Did you get yours? I got mine. I’ve been playing with the entry level 42mm Apple Watch sport for a grand total of 24-hours.
To be honest about it, Watch has a learning curve, and it’s a bit quirky, but also fun to play around with. What I didn’t expect to find is an extremely handy yet almost invisible feature that is sure to be killer feature of the future.
Tap, Tap, Tap
The Watch has a bunch of sensors on the back of the case, out of visible sight, of course, but constantly touching your skin. Sure, Watch can read your heartbeat. That’s cool and all but what’s the point.
Even better is the tiny haptic tapping engine in Watch which taps you on the wrist; silently but obviously. Sure, it’s good for alerts and alarms because– unlike the iPhone which blares out annoying blips and burps– Watch haptic taps are silent.
When you receive a tap to the wrist you know it right away. But no one else notices you know it and they won’t know it, either. That opens up a long list of possibilities for using alerts and alarms with the haptic tap engine.
For example, lets say you’re meeting with a customer and the deal is going nowhere and you’d like to get out of the conversation. A tap to the Watch screen can send a haptic tap to a co-worker to rescue you.
Or, you’re giving a sales presentation and your Watch does a ‘tap-tap-tap‘ to your wrist, which means a co-worker is telling you to speed it up already. How about ‘tap-taptaptap-tap‘ (like Morse Code) to wrap it up and go for the close?
These possibilities become endless and are very personal. Couples will be able to have their own tap-tap-tap codes. Look for politicians to wear an Apple Watch during the primary and Presidential debates next year. ‘Tap-Tap-Taptaptaptap‘ means shut up, already. One long “taaaaap” means “I love you, wish you were here.”
Wait. There’s more. Multiple choice questions might become a thing of the past (or, Apple Watch will be banned during SAT’s) as classmates hammer out code for the correct answers. How long will it be before Lynda.com has video classes on Morse Code for Watch users?
The possibilities are limitless, but limited to the near future as I predict Google Glass will make a comeback, and future technology glasses (perhaps even contact lenses) will have screens with messages that only the wearer can see, just as only the Apple Watch owner can feel a haptic touch alert.
That’s a killer feature, folks.
James says
Apple Inc., savior of morse code.
ben says
This taptic touch will become a VERY big deal. And, yes, it’s possible morse code could make a comeback, but imagine this scenario. You setup specific taps– somewhat like morse code– that can be interpreted by an app and sent to another Watch. Personal, secure, usable.