Perhaps the most surprising thing about Apple’s reveal on Tuesday of their first smartwatch was that it was square.
Many of us were expecting something that was at least curved, if not round: a more traditional watch form factor that represented an evolutionary step away from the square displays Apple has embraced since the original Apple I.
Of course, as we all know, the Apple Watch is boxy, at least for now. But as these renders show, the Apple Watch design and UI would work just as well, if not more so, in a round casing, with a round display.
And who knows? Given how big the evolutionary leap between the iPad and iPad 2, who’s to say we won’t all be wearing round Apple Watches on our wrists come 2015?
Source: Facebook
Via: Gizmodo
John Brownlee is a writer for Fast Company, and a contributing writer here at CoM. He has also written for Wired, Playboy, Boing Boing, Popular Mechanics, VentureBeat, and Gizmodo. He lives in Boston with his wife and two parakeets. You can follow him here on Twitter.
27 responses to “The Apple Watch’s design is even more beautiful round”
Rectangular (not square) is much better than circular because of the increased surface area with the same width and height.
Don’t talk sense here! It’s so pretty!
I grew up with digital watches.. never had a round watch.. so that actually looks odd to me. lol
It was only “surprising” to complete idiots with no tech knowledge to speak of.
It looks good cause they’ve made it tiny and thin, which is all well and good in computer render concept land.. . In reality no one could make a watch and house the technology + battery required in a a smart watch as small as that, maybe in a few years time we can dream!
If the Apple Watch were round, I’d definitely buy one. The square shape is one of my only hangups.
I know you lose screen real estate with a round display, but Apple could definitely minimize the impact with smart design.
I think so, it’s beautiful but your are right, the UI is round based the render you show are 100% better. Motorola 360 it’s not thin, but goes in the right direction. Please understand me I’m using Apple devices from beginning.
It looks apparent to me that the people working on the software for this watch had intended it to be round and designed the UI around that.
There are so many round elements to think otherwise.
The round rendering is actually quite attractive.
HAHAHA!. You mean like the MOTO 360… Im a big fan of Apple, But this Iwatch is Fugly.
Rectangular is the way to go. The circle’s only strength is that it looks traditional. Otherwise you get about one good line of text between 9 and 3 o’clock and the rest gets chopped!
Eventually, when curved bodies, curved battery cells, and OLEDs become available, a taller rectangular form factor might also be possible, and they won’t have to redesign the UI. A 40 mm flat circle doesn’t really have too many design possibilities in my view.
That IU is gorgeous with a round face. I’m not really an apple guy, but round would have been killer with their circle shaped UI and round crown. Smartwatches in general are a solution searching for a problem, but maybe gen 2 is a big learning leap forward. Releasing a first gen device like this is not real Apple’s style, unless you count Siri (as beta) and Apple Maps.
Not “even more” but *is beautiful*. The real one is downright ugly.
Now THIS is gorgeous. It’s modern chic in design. Sort of reminds me of Denis Guidone’s designs.
Round face means smaller internals, in particular the battery. That’s why it’s square.
Here’s what I see: I see a Photoshop or 3DS Max artist create a concept that doesn’t have to worry about any of the internals that it takes to create such a device into reality.
I’d also like to give Apple the benefit of the doubt and think that they conceptualized a round watch. Probably first before settling on a rectangle. Maybe it was an engineering or manufacturing problem. Maybe the battery, which is rumored to suck, would’ve been worse if round. Maybe making it round would’ve meant making it thicker.
Yes, the render above is quite beautiful and yes, maybe there’s a chance a round watch is on the calendar for 2015 or beyond but to simply dismiss what Apple’s managed to accomplish in their first watch is folly.
I think the Watch is work of art and is packed with features. I doubt I’m the only one that feels this way and if that paints me as a zealot then color me crazy. I love it and I want one!! You don’t want it, don’t buy it. See how easy that was?!
If you don’t want it, don’t buy it, could be a problem for Apple.
I’d consider myself an Apple zealot but that square watch design does not speak to me in any way, which surprises the heck out of me. It made me question why I would even need a smart watch. Its feature set doesn’t scratch any itch I have to justify the $350++ price. Even if you like the design is it going to still look fresh to you in 6 months when its finally released?
I think its going to turn out to be niche product at best.
“I think its going to turn out to be niche product at best.”
