It’s handy to have every notification coming right to your arm. It’s less handy when you seem to be dropping the connection. I’ve been having weird Bluetooth problems with my headphones, my Pebble and my iPhone 6 for the better part of a week, and I’m wondering how well they will all play together. I’m also having trouble getting the sleep data out of Morpheuz into the Health app, and it’s annoying me.
Basically I’m starting to see the appeal of the single-platform integration, which is of course what Apple does better than anyone else. If you need to run a watch with your iPhone, use the Apple Watch and the results will be seamless assuming you are slightly brighter than a turnip. This is not a sure thing. The problem with making a computer anyone can use is that anyone will.
Nevertheless, I don’t mind it. It’s handy enough when I can make it work, and I’m sure some of this is just the teething pains of a new device in my rotation. That said, it’s not coming to Japan. Mainly because I don’t want one more thing to charge, and also because it won’t really be necessary. The watch hasn’t replaced the phone for alarm clock purposes, and I won’t need instant notifications for things while abroad (not least because I won’t actually be on a cellular network, just a handheld WiFi device feeding Internet access to my phone). I’ll stick to my mechanical watch when I’m out of the country.
As for the phone, I’m taking just the iPhone 6. No iPad, no Moto X – I know the X was meant to be the travel phone, but given that it’s much simpler to have a WiFi device in Japan than to battle through the trouble of getting a SIM card and activating it and having data only and…the juice just ain’t worth the squeeze. And the only thing I need from the iPad is easier reading or movie watching (neither of which I should need while I’m in, you know, ANOTHER COUNTRY) or maybe better access to websites or blogging (which isn’t enough to make it worthwhile). And the iPhone 6 will go in my pocket and has better battery life than the Moto – because Lollipop still hasn’t shipped for the 2013 Moto X, which is further proof that you should never buy Android unless you know you can live with the version of the OS that ships on it. I’ve gotten from 4.2.2 to 4.4.4, and despite Moto’s assurances, I’m not holding my breath for 5.
So that’s it. Analog watch, corded headphones, and iPhone 6. Last time I went abroad was with an iPhone 3G. Times have changed. Hopefully this will work out slightly better.