Technology

Early Look: How Does Apple Watch Stack Up vs Rival Watches?

Published

10 years ago

March 10, 2015

In this Jan. 6, 2015, file photo, the Smartwatch 3 is on display at the Sony booth during the International CES in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)

ANICK JESDANUN, AP Technology Writer

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Apple made a strong case for how you can use its upcoming Apple Watch, and the device stacks up well against the competition.

If you’ve waited for the Apple Watch to decide on a smartwatch, here are some things to consider in weighing whether you really need one. You’ll need an iPhone 5 or newer, while the rival watches will typically work only with Android.

___

PRICE

Apple Watch is among the most expensive on the market. You can get an Android smartwatch from Motorola or Sony for $250. You can get a high-end Samsung Gear S with its own cellular connectivity for $300 through AT&T, plus the monthly cost of a data plan.

The cheapest Apple Watch is $349, and that’s designed for fitness enthusiasts. A stainless-steel version for everyday wear starts at $549. A luxury edition with 18-karat gold starts at $10,000 and can cost as much as $17,000.

___

DEPENDENT ON THE PHONE

Apple Watch doesn’t have its own cellular connection. You can make and receive phone calls and messages only if your iPhone is nearby. That said, with the exception of Samsung’s Gear S and the upcoming LG Watch Urbane LTE, most other smartwatches don’t have cellular service, either.

Apple Watch also doesn’t have GPS for better distance tracking; Sony’s SmartWatch 3 and the Gear S do. Then again, GPS is rare in smartwatches. Apple Watch will use your phone’s GPS to learn your running pattern and calibrate its built-in accelerometer for better tracking the next time you go for a run and leave your phone at home.

___

SHAPE

Apple is offering different sizes, colors, materials and bands, but all of the watches have rectangular faces. Motorola’s Moto 360 and LG’s G Watch R are among those with round faces.

Apple has a good reason, though. Round faces are fine for graphical content, such as photos and maps, but they are inefficient for text. There’s a lot of wasted space on all four sides, resulting in a watch that’s bigger than it needs to be. (Another plus for Apple: All models come in a smaller size, which might fit better on women’s hands.)

___

APPS, APPS, APPS

This is by far Apple’s biggest strength. At Monday’s event Apple demonstrated using the watch to request a ride through Uber, open a garage door remotely using Alarm.com and bypass the front desk when checking in at a Starwood hotel. Expect a robust offering of apps when Apple Watch goes on sale next month.

With other watches, developers have been slow to release apps given how relatively few smartwatches have been sold.

___

MOBILE PAY

Apple Watch has mobile pay capabilities, as Apple Pay is integrated. Pay with a tap of your wrist at any of the nearly 700,000 locations Apple Pay is accepted. I’ve yet to see a similar capability in other smartwatches, even though some have NFC wireless technology for such payments. Samsung is coming out with its own payment service, Samsung Pay, but the Gear S doesn’t have NFC.

___

CUSTOMIZE THE WATCH FACE

With Apple Watch, once you pick the look of the watch face, you can sometimes choose the types of content to embed, such as weather or stock quotes. With existing smartwatches, you’re typically limited to how the display looks.

___

CONTROLS

Use the Apple Watch dial, known as the digital crown, to zoom in on a map or scroll down text. You still need to tap on the screen to slide a map or photo around, but the dial reduces how often your finger blocks the screen. Many smartwatches on the market have buttons that merely turn on the display and make menu selections.

___

BATTERY LIFE

Apple says the battery should last 18 hours on a single charge. That’s less than the typical smartwatch, though few go more than 24 hours. Sony’s SmartWatch 3 is among the exceptions, promising two days. Though I didn’t always get that much, the Sony watch offered enough for me to occasionally sleep with it on. (If you’re using an app that monitors your sleep patterns, your best bet is a fitness tracker that can go several days on a charge.)

___

GESTURES

The Apple Watch display is usually “sleeping” to save the battery. As soon as you lift your arm, the display automatically turns on. Many other smartwatches do that too. Where Apple Watch stands out is in detecting how long you have your arm up. At first glance, you might see that a message has arrived. Hold it longer and the full message appears.

