When I shared my first impression on the Watch, it was all hail of fanfare. I had nothing bad to say about it, and even if I had, I ignored or minimized it.
Six months of daily use later, and I become annoyed with it. If it wasn't too big of a statement, I would have gone back to my Polar RS-100.
Before I go on, I need to put things into perspective. I've just went back to that first impression post that I wrote. Turns out I wasn't blind to its limitations, and I didn't expect it to be much more than a beautifully designed, simple watch.
I still don't. I do use it for the most basic functions, and rarely switch from the main screen. Taking a glance at the time and my next meeting, getting a feel of the temperature outside, and making sure that I have my alarm set, are really my main functions I use it for.
I have almost no 3rd party app installed on it, other than Duo, which makes VPN authentication a bit easier. I use the Workout app when I run, and the navigation's haptic signals when I drive out of the city - it does help me with keeping my eyes on the road.
Those uses are illustrated in the screenshots bellow:
Figure 1: Those screenshots capture 99% of what I use the Watch for
And that's not what getting my upset, and leading me to write this.
What bothers me is that the Watch fails at being a simple watch. Take charging for example - I need to do it every night. "You stupid Apple fanboy, didn't you read the spec before you bought it?". I did. I knew about it, and yet I've discounted it. I thought it will be as simple as charging my iPhone. I was wrong - it isn't. Having to take off your watch, every night, is like a Chinese torture - it impinges you one drop at a time, until you can't stand it anymore.
As I'm writing this, I'm on vacation. I'm wearing the Watch, but it's dead. I brought its charger with me, yet I'm too lazy to connect it to the outlet, take off my watch and connect it to the charger. You know what - no, it's not because I'm lazy. It's because I don't suppose to take off my watch every night and charge it!
Another example - the sport band, which doesn't make it easier to take the Watch off and put it back on. It's a clumsy mechanism that causes me to drop the Watch on the floor too often, when trying to fasten it on my hand. And I'm not going to spend $149 on a Leather Loop that suppose to do better job at that.
It might have been the post Apple-ohilic of me who wrote this, but now that I let it go, I can go back to be the acquiescence user that I am. I'll go out of bed to set up the charger, and keep telling myself it's the best watch ever designed...