The Apple Watch: A Revolutionary Smartwatch That Exceeds Expectations

Today's episode is sponsored by Seven Spots, a company that specializes in wearables and smartwatches. As part of their latest initiative, they have provided us with the Apple Watch Sport edition, which is just one of three variants available - the standard Apple Watch, the Apple Watch Edition, and the luxurious gold edition worth approximately $17,000. In this article, we will delve into the unboxing experience, the features, and the overall performance of the Apple Watch.

The Unboxing Experience: A Minimalist Approach

As expected from an Apple product, the packaging is minimal, ordered, and clean. To save time, I'll provide a brief overview of what's inside the box. You can expect to find a power adapter, a USB cable used as a charging dock, manuals, and an extra band for larger wrists. This careful design ensures that the contents are easy to access and handle.

Now, let's take a closer look at the Apple Watch itself. I must say that, even without being a fanboy or an Apple sympathizer, the build quality, materials, design, and overall feeling of this watch exceed my expectations. The band locks securely, the aluminum parts have a pleasant texture, and the resilient Ion-X glass provides a durable surface. Available in two sizes - 38mm and 42mm - the latter is more suitable for men's hands.

The Display: A Retina Touch Screen with Force Touch Support

One of the standout features of the Apple Watch is its Retina touch screen, which boasts impressive colors, black levels, sharpness, brightness, and even performance under direct sunlight. The screen controls are also highly responsive, making it a joy to use. However, I did notice that the Force feedback sometimes requires a bit of effort from the user. On the positive side, the watch features vibration on notifications and calls, which feels more like a light tap on the wrist rather than a traditional vibration.

The Gyroscope: A Flawless Experience

One of the most impressive features of the Apple Watch is its gyroscope, which is arguably the best in the market. It works flawlessly, even when the user raises their hand to power on the screen. I would have liked more from the speaker, which feels weak compared to other smartwatches like Samsung's Gear. Additionally, having a camera would be a welcome feature.

Battery Life: Satisfactory Performance

In my experience, the battery life of the Apple Watch is satisfactory. With moderate usage, it lasted over a day and a half in my hand. Charging is quick and easy, taking approximately an hour to fully recharge when placed on the magnetic base.

Pairing with iPhone: A Smooth Experience

The Apple Watch pairs with the iPhone via Bluetooth, offering a seamless experience that's consistent with what you'd expect from a smartwatch. It takes calls, notifications, messages, runs apps, games, tracks your heart rate, and shows the time. Setting up the watch is achieved through the Apple app, which provides access to the installed apps sector. While I was slightly disappointed by the number of available apps at launch, it's likely that more will be added in the future.

User Interface: A Unique Approach

One of the notable aspects of the Apple Watch is its unique user interface, which some may find unusual at first but ultimately becomes quite intuitive. The Digital Crown plays a crucial role in controlling and interacting with apps, providing detailed and easy-to-use controls. There are also "glances," which appear when you slide upwards and serve as shortcuts to various apps.

Customizing Watch Faces: Limitations

Unfortunately, watch faces and themes available on the Apple Watch are limited compared to what's already installed by Apple. This lack of flexibility is something that I find puzzling, especially considering the vast App Store ecosystem at our disposal.

In conclusion, my experience with the Apple Watch has been nothing short of remarkable. With its renowned Apple quality both in hardware and software, this wearable device takes a significant step forward into the smartwatch market. While some compromises must be made when it comes to accessory functionality, I firmly believe that the Apple Watch has serious prospects for growth and success.

