Just to set the stage, I am an extraordinarily practical man, which is
an important point of note for this writing, because it informs my
decisions on this topic and whether or not my experience will help you
to make a decision in the future. If you are someone who has had a
longstanding relationships with wristwatches or fashion, my thoughts may
not be the most helpful, but I'll do my best.
I
haven't worn a watch in 15 years, because it simply didn't make sense to
me. At first, there were clocks in every room I was in (high school and
home), then I had a cell phone in my pocket at all times once I went to
college, and since then the time was never farther away than my
left-front pocket. I was never overly concerned about fashion beyond
looking like a functional human who cared enough to clean up in order to
leave the possibilities open for potential sexual encounters.
Therefore, watches had no aesthetic value nor any practical value for
me, so I never wore one.
A bit over two years ago,
technology has finally reached the point where a watch can offer more
practical value than just being able to tell the time and the date. At
first, the ecosystem was fragmented and built around proprietary options
that could offer a certain level of functionality, but nothing truly
specialized, and nothing that was more deeply integrated with the
devices and services that I already use. Now, we are finally hitting the
point of specialization with wearables. Personally, I am deeply
involved with the Google ecosystem. I use Google services for
essentially everything in my personal and professional life. Beyond
that, I am a tinkerer. I love to be able to customize my devices, try
new software, and change the fundamental experience I can have. All of
that means Android is the platform that offers me the experience that
fits my usage and personality.
Given that, it
shouldn't be a surprise that I Android Wear has caught my attention
since the first rumors started to arise that Google was working on a
wearable platform. I have often jumped on Google products as an early
adopter; I've owned multiple Nexus devices, been in beta tests for
software, and even owned the original CR-48 Chromebook. As much as I
love being in on the ground floor, I wanted to hold out on Android Wear
until the Moto 360 was released. I didn't want to have my first
experience be with a repurposed Samsung Gear or with the boring LG G
Watch.
New awareness
Unfortunately,
my resolve was tested when out to dinner with some Boston-area tech
writers, where I was given the chance to borrow a G Watch. I've been
using the G Watch every day for the past two weeks, and I have been
surprised at how quickly I became used to the device on my wrist. As
mentioned, I haven't worn a watch in 15 years, but it is beyond that. I
haven't worn any accessory aside from my glasses (which I've had since I
was 7) and my wedding ring in that timeframe, no necklaces, no
bracelets, nothing. So, it was a very strange experience to feel like
something was missing from my body after just a couple of days using the
G Watch. It was an awareness I wasn't used to, and it was only the
first of many.
Being constantly aware of the
time is nothing new for someone who lives the tech elite life, but that
is just the tip of the iceberg. Living with Android Wear is to become
constantly aware of a number of things you never expected. I personally
have a very good sense of direction, but living in the Boston area
doesn't teach you to be acutely aware of traffic the way you might if
you lived in the Los Angeles area. You obviously know that rush hour
will lead to more traffic, and you may start paying attention to
schedules for the Red Sox or Celtics to avoid certain areas of the city
on certain days, but that's about it. However, because of Android Wear, I
am constantly aware of exactly how long it will take me to drive home
from wherever I am, which can be quite distracting at first, because it
is a new piece of info to learn to ignore until the appropriate moment.
One could argue that all of this info has been on my smartphone in
Google Now for a long time now, but the personal connection and direct
awareness of that info is very different when it comes to your wrist. If
I wanted this info before, I had to pull out my phone, unlock it and
launch Google Now or a certain app; but now, that information is
available, without prompting, at a glance. Combine the awareness of
commute with a constant awareness of the temperature, how many steps
I've taken throughout the day, and everything else available on Android
Wear, and there is a lot to get used to. In some ways, I'm happy that
I've jumped in while the platform is still maturing, because it makes it
easier to slowly adjust to the range of new information. It boggles my
mind a bit to think of what it will be like for a new user when Android
Wear reaches its potential.
Untapped potential
It
shouldn't be a surprise that the majority of my Android Wear time has
been spent considering the ultimate potential of devices like this.
Smartwatches in general are still finding their way, and there is only
the first points of consensus forming in regards to what wearables
should be. Given the youth of the Android Wear platform though, Google
does have a clear idea of what it wants to see, which is why it is so
strange that there is so much untapped potential not just from third
party developers, but from Google services specifically.
As many suspected, Android Wear is essentially Google Now on your wrist, but I was surprised to find myself wanting more Google
Now on my wrist. I do get traffic alerts, weather, and shipment alerts
(no sports because I only really pay attention to the NBA, which is not
in season), but I have been surprised to find bouts of bad information
coming to my wrist. Just last night, I got a notification claiming that
the TV show Homeland was coming back today (August 31st) at 9:36PM. The first problem there is that the Homeland season
four premiere isn't until October 5th, and the other issue is that no
TV show ever starts at 9:36PM. I've also routinely been alerted about
travel times to places that I hadn't searched for; and, starting the
second week of use, I began getting traffic alerts to a job I left over a
year ago, and hasn't been set as my "work" location in Google Maps
since then.
