I disagree (and so does Hodinkee). I think it's understated and beautiful, and half a dozen of my other watches (some pretty expensive) have been collecting dust.

But even if I were to agree, it also happens to be the best looking "smart" watch on the market by quite a wide margin, by far not the ugliest looking watch overall, and the only one that doesn't scream "I'm a computer" at you.

You don't have to run faster than the bear, you only have to run faster than the next slowest guy.

To me the it just looks like a screen hooked to a acceptable wristband.

Because that's what it is.

A completely different world from a beautiful watch.

The "fashion accessory" factor is related to the iPhone popularity: it's a relatively expensive status symbol with the Apple boost.

That's probably because you don't own one. There are dozens of small details which make it unquestionably a watch, and which no manufacturer other than Apple can even see as significant, not to mention replicate.

Compared to most Android Wear devices Apple Watch is way closer to a phone than a watch...

That fails when the quantities fall below a certain threshold. If the two people are slow enough, both of them may get eaten by the bear.

That’s fashion for you. https://imgur.com/a/FXEqCCm

Notice that it's showing the "pairing" swarm code, meaning it's not initialized. Dude is wearing it just to show off the watch. :-)

Dude is wearing it because Apple paid him a sizeable amount to wear it, I reckon. ;)

I don't believe Apple would do such a thing. Whenever you see Apple products in movies and elsewhere, those aren't product placements.

Of course Apple would never do such a thing. They're an R&D company first and foremost.