By Laura George
10th Sep 2014
10th Sep 2014
Apple watch.
The Luddite’s Take:
Everyone’s all excited about the new watch Apple announced yesterday, never mind the iPhone 6. First, let’s talk about the watch. We’re all for wearable tech and have had our love affairs with the Jawbone Up and Nike Fitband. Tracking your fitness, or lack thereof, makes for compulsive viewing- and stepping. But if you have a really pretty watch already, or god forbid, a bracelet, there is no such thing as pretty tech arm candy. There’s inoffensive but not PRETTY (or really waterproof for that matter, either). Someone should make an ankle version, for the fitness and health apps at least- we admit it would be awkward to swing your leg up on to the cash till for a mobile payment.
Having said that, if the mobile payment functions of the new watch, available in early 2015 (they must be bummed not to have gotten it out for Christmas) are as good as the best Jobsian disruptive technologies (with the exception of Siri- remember her?), we’re still going to give it a go. How could we not?
We’ll also end up turning in our fleet of iPhone 5 Esses for the new one at the earliest possible convenience. Their bigger screens (there’s even a 5.5 inch version- the 6 Plus) will be much appreciated by the mobile shoppers amongst us. We’re not at all convinced by the font changing to Copperplate Gothic, though. Ick.? As fonts go, it’s kind of up itself. There’s no news yet as to when the new model will drop in Irish shops, even though Bono and the Boys closed the Apple show and tell yesterday in Cupertino. Until the new phone lands, download your free new U2 album Songs of Innocence. We’re off to listen to it now and walk the pier. Need those steps.
Laura George @lgeorge353
The Techie Take
Apple have made some interesting top hires over the past year, from Burberry’s ex-CEO Angela Ahrendts to Yves San Laurent’s ex-CEO Paul Deneve. Their foray into fashion loomed large yesterday across their two major announcements, the Apple Watch and the iPhone 6. The focus on the body was clear throughout. ?The watch as their first wearable, but with the iPhone too, as it returned to an earlier, more tactile, form not seen since the iPhone 1, albeit much slimmer.
Ives and his team have crafted the perfect phone to slide and rotate in your hand, no hard edges, just rounded glass and steel, you will hate to encase it. ?The improved displays feature subtle details in quality which again showcase Apple’s ability to focus on that which will give pleasure and delight. ?The smart phone market is fairly evolved now, and it is details that matter. Focussing on the body in that regard brings things to a simple level, does this feel good? Damn it does. That capacity to inspire desire has served them well.
They had little need to mention their overall ecosystem as they added its newest member; the Apple Watch. ?Apple’s kit shares data and content seamlessly, the most evolved tech ecosystem in play at the moment.
Apple have made some interesting top hires over the past year, from Burberry’s ex-CEO Angela Ahrendts to Yves San Laurent’s ex-CEO Paul Deneve. Their foray into fashion loomed large yesterday across their two major announcements, the Apple Watch and the iPhone 6. The focus on the body was clear throughout. ?The watch as their first wearable, but with the iPhone too, as it returned to an earlier, more tactile, form not seen since the iPhone 1, albeit much slimmer.
Ives and his team have crafted the perfect phone to slide and rotate in your hand, no hard edges, just rounded glass and steel, you will hate to encase it. ?The improved displays feature subtle details in quality which again showcase Apple’s ability to focus on that which will give pleasure and delight. ?The smart phone market is fairly evolved now, and it is details that matter. Focussing on the body in that regard brings things to a simple level, does this feel good? Damn it does. That capacity to inspire desire has served them well.
They had little need to mention their overall ecosystem as they added its newest member; the Apple Watch. ?Apple’s kit shares data and content seamlessly, the most evolved tech ecosystem in play at the moment.
It too featured the same detailed rounding as the new iPhone, and it’s easily the most tactile piece of technology yet. ?This thing doesn’t just buzz or vibrate. No? it shares heartbeats, digital touches, it is, as they reminded us several times, ?intimate?. ?And it seems ideal for one on one communication between very close friends. Just as ?who you text? was an issue back in Eighties (showing my age?) there will be etiquette to explore here, a few boundaries will be stretched for sure. The audio was mentioned too, combined with touch to provide what Jony Ives called ?a discreet, nuanced experience?. ?With the OS from ?Her? still fresh in my mind, ?I can only imagine what independent developers are planning to do with that.
