The Apple Watch, Apple's first foray into the fashion and wearable space, goes on pre-sale this Friday. But, while most of us have to wait until its April 24 shipping date, the company dished out a handful of review units to press at The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and a few other publications.
We've rounded up some choice quotes for an early glimpse of what wearing the watch is like.
1. It Frees You From Smartphone Addiction
"People who’ve previously commented on my addiction to my smartphone started noticing a change in my behavior; my wife told me that I seemed to be getting lost in my phone less than in the past. She found that a blessing." -The New York Times "Apple Watch does as much, maybe more, than competing smartwatches, but it doesn’t demand that you pay attention to it. It also succeeded in its most important task: Getting me to keep my iPhone in my pocket. That’s a pretty impressive feat." -Mashable
"People who’ve previously commented on my addiction to my smartphone started noticing a change in my behavior; my wife told me that I seemed to be getting lost in my phone less than in the past. She found that a blessing." -The New York Times "Apple Watch does as much, maybe more, than competing smartwatches, but it doesn’t demand that you pay attention to it. It also succeeded in its most important task: Getting me to keep my iPhone in my pocket. That’s a pretty impressive feat." -Mashable
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2. It Takes Some Getting Used To
"After you first set up your Apple Watch and pair it with your iPhone using Bluetooth, you’ll think, 'What the heck is going on, where do I swipe to see things, how do I get rid of this notification that just popped up?'" -Recode "It took three days — three long, often confusing and frustrating days — for me to fall for the Apple Watch...Unlike previous breakthrough Apple products, the Watch’s software requires a learning curve that may deter some people." -The New York Times 3. It Still Looks Like A Gadget
"Apple Watch strives for high fashion, but it still looks like a techie watch." -Recode "The hardware of the watch is beautiful in a surgical way." -Bloomberg "It’s a supercomputer on your wrist, but it’s also a bulbous, friendly little thing, far more round than I expected." -The Verge
4. It Empowers You
"What’s most thrilling about the Apple Watch, unlike other smartwatches I’ve tried, is the way it invests a user with a general sense of empowerment. If Google brought all of the world’s digital information to our computers, and the iPhone brought it to us everywhere, the Watch builds the digital world directly into your skin." -The New York Times 5. Battery Life Could Be An Issue
"Over the weekend, my iPhone 6 ran out of battery before the Apple Watch did, and it was a couple of hours before I could charge my phone again. During that down period, I could only use the Apple Watch to get the time and view existing messages and calendar appointments." -Recode "After one particularly heavy day of use, I hit 10 percent battery at 7 p.m., triggering a wave of anxiety. But most days were actually fine." -The Verge 6. Third Party Apps Are A Work In Progress
"I often found that new apps took forever to install, and they then worked sporadically." -Mashable
"After you first set up your Apple Watch and pair it with your iPhone using Bluetooth, you’ll think, 'What the heck is going on, where do I swipe to see things, how do I get rid of this notification that just popped up?'" -Recode "It took three days — three long, often confusing and frustrating days — for me to fall for the Apple Watch...Unlike previous breakthrough Apple products, the Watch’s software requires a learning curve that may deter some people." -The New York Times 3. It Still Looks Like A Gadget
"Apple Watch strives for high fashion, but it still looks like a techie watch." -Recode "The hardware of the watch is beautiful in a surgical way." -Bloomberg "It’s a supercomputer on your wrist, but it’s also a bulbous, friendly little thing, far more round than I expected." -The Verge
4. It Empowers You
"What’s most thrilling about the Apple Watch, unlike other smartwatches I’ve tried, is the way it invests a user with a general sense of empowerment. If Google brought all of the world’s digital information to our computers, and the iPhone brought it to us everywhere, the Watch builds the digital world directly into your skin." -The New York Times 5. Battery Life Could Be An Issue
"Over the weekend, my iPhone 6 ran out of battery before the Apple Watch did, and it was a couple of hours before I could charge my phone again. During that down period, I could only use the Apple Watch to get the time and view existing messages and calendar appointments." -Recode "After one particularly heavy day of use, I hit 10 percent battery at 7 p.m., triggering a wave of anxiety. But most days were actually fine." -The Verge 6. Third Party Apps Are A Work In Progress
"I often found that new apps took forever to install, and they then worked sporadically." -Mashable
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"Many of the current apps feel like shaved-down lite versions of the larger apps, at best." -CNET
7. The Bottom Line
"The Apple Watch is the most ambitious, well-constructed smartwatch ever seen, but first-gen shortfalls make it feel more like a fashionable toy than a necessary tool." -CNET
"The Apple Watch is the most ambitious, well-constructed smartwatch ever seen, but first-gen shortfalls make it feel more like a fashionable toy than a necessary tool." -CNET
"[Apple] made something that lives up to the company’s reputation as an innovator and raised the bar for a whole new class of devices. Its second task — making me feel that I need this thing on my wrist every day — well, I’m not quite sure it’s there yet. It’s still another screen, another distraction, another way to disconnect, as much as it is the opposite. The Apple Watch is cool, it’s beautiful, it’s powerful, and it’s easy to use. But it’s not essential. Not yet." -Bloomberg
"It can do tiny bits of everything, instead of a few things extraordinarily well. For all of its technological marvel, the Apple Watch is still a smartwatch, and it’s not clear that anyone’s yet figured out what smartwatches are actually for." -The Verge