The Cornerplay: Android Wear has the vision, Apple Watch has the execution

[Jeffrey Yuwono]

I got a Moto 360 recently and so smartwatches are on my mind. Particularly, the difference between Google's Android Wear and Apple Watch. Of course, we don't have complete information on the latter, and Apple is bound to improve a few things from now until release -- but we've seen enough to come to some conclusions.

Google's fundamental philosophy for the smartwatch diverges greatly from Apple's. Google wants you to use voice to perform actions whenever you can -- when you tap on an Android Wear watch face, the only prompt you get is Google's command to "speak now." The list of actions and apps you can scroll through after come as secondary options.

Conversely, Apple is sticking with the paradigm it popularized on the smartphone -- there's a homepage from where you access different apps. You use a finger to pick an app and when you're done, you can return to the homepage to pick another. Apple introduced the digital crown to make that easier in a smaller screen. Voice control is an afterthought, if it even exists.

Android Wear UI (above) vs. Apple Watch UI (below)

Google wants you to think about what actions you want done, and to just command it.

Apple wants you to think about which apps do what, match the app with the action, and then tap the buttons necessary to get the action done. It's a system that already feels tedious on the phone, and probably even more so on a small device like a watch. But it's also tried and true.

Editor’s Note:
Jeffrey Yuwono is CEO and co-founder of Feecha, a hyperlocal news app for neighbourhoods. A Stanford MBA and Duke undergrad, Jeff writes insightful observations about technology once a day on his blog The Cornerplay and now on this weekly column on TechSpot.

Compare that to Google's OS: if you want to access a particular app on Android Wear, you can, but it's buried in a list of lists.

Whose approach is right? Long term, I would have to favor Google's. Short term, however, voice commands aren't quite ready for prime time. It mostly works, but when it comes to UI navigation you need it to work well all the time, not most of the time.

I shouldn't need to wonder what is the correct voice command -- I should just say what I want and have the OS correctly understand it. Android Wear is not there yet, and that's a big issue.

The Xbox One had somewhat similar problems with the Kinect, and that's not turning out well for Microsoft. Google may have the right vision, but Apple may have the right execution to win early.

We'll see which wins.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/58265-the-cornerplay-android-wear-has-the-vision-apple-watch-has-the-execution.html

 

[Guest]

First off, great article...There is a 3rd party app launcher out for android wear. It's called wear mini launcher. It has changed my experience on the 360 thus far. You can just swipe from the left and get your list of apps. Unfortunately things like google maps or google hangouts can only accessed through a notification. In the long run if touch is what people really want I think 3rd party developers on android wear will solve the issue you've described in the article above.

 

[Guest]

And Apple is just vapor wear at the moment... I bet the reason Apple has not released their watch, is because they can't yet get the battery to last more than a few hours. A smartwatch must be able to at least go a full 12hrs. My 360 does that with ease, if I just want to use it as a watch and non-connected apps, it goes a full 3 days.

 

[James Katt]

And Apple is just vapor wear at the moment... I bet the reason Apple has not released their watch, is because they can't yet get the battery to last more than a few hours. A smartwatch must be able to at least go a full 12hrs. My 360 does that with ease, if I just want to use it as a watch and non-connected apps, it goes a full 3 days.

You have ZERO idea what you are talking about.

 

[James Katt]

Apple has the correct interaction.

The Apple Watch apps will demand simplified interfaces that can be used rapidly and easily. Voice commands can be used but they will be limited in scope to avoid slowing down the user.

I have waited decades for computers to understand speech. But unless you speak perfect American English, with perfect enunciation, you are screwed. Computers make mistakes all the time.

What if you are in a noise filled environment - like in a restaurant, subway, bus, on the street, in groups of people, in a car traveling at 70 MPH, etc. etc. Voice recognition hardly works in these environments, will make many mistakes, and will slow you down.

Additionally, with verbal instructions, you have to memorize them all. They are like a new vocabulary to remember. And you have to distinguish between a word and its many synonyms. This puts a lot of work on the user. You have to wonder what commands work with which apps, particularly if the verbal commands are similar.

Having to look through a scrolling list of verbal commands is nuts on a small screen. What if the app has hundreds of commands? Being forced to looked at long lists like this is tedious and slows the user down.

 

[joshjosh]

This is hilarious.

It's biased towards Apple and full of double-speak; here's why.

Listen to what some of the commenters wrote "having to scroll through a list of XXXXXXX XXXXXX is nuts on a small screen" Really? I removed the 'verbal commands' verbiage because learning a verbal command is easy; learn it once and you never have to touch the watch again. Look at Apple's MOCKUP (yes, not even available yet - once again, apple is behind the curve). Notice how small the fonts are, the black background, the tons of details on that small screen? What was that you were saying James Katt about "having to look through a scrollsing list OF DETAILS is nuts on a small screen"? You're right - but it's not Android wear that forces you to interact with details and such a small screen EVERY TIME you want to do something.

