Originally posted to LinkedIn on April 9, 2015

In less than 12 hours you’ll be able to pre-order the Apple Watch. Simply referred to as the “Watch” since Apple has now seemed to have co-opted the very word. (Just Google “watch”). Though they’re limiting you to only one per order, it’s predicted to sell out quickly. When has Apple released a new product and there was not a crazy rush? When has Apple released a product that could revolutionize a product category? Do you remember the iPhone launch all the way back in 2007? (That was only about eight years ago.) But does the Watch fit? Will it fit you?

The first Apple Watch may not be for you ? but someday soon, it will change your world. – Farhad Manjoo (NYT)

As the press have been publishing their reviews this past week the overall consensus is that there is a learning curve and it’s not super-fast but overall it’s the best smart-watch on the market. Farhaad Manjoo at the New York Times said in his recent review that “The first Apple Watch may not be for you ? but someday soon, it will change your world.” Jessica Roy for New York Magazine cites several articles in her piece such as the Verge’s Patel saying “If the Watch is slow, Im going to pull out my phone…But if I keep pulling out my phone, Ill never use the Watch.” She [Jessica] sums it up though in her title “The Perfect Gadget for the Person Who Already Has Every Other Gadget”

By now, even if you don’t think you want the Watch you’re still going to look at the Apple website if you haven’t already. When you visit the Apple Watch Store you’re greeted with multiple models in three categories. Watch Sport, Watch and Watch Edition. (I’m going to refer to the category called simply “Watch” as “regular”). At first glance it’s hard to tell the difference and when you’ve scrolled through the entire lineup you realize that they range from $349 (USD) to $17k. Dig deeper and you’ll notice that the huge swing in price is only for the materials. On the outside. You don’t get a faster processor or more storage space for $17k. You get the same “computer” as the person who spent $349. The only difference is yours would be coated in 18k gold. You can get aluminum or stainless steel which provides no added benefit to the Watch and you can choose two different type of glass. Sapphire crystal has been used for watch faces forever and has been tested to be the ultimate choice for scratch resistance. The cheaper (and lighter) Ion-X is not as well known. You can dig through the MacRumors threads until they drive you mad or watch this video from iPhoneFixed (where they beat a sapphire crystal glass screen supposedly from a Watch with a hammer and power-drill) but you may just have to make your own decision based on what fits your current situation. Do you want a cheaper and lighter with a new glass type or heavier and more expensive with a tested and proven watch glass? We will have to wait until the next product release to learn which worked better with users.

In lieu of Apple providing a sizing guide, I put together a PDF that you can download that contains cut-outs for both the 38mm and 42mm faces and a ruler to measure the width of your wrist.

Once you’ve decided that the you might want to consider waking up at 12:01 PDT tomorrow to pre-order like me (or attempt to do so in the store) you may then be struck by the fact that there are different size faces and then different size bands on some of the models. I don’t know the size of my wrist, do you? Sure, the people that are in the watch game (who may not be interested in this Watch) know the size of their wrists but what about you? It’s clear that Apple has never made a fashion product because when it comes to sizing of this fashion item they’ve missed the mark. Not to say it’s as bad as Google’s misstep when it came to how the public would react to wearing a device like Google Glass but this is a fashion item. An item that you wear that people could judge you on based on how it fits. I know Silicon Valley sometimes doesn’t understand and in turn value what’s important to everyday people but fashion is a very specific game. The official sizing guide provided by Apple (PDF) does not even provide a ruler or any size comparisons. In lieu of Apple providing a sizing guide, I put together a PDF that you can download that contains cut-outs for both the 38mm and 42mm faces and a ruler to measure the width of your wrist.

So you may ask, “will Alexander be buying the Watch?”. The answer is most definitely yes. This is a moment in history. One of the worlds most valuable companies, who has a history in launching product category disruptions, is doing it again. The smart-watch, and the wearables scene in general, has been waiting to see what Apple will do and if it will shift the tectonic plates of the industry. Forgetting about what the iPhone did, look at how the iPad revitalize the sluggish tablet market. There were tablets before iPad just like there were MP3 players before the iPod. Apple just made it better using their magic. And yes, I believe there is still magic without Steve.

Sources that I suggest you read:

Apple Watch Review: Bliss, but Only After a Steep Learning Curve
by Farhad Manjoo, New York Times (April 8, 2015)

Apple Watch Review Roundup: The Perfect Gadget for the Person Who Already Has Every Other Gadget
by Jessica Roy, New York Magazine (April 8, 2015)