Well the Apple watch’s last few secrets have been revealed and still questions abound.  “Why do I need one?”  “What’s the killer app for this watch?” “Who’s going to pay $350 to $10,000 for a watch?”  And the answers are, “ I don’t know, but you didn’t think you needed a smart phone either.”  “Good question, why don’t you write it and make a billion or two?”  and  “You don’t know much about the watch market do you?”

Well we’re going to get some, the watch does some very intriguing things and we know upgrades will be fast and furious.  The main reason that we are predicting success for the Apple watch is it’s immersion in the Apple developer’s environment.  Thousands of developers that all think they know what the killer app is, are already busy grinding away at them.

Still, there are three or four other good reasons to give the watch a try.

A watch of many faces

On your wrist

A lot of people have stopped wearing watches, using their phones as their timepieces.  But that’s not as convenient as a watch.  Turning your wrist to see the time is a lot easier than pulling your phone out of your pocket or purse. Which is why clocks migrated to wrists in the first place. The Apple watch, as well as many other smart watches, put not only the time on your wrist but also a lot of everything else available on your phone right there as well.  Think about it, the name or number of the person calling you, a text from your son or daughter, the latest email as well as a lot of other information all automatically presented on your wrist.  Anyone whose had to dig their phone out of their pocket while driving can understand that.

Subtle

Seeing all this information instantly and quietly on your wrist will give us all a more subtle source of what’s going on.  The alerts you choose can pop up instantly with just a vibration to let you know something’s up.  No more digging your phone out of your purse, just flip your wrist and a glance will tell you everything.  Then you can make a decision on what to do.  Will you answer this call in the middle of a meeting?  Does this text require an answer or is it just informational?  What’s the weather like today?  A glance at your watch is all you need.  No one else is disturbed or even needs to know.  Expect there to be a lot more alerts to choose from in the near future, things like news, weather warnings, stock prices maybe even what’s on sale today.

Shades of Casio!

Distance

The Apple watches capabilities will make an interesting difference in how much we choose to carry our phones around.  Right now you need to have your phone close by to answer it, we all remain either close to our phones or just carry them everywhere.  The Apple watch removes that need because it essentially becomes a miniature version of your phone.  You don’t need to carry your phone around when you’re home, for that matter go ahead and charge your phone upstairs while you do chores in the kitchen.  The Apple watch will still serve you so long as it’s on the same WiFi network.  That will be great for me since I’m always running up or downstairs when my phone rings.

Capability

This is the really fascinating part of the Apple watch, the mix of things it brings to us.  The first generation of features are being able to pay with a touch of your wrist, a convent remote display for your phone, being able to make or take calls without your phone, playing music (possibly videos), health tracking and assistance.  This last feature is probably the most intriguing for now.  The Apple watch puts the power of your calendar and the web on your wrist.  That means getting alerts for upcoming events as well as creating them, instant directions as well as all sorts of other information.  The health information and tracking is just a bonus.

It’s full capabilities we just don’t know yet, but because it has WiFi, Bluetooth and NFC (near field communications) built-in we can expect app developers to come out with all sorts of local area capabilities.  Starwood hotels have already installed room door locks that can be opened with the Apple watch.  Apple has developed a watch to watch communication system which we find very intriguing.  Things like seeing todays menu as you walk by restaurants are bound to come soon.

Of course the best capability is the same one the iPhone already has, it’s instantly upgradable.  The watch you buy probably won’t be the one your wearing in 9, 6 or even three months.  A multitude of new features and functions will become available as time passes.  There will undoubtably be newer watches as well but in the meantime a constant flow of ned apps and refinements will be available.  That makes it pretty exciting. How many other watches can do that?

Bottom line

If your rabid first adopters like us, you’ll get one right out of the gate.  After all the effect of the first iPhone on peoples lives as well as the rest of the phone industry was pretty impressive.  No one had to wait for the iPhone 6 to really get the value of this device.  We think it’s also important to note that no one really predicted the success or power of the first iPhone either.  While it is a possibility, we seriously doubt that the Apple watch will be a “dud.”  Certainly not when we already know a lot of what it can do and even that seems quite appealing.  The question for us is what don’t we know about what it will become and how it will affect our lives?

Prentiss Gray is a writer and stay at home Dad with 27 years in the information systems and technology business.  His favorite saying is “If you have to read the manual to use it, I don’t want one.”  He can be reached via his website GrayResearch.net.