Perhaps you’re like me, with a wrist that doesn’t fit perfectly into an already-prepared Apple Watch Sport band hole. If you find that you’re in between hole sizes, with one slightly tight and the next size slightly large, then don’t worry–you just might be in luck. Continue reading
My thanks thanks to sponsor LongScreen, my favorite app for merging and sharing screenshots. Read why I like it so much.
I’ve had the privilege of being one of the first owners of Apple Watch and the last week has been a delightful one. This is the first of six weekly reviews in which I’m going to share my thoughts about Apple Watch. My goal is not to focus on whether you need Apple Watch, the limitations of the device, or how to use it. Instead, my goal is to write from the intersection of technology and liberal arts, that is, exploring how this technology impacts our lives in what it means to be human and to truly live.
I don’t think Apple Watch is a device you can evaluate in a week. It’s neither technology, nor fashion, nor both; it is something utterly different than we’ve experienced before. You won’t find a “pronouncement” about Apple Watch’s future in this piece and only as time goes by will I offer more of my opinion about Apple Watch and its strengths and weaknesses. For now, let me relate reflections on how Apple Watch has helped me be more fully human in the last week. Continue reading
Thanks my sponsor Iconic: The Ultimate Tribute to Apple. Iconic is not just a stunning book of Apple photography, it is a chronicle of amazing design. Learn more here!
The first Apple Watch units have hit the streets and we’re beginning to get a good sense of how people are finding the watch fits into their lives. A common theme has been that some of the greatest value is that the watch makes it easy to see information that is of high value and importance. As I predicted weeks ago, notifications are as valuable to Apple Watch as apps are to iPhone, but only if they are truly notifications important enough to interrupt us on the wrist. Ben Bajarin put it this way in his excellent Apple Watch review:
Since we engage with the Apple Watch for only a matter of seconds, we need to know the information delivered is extremely valuable. Therefore, the notifications I allow to come to my wrist are ones I have ranked as the highest priority…With the Apple Watch app, you can filter the notifications you want to allow to get your attention. This is the most compelling aspect of the Watch experience.
Apple Watch is bringing to attention to the fact that our world is changing to one in which notifications play a larger role than ever before.1 Unfortunately, one part of the iOS experience is not ready for this new day: Messaging. Continue reading
My thanks to Iconic: The Ultimate Tribute to Apple for sponsoring markdmill.com! 
Last week I shared how Iconic, with its attention to detail and design, is a fitting tribute to Apple, as delightful as Apple’s own devices are. But Iconic is more than just a collection of brilliant photographs: it is a chronicle of history that will surprise and dazzle even the most die-hard Apple fan. Continue reading
Update 5/25/15: This offer no longer valid.
In honor, excitement, and anticipation of Apple Watch, I am announcing a huge sponsorship discount for items related to Apple Watch (apps, bands, accessories, etc.)! If you’ve got a cool item and are looking to promote it, markdmill.com will give your app exposure to thousands of Apple fans for just $10–80% off the normal sponsorship rate! I am that excited about Apple Watch and everything it’s going to bring!
During the months of May and June, I’ll be writing weekly review posts about Apple Watch, apps I’m using, and how the device fits into my life. Grab this chance to get in front of thousands of early adopters! You’ll get the same great benefits of a normal sponsorship, including the Start-Up Sponsor Bonus, but for one-fifth the price.
If you’re interested, contact me via email or on Twitter to choose your sponsor date.
This offer only good for Apple Watch app sponsorships…however, if you can make a good case that your sponsorship is related to Apple Watch…I’ll listen.
My thanks to my sponsor, LongScreen–the best way to merge and share screenshots. Read why I love it or just download it today!
I was able to spend an hour yesterday at the Apple Store both trying on Apple Watch and testing it out. Here are some thoughts in no particular order: Continue reading
My thanks to this week’s sponsor, World Time Widget, an app that puts timezones in your Today View. Read my full review or why you’ll like it.
Far too much time and energy has been spent in the last days talking about whether or not the Apple Watch is “necessary.” Many of yesterday’s reviews, in fact, addressed this issue specifically. Consider just a few:
Do I really need another connected screen blinking, beeping and buzzing all day?
CNET:
[M]any manufacturers have set sail with ambitious wearables; very few are bona fide successes. Most people aren’t even sure they need one.
The Title of Bloomberg’s review in fact was “You’ll Want One, but You Don’t Need One“:
So far, the biggest question about wearables—there are already plenty of products on the market—is really: Who needs one?
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.
The question of necessity isn’t irrelevant to a review, as many people will be asking that question themselves. That question, however, actually prevents both reviewer and reader from understanding the true value of Apple Watch. Continue reading
My thanks to this week’s sponsor, World Time Widget, an app that puts timezones in your Today View. Read my full review or why you’ll like it.
Abdel Ibrahim wrote an excellent piece over at WatchAware.com wherein he writes:
From the Watch Face, you are able to see your Glances and notifications. In order to see apps, you have to engage the Digital Crown. This makes it seem pretty obvious that Apple has purposely designed apps not to be front and center like they are on iPhone. Instead, Apple Watch apps are mere repositories where stored information can be pushed to the user in the form of Glances and via Notification Center.
This may sound a little weird, and I think to some of us it is. We’re used to apps being the focal point. But on Apple Watch, on initial waking, they’re not.
Astute observation. The “home state” isn’t the app screen, it’s the watch face. It’s only seems weird because of expectational debt. But there is excellent reason why it differs, and it relates to what Apple Watch uniquely offers the user. Continue reading
My thanks to World Time Widget for sponsoring this site. World Time Widget is the simplest and best way to track timezones. Read my full review or why I think you’ll like it. By now it is widely surmised that China will be a huge market for Apple Watch Edition. Shortly after Apple’s Spring Forward event, Scott Galloway of L2 think tank said:
The high-end model they should call the ‘China’ watch as it’s clearly targeted at emerging markets, aspirational consumers who are looking to spread their feathers (flaunt their individualism and wealth) with what has become the ultimate self-expressive benefit brand: Apple
With China’s gift-giving culture, rapidly rising middle class, and regard for Apple as a luxury brand, most assume Apple has positioned Apple Watch Edition for China. What few realize, though, is that the product Apple has positioned most brilliantly for China is not Apple Watch Edition but Apple Watch. The explanation of why starts with this picture: 
My thanks to @TechHunterCo for sponsoring this site. TechHunter.co is a site that finds great tech deals each day so you don’t have to.
When the iPod was released, it created the well-known iPod Halo Effect: many iPod users (up to 20%) bought a Mac after owning an iPod. Then, as the iPhone debuted, it too had a Halo Effect on Mac & iPad sales. Mac sales and marketshare have never been higher, and a huge reason is iPhone. As large as these Halo Effects were, though, the Apple Watch will have an even greater Halo Effect by converting Android users to iPhone, increasing engagement with Apple’s brand, and helping users experience the exponential benefit of the Apple ecosystem. Continue reading
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