The Apple Watcharrived on the scene in April this year, greeting with typical levels of Apple-related hype both from the company itself and its masses of fans.
And given that this was an entirely new product for Apple, following the iPod, iPhone and iPad, expectations were high.
High, cynics might suggest, in that again the company may yet be introducing a device that initially very few people think they really need.
Inevitably, countless travel brands reworked their existing Apple applications to so that they can be used on the Apple Watch, or created entirely new apps specifically so that wearers could have specific functions that might be useful on a wrist-held device.
Apple, marketers, app developers, brands and users predictably talked up how the very idea of having another device could only but enhance a digital lifestyle - in short, Apple Watch was the next step in the wearable technology evolution (it is nowhere becoming a revolution).
So, how has that idea played out in the intervening six months?
Branding agency MBLM has spent the time asking owners (once they have stopped showing their Apple Watch to anyone who cares) how the device has changed how they use and consume information, or how they incorporate it into their existing tech-driven lives.
The results will not surprise many who initially raised their eyebrows at the latest Apple product, especially those who consider wearable technology to be no more than just a nice-to-have.
MBLM found five main issues in the findings it obtained from 1,500 interviews with Apple Watch owners:
1. From Love to Like
The panel continues to like the watch. A few are happy with it, but most have "lost the loving feeling". Whilst the watch has found a "meaningful place" in the ecosystem of a user's devices, it is seen as non-essential.
2. Sour notes continue
The watch’s limitations have become clearer and gripes are beginning to be voiced, especially amongst millennials. Tethering (to the iPhone) is a major complaint, as is considered a significant "feature gap" of the watch.
MBLM says that "users are constantly and perhaps unfairly comparing the watch to the more than six generations of the iPhone evolution". Primarily, that many of the watch's functions available are more complicated to access than those on a phone, and therefore many users simply head back to the iPhone in frustration.
3. Limitations
Most users tend to rely on it mainly for one specific function, such as notifications or monitoring an activity (such as fitness). It is also being worn less frequently. The company reckons this may be a "situational issue until updates are made".
4. Siri Who?
Most users say they do not use Siri - the voice recognition service already available for other Apple devices but talked up (no pun intended) as a key function - regularly. MBLM says this the "clearest example of many issues around general responsiveness that frustrate users and create unnecessary friction". Core functions such as Siri and third party apps must perform better to gain back traction and usage, MBLM says.
5. Still Sweet on Apple
Even among those who are underwhelmed by the watch today, feelings toward the watch and especially the Apple brand remain positive and optimistic. MBLM says it finds it "surprising" that Apple has done very little in following up to early adopters and has "seemingly moved onto other products when more attention could have made a difference".
MBLM managing partner Mario Natarelli says:
"We have seen our panel change its behaviors and attitudes over the past six months and identified a clear sense of the limitations, barriers and opportunities wearable technology is creating."
Despite the relative lukewarm feelings towards Apple Watch, six months on, brand is everything and Apple can presumably look forward to owners not entirely abandoning their (expensive) devices just yet.
But if the device had come from any other technology company (such as Blackberry, or even Google), would users have been so forgiving?
Probably not.