Tag: watchOS

WWDC 2017 Keynote Rundown

2017-06-06
Earlier this morning, Apple held the opening keynote of its 2017 Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC), with 6000 attendees and many viewers via livestream around the globe.

Usually a software-focused event, this keynote ended up being much, much more. Not only were there announcements for each of Apple’s software platforms (tvOS, watchOS, macOS and iOS), but also refreshed MacBooks, MacBooks Pros and iMacs, an entirely new iMac Pro, beefed-up iPad Pros and an entirely new product: HomePod.

To save you the hassle of reading all of Apple’s marketing material, here’s a quicker rundown of what was announced…

Software

tvOS

Apple’s software platform for the Apple TV, whilst quite easy to use and with its own App Store, hasn’t always received the most love and attention. This tradition (of sorts) continued at the keynote this morning, with the only major announcement being the addition of the Amazon Prime Video service to tvOS. Perhaps the greatest issue that has plagued Apple’s efforts in the lounge room space has been the confirmation of new content deals, particularly for its new TV app. With this new development, it’s exciting to see Apple filling the gaps. No other software developments were announced for tvOS, but I anticipate that we will continue to receive more refinements in the future, such as the fantastic dark mode and quick scrolling that have been delivered in recent updates to the platform. A renewed focus on gaming would also push people to engage more with the device, as they have done so willingly on iPhones and iPads.

watchOS

This is the platform that I was perhaps most excited to hear about prior to the keynote. Since the initial announcement of Apple Watch in 2014, Apple has come a long way in how it defines and sells its wrist-worn product. Whilst originally pitched as more of a communications device (think Digital Touch), last year watchOS 3 redefined the watch as a health and notifications tool. Building on this, watchOS 4 focuses on improved watch faces, app design and notifications, particularly for health and activity. Users can expect a new kaleidoscope face, Toy Story character watch faces and (perhaps the most useful) Siri watch face, which dynamically adjusts a range of scrolling complications that provide personal updates and link to each relevant application.

Activity notifications have also received a boost, with improved tracking and reminders giving watch users greater motivation and information about movement throughout their day. The dock and Music and Workout apps have also received update user-interfaces, making them easier to use on a small display.

This is only a preview of what is to come, however, and I anticipate that yet more features will be added once new hardware has been announced. The watch category is still in its infancy, and new hardware sensors and expanded battery will no doubt lead to further software features.

macOS

In a similar style to earlier ‘refinement’ updates (think Leopard to Snow Leopard, Lion to Mountain Lion), Apple has updated macOS Sierra to High Sierra. This also continues the naming theme of famous locations in California, which began with OS X Mavericks.

High Sierra extends apps such as Notes, Mail, Safari and Photos, adding speed, navigation and feature improvements, such as autoplay-blocking, more professional editing functions, external editor support and privacy enhancements like ‘Intelligent Tracking Prevention’ while browsing the Web.

Although likely boring for most end-users, but actually incredibly significant, High Sierra sees the introduction of the new Apple File System (APFS) to the Mac. APFS dramatically improves system performance, so things like writing, moving, copying and pasting files take much less time. The speed difference was very noticeable during the presentation, and when coupled with developments such as HEVC video, graphics improvements and new VR capability, this is a fantastic update for professional Mac users.

iOS

Saving perhaps the biggest update for last, iOS 11 will bring a truckload of new features when it’s released later this year. It’s actually easier to list just some of these as bullet-points:
- enhanced iPad features, such as a customisable dock, multi-touch drag-and-drop and better app switcher;
- a dedicated Files app for drastically improved file management;
- a new ARKit for developers, bringing new augmented reality features to games, apps, camera functions and more;
- improved Siri, with enhanced voices, more natural language and translation support;
- advanced editing features for Live Photos, including loop, bounce and long-exposure effects;
- Apple Pay money transfer wth friends via an iMessage app;
- a new ‘Do Not Disturb While Driving’ feature for safer driving;
- an entirely redesigned App Store and iMessage App Store;
- Maps enhancements with lane guidance and indoor mall mapping; and
- an improved, one-page Control Centre with better 3D Touch support.
iOS 11, in many ways, completes the professional enhancements that began in iOS 9. With more productive features for iPad Pro, users will now have access to much more powerful multitasking and file management, making it a much more convincing replacement for the laptop.

