About forty eight hours ago, I opened up a package containing a space gray, 42mm, Apple Watch Sport. Having followed the launch of the device for the weeks leading up to it, there were few surprises when I first opened up the package. I knew what the watch looked like and having tried on the watch at an Apple store, I knew what it felt like to wear it. Still, there was something about it that was undeniably interesting to me; It was the promise of a new device.

Smartwatches are not new, they've been around for a while. I have not ever owned a smartwatch, but I have a fairly good sense of the field. To listen to the pundits, the problem with the smartwatch industry so far is that no manufacturer has been able to truly find a compelling raison d'être that easily answers the question of "what does it do" and "do I need one". Interestingly though, after spending some time with the Apple Watch, I'm beginning to wonder if those are the right questions to be asking.

Smartwatches are products seemingly torn between being an extension of the phone or a phone unto itself. In design they struggle with the choice of appearing like a conventional watch or some new form factor. In terms of interface they are stuck trying to interpret our gestures and input methods from much larger devices. The Apple Watch faces all of these struggles and questions too. Apple's device is certainly bold in terms of the choices it makes, eschewing iOS and its visuals and inputs for something completely different. Over my first days with the Apple Watch I am left impressed, but perhaps just beginning to see the value that the watch offers. The Apple Watch's value is perhaps best understood not by what it does like an iPhone, but what it does as a unique device.

Inevitably the question anyone gets asked about a new device is "What does it do?". Generally speaking there are two ways this question will be answered. The first way is to have a very clear and obvious demonstration of the technology that will wow the person asking the question. Think about the first time you saw an HDTV, the question of, "what does it do", was essentially a pointless activity as the product largely spoke for itself. You flick it on and it's TV but better. The second way the question of "what does it do" gets answered is with a long show that will generally leave the inquiring party a bit confused and underwhelmed. Much like showing a grandparent your new game console, they probably won't quite understand or appreciate the difference in fidelity or capability that the new machine offers you. The Apple Watch falls somewhere in between these two demos. People who are inclined to be impressed probably will be and those who are not will probably not be.

When people kept asking to see the watch today, I would flick my wrist and they would see exactly what they were expecting to see, a watch. The Apple Watch is in its namesake alone, a watch, and this is probably the first thing it should show you. What that watch face looks like will vary greatly. It could be the same boring face they've seen for the whole lives or something splashy like animated jellyfish or a visual representation of the sun rising and setting. The watch faces are fun and easy to personalize and I suspect people will spend a great deal of time fiddling with the many complications and visual options available to them. Personally, I've opted for a fairly muted face; A classic analogue clock with complications to display the weather, my activity (fitness) tracker and my upcoming calendar appointments.

In a demo, this is the point where people are going to ask what else it can do. It's not an unreasonable question because they've already seen a watch before. Yes, the Apple Watch is doing more and displaying it on a small high resolution screen, but it alone isn't going to dazzle many people. So what else can it do? Surprisingly, quite a lot. With varying degrees of functionality the watch does email, messages, photos, music, maps, fitness tracking, weather, calendar, phone and more. Add in third party applications and there isn't much that the watch doesn't do. This too is impressive, but probably not going to really make a believer out of a skeptical inquiring party. Your phone can already do all of this, and it does it well. So what exactly does the watch do that makes it unique? As I alluded to earlier, the watch impresses in the moments when it does what your phone doesn't. Unfortunately for anyone you're demoing the watch to, these moments are not easily demonstrated.

The most impressive moments of the Apple watch are hard to demo because they are the small moments that occur during daily use. There is an incredible amount of joy to be had from the gentle tapping on of your wrist as your watch passes along a message from a loved one. There is a certain enjoyment of glancing quickly at a message and being done with it before you could have even removed your phone from your pocket. There is a sense of achievement watching your activity rings fill up. There is a jolt of motivation when the watch encourages you to finish a simple exercise. These are a collection of nearly frictionless moments that add up over the course of a day and will presumably continue to add up over weeks, months and years.

In terms of design, I think that removing friction of interaction continues to be one of the most undervalued attributes a product can offer. Small things like thumbprint scanners on smartphones were derided but have become commonplace because they are simply more efficient. The cynical argument made whenever friction reducing elements are introduced is that they are barely meaningful interactions and that the old actions were not sufficiently arduous to warrant replacing. Time, however, has shown us that generally these arguments don't hold much weight as superfluous inventions such as smartphones, televisions and computers continue to be made and improved upon.

My time so far with the Apple Watch has been limited, but I'm starting to understand two things about it fairly well. The first thing is that it shows, if nothing else, that there is definitely room for a wearables market. What the shape of that market is going to be isn't totally clear, but I think Apple's entry into the market shows that they believe the growth potential is going to come from an established industry. Google clearly believe this too as they have invested heavily in watches and glasses as future technology platforms. Microsoft on the other hand seems to believe that wearables might literally be something bigger, with helmets/visors and chunky bands being offered.

The second thing I'm beginning to see is that as personal technology becomes less and less about leaps and bounds and more about efficiencies and reducing the friction of interaction, the usual questions are destined to become less meaningful. Products like the Apple Watch, the Moto 360 or Google Glass are not going to be sold on questions of "what does it do" and perhaps the even larger "do you need it". Instead the question is going to shift by necessity to "do you want it" or "does it appeal to you"? The reality is that most of the products we own are not needs. We buy vehicles well beyond our needs and accessories (like smartphones or watches) that are beyond the simple objects we truly require. Instead these purchases are made largely around desire. As consumers we generally want things, because they appeal to us aesthetically and functionally. The Apple Watch might be one of the first personal technology products to embrace the idea that it is not a need product, it is a want product (perhaps best evidenced by the $20,000 gold Apple Watch Edition models). This might be an unappealing truth for some people to consider because admitting to wanting something may seem akin to idolatry.

To conclude: how do I feel about the Apple Watch after forty eight hours? It feels fun and different. The device immediately feels personal, but not immediately necessary. It has been lovingly designed and it looks and feels amazing. The interactions are cleverly considered, but not completely intuitive when compared to the interactive language of smartphones. The software has all the rough edges and fancy flourishes one might expect from a 1.0 product. For those inclined, the Apple Watch is exciting and endlessly fascinating. It's hard to deny that the Apple Watch is an interesting product that will no doubt continue to generate significant attention. No matter how one feels about Apple, when they make new products the industry and its watchers take notice.

So, do you need an Apple Watch? No, but you may very well want one.