Apple Watch and MacBook

I don’t understand why the press is talking about the 18-carat $10K+ Apple Watch as though it's a big deal. Who cares if someone with that kind of money to spend, spends it on a watch? And just because an expensive version of a product exist does not mean the average consumer should feel slighted. We could be discussing the $400-$600 “consumer-friendly” options. This price tag means the Apple Watch may not be a mass consumer product but … neither were iPhones when first announced 8 years ago.

I agree with some of my friends. The Apple Watch is not for me at this time. I don’t yet have a compelling use case for such a device and can’t justify the spend.

I could, however, change my mind in a few months when I start to see hands-on reviews of the Dexcom G5 glucose monitor from people with T1 diabetes who’ve connected it to the Apple Watch. My impression is that the Apple Watch is like having a limited set of the core features of iOS on the wrist. It’s got a voice commands, social messaging, calendar and notifications. The ability to view and respond to these, even in a limited way, from my wrist is compelling when I add in the medical monitoring aspect.

Right now, I carry in my pocket, a double-matchbox sized device — the Dexcom G4 receiver — at all times. It’s receiving data from the small transmitter and the glucose sensor under my skin. The alerts from the receiver are audible, loud and escalate in volume unless I hit the “snooze” button. To see my data, especially after hypo or hyperglycemic alert, I pull the transmitter from my pocket and hit a button. This isn’t ideal in a meeting, while driving, etc. I would love to have my readings sent quietly to my Apple Watch for quick review on my wrist. Without the medical monitoring notifications, the Apple Watch for me is a “nice to have”.

I have reservations about the new super-model thin MacBook. USB-C is an industry-standard and that Apple is using a standard is a good thing. However, having one port on the MacBook is limiting. I would have preferred two or more ports. With my MacBook Air, I have two USB and one Thunderbolt port. Despite that, I still had to invest in adapters for Ethernet, DVI, and VGA since the Air has no Ethernet port and most presentation projectors have not been upgraded to support Thunderbolt. I can charge my MacBook while connected to an external display, an external storage device of some kind all while listening to music.

With one USB-C port, how will I accomplish that? Apple is offering $80 USB-C VGA Multiport Adapter that provides a VGA port, a USB port, and a pass-through USB-C port. Apple also offers a USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter that offers the same feature for HDMI. I guess that means USB-C allows device chaining. But what about connecting to Ethernet? What about connecting my FW drives? What about connecting the Thunderbolt appliance people just bought? How will this work if I need to use this MacBook in the scenario I describe above? I don’t have high hopes for the success of this iteration of the MacBook. And what the heck is going on with fanboys and wanting a 12” MacBook? What's that about?

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Author: Khürt Williams

A human who works in information security and enjoys photography, Formula 1 and craft ale. #nobridge