Cook, 53, told USA TODAY. “And I think now we’re making the first modern smartwatch. So I think that from that point of view, history is repeating itself. When people look at this (Apple Watch), it’s kind of hard to buy anything else. It all of a sudden defines the category.”   “Apple’s new iPhone 6 and 6 Plus both feature larger screens reminiscent of competitors’ devices. By design,” Cook added. “It’s an incredible opportunity for us to switch people from Android to iOS. So yes, this is epic. It is epic,” he says.   As far as the Apple Watch is concerned, there are still some questions that users/media the will be looking for answers to:   First and foremost is the battery. Apple just skirted over this part of the presentation. We didn’t get any specifics on how long the Apple Watch battery lasts for, which is a crucial question when it comes to smartwatches. As far as charging is concerned, the Apple Watch used the company’s MagSafe technology with inductive charging, where users simply hold the connector near the back of the watch, and the magnets cause it to snap into place automatically.   As far as wireless charging goes, Apple Watch doesn’t really support true wireless charging. As this piece in Forbes notes, “the does indeed use inductive charging, which is a form of wireless charging,” where “an electric current in a transmitter creates a magnetic field that induces an electric current in a receiver, thereby charging the device.” But the Apple Watch charger comes with a cord, so not really wireless.   It’s great that you can send Heartbeats, Drawings, use Siri on the Apple Watch but would you use all of that if it drained your battery at an alarming rate? Would you use that if it meant that at the end of the day you would carry a dead weight on your wrist?   As this piece in The Verge points out watches that “last long are Pebble and Meta Watch with their black and white LCD displays.” Having used a Pebble myself, it’s easy to vouch for its battery life. As the piece adds, coloured touchscreen watches have poor battery life and Apple’s Watch has a coloured touchscreen. Apple’s decision to not talk about the battery life may indicate that they have issues that need sorting in that area.   Other specs such as Screen resolution, Processor, Total Memory space. In the official key note demonstrations, Apple talked a lot about what you could do with Apple Watch, the apps, the Digital Crown, and yes it looked great, almost as sharp as an iPhone display.   But we didn’t get any details on the screen resolution, the processor or even total memory space. It’s not clear how many apps (once more apps come) you’ll be able to download since the total memory space remains unknown.   Price for other versions is also not clear. Apple Watch starts at $349 for the basic version, which is close to Rs 21,000 without taxes. What we don’t know is how expensive the other versions will be, we’re guessing the 18 karat gold plated one won’t come cheap. Also there’s no clarity on whether there will be different memory space versions of the Apple Watch and what the price difference will be like.   Nor did we get any details on whether the Apple Watch is waterproof or even water-resistant. It’s unclear if the Sports Edition will be water-resistant at the very least.   Also what about left-handed users, since fiddling with the Digital Crown won’t be so easy for them? Now according to reports, Apple’s final version of the watch once it hits stores could include a left-handed friendly version. Again, we didn’t get too many details on this.   Honestly speaking, the Apple Watch doesn’t look too different from the ones floating in the market. The Digital Crown is one of the standout features, as are the NFC payments but then that’s restricted to the US. The big questions; the important questions around battery, screen, memory space all remain unanswered.