Why we're still talking (and writing) about the Apple Watch

Posted May 28, 20159 yr

I can't help but keep coming back to the Watch: There are problems to solve, challenges to face. Why not write about them?

I've seen a number of complaints lately while browsing Twitter — and even iMore's own forums — about the sheer volume of Apple Watch coverage undertaken by this site and others. Though we've done these kinds of massive rollouts before for the iPad, and the iPhone before it, only a few million people have a Watch in their hands right now. Others have little to any desire to try one on, let alone own one.

So why do we keep talking and writing about this tiny auxiliary device when so few have it in their possession? Why is it so interesting?

Championing the new

I've been a Mac user all my life, but the iMac was my first gadget. It was the first piece of tech I spent hours obsessing over, learning everything there was to know about it, schooling my friends and family alike. I loved that little computer.

But I loved the iPod more.

Yes, it was simple, and vastly limited, and not nearly as useful as my Mac. But after five minutes with an iPod, it was clear to me just how much it would improve my daily life. I adored music: I sung everywhere I could. Heck, I'd hum in public places to add a soundtrack to my day.

The iPod, as bulky and limited as its initial 5GB platter hard drive was, made my wish for a constant soundtrack to life reality. I was the first person at my high school to have one, and spent a good year espousing my little music player's greatness before anyone seemed to catch on.

The iPhone and iPad may have been greater revolutions overall for Apple, but I didn't obsess over them the way I had my iPod. They did so much, of course they were a wonder — but I didn't feel like I had to talk about them for people to understand why they were so great.

The Watch is the first device since the iPod that's captured my attention so thoroughly and made me want to talk about it from the rooftops. It's the kind of device you really have to spend some time with to understand why it's so valuable.

To me, any articles I write or tweets I post about the Watch are just as much about education as they are about self-discovery: I'm learning how to co-exist with this new piece of technology, and by writing about it publicly, I'm hoping others can learn and infer more about it as well.

It spurs conversation

The Apple Watch is distinctive. I've gotten a variety of questions, comments, jokes, and deep thoughts directed my way from random strangers over the past month, all in a variety of situations. At the airport. During a roller derby convention. At the coffee shop. On a walk with dogs.

People want to talk about this device, even if they don't own one or have no plans to purchase one. In part, that's the wave of Apple's success doing its work — the company has become one of the most talked-about in the world, and it's little wonder that people are going to be curious about its newest device in the wild.

But there's also the question of reinvention: For the past decade and a half, Apple has been the company that goes into a space full of half-hearted attempts at a new category and revolutionizes it. They did it with the music player. They did it with the touchscreen. They did it with the smartphone. Are they going to do it with wearables, too?

It promises more... and it needs work

The more I play with the Apple Watch, the more I think so. Even in its 1.0.1 state, the Watch offers so much promise in such a little device. It fits our wrists the way other smartwatches do not. It can help us be healthier. And best of all, it makes us want more from it.

After using the Watch for a month, I already have a list of features I want in Watch 2.0. I imagine most Watch users do. I felt the same after my first month with the iPod. "Wait, imagine if it could do this." The iPhone. "Just wait until there are third party apps!" The iPad. "We could do real work on this thing!" There are so many ideas. So much potential.

So yes, I'm talking about the Apple Watch a lot, as are my colleagues, and my friends, and pretty much anyone I know who has one. Because, like the iPod, iPhone, iPad before it — we see promise. We see excitement. We see a laundry list of things that need to get fixed before it can truly take the world by storm.

You may not be as fond of the Apple Watch as I am. You may even have no interest in it at all, and that's okay. On iMore, we've got a ton of non-Watch content available for those who'd rather read about the iPhone, iPad, and Mac. But me, I'm going to keep writing: I still have things to say and worlds to explore. And what kind of a writer would I be if I didn't follow that instinct?

Apple Watch