5 Reasons You Should Not Buy the Apple Watch

The Apple Watch goes on pre-sale on Friday, starting at $349, and initial reviews are mixed. This is clearly an early-stage product, and even the early reviewers seem a little ambivalent about whether or not anyone other than the most devoted Apple fans should buy one.

You can certainly look at our hands on with the Apple Watch to help you decide, but here are five reasons you probably won't want the watch. Once you're done checking these out, you can look at my five reasons you might actually want an Apple Watch. Which one describes you better?

1. You don't have an iPhone. The Apple Watch requires an iPhone. It's a cool gadget, but it might not be enough to make you throw over your existing operating system and go out and buy a new, high-end smartphone to support it.

2. You have an iPhone, but your friends don't generally have iPhones. Some of the Watch's most compelling features involve talking to another Watch. You can transmit your heartbeat or send little scribbles. If you don't have any close friends with Apple Watches, you won't be able to take advantage of these features.

3. Apple Pay holds no charm for you. Another of the Watch's most compelling, unique features is its ability to tap and pay. You don't have to pull your phone out of your pocket; you can use your watch to pay for things now. But if you haven't set up Apple Pay or don't go to a lot of stores where Apple Pay is supported, this compelling feature just won't make a difference to you.

4. You're a "Watch Person." People who wear watches are their own breed. Over on Daring Fireball, avowed Apple partisan John Gruber points out that folks who wear watches are used to being able to glance over at them any time—which means that Apple Watch's screen defaulting to off is a big bummer.

5. You don't have patience for technology. Several reviews, most notably Nilay Patel's at The Verge, have noted that the Watch is a bit sluggish. But more than that, the Watch will force you to learn a radical new interface, and Apple is clearly learning along with you. Answers will be discovered. Mistakes will be made. You have to be along for the ride.