Apple Watch's Meager Storage Limits Prove It's Not A Standalone Device

The Apple Watch is starting to look a lot less like a smartwatch and a lot more like a device with a host of first-generation issues. Many are enamored by its seamless design and the promise of apps that can simplify everyday tasks. But for a starting price of $349 (and a maximum of $17,000), Apple’s latest luxury item won’t let users do much on its own. In fact, its storage limitations mean that the Apple Watch is not quite as functional as tech-watchers hoped.

The Apple Watch offers 8GB of internal storage, probably the highest capacity on a commercialized smartwatch. Most others, like the Moto 360, Samsung Galaxy Gear 2 and LG Watch Urbane, currently offer 4GB of internal storage. However, most of the internal storage on the Apple Watch won’t be available to users, according to tech blog 9-To-5 Mac.

Users will have about 2GB allotted to music and 75MB to photos. This will allow them to access about 200 songs of fair quality and about 100 images, when the Apple Watch is not tethered to an iPhone via a Bluetooth connection. When connected, the Apple Watch will have full access to play and display the phone's full song or image libraries.

After that, approximately 6GB remains, which will house the iOS 8.2 software that powers the Apple Watch, as well as application caches and other background software intended to ensure smooth operation.

These limitations apply for all versions of the Apple Watch -- the Apple Watch Sport, the Apple Watch Collection and the ultra-premium Apple Watch Edition. Those who opt for the last, which sells for between $10,000 and $17,000, will be paying five figures for a device that requires a $650 iPhone in order to run properly.

The Apple Watch Sport starts at $349, while the Apple Watch Collection starts at $549.

Though the Apple Watch is expected to revolutionize the still-young smartwatch market, with 10 million unit sales expected by the end of 2015, observers have found a host of troubling issues. Reports from Business Insider, Bloomberg, the Wall Street Journal and others have called the Apple Watch “complicated” and “clunky,” have questioned its use case and have wondered where all the apps are.