dope_ahmine

I don’t mind the price for the device itself. But I really dislike that they try to reel you in on a subscription on top of that. And I utterly detest companies with such obvious lock-in strategies — it is so backward thinking.

If it was an open platform that followed expected standards, and with all voice-guided meditations included, I would’ve bought one (or two) today.

My Airpods Max still haven't updated their firmware since the release 4 days ago. Still on 3C16

I have to say that Apple's so called automatic updates (nearly all products and services) aren't always so 'automatic'. I often need to call their support when updates on Macs, iPad, iPhones, Apple Watches, Airpods (Pro), and now Airpods Max are failing. Their solution is always about the same: clean various registers or factory reset and/or restart device hardware. I seriously don't get why they just don't fix this.

I once asked Apple Support this question when my Airpods Pro didnt update. All they said was they hadn't heard of this problem before. So I checked with a bunch of friends what version they had. I talked to about 10 people across different regions and countries. It turned out only one single person had the correct update — although the new version had been out for months. Naturally, I shared with them how they could solve this by calling Apple Support, and after a few days most of them had. But the point is, often there is no 'automatic' in the updates at all. And this update bug has been lingering for years. I think it's the whole update-trigger mechanism that's based on the wrong usecases. Does Apple think it's good user experience if their products require manual Apple Support assistance in 9 out of 10 cases?

qwerty52 said:

dope_ahmine said:

Totally amazing if it actually succeeds with dialing automatically  …cos my AW6 is dumb as a box-o-rox. My most typical usecases with it:

1. I'm out jogging and it tells me to take some time to do a breathing exercise.
2. I talk on the phone (iPhone) and it tells me to take some time to do a breathing exercise.
3. I'm outside in 13 m/s wind and it tells me to take some time to do a breathing exercise.
4. I've just sat down after standing up for half an hour, and it tells me to stand up for a minute.
5. I'm walking from the mail office with a box, and it asks me 100 times if I'm no longer on my outdoor walk. If I put the box down and swing my hand around like an idiot every 30 seconds, then it shuts up tho.
6. I'm cooking in the kitchen, and it tells me to wash my hands longer.
7. I'm listening to music in my headphones (at about 50% volume) when the watch sends me a notification at 200% volume(!!!). I've never even set the volume at 100%, not even once.
8. I'm reminded of an all-day calendar booking although I've never even had alerts set for it in the first place.
9. The Activity app says I have exercised 210% (since I've been out jogging) but I've only moved 34%. Jogging without moving? Hmmm…  Also, I had only been standing 58%. So, I guess the watch assumed I was Outdoor Running while sitting/lying down and not moving  …makes sense  …not.
10. And here's my absolute fav: Software is not updated (ever) on the watch, although I've carefully checked the Automatic Updates. Why? Well, I always charge my watch between about 10 and 11 each evening, and then unplug it. A user behavior which apparently is totally outside Apple's imagination, or alternatively forbidden by them. Because an Apple Watch only updates its software if its plugged in to power at the time the WatchOS decides to try updating …which btw happens exactly at 03:00 in the morning.

I could go on and on ranting about the Apple Watch, but I guess you get the picture. This is not a smart watch. It's as dumb as it gets, cos it's entirely unaware of what I'm doing. It wouldn't even require AI to figure out how to deal with the use cases above. Good old linear logic programming would have done it. Do it again, and do it right, Apple. I know you are selling these watches in gazillions, and for pure business reasons maybe you shouldn't change a winning recipe. But I thought you said you were in it for the user experience.

What are you talking about man? I have been using Apple Watch very intensive for three months now, and I can tell you, 

that your story simply doesn’t make sense.

Are you sure you have an Apple Watch?

Pick one of the 10 usecases and tell me it’s impossible. I will easily prove you wrong. All of them are collected from real life, and no, they are not possible to “configure away” without shutting off crucial features all together. And even if they were configurable, why should I have to do that? It’s not a Microsoft product is it? One where the maker just hands you a generic setting that suits noone, plus 100 control knobs so that you can try make it useful yourself. Its Apple we are talking about here. The masters of usability fgs.

Not a single one of the described situations above should ever occur …at least not after a few months of learning and adoption to the individual user’s habits. And if you for a second believe this is beyond solvable, you couldn’t be more wrong. We have already an operable pilot solving this exellently. And if you study the scientific press carefully, you will notice that a few competitors now has it too.

