I know that this question has been raised in the past, but would like to bring it up again now that Watch OS3 is almost here. From a hardware and software perspective, Apple Watch stands out among a new emerging technology. The one thing that it falls short on is the ability to function as a watch. Like many others that have commented, there are times when you want to discretely glance at your watch to know what time it is. Without an "always-on" mode, you have to tap or move the watch. Recognizing that an always-on mode would consume battery life, a dimmed display and one that uses fewer illuminated pixels would certainly help.
I'm an avid Apple fan, but admit to owning various other smart watches in addition to my Apple Watch (Samsung Gear S2 3G, LG Urbane 2 LTE and Huawei) and all 3 have an always-on mode that can be customized to display various information with a reduced level of illumination. Both the LG and Huawei easily get me through the day with this mode while checking my pulse every 5 minutes, displaying agenda items, weather, battery level, message alerts, running the LTE radio on the LG... and yes... the time! As I'm typing this comment with two hands on my MacBook Pro, I'm glancing at my watch at the time and outdoor temperature without stopping to tap or rotate my wrist and see that I have a conference call coming up at 2:30pm.
Apple... You are above all others when understanding how people use technology. Please consider an always-on option so that we can make our own determination to balance battery live vs how we use our watches.
Watch Stainless Steel 42MM (1st gen), watchOS 2.2.2
