Stiftung Warentest: Apple Watch is an “expensive toy” – Business Week

The Stiftung Warentest has tested for functions such as battery life, voice quality and navigation capability that Apple Watch. The verdict: a nice, but expensive toy.

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The Apple Watch is a “nice toy for technology fans,” for the “masses”, however, expensive and without iPhone almost useless, is the conclusion of the Stiftung Warentest. The consumer organization had studied in a rapid test the standard model of Apple Watch and the cheapest option WatchSport each with 38- and 42-millimeter screen.

The foundation began by criticizing the high price of Apple Watch: 400 Euro pay consumers for the cheapest model, all 18,000 euros, however, for the most expensive version with a housing made of 18-carat gold plus leather strap. The technique, the Stiftung Warentest, is, however, the same for all models

Also, operating the computer clock presents itself not so easy. While the users of Apple Watch can choose between consuming animated views on the display select However, the monitor must be in contact to different degrees. Who the “Force Touch”, so do not know the strong pressure on the screen, is likely to be quickly irritated, so the judgment of the tester.

The Apple Watch also turn too quickly into standby: The time was just six seconds to see, then the screen will black. This feature Apple has purposely built to save energy. After all, the battery life of the clock has long been a downside: the rapid test, the battery of smaller Apple Watch only 18 hours by holding that the greater for around 19 hours – which of the two sports models run one hour less. Just two hours, it takes the way until the clock, the battery is fully charged again.

Like most other Smart Watches work also Apple’s clock is not independent. In addition to GPS wristwatch missing especially the own mobile connection and is therefore linked via Bluetooth to one of the newer iPhone models. With other smartphones, the Apple Watch is not compatible.

Also the phone with the clock is lugubrious to loud Warentest results. In particular, the voice quality is criticized by the testers: The Spoken blade partially dull, occasionally sounding echoes. Although mails and short messages go to a reliable, but can not be answered on the watch itself.

The “Blindnavigieren”, which Apple touts work even moderately : The right and left turn signals the clock through a different number of vibration signals as well as high or low notes, but often sound signals too early. The user therefore can not quite leave “blind”, but must look at the wrist again.

However, the Stiftung Warentest praises some functions of the clock: So all the tested watches are water-resistant and scratch-resistant than for example smartphones. The steps of the user measures the precise Apple Watch, as well as the pulse. The heart rate is recorded almost as precisely as an ECG.