A battle of IQ levels? Oh yes, you can bet on it. But it goes faar beyond just watches. And you know what? Apple isn’t even in the forefront of this battle. This is what I’m really talking about. We need to demand more from a usability point in order to shake some @@@ at Apple, and for them to get into the AI game …or they will be left behind with there nice, but dumb, hardware.

dewme said:

dope_ahmine said:

Totally amazing if it actually succeeds with dialing automatically  …cos my AW6 is dumb as a box-o-rox. My most typical usecases with it:

1. I'm out jogging and it tells me to take some time to do a breathing exercise.
2. I talk on the phone (iPhone) and it tells me to take some time to do a breathing exercise.
3. I'm outside in 13 m/s wind and it tells me to take some time to do a breathing exercise.
4. I've just sat down after standing up for half an hour, and it tells me to stand up for a minute.
5. I'm walking from the mail office with a box, and it asks me 100 times if I'm no longer on my outdoor walk. If I put the box down and swing my hand around like an idiot every 30 seconds, then it shuts up tho.
6. I'm cooking in the kitchen, and it tells me to wash my hands longer.
7. I'm listening to music in my headphones (at about 50% volume) when the watch sends me a notification at 200% volume(!!!). I've never even set the volume at 100%, not even once.
8. I'm reminded of an all-day calendar booking although I've never even had alerts set for it in the first place.
9. The Activity app says I have exercised 210% (since I've been out jogging) but I've only moved 34%. Jogging without moving? Hmmm…  Also, I had only been standing 58%. So, I guess the watch assumed I was Outdoor Running while sitting/lying down and not moving  …makes sense  …not.
10. And here's my absolute fav: Software is not updated (ever) on the watch, although I've carefully checked the Automatic Updates. Why? Well, I always charge my watch between about 10 and 11 each evening, and then unplug it. A user behavior which apparently is totally outside Apple's imagination, or alternatively forbidden by them. Because an Apple Watch only updates its software if its plugged in to power at the time the WatchOS decides to try updating …which btw happens exactly at 03:00 in the morning.

I could go on and on ranting about the Apple Watch, but I guess you get the picture. This is not a smart watch. It's as dumb as it gets, cos it's entirely unaware of what I'm doing. It wouldn't even require AI to figure out how to deal with the use cases above. Good old linear logic programming would have done it. Do it again, and do it right, Apple. I know you are selling these watches in gazillions, and for pure business reasons maybe you shouldn't change a winning recipe. But I thought you said you were in it for the user experience.

You do know that most of these are configurable in the Watch app on your iPhone? You can disable Breathe notifications, disable Stand notifications, reduce Notification volume level, disable hand washing feature, etc. As far as the updates are concerned, the watch has to be on the charger to update, and yes, you will get a notification badge on your iPhone telling you that the update is ready to install, which you can initiate using the Watch app on your iPhone. You will not be penalized for leaving the watch on the charger beyond your self imposed 1-hour charging window and letting the update complete. It almost sounds like you've never opened the Watch app on your iPhone, or don't have an iPhone, which I suppose could be the case. Maybe the Apple Watch is not a good fit for you?

No, no, no, and no. Those things are not configurable. Actually, not a single thing of what you are saying is valid.

I’m no beginner here. I’ve used Apple devices for more 30 years. And I have even worked as an engineer for Apple. I know what I’m talking about, and it’s called usability. You know, the difference between just technology and actually useful products. But I guess it’s a waste trying to explain that to a person whose suggestions are to shut down features because they are maldesigned, and who believes a consumer who demands usability should choose other products than Apple’s.

If you are the least interested in the truth about this product then I suggest you seriously revisit each and every use-case I listed. Put each of them to real-world testing. Then let’s discuss how this should/could have been done to make the Apple Watch a truly smart product, worthy a company like Apple.

Totally amazing if it actually succeeds with dialing automatically  …cos my AW6 is dumb as a box-o-rox. My most typical usecases with it:

1. I'm out jogging and it tells me to take some time to do a breathing exercise.
2. I talk on the phone (iPhone) and it tells me to take some time to do a breathing exercise.
3. I'm outside in 13 m/s wind and it tells me to take some time to do a breathing exercise.
4. I've just sat down after standing up for half an hour, and it tells me to stand up for a minute.
5. I'm walking from the mail office with a box, and it asks me 100 times if I'm no longer on my outdoor walk. If I put the box down and swing my hand around like an idiot every 30 seconds, then it shuts up tho.
6. I'm cooking in the kitchen, and it tells me to wash my hands longer.
7. I'm listening to music in my headphones (at about 50% volume) when the watch sends me a notification at 200% volume(!!!). I've never even set the volume at 100%, not even once.
8. I'm reminded of an all-day calendar booking although I've never even had alerts set for it in the first place.
9. The Activity app says I have exercised 210% (since I've been out jogging) but I've only moved 34%. Jogging without moving? Hmmm…  Also, I had only been standing 58%. So, I guess the watch assumed I was Outdoor Running while sitting/lying down and not moving  …makes sense  …not.
10. And here's my absolute fav: Software is not updated (ever) on the watch, although I've carefully checked the Automatic Updates. Why? Well, I always charge my watch between about 10 and 11 each evening, and then unplug it. A user behavior which apparently is totally outside Apple's imagination, or alternatively forbidden by them. Because an Apple Watch only updates its software if its plugged in to power at the time the WatchOS decides to try updating …which btw happens exactly at 03:00 in the morning.

I could go on and on ranting about the Apple Watch, but I guess you get the picture. This is not a smart watch. It's as dumb as it gets, cos it's entirely unaware of what I'm doing. It wouldn't even require AI to figure out how to deal with the use cases above. Good old linear logic programming would have done it. Do it again, and do it right, Apple. I know you are selling these watches in gazillions, and for pure business reasons maybe you shouldn't change a winning recipe. But I thought you said you were in it for the user experience.