After Traveling Internationally For Two Months With Apple Watch
July 9, 2015 |
By Sadiq Samani
July 9, 2015 |
By Sadiq Samani
“Guys…guys! Check this out, he’s about to pay with his watch…” I twist my hand and align my watch’s screen with that of the payment processor as the eyes of all the employees are on the little piece of constructed aluminum that is being held onto my hairy wrist by a white sport band. (beep) “Oh my god, it worked, that is so cool. What is that, the iWatch? I’ve never seen anyone pay like that.”
That was the common reaction I’ve been getting as I travelled through Iceland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and England. People are just blown away that someone is making purchases with a timepiece.
Even people that look as if they are having the shittiest day at work and that the last thing they want to do is to serve a latte (no I’m not off the drug yet ????) to a prick like me, see me pay with my Apple Watch, and are caught off guard. The neurotransmitters in their brain, which had laid stagnant throughout the day as they went about performing menial tasks, start rapidly firing while they marvel at the technological progress stemming from this tiny gadget. Then their mouths slowly open in wonderment: are we already in the future?
The reason why I think they’re even more amazed in Europe is probably because the United States is the only country thus far to have Apple Pay, which allows you to add your credit cards to your iPhone 6 and then pay contactless with your device, or if you managed to snag one, the Apple Watch. That’s assuming your bank supports Apple Pay, which most major banks in the US do. So even though the iPhone 6 is available in many countries, people haven’t seen many contactless transactions with phones, let alone a watch, because they can’t do that just yet. The UK, however, is supposed to get Apple Pay activated on their phones shortly and then it’ll become commonplace. So I won’t really be able to wow people until the technology to pay for products telepathically is introduced.
The amount of conversations my Apple Watch payments has started makes it the best feature by far, but, of course, I can easily payments using my phone, with a few extra steps.
Having the Apple Watch kind of reminds me of when the first iPhone came out. It was like having a puppy. Women would be all over me wanting to pinch and zoom on it’s screen, “OMG is that an iPhone! Can I touch it? Wow, that feels so good.” (giggle) “Can I give you a blowjob, you sexy iPhoneman?”
Okay the last part didn’t happen, but it was a conversation starter for sure. It definitely had revolutionary features for a smartphone, but it lacked group text messaging or picture messaging and a host of other features other common phones had for years. It was lacking because it was a first generation device and needed some time to grow and become what it is today.
So instead of sitting around typing about the Apple Watch features, which I’m sure you can find in numerous other articles, I rather spend the time to point out nuances I experienced while traveling and what Apple could do to improve the Apple Watch. Most of my points are going to be quick, and a few will be a bit more lengthy. You can also skip down to the end for my conclusion.
They take longer to load than a webpage using the internet in Equatorial Guinea. It’s abysmal! For instance, I’m out at some venue and I hear a song playing on the speakers, but don’t know the name of. “Shazam!”, I think. So I raise my wrist, my Apple Watch turns on, I swipe up from the bottom of the screen to load glances. These are the little cards that show you quick information from different apps like your heart rate, activity, battery life, as well as information from 3rd party apps you activate, like Dark Sky, which will show you the weather for the next hour.
I have the Shazam card in my glances so I flick left to go to the card, I click the Shazam icon, which tries to launch the Shazam app and then a loading icon animates several balls moving within a circle for about 7 days. Finally the Shazam app opens, taking longer than the time it took God to create the world. I click the Shazam icon again which starts listening, but not from the mic on the watch, nope. It listens from the mic on my iPhone, but my iPhone is in my pocket and I rush to dig it out, though not in time for Shazam to capture the sound and I get a message that Shazam couldn’t find the song. So, now, with my iPhone out, I click Shazam on the watch again, but the Shazam app crashes, and so I go to the Shazam glance again and repeat the steps and by that time some shitty Britney Spears song comes on, which it records and tags. Then later, when I look at the Shazam app on my iPhone, it starts giving me recommendations of songs by Lindsay Lohan and Jessica Simpson. I don’t like those fools Shazam. At least I would never admit it. !@#!$!@#!@# I just wanted to tag a damn song!
3rd party apps on the Apple Watch, at the present moment, are practically unusable. Many of the apps crash a lot. Apps like Citymapper, that I was looking forward to, don’t function as well as they are “supposed” to. Though, these issues have a lot to do with the fact that we’re in the 1st generation, and once a lot of these issues get ironed out and Apple gives 3rd party developers more leeway (like building native apps and access to the mic) the apps will become much more refined and ready for actual use. For now, bleh.
Besides Apple Pay, Apple Maps has been my most used app/feature because I didn’t know my way around any of these cities and I’ve used this feature to show me walking directions. I love it when your watch taps you when you have to make a turn or that the next step in the directions is shown to you when you raise your wrist. However, there are a few drawbacks:
The success of this really depended on the airline and the airport. Right now a majority of the airlines out there allow you to download your ticket onto your iPhone’s Passbook app. You can then pull up the ticket/card with the barcode at the bottom at the airport and show it to airport security or the airline attendant who will scan it with a sensor to ensure it’s valid.
Anything you have in your Passbook can be accessed through your Apple Watch, this also includes tickets for events or Starbucks. Theoretically you would pull up the card on your watch, scroll down to the barcode and have it scanned. This worked well at Starbucks or even at a party I went to for which I had a Passbook ticket. However, at the airpot, it was hit-or-miss because many airlines had scanners with a gap in which you could slide your phone into, but it didn’t have enough room to fit your wrist and your Apple Watch. So you would have to take off your watch, then plug in the passcode and then scan your ticket. You’re better off just using your phone. A manager for Iceland Air told me that they were upgrading their scanners to accommodate smart watches in the future.
It’s the question everyone asks to determine if they should purchase the Apple Watch and I never know how to explain it’s worth. Unlike the iPhone, the Apple Watch is a very “personal” device. You may get something different out of it than I did. It’s better to go to the Apple store and try it on yourself to see what it’s value is for you.
Do you need it? Probably not. Similar to the first iPhone, it’s just not polished yet for anyone to say you absolutely can’t live without it. However, I think there will come a point where the smartwatch gives you a lot of value, like being able to leave all of your devices at home and just go for a walk, or a run or to the grocery store and know that you really don’t need your other iDevices. It’ll unlock your door, for your home, your car, your hotel. It’ll carry your personal information incase of emergency and maybe even serve as your ID. It’ll probably add more sensors to collect other vital signs, which may even lead to better preventative healthcare.
There is a lot of potential with the smartwatch, but it’s still in it’s infancy, trying to figure out what part of the market it’s going to serve. Right now, if you’re not a nerd Apple iSheep fanboy like me that is dying to get your hands on one, I would just let others test the market out while you sit back and watch.
Don't fall for peer pressure. Sign up for my newsletter. Get exclusive stand up videos and updates.
Don't worry, I won't spam you. I'm too lazy.
Recent Comments