Apple Watch is the current "hottest" product of the Apple company, and this is because it is designed for a new category of users, and Apple promotes it with all its might in all media, the man who supervised the entire project speaking in a detailed interview about the concept the watch and how it evolved in 3 years. Kevin Lynch, a former vice president of Adobe, led the Apple Watch project, and the interview begins with him saying that the first version of Apple's smartwatch was actually an iPhone held in the hand with a treadmill, based on the interaction with it being think the first prototypes.
The idea for the Apple Watch interface it was born during the meetings to discuss the design of iOS 7, the first interface was similar to that of Pebble Time, but those from Apple would have given up the idea because the way the watch should be used did not offer a great experience for users, Apple making the decision to go another way. Lynch claims that long interactions with the watch were a bad idea, the users' hands getting tired after a few tens of seconds of following the information on the screen, so the decision was made to develop a simpler way of interaction.
"It was all very understandable, but using it took way too long," Lynch says. Also, it hurts. Seriously: Try holding up your arm as if you're looking at your watch. Now count to 30. It was the opposite of a good user experience. "We didn't want people walking around and doing that," Dye says.
The software on which the Apple Watch operates has gone through 3 major changes, the focus being on actions that can be performed in a few seconds, a multitude of functions being eliminated because they required too much interaction with the product. Basically, Apple wants users to use the Apple Watch for just a few seconds with each action, and the haptic feedback system plays a very important role here to give users an idea about the information they are going to see, Apple engineers developing the system for 1 year under Jony Ive's leadership.
Apple tested many prototypes, each with a slightly different feel. "Some were too annoying," Lynch says. "Some were too subtle; some felt like a bug on your wrist." When they had the engine dialed in, they started experimenting with a Watch-specific synesthesia, translating specific digital experiences into taps and sounds. What does a tweet feel like? What about an important text? To answer these questions, designers and engineers sampled the sounds of everything from bell clappers and birds to lightsabers and then began to turn sounds into physical sensations.
Apple tested a multitude of prototypes of the Apple Watch, some suitable, some annoying, some too subtle, some too obvious, all so that in the end the engineers realized that the user must feel the notification he receives to know if he has to look at the clock or not. The tactile feedback system is combined with the sounds that are specific to each type of notification or message, so that the user will not even look at the watch without knowing exactly what he is going to see on his screen, thus avoiding unnecessary use.
Next we move on to the customization options, these being a central point of the project from the very beginning, Apple changing its usual strategy for the watch, placing an extremely high emphasis on the accessories that will be available for it and that will matter a lot for his future clients. You will find additional details in the exclusive interview given by Lynch to an American publication and I recommend you to read it if you want to find out additional information about it.
