For sure, virtually all praise for the Watch also included some criticism.  Joanna Stern, Wall Street Journal personal technology columnist, who was impressed overall, told CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" that exercise kills the Watch's battery life. "[D]ays when I went to a 45-minute spinning class, it was dying by 8 or 9 pm," she said.  Still, she was impressed at how well the Watch works on its own, describing how she went out for a morning run without her iPhone, and was able to stop at Whole Foods for coffee and water and paid using only her Watch.  "For me that was one of the breaking points where I said this thing is freeing from the phone," she said.  Edward Baig, USA Today personal technology columnist, told CNBC that the watch isn't an essential item to own, but it is "awfully nice to have."  He used it to hail a ride using the third-party Uber app and although he was a little bit confused by the interface, he did get a ride. He added that Apple Pay on the Watch works better than on his phone because "you are just hitting a couple of buttons, putting it right to the register and it worked very well."  Read MoreIs the first Apple Watch just a teaser?  Re/code's Lauren Goode noted, in an otherwise positive and delighted review, that the company hasn't quite fixed at least one previously revealed flaw.  "I've used Apple Maps for turn-by-turn directions, and like the way the watch buzzes on my wrist ahead of an upcoming turn. Although the Maps app did at one point think I was on a road that was on the other side of a creek. Oh, Apple Maps."
Users almost universally hailed Apple's flagship wearable as a transformative moment in mobile tech. But do you need to run out and buy one? Maybe not.