Short Watch Thoughts - I
Since I can’t seem to complete thoughtful blog posts over a couple hundred words without getting bogged down, then distracted, I will attempt a series of blog posts on UI/UX thoughts.
Love #
I love that I can get notifications about calendar stuff and about messages without having to pull out my phone and potentially interrupt a meeting. I particularly like this when I am spending one-on-one time with someone. Yes, I know that I should just ignore any vibrations in my pocket, or better yet, turn off the phone. But I don’t.
Don’t Love #
Problem - Messaging UX #
This is a big one for me, and is what drove me to want to write about the Watch. Most of the messaging UX is fine, but I have one issue that might sound fussy, but it has bitten me in the butt a few times.
As you dictate a response, the watch displays the text as it is parsing from your voice, which is great. But, when you tap Done
on the watch, the phone gives you a taptic vibration and shows the text disappearing. That feels A LOT like confirmation that something has finished, and the word “Done” implies a certain finality (Particularly, because that is how it basically works in messages if you are in the middle of dictating and you tap send. it just sends the text as is). What actually happens is that it is preparing the final version of the text before sending it. That is an understandable decision.
However, if I ignore this text and put my arm down, mistakenly thinking that I have sent the text, NOTHING ELSE happens. Eventually the text disappears and the message is never sent, and the next time I look at my watch, it is often just the watch face.
The times that I am most likely to fall into this trap are when I am busy, stressed and distracted, which are often precisely the times that I have time sensitive messages to send. (My wife can attest to this issue)
Solution #
It seems fairly obvious to me that a super simple solution is first to remove the taptic feedback when I tap Done
, since I am already looking at the watch and can see that it has responded to my touch or not. Second, add taptic feedback to the presentation of the completed text, and to repeat it until I either send the message or cancel the message.
Am I missing something?
UPDATE
LOL, yes I am missing something. I already posted about this issue!!