Apple Watch Superlatives
I've had a 38mm Apple Watch Sport with a blue wrist band for about a week now, so naturally it's time to hand out superlative awards for its most notable moments:
Most Delightful Experience
The packaging. Apple did a phenomenal job with making the experience of opening the Apple Watch for the first time feel special. Everything from the directions, to the care to protect every part was designed carefully. I also really enjoyed the pairing experience.
Biggest Surprise
The fluidity of the Digital Crown's scrolling. I was definitely expecting more friction.
Biggest Headscratcher
There's no way for me to view my Reminders lists on the watch. If a Reminder has a due date, that pops up with one of the standard notifications - but standing in the grocery store the other day, I needed to pull out my phone to scan my list of items. I thought this would be an easy win for the watch, since Reminders are just a table of data, perfectly suited for the screen.
Most Improved/Needs Improving
The notifications experience. Usually I miss every notification while my phone is on silent, so it's been really nice to be notified via the Taptic Engine. That being said, the choice of when to display notifications on the watch needs a bit of refinement. I don't like that notifications can take over the screen while I'm in the middle of doing something, especially because dismissing the notification will return me to the watch screen instead of where I just was.
Most HUH? Moment
If I choose to save a just completed workout, I get kicked out of the app and sent to the home screen. I guess Apple is expecting you to be done with your exercise and ready for a new activity, but I always want to review the data from my workout.
Biggest Change in Behavior
I've started exaggerating my wrist flip because the watch screen sometimes does not turn on as expected when I turn over my wrist.
Nerdiest Moment
The first thing I did with the watch was call my girlfriend and say "I'm calling you from the future, where I can make phone calls from my wrist." She replied with an unamused, "I'm going to hang up now" - perhaps because we were sitting about a foot apart on the same sofa.
Least Understood Moment
When exactly the iPhone app syncs data to its watch counterpart.
Coolest Moment
Being able to turn off the music playing from my iPhone, while across the room, using my wrist.
Most Disliked Experience
Every single time I have to enter my passcode to use the watch. Because I enabled Apple Pay, I was forced to create a passcode. To be fair, Apple must be expecting that most people will put the watch on in the morning and leave it on all day - thus requiring only one passcode entry. Inevitably though, throughout my day I want to take off the watch for comfort, for additional charging, to let the water droplets under the watch band dry after I wash my hands. It's annoying to have to enter the passcode every time I pick up the watch while it's on my desk. If I'm paired with the same iPhone and in range, why isn't that good enough? This is the only device I own that has Apple Pay and I'm considering disabling it to avoid needing to enter the passcode again.
