Apple Watch gets mixed reviews: The device isn't perfect, but you'll probably still want one

Apple Watch gets mixed reviews: The device isn't perfect, but you'll probably still want one
(Image credit: Stephen Lam/Getty Images)

The Apple Watch may not officially go on sale until Friday, but the reviews are in, and the results are a mixed bag.

At The New York Times, Farhad Manjoo writes that it took a day to master "the device's initially complex user interface," but by the fourth day, he found the watch quite enjoyable, describing it as "a natural extension of my body." Manjoo writes that the Apple Watch "works like a first-generation device" and is far from perfect, but it's still a powerful and useful tool.

Bloomberg and The Verge, meanwhile, were more critical of the Apple Watch. Joshua Topolsky at Bloomberg writes that the watch's push notifications are "a little maddening at first," and he eventually turned off all push notifications, "which seems to defeat the purpose of the watch in the first place." Nilay Patel at The Verge takes issue with the watch's software, which he candidly describes as "kind of slow."

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"Sometimes pulling location information and data from your iPhone over Bluetooth and WiFi takes a long time," Patel writes at The Verge. "Sometimes apps take forever to load, and sometimes third-party apps never really load at all."

That's hardly a ringing endorsement for a device that will cost you upwards of $350 — but let's be honest, plenty of people are still going to buy one anyway.

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Meghan DeMaria

Meghan DeMaria is a staff writer at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked for USA Today and Marie Claire.