Hardware

Over the past few years, we have seen fewer and fewer hardware announcements at WWDC, with events in March, September and October often used for the unveiling of new Macs, iPads and iPhones. This year saw a reversal of that trend.

Mac

Certainly one of the biggest concerns from the pro and developer community in recent times as been that Apple has lost enthusiasm for the Mac. As more consumers flock to portable devices, and even in many cases use only a smartphone day-to-day, the Mac has seemed like the forgotten child of the line-up. Consider the delayed Mac Pro and somewhat mixed reaction to the Touch Bar, and anyone of a ‘pro level’ has had at least some cause for concern. (Frankly, I believe that most average users don’t care about this, but as much of the online discussion is held by enthusiasts, the view of this situation has become overwhelmingly negative.)

Well, today was a big reassurance to all who might have thought that Apple no longer cared about the Mac. With new Intel Kaby Lake speed bumps to the MacBook and MacBook Pro, as well as more powerful iMacs, Apple has shown that it can still keep the Mac up to date.

What is most interesting, however, is the addition an entirely new Mac: the iMac Pro. Long-rumoured and much-discussed online, the iMac Pro takes the well-known all-in-one design, but adds considerable processor, RAM and graphics upgrades, with a new space grey finish. This is clearly Apple’s way to address the ‘prosumer’ market, or in other words: more serious consumers who aren’t necessarily hell-bent on purchasing a more modular system like earlier Mac Pros. This new iMac Pro, available later in the year, should satisfy many creative professionals who thirst for a minimalist desk set-up.

iPad Pro

As iPad sales have continued to fall over the years, Apple has tried many things to reinvigorate and redefine the category, including iPad minis, iPad Airs, price adjustments and more. The most recent strategy, however, has perhaps the greatest chance in pushing the iPad as a full-blown personal computer. Significant speed increases, brighter displays and a new 10.5-inch version with new productivity features in iOS 11 now all position this portable category as much more attractive work machines.

HomePod

Easily the most rumoured announcement of all, Apple finally unveiled its newest product, the HomePod. Pitched as a high-end competitor to devices such as the Amazon Echo and Google Home, the HomePod combines home automation, voice assistance, quality sound and wireless audio connection and playback (think Sonos).

The particularly interesting thing about the HomePod is Apple’s emphasis on its music cred, even describing it as being a kind of resident ‘musicologist’ in your home. This product ultimately feels like a rethink of the original iPod Hi-Fi, brought into 2017 with wireless enhancements, Siri capability and integration with Apple Music. When compared to the Amazon Echo and Google Home, the HomePod is a much more fashionable, homely device (available in two colours), but it remains to be seen how well it will compete. Products like the Echo and Home are fairly well-established and have less friction for third-party device integration than Apple’s secure HomeKit platform. Also, the HomePod will only be available in three countries (US, UK and Australia) in December December, with more markets in 2018. Apple’s strength, however, is likely to be in its premium push, existing service ecosystem and superior multi-lingual support for Siri.

Conclusion

Rumours were rampant for this event, but Apple did not disappoint. Following much anxiety from Apple analysts, bloggers and creative professionals, the company managed to address pretty much every area in which it was accused of falling behind, adding meaningful software enhancements and announcing a number of hardware refreshes. Judging from previous WWDC keynotes, it was far more likely that only a small handful of hardware announcements would have been made.

I’m particularly curious to see how the iPad performs as a segment. As time goes by, the iPad seems to be settling into a longer product refresh cycle, like the Mac. iPads are so good, that many users do not feel the need to update their tablets for at least a few years. Will the enhancements in iOS 11 for iPad Pro be enough to motivate people to upgrade, as well as ditch their laptops? I’m convinced of its power as a productivity and creative content machine, but I’m not so sure about other consumers. In my mind, many average users still consider tablets like the iPad to be consumption devices, not tools for productivity, even if they are more than capable of it.

What’s important today is that Apple has shown that it can chew gum and walk at the same time, even whilst moving 12,000 employees into a newly-constructed campus. I can’t wait to get my hands on these new software updates in Spring and am eager to see what the rest of the year holds.

