iwatch review

The good Beautifully constructed. Handles messages well. A solid fitness tracker. Hundreds of apps. Can send and receive voice calls via an iPhone. Lots of design choices. Apple Pay-enabled. Stores music for local playback over Bluetooth.

The bad Battery only lasts a little more than a day. Most models and configurations cost more than they should. Requires an iPhone to work. Interface can be confusing. Many apps load slowly. Lacks built-in GPS.

The bottom line A year old and even more affordable, the Apple Watch remains the best designed and most capable smartwatch you can buy -- but we're hoping that the inevitable sequel makes it more of a must-have product.

CNET REVIEW
I'm up early to try to kickstart a habit at the gym, trying to teach myself to like the routine. My phone and wallet and car keys get in the way; I like to come here as minimalist as possible. My watch is the only thing that feels natural and it's comforting to start recording an elliptical workout from my wrist. I still find it hard to keep glancing at my wrist as I exercise.

But this is the dream: a little world on my wrist.

I look at it for the weather; I look at it to peek at how the Mets are doing. I have it thump me to remind me where the exit is as I'm driving. I think to myself, "At least I'm connected." But isn't that why I have my phone? Yes. The Apple Watch is another security blanket. The Apple Watch and the iPhone act as a pair. I can ping and find out where my iPhone is through the watch, and I feel more hooked-in to what I need.

After a year, I don't look at my phone any less. In fact, I might look at it more.


Same watch, new bands.

James Martin/CNET
Apple Watch, one year later

All the time people ask me if they need the Apple Watch.

Short answer: I say no -- wait for the inevitable sequel.

Longer answer: I say that, in a lot of different ways, the Apple Watch can do things for me that I like. That it represents a taste of a future we're all rapidly heading toward.