The use of a ‘digital crown? to echo early watch design, and to get around the fact that most blokes fingers will hide the entire screen, was inspired. A good deal of the interface has cleverly circumvented this, from smart canned responses, to dictation, to the use of emoji. ?Actually I could definitely see emoji rule the Apple Watch world.
Will I get either?
The iPhone 6, yes. ?My main use for the iPhone is the camera and while there are other manufacturers who beat Apple on specs, Apple have long had the best ‘smarts? and image quality. ?This continues here, especially with the video improvements. Notable that the 6 Plus has Optical Image Stabilization, a feature usually associated with DSLRs. However, it is too large for me at 5.5 inches, almost, eh, naff. ?That said, I do have an iPad and love it, and I don’t need a huge phone.
The Apple Watch, not the first one. I do like the idea of instant communication on my wrist, and a set of tools to prompt and encourage fitness would be great. But there’s a few things holding me back initially. First, it’s generally good advice to hold off until the second version of anything Apple bring out. Second, the body of the Apple Watch looked a tad thick, I’d need to try one on. ?Third, and it’s that digital touch issue, my initial thought was you would buy two of these. However, I just can’t see my wife wanting one. ?She only loves simple thin watches, maybe by the time the Apple Watch 4 comes around.Apple have made some interesting top hires over the past year, from Burberry’s ex-CEO Angela Ahrendts to Yves San Laurent’s ex-CEO Paul Deneve. Their foray into fashion loomed large yesterday across their two major announcements, the Apple Watch and the iPhone 6. The focus on the body was clear throughout-on ?the watch as their first wearable, but with the iPhone too, as it returned to an earlier, more tactile form not seen since the iPhone 1, albeit much slimmeIves and his team have crafted the perfect phone to slide and rotate in your hand, no hard edges, just rounded glass and steel, you will hate to encase it. ?The improved displays feature subtle details in quality which again showcase Apple’s ability to focus on that which will give pleasure and delight. ?The smart phone market is fairly evolved now, and it is details that matter. Focussing on the body in that regard brings things to a simple level, does this feel good? Damn it does. That capacity to inspire desire has served them well. ?They had little need to mention their overall ecosystem as they added its newest member; the Apple Watch. ?Apple’s kit shares data and content seamlessly, the most evolved tech ecosystem in play at the moment.It too featured the same detailed rounding as the new iPhone, and it’s easily the most tactile piece of technology yet. ?This thing doesn’t just buzz or vibrate. No? it shares heartbeats, digital touches, it is, as they reminded us several times, ?intimate?. ?And it seems ideal for one-on-one communication between very close friends. Just as ?who you text? was an issue back in Eighties (showing my age?) there will be etiquette to explore here, a few boundaries will be stretched for sure. The audio was mentioned too, combined with touch to provide what Jony Ives called ?a discreet, nuanced experience?. ?With the OS from ?Her? still fresh in my mind, ?I can only imagine what independent developers are planning to do with that.
The use of a ‘digital crown? to echo early watch design, and to get around the fact that most blokes’ fingers will hide the entire screen, was inspired. A good deal of the interface has cleverly circumvented this, from smart canned responses, to dictation, to the use of emoji. Actually I could definitely see emoji rule the Apple Watch world.
Will I get either? ??The iPhone 6, yes. ?My main use for the iPhone is the camera and while there are other manufacturers who beat Apple on specs, Apple have long had the best ‘smarts? and image quality. ?This continues here, especially with the video improvements. Notable that the 6 Plus has Optical Image Stabilization, a feature usually associated with DSLRs. However, it is too large for me at 5.5 inches, almost, eh, naff. ?That said, I do have an iPad and love it, and I don’t need a huge phone. As for the Apple Watch, I’m going to give the first one a miss. I do like the idea of instant communication on my wrist, and a set of tools to prompt and encourage fitness would be great. But there are a few things holding me back. First, it’s generally good advice to hold off until the second version of anything Apple bring out. Second, the body of the Apple Watch looked a tad thick, I’d need to try one on. ?Third, and it’s that digital touch issue – they’re best bought in pairs so they can communicate with one another but I just can’t see my wife wanting one. ?She only loves simple thin watches. Maybe by the time the Apple Watch 4 comes around…
Tommy Weir?@TommyW
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