A headset having 4Kx4K panels for each eye doesn't make it a substitute for a 4K monitor, the distortion through the optics means a virtual display will appear much lower resolution than that. The rule of thumb for headsets with 2Kx2K panels is that a virtual theatre covering most of your field of view has a perceived resolution of about 720p, so you can maybe expect about 1440p from the Apple headset in the best case where the virtual display dominates your field of view, and less than that if the display is smaller.
1440p is good enough for 27in monitor. If I can have an array of those where it can track my focus between then and it was seamlessly integrated to OS I could see the value.
My God, me; too. Never - ever - could understand why Apple wouldn’t just sell the watch as a potentially standalone device.
I know, it’s Apple; but at the same time, you’re easily going to sell 2-3 times more of them, and; like the iPod, it can easily introduce them to the Apple ecosystem and when it comes time to buy a new phone; they’ll maybe say ‘well, I’ve already got an Apple Watch and really like it…maybe I’ll get an iPhone this time my contract expires.’
But it’s Apple business logic. I’ve used their products pretty much exclusively for nearly 20 years (I’m an iOS/WatchOS dev and have used Logic to make music for 15 years) but I’ll never understand many of their decisions.
it can easily introduce them to the Apple ecosystem
I argue that it would be a horrible introduction to Apple products. For input, you either talk to it or type on a tiny keyboard. There’s no web browser. The screen is so small, it’s measured in millimeters (whereas in the U. S., the phone is measured in inches).
Were I running Apple, there’s no way I’d let the watch be the introduction to Apple products without some improved means of interaction.
Yes, and not everyone has an iPhone for the first step. There are lots of iPhone users, but lets not pretend Android users are an insignificant userbase.
where did I imply that they were insignificant? I specifically mentioned a well known android user. I used to be a dyed in the wool android user myself and a day one adopter of the Moto 360.
Like, yeah, it’s not ideal but you just ask a friend with an iPhone to help out. Unless you’re in an android only circle of course.
Either way, not ideal, but not as dire as the people above make it out to be either
Well Apple Pay, running/tracking apps and listening to music via Bluetooth all work without phone. And I don’t have the model with internal sim, maybe more stuff works with that version.
I agree you need the phone too, but at least I’ve been able to track a run while listening to music on my headphones and pay for water after my flask broke all without a phone present.
I think we’re close to just the watch but I’d be damned if I want to dictate messages etc. The screen size and lack of input devices definitely holds it back from being genuinely standalone.
I am blown away by how bad using other music apps on the Apple Watch can be for listening without a phone (and no sim).
I haven’t tried in some time but about a year ago YouTube Music wouldn’t work at all and Spotify was janky. I started my run and after the buffer was exhausted my music stopped playing even though I thought I had downloaded it onto the watch.
Probably the solution is Apple Music but that is annoying.
This is the first iteration of a product category which eventually replaces desktop and laptop computers.
Next time you're buying a new computer, you might buy this instead.