Image credits: Apple 2017
Courage

2017-01-05

The year 2016 was a very interesting one for Apple, with its fair share of praise and controversy. Mostly, it seems that the company attracted negative attention for issues such as delayed product delivery, a failure to upgrade desktop Macs and the release of the apparently no-longer-pro MacBook Pro. The Mac is probably the biggest sore spot at this point in time.

Whilst I agree that it wasn’t Apple’s best year, I do think that as usual, Apple unjustifiably copped far more of a beating than many of its competitors, even with impressive product innovation and comparatively stellar sales. Consider the amazing design and engineering work involved in the AirPods, Touch Bar and wheelchair-focused fitness functions in watchOS 3, for example. In addition, Apple pushed its services even further, with a revamped Apple Music interface, differential privacy and the biggest release of iOS yet, opening up even more opportunities to developers in the form of iMessage apps.

Perhaps one of the most discussed topics of Apple’s business in 2016 was the decision to remove the headphone jack from the iPhone. Heated discussion developed online following the iPhone keynote, where Senior VP of Worldwide Product Marketing Phil Schiller stated that in making such a decision, Apple had shown ‘courage’. Schiller was mocked immediately for saying this, but I believe this to be the case. Like the removal of floppy disk and optical drives, Apple made a decision to drive a more wireless future.

In the Tim Cook era at Apple, I believe we now also see a reversal of the once-famous Jobsian ‘reality distortion field’. Whilst Jobs once apparently distorted reality around product launches, tech journalists now distort reality, praising companies such as Google and Microsoft for announcing products that either never get released, or that sell only a fraction of what Apple achieves. Remember when Microsoft’s bot turned into a Nazi online? Yep, people forgot about that. Remember when Google copied the external design of the iPhone 6 with its Pixel, leaving behind the not-so-successful Nexus line? Yep, people didn’t really care about that either.

The topic of courage and Apple’s different way of doing things was brought to my mind again after finding an excerpt from one of Jobs’s appearances at the D Conference, from back in 2010. In this excerpt, from the 2 min 15 sec mark, Jobs elaborates on what Apple believes it takes to make a successful, effective product. It involves making compromises and saying “No” to things that may seem crazy to exclude. Check it out below.

Apple has always made controversial decisions, and even the most devoted loyalists seem to forget this. Is the Mac being forgotten? No, of course not. The focus is instead on iOS, where the most consumer appeal and sales are happening. Entirely new input technologies like the Touch Bar do not occur in product categories that are being phased out. Likewise, whilst Apple is apparently exiting the display and router (AirPort) business, this is most likely another example of sharpening the company’s product focus. Remember when Apple used to make digital cameras, printers and even a gaming console? All of those products were given the chop, and when Jobs returned in 1997, he reduced the entire company’s product line to the famous consumer-pro matrix. In recent years, Apple has proudly stated that it is the company whose products all fit onto a single table.

What Jobs said in the video above remains true today. Indeed, the company can always listen to its customers more, and it should not ignore the interests of the pros and loyalists who kept it going in its darkest times. I do think, however, that more exciting things are still on the horizon. Apple continues to show courage in its design decisions, and is never afraid to do what may be unpopular for success in the long run.
Using Apple Watch for Work

2016-04-30

Some context…

Last year, I was one of those people who rushed to pre-order the Apple Watch, keenly anticipating its arrival on launch day. Luckily, I received it without a delay and like a child with a new toy, I excitedly set up and customised the thing to my liking. Now that I’ve had it for just over a year, I’ve been reflecting on how I use it on a day-to-day basis. There hasn’t been a single day that I haven’t worn it since first setting it up, and I can honestly say that I use a large number of features often.

Every day, I use the Activity and Workout apps to track my movement and exercise; I can say honestly that I have become more aware of my general health and have been motivated to integrate more exercise into my day. Messages and Twitter are also fantastic to have on the wrist, and it’s really cool and convenient to select music in the car simply by saying “Hey, Siri”. While dismissed as somewhat of a gimmick, I also use Digital Touch (sketches) every day with my girlfriend and family members, whether it be in the form of colour-coordinated tap codes (e.g. three white taps left to right = “I’m on my way”), or little sketches just for fun.

Aside from all of these features, however, I’ve also thought about how the watch contributes to my productivity each day. I was surprised to discover just how much use the device for work.

