Apple takes on Google Now on the wrist?

One of the biggest questions that I had for Apple Watch is how they would make the device a smartwatch, and not just a notifications hub like Pebble.

Google answered this with Android Wear through deep integration with Google Now. More so than being for notifications, Android Wear is about putting the power of Google on your wrist, and in doing so, receiving context relevant information only when you need it.

The problem for Apple is that they haven't really done this with their existing devices. They have Siri, sure, but you have to know what you're looking for to use Siri, whereas Google Now will tell you what you need to know, even if you didn't know you needed to know. Apple also added "Today" view to the notification center in iOS 7, and that displayed widgets with information. The problem was they were the same all the time, not context driven.

So naturally, I was surprised when I was reading "Here's how you use the Apple Watch" today and saw this:

"...One of the biggest UI paradigms on display here is Glances. These are little widgets of information that are quite similar to the Google Now widgets found on Android Wear devices. When you swipe up from the bottom of the watch face, you can cycle through these glances — the usual suspects like calendar notifications, music controls, message notifications, and so forth. Tapping on a Glance will open the full app on Watch."

Apple, it would appear, is taking on Google Now cards on Android Wear with what they call "Glances." This is certainly intriguing, and also makes me wonder if Apple will produce more of their own widgets for iOS 8, or if we might see a full app like an Apple style Google Now in iOS 9. However, you will notice that Glances doesn't sound particularly context driven, and I can't speak on how it compares to Google Now cards until the device actually launches and I have a chance to use it.

Are you excited for Apple Watch? Do you think it needs to be more than just a personalizable notifications dumping ground that tells time? Let me know in the comments.