It was an idea, became a secret, now it’s a fact. The Apple Watch is here. Not an iWatch ? No, probably because the Swatch Group warned the Cupertino based brand that such a name would be too close from its own iSwatch. Which is, actually, also a fact. Always opting for the most simple things, the iWatch was reborn as the Apple Watch.

Apple Watch

The long-term rumors were right : Apple decided to design a connected watch with plenty of features related to sports and fitness. The idea came from the trend of connected bracelets, such as Fitbit, which opened interesting gateways for smart watches indeed.

Apple Watch – 50% success, 50%…fail ?

First thing at sight is that Apple called its Apple Watch…a watch. Yes, that sounds pretty obvious, but have you ever tried a Samsung or any of its clones ? If your wrist is not sized as your thigh, these connected watches of first generation might be too big for you. Apple tried to make its watch more look like a watch, and designed a crown on its case, which will definitely help reluctant watch nerds jump over the connected gate.

Apple Watch Edition – Digital Crown

Moreover, with two available sizes, 38 and 42 mm, Apple stays in the limits of a wearable object. Which is cool. But what’s not cool is that such a small size did not allow the brand to have a powerful battery. After 24 hours, your Apple Watch will probably just stand as a dead bracelet on your wrist. A good idea would be to have kind of a « energy saving mode » where the watch, below 10% of battery, switches off all functions but the hour display. At least, if you run out of battery, you’ll have the time on your watch and won’t feel like an idiot with a deaf, dumb and blind device at the end of your arm !

Last positive point is the multiple versions proposed by Apple, with a full range of straps, going from leather to gold through rubber, in different colors. There’s no point here in commenting which one will be the most beautiful : the fact is that if you want an Apple Watch that perfectly fits your taste, you’ll find it.

Apple Watch – Apple forever. And only.

In a nutshell, on the overall look off the piece, it seems to be a true design success. However, one won’t buy 349 dollars a connected watch just to watch it. There we enter the area of features and connectivity, which is where the shoe pinches.

As Apple always did, there’s nothing like connectivity between Apple devices, just because that’s the only possibility. Apple devices talk to Apple devices only. The Apple Watch follows the same path. And goes even further : it won’t be connectable to any Apple device (iPhone, iPad, iPod, etc.), but only to iPhones, and from the 5th generation and onward ! Want an Apple Watch ? Forget your Androids ou even your iPhone 4. No negociation.

This Apple Watch, a threat to the Swiss watch industry ? Of course, there will be an impact, but more on the economic point of view than on the long-term future of the watch industry. The Apple Watch is a device, a gadget, something that lives and dies pretty quicky, something electronic. In fact, just the opposite of a watch. Just like the iPad didn’t kill the PC, nor the MacBook ! So, in the end, what’s new ?

• Is it a trendy ? Yes.
• Is it luxury. No, luxury is not sold by millions of units at a few hundred dollars.
• Is it a watch ? No. It’s a connected device that, sometimes, tells the time.
• It is going to be a success ? What a silly question…

You will find tons of resources about the Apple Watch all over the web, but if you want feeling from real Watch Lover for Watch Lover then please check Hodinkee (Tons of Live Pics) and ABTW. Or you can look at the official Apple Watch Website.