Clearly, Google will have you physically interacting with your tiny screen much LESS and even then it's with simple menus on a white background. Apple's 'execution' will have you interacting with the screen MUCH more often with tons of tiny details on a black screen.

Therefore, Google/Android wear has both the vision AND execution. How can anyone look at those images and think the tiny print with tons of details on a black screen and having to physically interact with apps and lists is 'better execution'? That is a bunch of hogwash. And unless the writer has actually USED the non-existent Apple watch, there-in lies your answer.

 

[Guest]

It would have been interesting to see the round display of the the Moto 360 used for the Google screenshots. That said, the difference in (visual) quality between Google and Apple's vision is startling. The Apple screens look as though an enormous amount of time and effort went into making them not only look beautiful and quite pleasing to the eye. The Google screenshots are from production devices (apparently) but they are the ones that appear to still be in beta. The look and feel of the device matters. The feel of device itself, the band, the UI, the screen, (the battery life)... all of it matters. Apple seems to have the upper hand here, coming late to the party as they have in the past (smart phones, mp3 players) but armed to the teeth with poise and confidence and the products that seem to shout "This is a gleaming new product from the future, do you want one?"

When Bill Gates first got his hands on an iPod, his reaction after a few minutes of using it (and getting the whole UI look & feel thing immediately) was "This is only for the Mac?" The average guy or gal who sees both of these devices will understand immediately which one is for gadget lovers and which one is for everyone else.

Google is going to have to work very hard to improve their offerings, as I imagine they will. Apple is showing the way, we will all benefit from their improved devices.

 

[Guest]

This is hilarious.

It's biased towards Apple and full of double-speak; here's why.

Listen to what some of the commenters wrote "having to scroll through a list of XXXXXXX XXXXXX is nuts on a small screen" Really? I removed the 'verbal commands' verbiage because learning a verbal command is easy; learn it once and you never have to touch the watch again. Look at Apple's MOCKUP (yes, not even available yet - once again, apple is behind the curve). Notice how small the fonts are, the black background, the tons of details on that small screen? What was that you were saying James Katt about "having to look through a scrollsing list OF DETAILS is nuts on a small screen"? You're right - but it's not Android wear that forces you to interact with details and such a small screen EVERY TIME you want to do something.

Clearly, Google will have you physically interacting with your tiny screen much LESS and even then it's with simple menus on a white background. Apple's 'execution' will have you interacting with the screen MUCH more often with tons of tiny details on a black screen.

Therefore, Google/Android wear has both the vision AND execution. How can anyone look at those images and think the tiny print with tons of details on a black screen and having to physically interact with apps and lists is 'better execution'? That is a bunch of hogwash. And unless the writer has actually USED the non-existent Apple watch, there-in lies your answer.

Just saying - this writer seems to be focusing on the "Vision" for how we will use a Smart Watch in the future. Actually using one is not as important as understanding that it is a piece of tech gear that you will wear and interact in a pretty intimate way, perhaps even more so than your phone. In this regard, the Apple vision seems to be more focused upon what can be accomplished now, with version 1.0 (think how the iPod blew away the other MP3 players with it's superior HW and UI), while Google is more forward thinking but less concerned with how well voice navigation will work now. Consider regional or foreign accents, poor English/grammar, ambient noise or even a Google commercial on TV that makes you watch do something you didn't ask it to do (remember those Microsoft Xbox/Kinect ads that drove Xbox users nuts?)

This is a horse race, the first of many, and the writer is predicting an early winner on race 1.0 based on what we can all see. Not so sure it is biased much.

 

[Guest]

This is precisely why Android has the better shot at winning the race, and it's the same reason they are winning the smartphone market:

"There is a 3rd party app launcher out for android wear."​

The ability to personalize/improve your device is paramount with something like a smart watch. Apple has only now relented with keyboard alternatives on the iPhone. So they get it, they just don't seem to want to do it. Meanwhile there are several very good, very well-established and respected alternative launchers for Android, as well as multiple keyboard options, and everything in between.

 

[Guest]

James...you must be one of those apple users.."that guy". The other post is just making a factual statement. Apple's smartwatch and apps are vaporware at the moment because you can't get it, don't know when you can get it, don't know what the final product will look like, don't know how long the battery will last, and so many other basic details that are just left out from now until it is actually released. Everything you've read or seen until now is just marketing until a large number of people start using it every day. The android watch is here...now. I use it all day, in the car, at work, in busy places, and it works. Is it perfect? No, but it's better that the apple smartwatch that is nowhere to be found. Voice commands need to be improved, but the moto360 is a good product and delivers as promised. I use and test products from every manufacturer as it's part of my job. Having said that, I can test the moto360. How are you testing the apple smartwatch?

