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Comment by jgrahamc | Hacker News Reader

But a few fundamental flaws of the watch suffice to explain 95% of the issues: the watch is too slow to act as a speedy alternative to your phone; the user interface is too fiddly to use on the move; the notification model is too limited to do anything other than encourage you to pull out your phone repeatedly; and Siri sucks.

I was an Apple Watch naysayer until I bought one. Now I like it (I don't love it) but it's a useful addition. I disagree about the notification model. It means I can look at a message and decide whether it's important and for short responses reply from the watch.

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I'm an Apple Watch user. I like it, but it was expensive when I bought it (the AUD/USD exchange rate isn't favourable). For the utility I get out of it (health tracking, quick iMessage replies, turn-by-turn directions, weather and stocks at-a-glance) I think it's a three star product based on the original price.

And Apple Pay support in Australia is ... lacklustre. We only just got one bank behind it. If my bank supported Apple Pay it might be four stars.

If it were half the price (closer to ~AU$330), it would be five stars.

Similar experience with my Pebble. Since I have it now I keep using it, and it is useful, but I don't think it's worth what it cost.

Yes, I agree that price vs. functionality is poor. I don't understand the appeal of Apple Pay at all (at least in the UK). We have contactless debit cards for quick payments and the last thing I want to do is hand over banking details to a third party.

Apple Pay seems like the sort of thing that's needed in the US because of the woefully backwards payment infrastructure.

I find I use Apple Pay a lot in the UK despite my contactless cards because I cycle so my phone and wallet are in my bag - it's nice to only take the phone out. A cheap Apple-Pay-on-my-wrist would be cool, but I'd probably still have my phone in my pocket so I doubt it'd be a meaningful improvement at all. It's all very small though, like you said contactless debit cards are fine.

In Australia, you can get a "pay tag", basically a sepearate chip attached to your credit account. The back has an adhesive that you can stick to the back of your phone or whatever. This is usually free.

I use Apple pay here in the UK when I don't want to pull out my wallet for a contactless payment. It also ensures that I always have at least one contactless card on me for use on the tube if I ever walk out of the door without my wallet (downside is that because I am not totally screwed without my wallet I seem to leave it behind a bit more than I ever did before...)

I use it for a few reasons (in the US):

1) Don't have to touch or open my wallet to get at it

2) More secure than either debit or credit because it's a 1-time generated card number

3) Harder for the merchant to track my purchases because it's a different number every time

4) Isn't linked directly to my checking account so I can't lose money if there's a mistake or fraud

Contactless debit cards are widespread but not ubiquitous in the UK. My bank won't give me a contactless card (they don't say why) but Apple will, so Apple Pay is useful.

I am in Australia and have had Apple Pay for a while (with AMEX). It's largely pointless. I can pull out and tap my card much quicker than it takes Apple Pay to launch and be ready for tapping.

Plus not sure in the US but our contactless readers make it awkward to hold your wrist against them.

Yeah, I hooked up ANZ when it arrived the other week in some Gibsonesque fever dream, and rushed straight down to Coles to buy a Turkish Delight with my phone.

Phone comes out. Double tap home button. Damn, it just unlocked. Try again. Double tap. Fingerprint. Hold, recognised. Great. Hold my thousand dollar phone up to the reader. Vibrates. Works! Cool.

And then I never used it again.

The problem in Australia, where our contactless payment system is so ubiquitous (and has been for years), is that using a worthless plastic card is just so much easier and quicker. It's instant. There's no tap, no fingerprint. I don't care if I drop it. It's just easier.

>> "Phone comes out. Double tap home button. Damn, it just unlocked. Try again. Double tap. Fingerprint. Hold, recognised. Great. Hold my thousand dollar phone up to the reader. Vibrates. Works! Cool."

You're doing it wrong :) You don't need to double tap the home button. Once you're phone is close to the card reader the Wallet will automatically open to your default card (it opens when you're maybe 10-15cm away). By the time your device is next to the reader it's ready to accept your fingerprint. The only time I do the double tap is when I'm using the London Underground so I can pre-authorise the fingerprint and get through the gates a bit quicker. I find it much faster than using my contactless card which requires me to get out my wallet, remove the card from my wallet (as I have multiple contactless cards), hold it to the reader, put it back in the wallet, put the wallet in my pocket. With the phone I pull it out of my pocket with my thumb resting on the reader, hold it to the card reader, and put it back in my pocket.

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