Apple Watch
All Photos by Bob “Dr. Mac” LeVitus
The Demonstration Process
Apple had a pretty scripted demo they walked interested media through. It started with the reality that there were two different software builds on the demonstration Apple Watches on hand.
The ones Apple's staff members strapped onto media—and yes, they strapped it on, presumably to ensure it was snug enough for the haptic feedback to be noticeable—had a looping 4-minute demo running. Those devices were not at all responsive to user input.
The version that the Apple demo employees wore was more functional, and allowed the Apple reps to move through some features and show off the interactive portions of things.
My assumption is that since the watch isn't nearly finished (remember, it's not due until “early 2015”), there are many parts of the OS that are simply incomplete at this point, and by only allowing employees to navigate, Apple could be sure no one would hit any “bridge out, turn around now” scenarios.
To Apple's credit, the fact the company put these things out there for any demos—let alone putting them on our wrists—is fantastic considering how early they are in the development of the final OS builds.
Here's a video I made while they were running me through Apple Watch's paces: