Apple has been known for turning the computer industry on its ear. First there were simple MP3 players, then there was the iPod, and Apple made people want one very badly. Then there were smart phones, once thought of as a high-end business item, but with the iPhone, Apple brought smart phones into pop culture.
Now they’ve recently turned to watches. Apple Watch is the first major piece of tech since the death of Apple founder and CEO Steve Jobs, there’s been major pressure on Apple to see what they come up, to see how truly innovative and outstanding they can be without Jobs at the helm.
Apple, who had introduced the obsession with being attached to one’s phone, decided to make up for it by designing something that would allow people their tech, but with the goal of assisting people to be away from the tech when they needed to be—like, say, on a date, or in a meeting.
The prototype was clumsy, as all prototypes tend to be. The idea was to free people from their phones, so the watchband was a very nicely designed velcro strap where people could remove their phone from their wrist. Then there was the idea of an onscreen watch crown that you could swipe to spin. But that hardly replicates the feeling of a real watch crown. So they then added a dongle you could attach to the bottom of your phone.
One of the next tasks was figuring out how to send an email or text. The team realized how physically awkward their ideas were because the user had to hold up their wrist, like usual and use only one hand to send that text or email. Apple watch is quite expensive, but you may get a discount on Apple watch by using the coupon.
Idea testing when it came to in-the-moment decisions brought something called Short Look. It’s a way the Apple Watch prioritizes messages sent. If you get a message, and it’s not super-urgent and you only look at your watch for a few seconds, the message goes unread. It’s all about detecting the level of interest or importance.
Once the software was nailed, the user interface that’s commonly used to vibrate at you or in your pocket was completely alien and different. Wearing something that vibrates might eventually be truly annoying. To that end, Apple Watch designers began thinking in terms of “What does a ‘Tweet’ feel like.” In essence, they were thinking in terms of a form of synesthesia.
Apple took a cue from Swiss watchmakers, and broke from their tradition of narrow options, introducing not one variation, but two variations from the original, each at different price levels, the highest one being $17,000 for the Gold version.
All in all the Apple Watch has come a long way, from just being a crude prototype to a sleek thing that everyone—as usual—will save their hard-earned money to get. Because that’s just how Apple is. If they can break into wristwatches, the sky could easily be the limit for what Apple might get into.