That’s what a lot of people said about the iPad and we all know how that turned out. It turned into one of the most industry disruptive devices since the debut of the iPhone.
While I don’t totally disagree that the Watch will be considered a niche product I think the NFC chip and the Pay feature will make it a much more useful device. Maybe not “must have” but certainly more than just a passing fad.
And I can’t help but think that someone will develop a must-have feature that will take the product into categories not even Apple’s thought of.
I doubt anyone, including Apple, ever thought that the iPad would supplant the point-of-sale (POS) machine/device category until Square developed a credit card swipe tool that could be plugged into the headphone jack but that’s exactly what happened. Now you have freelancers and start-up coffee shops using Square or similar card swiper plug-in as their cash register without the bulk, hassle and expense of a traditional cash register.
Maybe someone out there has an idea for the Watch that will take it beyond anyone’s expectations. Selling futures doesn’t always equal a compelling story but based on Apple’s track record of disruptive technologies it’s pretty hard to bet against them.
The only thing I worry about is the turnover. Apple is already suffering from low iPad sales after a few years. I wonder if this watch will suffer the same fate in 4 to 5 years.
Yep. I would buy THAT watch on day one (although these renderings are obviously too thin).
This is exactly the reason I won’t be buying an Apple Watch until the 2nd or 3rd generation. If I drop $350 I will be keeping the thing for at least 3-4 years. I don’t want a thinner, round watch to pop up a year later.
I don’t get the 2 sizes of watches. They could have made 2 styles, square and round or eliminated the sensors altogether to make it thinner or to extend battery life.
My phone already has a dedicated motion sensing chip and I have been using an app to check my heart rate that uses the camera and flash. Does it really need to be on a watch? it seems like a gimmick.
“I don’t get the 2 sizes of watches.”
Are you sure? You can’t think of ANY reason why they wanted to make more than one size watch?
As for styles there are different styles. Yes, they’re all the same shape but there are three distinct styles, Watch, Sport and Edition. When you couple that with all the bands (which will create an entirely new and rich accessory ecosystem for Apple) and the thousands and potentially millions of watch faces nearly every watch will have a unique property and quality.
I’m not so blind that I don’t recognize that they’ll largely be the same but just like a kid that attends a school that requires they wear a uniform everyone finds a way to let their personal style shine through.
Most people gravitate or feel better of round than angular. It’s a basic human instinct. That being said I like the rectangle of the new Apple Watch and intend to get one.
Rounder is better..the moto360 is simply gorgeous..i’m glad i don’t wear watches though (^^)
Apple’s job was to convince you that want to strap a watch on your wrist again so much that you don’t mind charging it every night. I don’t see anything compelling to push me in that direction.
The Moto 360 is drool worthy and the cards notifications are pretty sweet if it actually worked like it shows in the demos.
Google could put the screws to Apple if they released a Wear app for the iPhone at the same time the Apple Watch is being released.
Interesting that you think the Moto 360 is “drool worthy” when it’s basically nothing more than a notification tool. Yes, it’s very pretty but a pretty face with an empty head will only get you so far. Eventually you’ll want more substance for your dollar.
And based on reviews around the web the Moto 360 isn’t very impressive. The fact that it can barely last a day isn’t boding well for it. And based on Apple’s lack of transparency regarding the Watch’s battery life I’m guessing it’s no better. Then again that’s likely why it’s being delayed. If Apple can manage at least 18-hours I think they’ll be fine. If they lay claim to more than 24-hours it’ll own the smartwatch market.
Lastly, the fact that iOS brings in tons more ad revenue than Android an Android Wear SDK is all but guaranteed. Just a matter of when, not if.
I think only think the design of the Moto 360 is drool worthy but the notification cards from what I have experienced in the Google Search app on my iPhone and the demo videos of the watch in action are exactly what I am looking for in a smart watch, which are actionable notifications. The Apple watch will probably do much more but what that is and if it will be compelling is the question.
Android Wear is going to have quite a few designs to choose from, i really like the look of the upcoming ZenWatch by ASUS.
Its square but in my opinion a more stylish, a design I would have expected from Apple and it’s only $200. I just wish Android manufacturers weren’t in such a rush to the bottom on price. Apple really is a step above in hardware quality in all their devices, it demands a premium price but its worth it.
The round is soooooo “a” typical ugh!!!! DIS-LIKE