The Apple Watch Review

The APPLE WATCH REVIEW

The Apple Watch is a bold device, the product of a brand trying to shake up a stuttering smartwatch market and prove that, once again, it can make a niche device cool and mainstream.

The iPhone 4S-and-up-compatible smartwatch comes in 38 flavors, with different case materials, colors, sizes and interchangeable Apple Watch bands. None are inexpensive.

Starting at $349 (£299, AU$499) and peaking at an exorbitant $17,000 (£13,500, AU$24,000), this lightweight wristwatch is meant for patient early adopters and boutique store regulars.

Why buy an Apple Watch?

Apple Watch is often oversimplified as an iPhone on your wrist, and almost everyone I have demoed it to has accidentally referred to it as "your phone." Even I slipped up once.

It's not an unreasonable comparison. The square-shaped smartwatch is like a mini iPhone; it lets me read emails, summon Siri and make and receive phone calls from my wrist.

The size is just right too. While many Android Wear watches look and feel chunky to most, the 42mm Apple Watch fits my wrist much more unobtrusively..

An even smaller 38mm size is also available, though most people should for opt for the bigger of the two. It offers better battery life and more useable touchscreen space (but does come at a higher cost).

But do I need this Watch? On the one hand it's been great to change my behaviour, as too many times I have instinctively run to my phone, charging in another room, because it's ringing or because the SMS chime has turned me into one of Pavlov's dogs.

How many times have I missed an important call or text? Just as important, how many times have I rushed to the phone and it was an unimportant telemarketing call or a friend replying with text that simply says "OK" to something I said three hours ago?

These missed connections and potential disappointments are less insufferable thanks to the Apple Watch and its ability to either pick up or dismiss these alerts in a tenth of a second.

Custom watch faces, like we've seen from Android Wear watches, are here (although only those that Apple makes, as it's not permitting third parties to do the same thing, which sucks), as well as new exclusive technology like the pressure-sensitive Force Touch touchscreen.