The Watch Apple Almost Made

When people used to ask if I’d ever buy a smartwatch, I waved them off without hesitation. Then Apple held a keynote, unveiled the Watch alongside the iPhone 6 and its larger sibling, and I felt that familiar gravitational pull—that specific Apple trick of making you want the thing you were absolutely certain you’d never want.

So I was already half-sold on a device I’d spent years mocking. And then designer Alcion went and made me feel even more hopeless by posting a 3D concept of what the Watch would look like with a round face—thinner, more sculptural, the interface elements rearranging themselves around the circle like they were designed for it from the start. The renders are genuinely beautiful. More considered than what Apple actually showed us in California.

The official Watch is a rectangle with rounded corners. Functional, probably. Alcion’s version looks like something you’d actually wear without wanting to explain yourself. The whole object reads as coherent—a single thing rather than a screen bolted to a strap. Three hundred euros for a piece of wearable tech I’ll likely ignore after a month, but the round one would at least look good while I’m ignoring it. Steve Jobs would have had notes either way. I think he’d have circled Alcion’s version.