Below, I expand on some of the apps and functions that I use the most for work and commuting.

Watch face and Home screen

Well, this goes without saying, really. The watch face is central to the Apple Watch experience and is the first thing that you see when you raise your wrist and the display illuminates. Whilst I do swap faces every so often, sometimes to match a different band, the Modular face is (to my mind) the most useful one for linking to various apps. On my Modular setup, I link to the app Streaks (for encouraging new habits), Activity, Weather and most importantly for work, Calendar, which is integrated into the day/date display in the centre. Having your day’s events and appointments a tap away is a fantastic thing.

While I’ve heard that a number of Apple Watch users don’t go to the Home screen much to navigate between apps, I do this often. Rather than litter my Glances section with a lot of apps, I prefer to click the Digital Crown on the side of the watch to reach the Home screen and swap between my apps. It’s easy to re-organise the apps and get to the one you want quickly. Alternatively, you can just ask Siri to open the desired app.

Calendar

Flowing on from the watch face, Calendar is an indispensable app. Some may prefer to use an alternative calendar app such as Fantastical or Sunrise, but the default calendar on iPhone, iPad, Mac and so on has always worked well for me. The app is great for viewing what’s coming up in the week ahead and keeping track of meetings and appointments.

Something I would love, however, would be the ability to browse different months with a year, rather than just one, even if it were just for checking days and dates. It is understandable that Apple would limit the range of events that one can view in a stream, as it would quickly become ridiculous to scroll endlessly through future appointments with the Digital. That’s where the iPhone comes into play.

Notifications

Many tech commentators emphasise the need for a “killer app” on any given device; notifications on Apple Watch may be that killer app.

In a productivity context, notifications on Apple Watch are powerful and reliable. With a simple tap on the wrist using the Taptic Engine (and my watch always set to silent), I can receive subtle notifications on my wrist as I work, whether from Messages, Mail, Messenger, Slack, Calendar, Twitter or any other myriad apps installed on my watch or purely on my iPhone.

This is particularly useful for meetings, when I can monitor new notifications coming in with a simple turn of the wrist, rather than pulling out my phone, which can come across as even more impolite.

Mail

The beauty of Mail on the Apple Watch is its simplicity. All e-mails from multiple accounts are showed in the unified inbox and it’s super-easy to flag, reply, mark or trash individual e-mails. Like all apps, it’s easy to navigate by scrolling with your finger or the Digital Crown, or tapping the top of the screen to fly to the top.

Replying via e-mail can be done with quick phrases or dictation, the latter of which isn’t necessarily advisable in a quiet office environment, but it’s great to have on the go. It’s fantastic to be able to manage things like this when away from the desktop or rushing down the street.

Slack

Slack is big enterprise favourite for messaging and for certain organisations it is an entire replacement for e-mails. Slack works like the default Messages app with dictation features, also giving you access to both group and direct/private message streams. Again, accessibility and simplicity on the wrist coupled with the instant tap notification system means you’re not going to miss important work messages.

1Password

I worship this app. For those who may be unfamiliar with it, 1Password is a fantastic password vault and generator that syncs beautifully between versions designed specifically for the Apple Watch, iPhone, iPad, iPod touch and Mac. All you have to do is remember one password to unlock all the others.

In order to keep things tidy, the Apple Watch version will only display passwords that you have saved on your iPhone and marked with “Add to Apple Watch”. Upon entering the code in the app, you are then granted access to your favourite or most used logins and passwords.

Whilst I personally use Apple’s iCloud Keychain on my Mac at home to accelerate login (passwords are entered automatically in fields), I prefer not to save all of my passwords on my Windows desktop at work. Using 1Password means that if I want to log into an app or service that I use less frequently, I can easily check my watch instead. For added security, Apple has programmed the watch to lock itself when removed from your wrist at all times. If someone were to steal your watch, they would need to know the code to unlock your watch and the one for 1Password as well.

World Clock

Here’s an app with a very simple use case. As I work at the German-Australian Chamber, I sometimes need to know what time it is in Germany (surprise!). Having the time in Berlin only a tap away (or even in the Glances section or as a watch face complication) is really useful. Naturally, one can add more cities to the list and it reflects whatever is set on your iPhone for consistency.