 

[Guest]

Another biased article. Android support "launchers" to take control - this means the user interface could be changed, customized and tailored to the user.

In addition to the comments made by commenters about being biased, even the screenshot comparison is biased. Where Android only shows the screenshot, the Apple one has included the "screen" overlay which could have easily been removed.

 

[Greg Kurtz]

And Apple is just vapor wear at the moment... I bet the reason Apple has not released their watch, is because they can't yet get the battery to last more than a few hours. A smartwatch must be able to at least go a full 12hrs. My 360 does that with ease, if I just want to use it as a watch and non-connected apps, it goes a full 3 days.

Apple hasn't released their watch yet because it does not yet have FCC approval, which is necessary for all wireless communication devices. Apple's September announcement said the watch would be coming in early 2015 pending FCC approval.

 

[Guest]

Here's the bottom line. Moto X, Samsung Gear, LG G Watch all exist and are in the market on people's wrist at the moment. Apple has presented you with an idea that won't even be released until "Early 2015". Early 2015 could mean June since that is still first half of the year. Until that point, any article claiming Apple to have an advantage or be the king of smart watches is based on absolutely nothing. By the time it's released, Gen 2 and 3 Android Wear watches will be on the market and most likely, an update to Android Wear will have been released as well (my guess is alongside Android L).

 

[Guest]

Here's the bottom line. Moto X, Samsung Gear, LG G Watch all exist and are in the market on people's wrist at the moment. Apple has presented you with an idea that won't even be released until "Early 2015". Early 2015 could mean June since that is still first half of the year. Until that point, any article claiming Apple to have an advantage or be the king of smart watches is based on absolutely nothing. By the time it's released, Gen 2 and 3 Android Wear watches will be on the market and most likely, an update to Android Wear will have been released as well (my guess is alongside Android L).

Moto 360, not Moto X. Sorry

 

[Guest]

What I see from Apple Watch is an information dense screen. More than half of the Android Wear screenshots are filled a stupid cartoonish picture that does a very poor job of relaying any information. Besides, Apple Watch's digital crown is going to make Android Wear watches look like toys.

 

[Antacid]

I think the difference in vision is bigger than graphical/touch versus voice interfaces. One vision is discreet, allowing meaningful interaction in social contexts where/when disturbing others is taboo. The down side to this vision is that it requires the user to devote more visual attention to the device. The other vision is more conversational, potentially being more natural and less demanding of the user's attention. The down side to this vision is that it is inappropriate in many social contexts. I think a blending of both will ultimately occur. Apple says that Siri functionality will be part of their watch interface. I can't imagine Google is resting on their laurels either (and 3rd party developers will being waiting in the wings to fill any gaps).

As it stands right now, though, I consider Apple's vision the superior one (although by a small margin). They seem to be a little more in touch with the idea that a smart watch should complement the smartphone experience without being an obtrusion. However, I really like Google's idea of the watch being an extension of Google Now, and how it aims to dynamically display information based on the present circumstances and recent history -- without user interaction. This would be more useful, though, if the Google Now service was better at predicting what is important and unimportant to users and better at determining which circumstances are occurring.

 

[Guest]

You make an excellent point - Giving voice commands to your watch works well enough when you are alone in your room, but in any social situation, it can get weird quickly. You can easily be seen as being rude or showing off or worse (imagine you are speaking a foreign language and others overhear you giving what sounds like commands "uh, hello, FBI? There's a guy here acting very suspiciously..." )

The main UI needs to be via touch for now until society becomes more accepting of these things (think of how Google has wasted so many chances for Google Glass to be become socially accepted) and the 'digital crown' is a good start since your fingers would obscure the screen otherwise.

3rd party UI overlays are nice sounding in theory (lots of KB choices on Android are a good example of when this works well) but look at what Samsung has done with it's UI tweaks, like Touchwiz - Lesson here is that relying upon a 3rd party interface is not always a great strength.

The article is right on track here - despite the fact that there is no Apple Watch here *yet* I think that based upon past history (iPod, iPad, iPhone, etc.) Apple comes late but they come prepared to 'clean up', even when it comes to the logistics of components/shipping that other companies can't afford to or don't really focus on- the evidence all points to the simple fact that Round 1 will probably go to Apple (sales/market share / mind share), but at least the ball is in Google's court.

 

[Guest]

Getting FCC Approval doesn't take that long, but requires a finished product to be submitted for evaluation.

What does that tell you! ;0)