There’s been a lot of press the past few days about Elon Musk and some pointed barbs he threw Apple’s way. This CNET piece did a good job pulling all these together.
So it is, perhaps, with an interview in which Tesla CEO Elon Musk gave to Germany’s Handelsblatt. In it, he suggested — jokingly?– that the Cupertino, California, tech titan hires Tesla’s engineering castoffs.
“Did you ever take a look at the Apple Watch? No, seriously,” he said of Apple’s alleged foray into cars. “It’s good that Apple is moving and investing in this direction. But cars are very complex compared to phones or smartwatches.”
And:
“Yo, I don’t hate Apple,” he first tweeted. “It’s a great company with a lot of talented people. I love their products and I’m glad they’re doing an EV.”
And:
Musk followed up with another tweet addressing his views on the Watch. “Regarding the watch, Jony & his team created a beautiful design, but the functionality isn’t compelling yet. By version 3, it will be.”
It’s this last bit that I truly take issue with. I do indeed find the current incarnation of Apple Watch compelling. As is, today.
Take a look at this screenshot:
This is my current Apple Watch setup. It shows me the time, day, and date at the top. At the bottom, it shows the current outside temperature, any alarms (none were set when I took this), and remaining battery. In the middle is my Fantastical calendar complication, showing the next event on my calendar (Jim is adamant that his cooler always remain topped off. For emergencies.)
All of this functionality is rendered in a font that is large enough and clear enough for my aging eyes to see with no problem. And with watchOS 2, I have an incredible array of 3rd party complications from which to choose to customize my experience.
My watch looks good in the gym, in a business meeting, out at dinner, no matter how casual or fancy.
With the flip of a wrist and, perhaps, a tap or two, I can interact with Siri, control my music, set an alarm or timer, browse my email, send and receive texts, talk on the phone, and so much more.
The “functionality isn’t compelling yet”? To me, the Apple Watch is a remarkable piece of work, a miracle of design and technological prowess. We must have a different definition of compelling.