Oppenheimer Spent A Week With The Apple Watch

In a report published Wednesday, Oppenheimer analyst Andrew Uerkwitz detailed his personal thoughts after spending almost a week with Apple Inc. AAPL's Watch. "As a first-generation product, the Watch is very successful at providing incremental convenience, removing unnecessary frictions in our interactions with the smartphone," Uerkwitz wrote. "We maintain that the Watch will spearhead Apple's leadership in the next stage of personal computing and may even surprise us by how fast consumers embrace the brand new product category." Uerkwitz continued that the Watch is "surprisingly convenient" for checking messages/emails, weather, stock prices, game scores and app notifications, especially when the Watch eliminates the need to pull out and unlock a smartphone for "every little thing." The analyst also commented that the Watch battery life issues are "exaggerated" as he never finished a day with less than 20 percent battery life. Commenting on the interface, Uerkwitz stated that it is "pleasant" and the designs are "thoughtful and convenient." The digital crown, force touch and user interface design all the Watch to exceed its physical limitations comparing to other smart watches. Uerkwitz also commented that although Apple stated the Watch is meant to be tethered with an iPhone device to function properly, it works "just as well" without an iPhone as the Watch is a "great" fitness tracker, heart rate monitor, digital wallet, and above all, a "fine timekeeping device." Bottom line, Uerkwitz stated that "simply put, it is fun to use." Shares remain Outperform rated with an unchanged $155 price target.