Apple Watch (Sport Edition) review: 30 days with the Apple Watch

2015 was supposed to be the year of the smartwatch (that’s what they told us in 2014 too), the year that analysts predicted the Apple Watch would take the world by storm and be a game changer. Almost nine months later the numbers don’t quite reflect the same pre-launch optimism. The watch arrived much later in India after much teasing and speculation. If the initial sales are any indicator, it clearly hasn’t set the wearable segment on fire. But is it still the best piece of tech you can wrap around your wrist? And more importantly will it alter your life.

The first thing you will learn about the Apple Watch is that it’s the wearable equivalent of being in an ice cream shop. First there are the variants – Apple Watch Sport (finished in aluminium), Apple Watch (stainless steel case) and the pricey Apple Watch Edition finished with gold. Then there’s a choice of straps from silicon to leather to stainless steel and then there are two sizes (38mm for smaller wrists and 42mm). All put together it’s approximately a grid of 38; that’s more than the 31 flavours at your neighbourhood Baskin Robbins outlet.

I put the 38mm Sport Edition (At the very bottom of the heap) under the scanner for almost a month before compiling this review and the first thing that struck me was how well this device is built. It’s easily the best looking smartwatch out there; period. The watch feels really good on your wrist and similar to any conventional watch you might have used. The display is the perfect size to view the notifications that matter. The difference between the 38mm and 42mm versions are negligible (1.5 inch vs 1.65 inch screen and 62 grams vs 70 grams for the sport edition). The AMOLED display (340 x 272 pixels) packs an impressive 290 Pixels per inch (PPI) ensuring great visibility under harsh sunlight. There’s a crown (akin to the one on a conventional watch) and a flat rectangular button (that lets you add key contacts and also functions as the power key) on the right spine of the watch.

Apple has opted for the complementary device strategy with the Apple Watch. The last two years have seen brands trying to build smartwatches that can function as independent devices (like the Samsung Gear S or Intex’s iRist) wearable and ‘second screen’ devices that complement your smartphone. It’s the latter that seems to be winning the race for the moment. The Apple Watch pairs with iPhones (iPhone 5 and up) via Bluetooth and doesn’t do much when it's not paired. I also found no significant battery drains on my iPhone 6S because of the ‘always on’ Bluetooth. The Watch is powered by an Apple S1 chipset (520 MHz) coupled with 512MB of RAM and features 8GB on-board memory; enough fire power for a smartwatch.

The watch’s biggest strength is how it syncs with your iPhone virtually doing away with the need to keep whipping your phone out of your pocket every few minutes to keep checking many alerts that don’t require any action. I found this particularly handy while driving and during intense days at work. You can choose what you need to sync – from your Gmail to Office Email to texts to WhatsApp and social. You can’t type a reply – try typing on one of those smartwatch keyboards and you’ll see why it's pointless, but there are pre-set texts like ‘Thank you’ and ‘Okay’ which more than works for random text messages. You can also answer and reject calls Dick Tracy style with the watch; the audio quality is surprisingly good.

The New Watch OS 2 is a big jump in less than twelve months and you can add a large bouquet of Apps that get loaded onto the watch via the Apple Watch companion App on your iPhone. If there’s a weak link it’s the fitness element where despite the presence of a heart rate monitor and the native fitness App (that has some useful stats), the Apple Watch doesn’t quite measure up to trackers like a Fitbit. I stopped wearing my Fitbit Charge HR for a couple of weeks (a device on each wrist looked excessive) and missed some of that functionality. The other gripe not surprisingly is battery life. While I ended each day at about 50%, the battery isn’t robust enough for two days on a single charge. So that’s two devices that need a overnight charge.

The Apple Watch is certainly not perfect, it only talks to iPhones and unlike some other smartwatches doesn’t possess Wi-Fi connectivity. Battery life is a serious chink too. But Apple’s ecosystem gives the watch a serious edge over the competition. It’s probably the best smartwatch we have tested, combining a fantastic build with a gorgeous user interface. Apple’s biggest triumph is leveraging the second screen by mirroring Apps and notifications seamlessly. But it won’t change your life; especially in India where you can’t wave the boarding pass on your watch at Airport security or make payments with Apple Pay just yet.  

What we liked: gorgeous design, user interface, large selection of Apps

What we didn’t like: battery life, fitness creds not in the same league as serious fitness trackers

Price: Rs 30,990

Key Highlights (Apple Watch Sport Edition 38mm):

• Apple S1 chipset (520 MHz)
• 1.5-inch screen (340 x 272 pixels / 290 PPI)
• 512MB RAM /8GB onboard memory
• 205 mAh battery
• IPX certified (water resistant up to 1 metre and 30 minutes). You can’t swim with it though
• Accelerometer, gyro, heart rate sensor