Beyond Google, it is understandable that many apps have yet to integrate
with Android Wear, so I can't get too upset about that. But what is
annoying is that if I didn't pay attention to the news, I probably
wouldn't know when an app added Android Wear support, because the
platform does a pretty bad job of surfacing the apps that work, or
bringing the most useful information to the top of the Wear feed. This
issue is made extra annoying because of how cumbersome it is to open an
app on the watch. To manually open an app, you have to tap the top of
the screen to start the listening mode, then swipe up to get to the
commands list, scroll all the way to the bottom to the "Start..."
option, and choose the app you want to start. You can also use a voice
command, if you're in a quiet spot, but that carries its own troubles
Voice commands and dictation on Android Wear, or the LG G Watch at
least, is a very different thing than on your phone. On your phone, you
are given time to pause and think, which is especially nice when
dictating a reply to a message. But, Android Wear is very aggressive
about taking any pause as the end of you speaking. This means you may
have to get into the habit of speaking more quickly than usual, and
knowing exactly what you're going to say before you say anything. As
someone who has a habit of forgetting what I'm saying mid-sentence, you
can imagine that this would cause some frustration.
Of
course, despite those issues, I am still quite a big fan of Android
Wear overall. I wouldn't have titled this article the way I did if I
didn't like the platform. For the first time in a long time, I can
easily imagine myself wearing a watch on a daily basis, although it
won't be the LG G Watch for too much longer. I'm exceedingly happy to
see manufacturers beginning to put more effort into hardware design,
because the G Watch is a failure to me. It didn't need to be though. A
plain black plastic rectangle with a rubber wristband has its place in
the market, but you damn sure need to make that device waterproof, give
it a heart rate monitor, and market it to the fitness community. Or, at
least price it on the lower end.
Serendipity and engagement
We're
starting to see manufacturers aggressively reaching for the potentials
of hardware design, and some developers are also embracing the platform
in exciting ways. I expected to get more Field Trip type notifications
from Google while using Android Wear, but aside from the hiccups noted
above, the platform is quite good about giving me the information I need
to know, when and where I need to know it. The app that has embraced
Google's vision for Android Wear the best has been Foursquare. I can't
even be sure that Foursquare's latest update was made with wearables in
mind, but it has absolutely nailed it.
My phone knows where I am, and there have been a number of times when
Foursquare has used that data to give me unexpectedly amazing
information. I've never been one to dive into Foursquare or Yelp reviews
all that much, but having that information surfaced to me is exactly
what I want. I've been given recommendations for foods that I like when
I'm out to eat, but there is far more fun to be had in that data. The
best was when I was out to eat with my parents at a place called The Naked Turtle when my wrist
buzzed with a Foursquare message telling me that there was an "awkwardly
high urinal" at that establishment. I went to the bathroom and was
amused to find exactly that: a urinal which would be awkwardly high for
anyone much shorter than me (6'4"/1.93m).
Obviously,
not all serendipitous moments are going to be that amusing, but
Foursquare has become the standard for what I imagine to be the
potential of wearables - quality information, when it is relevant, and
frictionless. I could have had the same experience described above with
just my phone, but the fact that the whole interaction took place in a
quick glance to my wrist rather than pulling out my phone kept me more
engaged in the social moment with my parents. And, that is one of the
big aims coming from Google recently is keeping you engaged with your
surroundings.
Google and Android are
undoubtedly designed to help you communicate with friends and family
around the world, but Google has been shifting recently to keep you
engaged with those physically close to you. As odd as Google Glass may
look, it is designed on the same principle of glanceable information as
Android Wear. There is information that will add value to the moment,
but getting it shouldn't remove you from that moment. Android Wear still
has growing to do, but it is definitely on the right path.
Conclusion
As
a practical matter, offloading is my number one priority when it comes
to my mobile devices. When I found that I couldn't make it through a day
with the battery available on my phone, I got a tablet and offloaded my
reading, browsing, and gaming to save my phone battery. Now, the issue
is no longer offloading battery usage, but attention. My phone probably
buzzes less than the average user on a daily basis, but even so, a lot
of those notifications don't need my attention. Having to pull out my
phone to decide the importance of a notification may not take a lot of
time, especially since I have a Moto X, and the Active Display feature
is designed to help with that, but it takes far more time than glancing
at my wrist.
The biggest value of
Android Wear is surfacing quality information, but an almost equally
important benefit is in acting as a triage device for your digital
world. Not everything deserves your attention, and swiping away a
notification on your wrist is much quicker than dealing with it on your
phone. It may not seem to be a huge amount of time, but it all adds up
in the end.
I may have not worn a watch in 15
years, but the early indications point to the fact that I'll be wearing
an Android Wear device on a daily basis for the foreseeable future. Now,
I just need to have my wife decide which one fits my personal sense of
fashion (which she has chosen for me). I hope it's a Moto 360.
No comments:
Post a Comment