I got one for Christmas. I know… I’m a mechanical watch guy and vehemently against the smart watch movement. A such, this is a very biased mini-review. But, I figured you guys might appreciate my thoughts:

Appearances

I think the Apple Watch looks like a suppository. In fact, the current Apple design language on their entire product range doesn’t speak to me at all. I prefer the cutting edge of German design cues over the round and soft look of Apple. Give me Leica. Give me Porsche. Give me Braun. And stick the suppository look where the sun don’t shine.

Build Quality

Like most things Apple, it’s out of this world good. The fit and finish is perfection… and the engineering behind the strap lugs is absolutely brilliant. In fact, I think the Apple Watch might be Apple’s best effort in fit and finish… ever. It’s that good.

Functionality

I’ve never really understood the reasoning behind smart watches. If you already have a phone in your pocket, what’s the point of repeating the functionality on your wrist? If it’s for time keeping, my automatic watch does a much more elegant job of that. And if it’s for notifications, the screen on every smart watch is just too damned small to add much value.

I’ve been wearing a vintage mechanical watch on my wrist and carrying a smart phone in my pocket for years… and I’ve never yearned for anything more.

I did, however, give this Apple Watch a go for a solid week and was surprised just how functional it really is. First and foremost, the watch that was gifted to me (thanks mom!) is a series 3 LTE watch. It can take phone calls, send texts, and do just about everything my phone can do. It doesn’t do it as well, obviously, but it does it… and when I want to leave my phone behind, I can. That’s fairly liberating at times.

More beneficial than that, however, is the health implications of the watch. I love tracking my sleep with it (It’s amazing to see how much better you feel when you get appropriate sleep vs. the times you don’t)… and I’ve really enjoyed tracking my exercise with it as well. To me, it’s these health sensors that make the watch worth wearing at times.

Conclusion

The Apple Watch is an ugly device that is built beautifully and actually does add some functionality above and beyond your phone. It will never replace my vintage mechanical watches in terms of style and simplicity, but I do think there might be room in my life for one when I’m working out, sleeping, or simply when I don’t want to carry a phone with me.