Seeing them swipe through the interface in the demos makes me think this is another pre-iPad time (where everyone knew it was coming and competitors rushed their products to market). If the only value-add is having a wearable notification viewer (plus some other features that are a subset of smartphones), it's not going to be successful.
It just feels like anything Google had an existing service/product for, like Google Now, got juryrigged on to the wrist. Rather than actually figuring out the jobs-to-be-done that a wearable can uniquely solve.
It just seems like a second screen for your phone. I can't imagine anyone, Apple included, making something that isn't just that, a second phone screen/interface. Maybe my imagination isn't big enough, maybe the actual tech isn't there yet. This segment, touch-screen wearables, doesn't excite me yet.
I hope it goes the other direction - your phone, tablet, tv etc evolve into dumb screens for your watch, which will quickly if not already be powerful enough to output movies, books, apps, work etc onto your preferred display.
That's true right now but massive improvements will be made in the near future, on top of that when you look at screens being independent of the device you're eliminating the biggest power drain from the watch.
If you're referring to the iWatch, then what fantastical, overwhelming innovation are you anticipating out of Apple that would make Android Wear irrelevant? Referring to it as a "wearable notification viewer" makes me think you've failed to take note of Wear's voice control features; also keep in mind that the Moto 360 is rumored to include a heart rate monitor.
Wear's UI seems solid and Google Now is a perfect fit for the wrist. I fail to see anything wrong with the platform other than the lack of an Apple logo.
It's interesting that you mention google Now , because I feel like that is the service for something like a smartwatch. Very little user interaction required, and it actually does push out useful information.
It kinda dissapoints me that there aren't more exploration into pebble-style e-ink screens. Having to charge my watch every day is annoying to say the least.
But I would like a good wearable notification viewer.
Agreed. It would be cool to an application that takes advantage of the fact that your watch is relatively publicly accessible. Ideas would include the silly "mood watch" that you can set to indicate to others if you're feeling social or busy or stressed. Or a matching app to help you find someone that you haven't met before. Your watch is a small bit of shared communal knowledge traditionally and it would be fun to see applications that take advantage of that socially.
It just feels like anything Google had an existing service/product for, like Google Now, got juryrigged on to the wrist. Rather than actually figuring out the jobs-to-be-done that a wearable can uniquely solve.