What Apple's new smartwatch means for cyclists + video

Believing, as I do, that the happiest lives are often the simplest, I shall not be buying one of these. In fact it has been many years since I owned even a conventional watch. If I need to know the time I look for a church tower as I pedal along.
Cycling suits me because it is engineering on a human scale; whatever breaks I can fix. As soon as electronics are introduced that admirable principle disappears, taking with it a large proportion of the joy.

Brilliant how everyone's become both an expert engineer & marketing guru this week!

I appreciate the blanket media coverage is a bit dull, but basically a firm that sells stuff made some new stuff* to sell - when it comes out (and not before) I'll read some reviews from trusted sources, decide whether I want one & whether I want to spend the money. If not, I won't & I'll forget about it.

* other stuff is also available.

Here's smart and beautiful (if you don't mind chunky) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndycU_dUHNQ

Bear in mind that the Apple Watch is not waterproof, just water resistant.

@Cooks - haha, very good! Actually, re-arranging the letters left over gives you "tw@t charms", even better!

You can't spell smartwatch without twat.

Jack of all trades, master of none. I can't see a point in getting it at the moment as it doesn't surpass anything I've already got (including my iPhone). The Samsung watch has been out there for a while and that hasn't exactly taken off.

I'm sure that, like the iPad, iPhone and iPod the technology will become better. But it's not sparking my interest.

The critical point here is: COMPANION.

You have to have your phone there with you.

So those sleek women in crop-tops? they had a larger-than-ever iPhone 6 somewhere, I'm guessing in a hidden pocket in their shorts. Likewise that guy in the gym.

Anyone who's run long distances or worked out in a vigorous manner instead of just sitting on a bench or standing will tell you having a phone on you (that cost £600 and will *definitely* need to be in a sweat-proof case) is a huge pain in the ass. Let alone a relatively large, chunky watch. No way I'd want to do kettlebells or rope stuff with a watch on, let alone one that cost £350 and stuck out that much.

And any mugger seeing you out with an Apple Watch knows there's an iP6/6s on you someplace. Hand that £900 worth of kit over, fanboy...

If it did a better job than the Wahoo RFLKT or suchlike, showed 3rd-party app navigation as well as stats and was less than half the likely price, then maybe I'd see it on the bars somehow. Maybe. But I would then need a HRM strap.

...and useless for camping/long rides/races as it's inductively charged. Chance of that being battery-powered? zip.

So all in all, eye candy. Some fools will rush in. But as many top mobile industry pundits are saying, this is not a smart move.

Careful you lot, are you cyclists or geeks.
Remember you first got on your bike to get out the house, forget about work, get fitter or face a new challenge.
It is great that technology is there to measure more than just time, speed, distance covered, etc and for those who wish to compete the scientific measurements available today are incredible but not really needed for 90+% of riders.
Get out, have fun and buy a new bike or a new set of wheels if you feel you really must spend some money (admittedly not as easy to hide from the other half as tech stuff though).

I think this could prove to be the next catalyst. Heckle Apple all you like, but release of the iphone and ipad were similar in many ways:

"What's it really for?"
"It's overpriced"
"It's taken them long enough to include feature x"
"My Nokia/Samsung etc has been doing that for 2 years!"
"It doesn't even do cut and paste!"

Yet regardless of what features are out there and at what price, it's when Apple does it that the technology takes off. Who remembers when tablets were "pointless" and a non-physical keyboard was a "barely usable gimmick"? Let's see if wearable tech and NFC payments finally starts to gain some traction.

Anyway, I'm unlikely to respond the flames I get for this, just because I can feel an xbox/playstation kiddie spat coming on.

//

Little bit worried about how many people will try to use this whilst driving, it'd be much easier to hide than using a phone while driving (and I see a lot of that during my commute)

I'm looking forward to the day when phones and gadgets can be charged just by being in range of a mobile phone mast, the tech's out there, but it's far too bulky at the moment, but it could make things more interesting.

I'm disgusted and angry.