___

DOESN’T JUST REPEAT THE PHONE

Many smartwatches merely repeat notifications that appear on your phone, and notifications sometimes linger even after you’ve viewed them on your phone, tablet or PC. Apple says it will do a better job of coordinating that: If a notification appears on the watch, the phone in your pocket will know not to bug you with a vibration.

___

So, do you need Apple Watch?

Apple Watch can do a lot — more than rival watches and probably more than you need it to do — so you’ll need to decide which features and apps you’ll find convenient. Ultimately, it comes down to how willing you are to pay for that convenience.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Related Topics:Apple watch LG G Watch R Motorola Moto 360 Samsung Gear S smart watches Sony Smartwatch 3

Up Next

Apple Watch Moves Internet Out of Your Pocket

Don't Miss

Secret Service Testing Drones, How to Disrupt Their Flying

Oakland Post

Click to comment

Activism

Self-eSTEM Empowers BIPOC Women, Girls in Science, Math

In January 2025, Self-eSTEM will launch digital and generative AI programming, which provides digital literacy and AI literacy training through an entrepreneurial project-based activity. This programming will be a hybrid (i.e. in-person and online). Additionally, thanks to a grant from Comcast, in spring 2025, the organization will have a co-ed series for middle and high school students.

Published

2 weeks ago

December 9, 2024

Oakland Post

Adamaka Ajaelo. Courtesy photo.

By Y’Anad Burrell
Special to The Post

In a world where technology plays an increasingly central role in all aspects of life, the importance of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education cannot be overstated. Recognizing the significance of STEM for the future, focusing on young women and girls is a critical step in achieving gender equality and empowering the next generation.

Self-eSTEM, an Oakland-based non-profit organization, was founded by Adamaka Ajaelo, an Oakland native who had a successful corporate career with several Bay Area technology and non-tech companies. Ajaelo boldly decided to step away from these companies to give 100% of her time and talent to the non-profit organization she started in 2014 in the belief that she can change the game in innovation and future STEM leaders.

Over the course of a decade, Ajaelo has provided futurist tech programming to more than 2,000 BIPOC women and girls. The organization has an Early STEM Immersion Program for ages 7-17, Emerging Leaders Workshops for ages 18-25 and volunteer network opportunities for ages 25 and up.

While the organization’s programs center on innovation and technology, participants also gain other valuable skills critical for self-development as they prepare for a workforce future. “Self-eSTEM encourages young women to expand on teamwork, communication, creativity, and problem-solving skills. The organization allows young women to enter STEM careers and pathways,” said Trinity Taylor, a seventh-year innovator.

“Our journey over the last decade is a testament to the power of community and opportunity, and I couldn’t be more excited for what the future holds as we continue to break barriers and spark dreams,” said Ajaelo.

“By encouraging girls to explore STEM fields from a young age, we foster their intellectual growth and equip them with the tools needed to thrive in a competitive global economy,” Ajaelo says.

Empowering young girls through STEM education is also a key driver of innovation and progress. When young women and girls are encouraged to pursue careers in STEM, they bring unique perspectives and problem-solving approaches to the table, leading to more diverse and inclusive solutions. This diversity is crucial for driving creativity and pushing boundaries in scientific and technological advancements.

Self-eSTEM has fundraising opportunities year-round, but year-end giving is one of the most critical times to support the program. Visit www.selfestem.org to donate to the organization, as your generosity and support will propel programming support for today’s innovators.

You will also find more details about Self-eSTEM’s programs on their website and social channels @selfestemorg

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Antonio‌ ‌Ray‌ ‌Harvey‌

Feds: California Will Be Home to New National Semiconductor Technology Center

California was chosen by the U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) and Natcast, the operator of the National Semiconductor Technology Center (NSTC) to be home to the headquarters for the National Semiconductor Technology Center – as part of the Biden-Harris Admin’s CHIPS and Science Act. The CHIPS for America Design and Collaboration Facility (DCF) will be one of three CHIPS for America research and design (R&D) facilities and will also operate as the headquarters for the NTSC and Natcast.