Maps

Maps has improved by leaps and bounds ever since its rocky release back with iOS 6 back into 2012. It has gained public transit information, many more 3D Flyover locations and is much more detailed and reliable than ever before.

On top of this, it now includes even more information from popular sites like TripAdvisor and Yelp. I used to keep Google Maps on my iPhone just in case something went wrong with Apple Maps, however now there is absolutely no need for that.

Maps on the watch is executed extremely well. For meetings in Sydney CBD we’re I’ve had to go by foot, or even in situations driving by GoGet, Maps has been a significant aid in getting me to the right place at the right time, using either the on-screen map display or taps that tell you when to turn.

TripView

Much like Maps, Australian transport app TripView is absolutely brilliant (as the full app and in Glance mode). I use it every day for train times to and from work, as well as in situations when I’ve had to catch buses and trains during work hours.

iTranslate and WordBook

As I work in a German- (and English-) speaking office, German words tend to come up quite often. When not using the dict.cc German-English dictionary on my desktop computer, iTranslate has proven to be really useful for translating words on the fly. Simply say the word that you want to translate and the app will do it for you. A light Force Touch on the display will also allow you to change languages.

The same principles apply to English dictionary app WordBook, except there is also the expanded functionality of definition history, bookmarks and new words to learn day-to-day.

LinkedIn and Xing

While LinkedIn doesn’t have its own Apple Watch app, there is still compatibility with notifications to stay current with new connections and received messages. Xing, Germany’s equivalent to LinkedIn, does have its own dedicated watch app, which allows users to keep track of message history and recent profile visitors.

Calcbot

One of the iOS community’s favourite third-party calculator apps is Calcbot (made by Tapbots, developers of the beloved Twitter client Tweetbot). Tapbots has done a fantastic job of compressing a decent calculator into a tiny space. Tapping the buttons is easy with a low error rate, plus a Force Touch on the display reveals mathematical functions. It’s fantastic for performing quick mathematical operations that exceed the power of my own measly brain.

Siri

Last, but certainly not least, Siri is a great productivity tool. As much criticism as Siri and other digital voice assistants such as Google Now and Microsoft’s Cortana often receive, in my experience, Siri is always improving in its accuracy and responsiveness. Each day, I use Siri to add new reminders, calendar events/appointments, start a navigational route in Maps, check the weather forecast, open apps on the watch and more.

To conclude…

Contrary to some of the criticism of this first-generation product, once personalised properly, it really is a powerful assistant. The true power of Apple Watch, aside from its customisation and personalisation, is its ‘glanceability’; it’s always there on your wrist, delivering the most important notifications and saving time that you would otherwise spend periodically checking your iPhone. I can recommend it highly as a productivity tool and can’t wait to see where Apple will take the device in the future.

Title image credit: Apple 2016
Review: My First Week with Apple Watch

2015-04-30

Apple Watch 42mm Sport with Black Band (displaying customised ‘Modular’ face)

Well, I spent about seven months waiting for the Apple Watch, along with many others around the world, and it’s finally here. This waiting period saw Apple further refine the device’s battery power, readying the retail try-on experience, online pre-order process and of course, allowing time for developers’ app submissions, which now number at least 3500. It’s impressive that a first-generation product has such a great app marketplace already.

Over time, having read many blogs and watched many videos (Apple and third-party) about the product, I was optimistic about the Apple Watch. Sure, I expected there to be a few first-generation glitches and shortcomings, but I was generally optimistic. Now that the device has been released, the general reaction to the watch has been positive, and Apple is thought to have sold at least two million of them as initial pre-orders.

Many consumers, it still seems, are sceptical of the device:

“It’s just another screen in my life.”;
“It’s too expensive.”;
“The battery life will not last long enough.”; and
“It will make everyone anti-social.”

…for example

Most of all, there is the question as to what on Earth the watch actually for… what is its purpose? Well, I hope to explain its purpose to you after a week’s worth of experience with the device.