Who do these people selling stuff think they are?

I have a Pebble. It's no threat to Apple (it is also a lot cheaper)but it vibrates and displays the relevant information when a call, text or email comes in. A quick glance is enough to tell me I don't need to stop and sort out British Gas. My Garmin does everything else I need.

I bought the Sony Xperia Z Compact when it first came out with 'FREE' Sony Smart Watch. The Watch went onto ebay as soon as I recieved it along with several hundred other Sony smart watches. Like most people, it was 'whats the point of a smart watch?' 6 months on and Apple think they've released something new that will only work with Apple Phones. I think they've come too late to the market to grab a large share except Apple Fanboys who have to have every Apple gadget going wether it helps thier life or not

Smart watches in general need a few more iterations before they become mainstream, starting with a smart watch that does something useful please.

my 2¢ worth

By the standards of smart watches, it's nice, but it's not exactly a new paradigm in the way the iphone was at launch (compared to the then dominant blackberry). The reaction to this watch has naturally been fairly mixed, although the slide in Apple's share price overnight suggests the concerns run a little deeper.

My thoughts though again turn to Garmin. Look at the prices (quoting RRP):
- iWatch, ~£250 ($350).
- Android Wear, £150->£200
- Garmin, basic FR15 £140, high end Fenix 2, £360

Apple seem to have decided that the major selling point of a smart watch is health and fitness. They'll sell the message, and then Android will mop up with ever cheaper commoditized hardware.

The only future I see for Garmin is either a massive reduction in market reach or profit margin.

I like the watch, I like the idea, I like the potential, but with key features lacking like bluetooth/Ant+ connectivity, 24 hour charging requirement..I will likely divvy up for the new Garmin 1000 instead. This watch, while I love the potential, is numerous generations away being useful to me on the bike.

Never buy the first model. Apart from the battery drain (they always lie about battery life) there will be a whole heap of issues that will have you pulling your hair out.

There are already watches that are linked to phones that end up being left at home as soon as the 'New Toy' glow wears off.

Maybe it's me! but i can't see the point of using it for cycling as it will still be a big battery drain, plus developers will need to create compatible programs and pass through apples approval system before it is compatible with the the phone as well as the watch.

If you do want it, wait for the next version to come out, it will be better (if only slightly) than the first version

Companion watches are pointless, you need the phone to get the most from it.

I have the Omate fully independent watch, telephone. Gps. I have used it for recording my cycling using Sportstracklive app. It works very well at recording my outings. If I need to call home I can whilst not needing my phone in my pocket

What I really hate is the way Apple make you buy this stuff, hence the need for unfavourable comparisons with other (completely different) kit out there.

I mean, it's not like it's good to have another piece of kit to use if one chooses to eh!

Here's what it means: one more gadget for morons to be distracted by, instead of paying attention to their driving (and cycling, of course, but such people are realistically only risking their own life.)

Quote:

An appealing feature is the optical sensor to detect your heart rate that's built into the rear panel

Will this optical sensor be as inaccurate as the others already on the market, compared to electrical sensors?

I cannot get excited by this, in any way whatsoever. And I generally like Apple's stuff.

http://www.barnorama.com/wp-content/images/2012/03/homer_car/02-homer_ca...

I was just thinking the same...
Apple re-invents the wheel...
innavation.

That means you can leave your smartphone in your jersey pocket and use the Apple Watch on your wrist to monitor your ride.

Or you could leave monitoring your ride till your home.

Or you could monitor it using a device that links to your iPhone that's cheaper.

Or you could spend that money on a Garmin and monitor your ride.

FFS.

So Apple have just released what everyone else already has on the market with a lot more bling and a much higher price tag? And the media gets into a frenzy (again)? Ho hum...

If all you're doing is tracking distance and speed (which is all I do) what's the point of the watch, since you can do that already with your phone? Most of us are probably carrying phones anyway in case of emergencies.

The heart monitor might be an attractive feature, but not enough to make me splurge ~£300 on a watch that'll be obsolete in three years.