Vox Pop: The Apple Watch and The Future of Wearables

Niki Macartney, Planning Director, Southpaw

Ok, so the voice commands take some getting used to and my left shoulder muscle is getting quite a workout to activate the display but despite that I’m loving new Apple Watch. Just like I put cucumber in my G&T, I don’t NEED it, but I WANT it.

Why? It’s fun. It makes life a little easier, it brings a smile to my face. It’s a romantic little thing too. Me and my special person can send fun heart beats, cheeky boobs and badly drawn instant messages to each other rather than a predictable text.

I guess its more emotion than function at the moment as the apps are limited, but it is quite smart. It listens into your text conversations, giving you intelligent responses according to what you’re talking about. I’m sure as developers start releasing more apps the function will pick up but for the time being, I’m happy with my fun little gadget.

John Shepherd, Senior Developer, Orangebus

I’ve been wearing an Apple Watch for about a month, and despite some initial scepticism over its usefulness I’ve found that its stream of haptic notifications, glances and tiny interactions have stealthily infiltrated my daily digital life. Last week I had to spend a day without the watch and was surprised by just how much I missed the sensation of being constantly — almost cybernetically — connected to my information stream.

It’s early days for wearables, and we’re very much in the pioneer stage. Designers are still getting to grips with concepts like micro-interactions and ambient intelligence, and the best patterns for user engagement are yet to emerge. I’ve got no doubts that we’ll look back at the first-generation Apple Watch in a few years time and laugh at how primitive it was... but I’m confident that wearables are here to stay.

Chris Hodgen, Managing Director, Absolute Media

I’ve had the Apple watch for a few weeks now, and as much as I like the look of it as a fashion accessory, the jury is still out on whether it was worth the investment. Does it enhance my life? Well no, not yet.

The first time my watch rang with a phone call, it was a little embarrassing! And although it works well for a quick call, anything over 1 minute makes your arm ache. Maybe I should have expected the watch to under deliver, and I probably shouldn’t have got all caught up in the hype on launch day, but then again, that’s what Apple do best.

They didn’t sell me a watch that could tell me the time, Casio can do that. They sold me a lifestyle and a belief that I buy into every time I buy an Apple product. That belief got me to buy an unnecessary product, which deep down I already knew would be a disappointment before it arrived. But it’s that belief which makes us all (yes all, I’m not the only one!) buy into Apple, and it’s exactly that, which makes their brand one of the best businesses in the world today.

James Jefferson, Chief Creative Officer, Equator

I’ve had my Apple Watch for a week and have discovered that although it is a bad wrist-phone, it’s a brilliant watch. At the moment the watch has interaction issues due to apps not being appropriate for the new platform. However, it creates space for a new generation of big app players. The most exciting potential for the watch is to become an access point to the internet of things - the idea of a simple tap on the wrist operating home or car functions is compelling. As we move from a digital world of websites to a connected ecosystem where interface is replaced by interaction between people and things, this device could really come into its own.

Personally I love it. It’s crap if you wanted a Dick Tracey wrist-phone but brilliant as an advance on the watch. It won’t be long before we see what it is really capable of.