First of all, I’d like to talk about the hardware and industrial design of the Apple Watch. I purchased a 42mm Apple Watch Sport in the space-grey aluminium finish with black fluoroelastomer sport band. This model retails in Australia for $579. The watch is impressively light, and sits comfortably on my wrist, despite the concerns of many that the 42mm version of any of the watches would be too big and thick… and believe me, my wrists are aren’t that big. The Apple Watch (stainless steel) and Edition (18-karat gold) models are of exactly the same dimensions, but weigh a bit more respectively (not so much so that they are uncomfortable… I have tested the stainless steel model with Milanese Loop).

The anodised aluminium case is smooth and consistent in its finish. The band is soft and supple, without feeling flimsy. The Retina display is also beautiful, presenting great picture quality, typography, brightness and colour.

On the right-hand side of the case (assuming you’ve configured the watch for use on your left wrist), you can find the digital crown and side-button. The digital crown is great to use, acting as the watch’s input mechanism for zooming and scrolling, making up for its smaller display than iPhones and iPad. You can scroll through lists using the touch-screen and you can zoom into photos by double-tapping, but using the crown is much nicer. The screen remains unobstructed and the motion is smooth and almost oily-feeling. The side-button is devoted to your favourite watch friends and the Digital Touch function, which I discuss more later in this article.

The back of the watch also boasts a beautiful, circular engraving of text, denoting the model and serial number, wrapping around the four light sensors that monitor health during everyday activity and specified workout sessions.

With regard to the hardware, my first week with Apple Watch has been brilliant. Even as one of the cheaper Sport models, the watch is fashionable, comfortable and exceptionally well-made. Apple has put a lot of consideration into making something that anyone can be proud to wear, even as fashion items for women. What other wearable tech product can do that?

Moving onto Apple’s watchOS, while reminiscent of its bigger brothers OS X (desktop) and iOS (mobile), is quite a different beast. Yes, it uses a minimalist design language, but rather than employing bright, white app backgrounds, the watch uses black backgrounds for high-contrast with white text. The heavy use of black is also an effective method of conserving battery power. The watch uses Apple’s custom font San Francisco rather than traditionally-used fonts like Helvetica Neue, Lucida Grande and Myriad Pro. This choice was to make it easier to read on a smaller display, and it works. Furthermore, with accessibility settings, the boldness and size can be adjusted along with colour to fit more or make the text easier to read if you have poor vision.

Upon turning on the watch for the first time, I was instructed to set it up by connecting to my iPhone via Bluetooth and configuring it with the Apple Watch app. This was an absolute breeze to set up, requiring Bluetooth and the camera to scan the display. The Apple Watch app for iPhone is really easy to use, as it mirrors the layout and functionality of the Settings app on iPhone, albeit with toggles for the watch, including app installation, app layout, connectivity and so on. Many of these things are configurable on the watch too, but can be done more easily on the iPhone all at once if you’re already using.

watchOS, as I stated earlier, is reminiscent of iOS, but works differently. Yes, there is an app home screen, but the basis of the watch is the watch face, which lives in the centre of the displayed app universe. Native apps live on the Apple Watch, and for the moment third-party apps are extensions of those already residing on the iPhone. Third-party apps will behave more like native ones later this year, according to Apple, but for the moment this is of no concern. Contrary to some reports of constant slowness in loading, my experience has been great. I’ve only had two apps that froze or slowed down upon startup, and I am sure that future updates will resolve this.

The watch faces, as the centre of the device’s app universe, are fantastic. I spent a number of days trying to conclude which one I liked best. I jumped from the “extra-large” face that only shows the time in large type, to the simple face with adjustable complications, then finally the modular interface. This is all really a matter of taste. Apple has included 10 faces, most of which can be extensively customised in aesthetic and function. The modular face was my personal choice as it is bold, simple and yet still shows rich information in such a small space, each of which can be tapped, taking you directly to the app. Rich information on the screen enables you to keep fewer tools in your Glances section, which is a swipe up from the bottom of the screen. I have found the app glances for TripView, Shazam, Twitter and the Music app particularly useful, as I have instant access on my wrist to train times, my iPhone’s music library, trending topics and the ability to identify unknown music instantly.

I could spend a long time talking about all of the apps on this device, but by far the best experiences I’ve had so far have been with Messages, Mail, Phone, Activity and Workout apps, as well as Digital Touch… all of the default stuff! What Apple has achieved here is a super-convenient shrinking of useful iPhone apps to provide über-convenience for the wrist, but with a focus on what is essential to enable smooth, ‘glance-able’ experiences. I’ve loved being able to answer phone calls on my wrist at home, use Siri to dictate messages (text and audio form), read entire e-mails and track my activity throughout the day.

