WatchOS2, a poor experience

[Steve Penny]

WOS 1.0.1 generally worked. There were a few quirks, some features missing (implemented in OS2), and some slow loading of apps ...... but WOS2 is even worse now, in my opinion.

The update process was one of the worst I've experienced from Apple. Estimated time went from 1 hour, to 2, to 4, to 6, to 8. While it actually took 2.5 hours to download on iPhone. At this point I gave up, left it and went to bed. Upon waking it had been downloaded but still required manual intervention to begin pushing the update to the Watch itself - Another 20 minutes.

And in WOS2, apps - even those optimised for it - are slow, if not slower in some cases (see: LastPass, which I still haven't got to actually load on the Watch - I always give up after about 5 minutes of being hypnotised by the spinning wheel), the screen is glitchy (seems to randomly go on/off at wrong times), and the calendar complication is now unusable as it shows completely incorrect data. This was probably the main thing I used on the Watch, and now it constantly shows past events and not those next up. I thought it was solved by accessing the calendar app - things seemed to sync and the correct next appointment was shown - a few minutes later it again began showing an event that had finished 5 hours prior.

I would have hoped and thought that Apple would make the experience of this brand new device as excellent as possible - a simple and quick update process, a fully tested and bug-free OS (they even pulled the original update to fix some additional bugs), but this hasn't been the case. Those of us that are early adopters are the people who are going to aid in its development and growth as we (potentially) sing its praises and show it off to curious others. With 1.0.1 I would have, and did, recommend the Watch to certain people - I loved it despite its shortcomings at the time, but with 2.0, no chance.

 

[Steven Sabo]

I have to totally disagree. Watch os2 is working phenomenally better than 1.0.1 on my watch. Battery life has improved slightly, the workout data I am finding to be more accurate. No glitches with the screen or getting any apps to work. Load time for apps is 1000x better than before. Example, storecard app before would take up to 2 minutes to load data from the phone when I was waiting in line to check out, now it instantaneous.

Not seeing any of the issues you described at all, minus the update delays on day one. I update my wife's watch late last night and that issue was gone too.

 

[iEd]

My wOS 2 experience has been very good. The update took maybe a hour on day one. Battery life is still great. Everything is working well in my opinion.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[RobtRoma]

As with the others, my experience has been pretty good once the update installed. The update process did take almost 3 hours though. 2 hrs 15 minutes to download and over 30 minutes to verify and install with three reboots.

Battery life is about 5%+ better than it was previously. I've gone to bed with over 50% battery life left the last two days. Before, it was closer to 40-45% depending on my activity for the day. Most apps seem to be a bit snappier too but some are still slow. I figure these have not been updated to run locally yet. I'm sure things will get even better as the developers continue to update and tweak their apps. I'm also loving the multi-color modular watch face.

 

[Dave Marsh]

My update to watchOS 2 went smoothly. Downloaded quickly for me over my WiFi LAN. Installation seemed to take a long time, but that may be due to A5-class CPU and 500MB of RAM.

Since update, everything seems to be working fine. I did have to uninstall a couple of financial apps, then reinstall them to get them working properly again. Dark Sky complication has replaced standard weather complication on my watch face, and is working fine, as well. Battery life seems about the same to me. If you're having battery issues, you could try the restart option (hold crown and side button until  appears on screen), or un-pair/re-pair option. Another consideration is that one of your apps is running in the background and eating up battery. In that case, I'd delete all potential battery eater apps and re-add them one at a time to find the offender.

 

[Steve Penny]

I'm thoroughly jealous of you all.

 

[Larry Cook1]

I had a little problem with the download but that's because i did as soon as it was available. I have had no issues with anything since the upgrade. Battery is definitely better and 3rd party apps faster. Thanks.

Posted via the iMore App for Android

 

[seankly]

I'm surprised your experience has been so negative. I think  are progressing well with the watch and given time will get even better.

I have no complaints regarding OS2 at all.

My only hope is that developers aren't lazy and develop proper apps for the watch. We see too many developers blame the OS and hardware being limited.

We need to see some innovation from the developers. It's not all about Apple all the time.

 

[TiNuts]

You're not the only one. I thoroughly regret updating. I was perfectly happy with 1.0.1. OS2 has been terrible for me as well. Apps don't seem to be any faster, if not slower. Routine actions are noticeably slower for me. Responding to texts especially. Previously it was quick and painless. Now there's a noticeable delay from the time I tap the mic button to when dictation becomes available. There's been multiple times where I've said something and it doesn't recognize anything. I mostly use this going down the highway, so I think it didn't hear me. So I say it again, this time it registers. Then when I hit send, my previous message instantly appears and it sends out two replies. Never had that problem before. Previous version worked great, OS 2 is something that I would expect from some random branded android watch.

Is there a way to restore the OS more thoroughly than just erasing and repairing?

I may take it back to Apple and see if it's maybe a hardware issue not getting along with new OS.

 

[kjparfekt]

My **** is slow as hell today. Closed every app on my phone, powered my watch off and on. Still so painfully slow I gave up using it today!!! Wrong direction Apple. Considering strapping my Pebble back on!