"Smartwatches" - my thoughts
@Ros5Mc recently asked an important question - "is the apple watch, 'a watch'?" and I thought it might be good to do a separate article about my thoughts on this.
So cast your mind back to January 2007
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOb3FJhDbYs
Steve Jobs unveiled the iPhone. But the way he did it highlighted an important feature of technological development - the concept of convergence. It is the idea that as our devices get more sophisticated, the number of distinct machines we need will drop because they will slowly merge.
The radio, record player and tape player converged into a modular hi-fi.....
But the biggest convergence has been in portable devices. The walkie-talkie, the telephone, the camera, the sat nav and a networked computer have all converged to make the modern cellphone.....
The "smartwatch" is a convergence between the networked computer and biological and location/movement sensors. Once they solve the issue with battery capacity, I expect the smartwatch to eventually absorb all of the cellphone functions.
I don't think watch is the correct term for any "smartwatch".
A watch is a small, portable timepiece either worn on the wrist or in the pocket. It's primary function is to measure the passage of time. It is built around a central function of an oscillating escapement wheel or a vibrating quartz crystal.
For a "smartwatch", the central function is the CPU (central processing unit), a computational circuit that processes data, upon which other units are connected - one of which is a RTC (Real Time Clock), which allows the "smartwatch" to track the time when it is not receiving data from other devices.
So in my humble opinion - you're not wearing a watch, you're wearing a computer on your arm. It can do the job of a watch, but it is not a watch because it's core function is to process data.
I got my first mechanical watch in 1976 as a boy. I broke it within a year (over wound it). Then after many Casio years, I rediscovered mechanical watches. Still have a couple of quartz watches, thoug...
I would tend to agree with you, but then is the modern smart phone still a phone? They both seem to just be computers that process data, so maybe its definition is based on how you use it. If the smart watch is still worn on the wrist and the user can look down and see the time, then wouldn’t it still be a watch?
Man…this is so contentious in our world 😅
I think the name Smartwatch is apt. Whenever I wear my Apple Watch, the clock is the ‘main’ screen. It’s only after pressing the dial in can I access the other features.
Whenever I need to wear my Apple Watch I definitely use it to track time - everything else is actually secondary (weather, fitness, stock char, etc).
So I dunno. To me it’s a watch 🤷🏽♂️
But everyone is very different in how they use it - and I think it had been designed that way - to be used however the user wishes.
Tech has evolved so much these days - as an example, I know so many people who do not use their iPhones to make an actual call anymore - they imessage or WhatsApp each other - crazy! The core function of the device - heck even the name of the device is completely ignored!
I guess that’s what makes tech interesting - anyone can use it however they wish!
You know that 50 years ago the first digital watch, the Pulsar by Hamilton, was called a time computer, right?
It does other things!
I went to high school during the infancy of the handheld calculator. We loved the convenience of quickly doing tedious arithmetic and the having trig tables at our finger tips. Our teacher would not let us use this modern convenience and said "What are you going to do when your batteries die."
The Smartwatch is an amazing piece of consumer electronics based on a silicon integrated circuit. My collection of watches is a study of how geniuses figured out how to advance watches abilities mechanically up to the advancement of Quartz. I am a watch enthusiast not a electronics enthusiast.
Interesting.... worth noting that neither Rolex nor any other mechanical watch manufacturer sends your heart rate, blood pressure, location and other personal data for monitoring by persons unknown to you.
Rolex doesn't have "terms and conditions" that allows your datjust to spy on you.
Perhaps "watch" is the right term for an apple/android device after all. You are "watched". It "watches" you 😕
(As seen on Twitter.)
Smartwatches are monitoring devices that happen to keep time.
You know that 50 years ago the first digital watch, the Pulsar by Hamilton, was called a time computer, right?
It does other things!
I guess this is why the Kashios conceptualized their watches as counting machines. My understanding is that computers were people who calculated as a job, before calculator and computer devices were widespread.