I was initially a little bit worried that the Apple Watch’s notifications would be obtrusive, distracting me more than my iPhone ever has. This has not been the case. The Apple Watch is an amazing filter, gently tapping me on the wrist with its taptic engine whenever I receive a notification, giving me the power decide what to act on and when. It may sound strange, but it has saved me time. I no longer check my phone for the sake of it, or get lost in apps, distracted from the initial reason that I picked up my iPhone. The watch keeps me informed in a subtle way that no one else can hear or feel, and most importantly, it makes me use my iPhone less.

Apple CEO Tim Cook and designer / Head of Human Interface Jony Ive weren’t kidding when they said that Apple Watch is the most personal device they’ve ever made and that it helps you to live a better day. Consistent reminders to stand, calorie-tracking and more keep me aware of my movement, and subsequently have made me feel better. The ability to send cute little sketches makes you feel way more connected to this thing than you do with a phone. Digital Touch, whilst viewed as a gimmick by some, is truly great. It just feels different, the same way that emoji in messages is so much more fun these days than the early days of e-mail and SMS.

All of thee amazing functions are delivered in something that truly does last all day. Sure, the battery doesn’t last for months or years like traditional, mechanical watches, but look at the extensive use cases and apps available for this device at this price. I have not run out of battery on any day so far, even with consistent scrolling, exercise and notification checking, and have ended each day with no less than 25 per cent charge left. I find that to be exceedingly impressive.

So, coming back to the whole idea of this post, what is the Apple watch actually for? Where does it fit in the world of computers? Desktops and laptops are the hub, or basis, of our computing experiences, largely for storage and heavy content creation. iPhones, built on the enormous success of the iPod, are our mobile computers, giving us instant informational access around the world, and even tools for productivity and creativity. The iPad, while still questioned, sits between the iPhone and desktop, providing simple yet powerful computing to novices and pros alike. Sometimes you just need that bit of extra space over an iPhone, or want to sit on the lounge with it like a magazine. Hell, you may even want to create an album with it.

The watch, for many people, is not as clear in its purpose, even with a long marketing campaign across numerous media by Apple. After a week with the device, I feel that I can explain it. Much like the rest of Apple’s products, which as Steve Jobs said, stand at the intersection of technology and the liberal arts, the watch stands at the intersection of technology and fashion. The Watch is powerful, informational, quick and simple, helping you to monitor your health, stay connected with people and even filter the noise that bombards you during the day. Most importantly, however, it is personal. The focus on fashion gives you choice to have a different band, a different case material, a different watch face. Apple has long been criticised for its supposedly inferior level of customisation on iPhones when contrasted to Google’s Android OS. Well here, Apple has beaten all other wearable products. This product is personal and helpful, and you feel proud to wear it. Other wearables have felt downright geeky, except for perhaps the Moto 360. As time goes on, and more software features, health sensors and designs are added, the wearable space will only improve.

So, if you want something cool and personal to wear on your wrist, that will make you focus on improving your health and cutting down on the time you spend rudely staring at your phone in the company of others, buy an Apple Watch.

For screenshots and a more visual impression of what the watch can actually do, please check out the gallery below.

The watch face at the centre of the app universe…

One of the many cool watch faces, ‘Astronomy’ enables you to zoom backwards and forwards through time using the digital crown, seeing all of the planets of the Solar System in their actual positions.

The heart-rate monitor in the Glances section is pretty quick to read your heartbeat.

Ahhh, TripView Glance… how useful you are!

Quick toggles for settings as a Glance

Shazam displays an album cover following the successful identification of a song.

Shazam can also display lyrics in time with the music as it plays.

Digital Touch is just super-simple and fun, but only works between Apple Watches.

Trending topics on Digg, a news aggregating app

Yelp results are clean and easy to read and also include helpful reviews like in iOS.

Maps is super-slick and pretty quick too.

Main menu in the Apple Watch app for iOS

The Weather app is really handy, with full time break-downs.

The Workout app is a pleasure to use and is really motivating.

A simple list view for the Calendar app.