How Will the Apple Watch Prove Its Usefulness?

The possibilities that the Apple Watch opens to us are just the first step in how we will ultimately view wearables. Like other Apple devices, the Watch reimagines our relationship with technology and redefines the way people engage - with brands, with friends, with essential services and within the workplace.

Back in January, when Google announced that it was halting orders for its Google Glass product, many people thought the wearables industry was headed for decline.

But only a couple of months later, we've had multiple successful launches of wearables at the biggest mobile trade show in the world (Mobile World Congress) - and even more visibly - the much-heralded launch of the Apple watch.

Not only did the Watch grab the attention of media - you couldn't open a newspaper, a magazine or a website without seeing commentary for days - pre-orders demonstrate a product ready to live up to the hype. Personally I can't wait to get mine on my wrist on Friday, 24 April (and yes, I am counting the days).

But what will happen the following Monday when we wear our Apple Watches to work? Will we be allowed to use them as part of a Bring Your Own Device policy? Or will we have to check them at the door?

Of course the answer to this question will vary from organisation to organisation. But to me this triggers a bigger question around the usefulness, or the at least the perceived usefulness, of the Watch - to us as individuals, to healthcare professionals, to the companies we work for and even to those that design and build apps.

So the question about how employers might react to the Watch goes right back to this point - and to the real usefulness of the Apple Watch: the apps that can be downloaded for use.

For us consumers, we have the potential to monitor medication rates in our bloodstream, pay outstanding bills on the fly, even watch our kids' school plays from afar - right from our wrist. For our employers, the Apple Watch offers a host of new ways for us to truly, effectively work from anywhere - apps like business intelligence and order processing enable us to literally run businesses from these devices.

Lifestyle and work apps can happily sit alongside each other on the Watch, in the same way they do on our iPhones, enabling us to truly run our world from our wrists. I think you can get more out of your life if you can manage it from one point of contact - so it makes perfect sense to me that your work life can work as seamlessly as your lifestyle, all from one single device.

The possibilities that the Apple Watch opens to us are just the first step in how we will ultimately view wearables. Like other Apple devices, the Watch reimagines our relationship with technology and redefines the way people engage - with brands, with friends, with essential services and within the workplace.

But the real beauty of the Apple Watch is its ability to manage and perform such a wide range of tasks that relate to all aspects of our lives, right from our wrists. This is truly the key that can open the door to the adoption and use of wearables in everyday life.

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