Its been Apple news this whole week, (no guessing why) so we would like to add to the overload with our official review of the Apple Watch which we just happen to have in our hands wrist this week as well. And yes we like the Hermes leather strap!

The much raved-about Apple Watch that had quite a cult following with – as usual – two very different opinions from two different ends of the spectrum. After taking it for a bout of testing with many different apps and situations, there are a few things I’ve discovered that makes the Apple Watch different from other wearables. Just to mention, the edition we got was the Sports edition that comes with a rubbery watch band for a more active lifestyle. Packed in a nice white box (trademark Apple) inside you will find an usb cable and a charger you guessed it in white.

Smooth Sailing

Despite not being someone from the “Apple is God-sent” camp, I have to say that the Apple Watch is really well made. The touchscreen works very well and swiping around screens is absolutely smooth; there is no lag, nothing freezes and no in-between screens if you didn’t swipe hard enough to go to the next screen. I’ve tested a number of smartwatches, but so far, nothing gives that feeling of fluidness the way the Apple Watch does.

Always Connected

Another great point about the Apple Watch that many smartwatches tend to fail at is connectivity between the watch and phone. With this watch, I did not experience a single dropped connection and every notification comes at almost the same time as my iPhone.

Mini Phone

Having an Apple Watch is similar to having a little phone strapped on your wrist. You can read emails, talk to Siri when you feel lonely, and even like an Instagram photo using your watch. So, this is more than just a notification device.

Icon Heavy

When it comes to Apple devices, I realise that most of them tend to use icons more than anything else, and although it looks great, especially in the Apple watch since you can actually zoom in and out using the digital crown, the problem is that it is confusing. Sure, some may say that it isn’t very hard to remember the icons and its corresponding app, but can you actually say you remember every single one of them? Another problem is the way the Apple Watch works with iOS. If the app you have installed in your phone does have a watch version, the app icon gets automatically placed into your stash. Eventually, there is so many that you tend to find it hard to find your favourite apps, or even recognise which icon belongs to which app.

Hidden Faces

Another issue I had with the Apple Watch is not big but more like it is a little annoying; the watch face is very limited. There are only a handful of watch faces, and most of them are pretty boring. Having something personal like a watch and still not able to have more faces is like being stuck with a pair of sport shoes when you need to be in black tie. I’ve actually checked a few friends who have an Apple Watch and all of them are using the most interesting watch face – the face with Mickey Mouse.

Dead Before You Know It

In this day and age with the insane number of devices that needs to be charged, I am always looking for ones that can hold a charge longer to prolong charging frequency. Well, the Apple Watch is not one of them since the battery can only last a little more than a day. On top of that, the charger is pretty cumbersome with a ridiculously long cord.

Nice But…

Owning an Apple Watch is nice and is quite a convenient thing to have, but I have to say with it being so expensive, the urge to own one has sort of flown out the more convenient; something like a jewellery of sorts. So unless you really love the design of the Apple Watch, then you might want to wait a little to see if Apple does something better in the future.

Price: US$349

Dimensions: 38.6 x 33.3 x 10.5mm

Weight: 25g (Case); 37g (Band)

Display: Retina display with Force Touch

Sensors: Heart rate sensor, accelerometer, gyroscope, ambient light sensor

Connectivity: Wi‑Fi (802.11b/g/n 2.4GHz); Bluetooth 4.0

Water Rating: IPX7

Value 6

Performance 8

Features 8

Design 8

Usability 8

Score 7.6

Verdict: Nice to use but could use more improvements.