Apple Watch review: best wearable ever, but hard to recommend this first generation version
The Apple Watch Review — Prior to the launch of the Apple Watch, there had been rumors that Apple would make a watch for quite some time. In a broader sense, the wearables industry has become …
Context & Ripple Effects
By July 2015 the Apple Watch has been reviewed from every angle: a hands-on found it 'complicated to use' before launch, and once units shipped, reviewers converged on the same split verdict — the best-built smartwatch on the market, but priced above rivals while suffering app and location-services performance problems. AnandTech's verdict crystallizes that consensus into a purchase call: best wearable ever, hardest one to recommend right now.
What makes this review matter is what it flags for the next twelve months. Early long-form testing had already catalogued disappointing third-party apps and inconsistent notifications as 'version 1' symptoms; AnandTech's hesitation is effectively a bet that Apple fixes these in hardware or software cycles rather than at launch.
First-order effects
- Buyers in mid-2015 face an explicit wait-or-buy signal from one of the most trusted technical reviewers: the watch's fitness, payments, texting, and check-in functions work, but the overall package doesn't justify its premium over cheaper rivals yet.
- Apple's first-generation positioning takes a reputational hit precisely because the hardware praise is so high — the criticism lands on software polish and value, not design, which is harder to fix with a marketing cycle.
Second-order effects
- Third-party developers reading this consensus alongside reports of weak early apps face a demand question: if flagship reviewers won't recommend the device, watch-app investment stays speculative until installed bases grow.
- Rival smartwatch makers get a rare opening against Apple on price-performance rather than prestige — the reviews handed them a defensible pitch for buyers unwilling to pay a premium for an unfinished experience.
Third-order effects
- The review-cycle arc points to wearables maturing through iterative hardware generations rather than launch perfection: Quartz's 220-day follow-up found the app ecosystem stalled because of iPhone dependence, and only by the Series 5 in 2019 did features like an always-on display close gaps — though battery life notably hadn't improved across those years.
- If that pattern holds, the smartwatch market structurally rewards platform owners who can sustain multi-year revision cycles, pushing smaller vendors toward niche functions or accessory roles rather than head-on platform competition.
The trend: Smartwatches are settling into an iterate-until-indispensable product model where first versions are judged as down payments on future generations, with iPhone dependence shaping which vendors can afford the wait.