The Verdict: A Revolutionary Smartwatch That Exceeds Expectations

As we conclude our review of the Apple Watch, it's clear that this device is a game-changer in the wearable market. With its impressive display, flawless gyroscope, satisfactory battery life, smooth pairing with iPhone, unique user interface, and more, the Apple Watch has set a new standard for smartwatches. While some compromises are unavoidable, I firmly believe that the Apple Watch is an accessory worth having - not just as a supplement to your phone but also as a standalone device that truly takes wearable technology to the next level.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enToday’s episode is sponsored by Seven Spots.Wearables and in particular smartwatches, are a growing market and Apple,even though a bit delayed, decided to bring its own product.I am Sakis Karpas, you are watching Unboxholics and this is the Apple Watch.Seven supplied us with the Sport edition, there are however two more,Apple Watch and Apple Watch Edition and what’s different between them is the materials.For the record, there is a gold edition that costs about $17.000.Let’s head over to the unboxing.The experience is exactly what is expected from a package that contains an Apple product.The definition of minimal, ordered and clean.To save time, I will just say that the watch comes with a power adaptor,a USB cable that it’s used as a charging dock, manuals and an extra band for bigger wrists.And now for Apple Watch itself.I am not a fanboy, not even an Apple sympathizer,but the thing I am holding is truly remarkable.The build quality, the materials, the design and the whole feelingis beyond my expectations.From the way the band locks, to the texture of the aluminum partsand the resilient Ion-X glass, everything contribute to this amazing result.We got the 38mm edition but there is the 42mm available, more suitable for men’s hands.Apple Watch has a Retina touch screen,with Force Touch support and two physical buttons.One is a simple button and the other is a small crown,which Apple named Digital Crown and works as a button too.On the lower side we find the speaker, the microphoneand sensors like the heart rate monitor.The band can easily be replaced, either with the rather expensive Apple ones,or with third party bands at lower prices.The screen of Apple Watch was impressive.Colors, black, sharpness, brightness, even under direct sunlight were on the highest levels.Touch controls were also very responsive.As I mentioned earlier, the Force feedback sometimes require a bit of an effort from the user.On the positive side we find vibration on notifications and calls,which feels more like a light tap on the wrist rather than vibration.The gyroscope is probably the best there is out thereand it’s the only one I have found to work flawlessly,for instance when the user raises the hand and it powers on the screen.I would expect more from Apple on the speaker,which is weak in comparison to other smartwatches,like Samsung’s Gear and I would prefer if it had a camera.Before we speak about functions, let me say something about the battery.Overall it’s satisfying.In my hand it lasted more than a day and a half, depending of course on the usage.Charging is a piece of cake.You just place the watch on the magnetic base and the battery is full in about an hour.Apple Watch pairs with the iPhone via Bluetoothand it’s everything you would expect from a smartwatch.It takes calls and notifications, messages, runs apps,games, takes your heart beat and shows the time.Setting the Apple Watch is achieved with the Apple app,from which you can set the notifications, the installed apps and the whole UI of the watch.Through this app, you gain access to the Apple Watch apps sector.To be honest, I expected more apps to be available,but I suppose that will change in the future.I was also disappointed from the time it took for some apps to launch.I wanted a bit faster response,because the purpose of a smartwatch is to make me save time by not checking constantly my phone.Other than that, I can’t say I faced any problems with the apps.Apple decided to design a very unique UI and not so ordered.At first, this “hive” arrangement of the installed apps hub seemed a bit odd,but eventually I got used to it and liked it.The Digital Crown plays a crucial part on controlling and interacting with the appsand it gives a detailed and easy control.There are also “glanses”, which appear with a slide upwards.These are actually shortcuts of various apps.You can select which glanses and with what order you want them to appear via the phone app.On the other hand, watch faces, the themes the user will see when the screen is activated,are limited on what is already installed by Apple,a move that I can’t comprehend.Why can’t I download more from App Store?Everything else is working like a smartphone, just on smaller screen.The familiarization is fast and I don’t think people will have problem with it.Last but not least, is Siri and the feeling I got watching movies as a kid,seeing actors talking to watches.Now it’s something from the present and not the future.Apple Watch is available at Seven Spot and if you are interested,check the link on the description.For me, it’s an exquisite product,with the renowned Apple quality both on hardware and software.My problem with smarwatches is that they are an accessory of the phonesand not a standalone gadget.Maybe it’s still too soon and we have to compromise with the accessory functionality.Either way, the wearable market has some serious prospectsand Apple has taken the first step.That’s all for now. I’ll catch you up on Unboxholics.com.\n"