Published

2 months ago

November 6, 2024

Oakland Post

iStock

By Antonio Ray Harvey

The CHIPS for America Design and Collaboration Facility (DCF) will be one of three CHIPS for America research and design (R&D) facilities and will also operate as the headquarters for the NTSC and Natcast.

“We are thrilled that the Department of Commerce and Natcast chose to locate this critically important facility in Sunnyvale, the heart of the Silicon Valley, alongside the world’s largest concentration of semiconductor businesses, talent, intellectual property, and investment activity,” said Dee Dee Myers, Senior Economic Advisor to Gov. Gavin Newsom and Director of the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz). “The Newsom Administration and our partners across the industry know how important it is to shorten the timeframe from R&D to commercialization.”

According to GO-Biz, the DCF is expected to direct over $1 billion in research funding and create more than 200 employees in the next decade. The facility will serve as the center for advanced semiconductor research in chip design, electronic design automation, chip and system architecture, and hardware security. The CHF will be essential to the country’s semiconductor workforce development efforts.

As detailed in the released NSTC Strategic Plan, the DCF will suppress the obstacles to “semiconductor prototyping, experimentation,” and other R&D activities that will enhance the country’s global power and leadership in design, materials, and process innovation while enabling a vigorous domestic industr“Establishing the NSTC headquarters and design hub in California will capitalize on our state’s unparalleled assets to grow a highly skilled workforce and develop next-generation advancements,” stated U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.). “This CHIPS Act funding will propel emerging technologies and protect America’s global semiconductor leadership, all while bringing good-paying jobs to our state.”

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Community

Advanced Conductors Provide Path for Grid Expansion

Utility companies in the United States could double electric transmission capacity by 2035 by replacing existing transmission lines with those made from advanced materials, according to a new study published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Published

2 months ago

October 29, 2024

Oakland Post

Photo courtesy UC Berkeley News.

By Matthew Burciaga

UC Berkeley News

Led by Duncan Callaway, professor and chair of the Energy and Resources Group (ERG), and Amol Phadke, an affiliate and senior scientist at the Goldman School of Public Policy, the first-of-its-kind study details a faster and more cost-effective way to expand the grid and connect the more than 1,200 gigawatts of renewable energy projects awaiting approval. The analysis was first published last December as a working paper by the Energy Institute at Haas and has been covered by the New York Times, the Washington Post, Heatmap News, and other news outlets.

“Expanding transmission capacity is critical to decarbonization, and we sought to study ways to build it faster and cheaper,” said Callaway.

It currently takes 10 to 15 years to build a new power line and the U.S. is building transmission lines at a lower rate than it was in the past decade. Without sufficient capacity, renewable energy projects often sit in limbo for years as transmission operators study what upgrades—if any—are needed to accommodate the increased loads.

The authors modeled various scenarios to determine if replacing existing transmission conductors with those made with advanced composite-core materials—a process known as reconductoring—could provide a pathway to faster grid expansion.

Several reconductoring projects have been initiated in Belgium and the Netherlands, and utility companies in the U.S. have used the material to string transmission lines across wide spans like river crossings. That technology, however, has not made its way to the majority of overhead power lines that feed residential and commercial customers.

“As we learned more about the technology, we realized that no one had done the detailed modeling needed to understand the technology’s potential for large-scale transmission capacity increases,” said Phadke.

Based on the authors’ projections, it is cheaper—and quicker—for utility companies to replace the 53,000 existing transmission lines with advanced composite-core materials than it is to build entirely new transmission lines.

They assert that doing so would reduce wholesale electricity costs by 3% to 4% on average—translating to $85 billion in system cost savings by 2035 and $180 billion by 2050.

“The level of interest we’ve received from federal and state agencies, transmission companies and utilities is extremely encouraging, and since our initial report, the Department of Energy has committed hundreds of millions of dollars to reconductoring projects,” said co-author Emilia Chojkiewicz, a PhD student in ERG and an affiliate of the Goldman School of Public Policy. “We are looking forward to learning about these projects as they unfold.”

Additional co-authors include Nikit Abhyankar and Umed Paliwal, affiliates at the Goldman School of Public Policy; and Casey Baker and Ric O’Connell of GridLab, a nonprofit that provides comprehensive technical grid expertise to policy makers and advocates.