Subscribe
Sign in
Apple Watch — The most personal device Apple has ever created
94
Replies
Adam Kazwell
$349 makes sense as a starting point for a v1 device. Not even the iPhone immediately appealed to everyone (although that very quickly changed). If Apple keeps up with their past performance, the price will drop as the appeal/functionality increases.
Share
Will be very interesting to see who cracks the code on the actual usage of these devices. Not convinced I need one yet, and am enjoying a watch-free lifestyle since I stopped wearing one a few years back. Holds a lot of promise. Also, no battery life announcements- that will be interesting to see too.
The watch looks pretty cool and I'm bullish on it but a watch is first and foremost, jewelry. Jewelry is about self-expression and its hard to self-express by wearing the exact same watch as everyone else.
A more exciting announcement would have been that they were working with other watchmakers to design their own watches that run the Apple software.
Looks beautiful (to my preferences) and the functionality blows competitors away. The up-market pricing lowers my purchase intent significantly, but I'm in for the presumably-cheaper V2.
Also, I'm concerned that they made no mention of battery life - on the watch, or the watch's effect on the iPhone's battery life. My iPhone5 can already barely last until the afternoon, even without an always-on watch connection.
I liked the innovation of digital crown to replace pinch gestures. Yet, the demo seemed a bit confusing. There were times when using the crown would make sense to me, but Kevin Lynch swiped instead. And visa-versa. Swipe on a watch seems like a poor gesture, and I thought the crown would replace it. The crown plus the addition of haptic touches and voice I think makes most sense for main interactions.
I'm hoping a hands-on demo will alleviate my fears about this.
EDIT: Digital crown is the new iPod clickwheel
@eric3000 I noticed the same thing. I think it might have been because the demo watch was not on his wrist. It might make more sense to use the crown then.
Meh. Can't help but think an "apple fuelband" would fit the "job to be done" a bit better based on the positive feedback regarding the health/fitness benefits.
I think this is truly a first wearable. This is my hunch. The other devices are tracables, nor wearables, because we didn't want to wear them. Same with the phone, remember? We didn't not love our phones, not even Razr, but we loved the iPhone.
Hart to conclude just based on the keynote, but all indicators point in the direction of a transformative device. The challenge is Phones were must have, and watches are definitely not, but if I had to bet, I'd say this is going to take off.
@NeerajT4 It's almost like they purposefully limit themselves on v1's. I like knowing this is the beginning of many iterations. To me, seems like a sound first step into wearables.
Was really hoping for touch ID on device. One day I imagine the digital crown could serve as that interface. Did not expect the crown.
Most interested in how this will work for payments and with IoT apps. Affordance on your wrist vs reaching for your phone is big in a lot of instances.
I've been waiting for this watch for about a decade now.
Unfortunately, it looks like even the smaller 38 mm version might be too big for my wrist.
And what about people who wear their watch on their right wrist?
Battery life? Waterproof? Storage? Connectivity (besides BLE)? - This is stuff they will be working on in the next few months I think. Nothing major regarding today's presentation (ability to show it), but imho major regarding usability etc. when a gazillion people are going to buy this thing (including moi)
Pricing: like Google Glass, I think the watch should start at $199/249 to appeal to the masses (cause it is an accessory). Only when we have new batterie tech widely available (graphite & Lithium anodes for example) this can be a standalone device (syncing calls, messages etc. over the internet instead of BLE).
Still, if they can make some changes (perfect it), this well be huge imo, and if you have a full Apple setup, this will be your usage:
Watch 60%
Ipad 25%
iPhone 10%
Mac 5%
thoughts?
P.S the real killer is going to be the EDITION high end 18Karat gold one: https://www.apple.com/watch/appl... - very smart fashion move
@bramk interesting projected breakdown of usage, although I'd bump up the iPhone percentage much higher and drop the iPad's.
Not a fan. iPod was, "all your CDs in your pocket" - a unique value - it made your CDs unnecessary. Then iPhone made iPods unnecessary. And iPhone made wearing a watch unnecessary too. But the Apple Watch is currently an accessory to your phone. Meh. You know what would've been cool? If Apple Watch made your iPhone unnecessary. That's the kind of vision I want from Apple - or at least the expectation they've built for me.
My husband was going to buy some great monstrosity garmin I think that has gps, heart rate etc for the same price. Now he can go more elegant. Of all the watches with added bits this seems to be the most attractive so far. I hope the sports version is waterproof. I'm happy if I can tell it to be quiet and just access emergency things - will mean I can go out without clutching my phone like an addict :-) - might even start taking my camera out again instead of the phone too. For a first cut it looks good. It will sell more than a few... :-)
@helencrozier the apple watch has no GPS... unless you pair it with your iPhone.. That makes it basically completely useless as a sport tracking device
@cpuricelli dash i must have missed that in the small print. :-(
Actually pretty disappointed now as I also thought I could be heading out the door with no phone as it would hook up to runkeeper... Maybe later.
To say that I'm excited would be an understatement. This has been what I've been waiting for ever since the idea that an Apple watch might be a reality. The phone is a Pandora's box of distraction. As soon as it's unlocked, the world is my oyster. As someone that's prone to getting lost in apps once the phone is open, the Apple Watch is PERFECT for me. I can't wait.
from @sama - "when i first saw google glass, i didn't want one. when i first saw the apple watch, i really wanted one."
@eriktorenberg i think elaboration would be really interesting here. i feel like for a lot of people it was the exact opposite, where google glass was the future and actually seemed innovative, whereas the watch wasn't all too different from the existing smartwatches out there, and didn't have any *must-have* features.
@krrishd Apple creates hardware, software, and peopleware. It cultivates, builds and eases us into new behavior, even when the particular technology(ies) have been around for some time. What results is Thiel's "Last Mover Advantage" as we wait for Apple to bless each new product category.
@basche42 agreed, but what would make it something someone "really wanted" in your opinion? a lot of the stuff has been around for a while, and I agree that Apple is innovative in that it'll bring it to the forefront, but what feature really makes it worth the price tag?
@krrishd Not sure - and great question. I suspect for mass market it will be the health aspect (they also can recruit a much richer app ecosystem at first than any of the android health wearables).
Can't wait to start building apps for this. There are going to be completely new types of user behaviour and interactions to understand, and a whole new design language and constraints to go with it. Going to be fun.
I feel the urge to buy one, but know it's an uphill battle for Apple. Ever since I switched from Android to iOS, I've been missing Google Now and direct Google Maps integration like crazy. I can't lock myself further into Apple's sub-par services just for the sake of hardware. I think the services around Android Wear are going to make it better in the long-term, but Apple definitely just set the standard when it comes to physical build quality.
@zachtratar I haven't used Android extensively. Can you elaborate on what you like(d) better about Google Now vs Siri, and the android gMaps app vs iOS gMaps?
@staringispolite The differences in quality are very glaring. Apple Maps directions are completely off 10% of the time, whereas I've only had Google send me a strange way one or twice, ever. Siri is a complete mess compared to Google Now. Google Now is like asking a real assistant for information, whereas Siri feels like talking to a robot that only gets it right 30% of the time. The types of searches you can do on Google Now are much more extensive.
@zachtratar I'm not talking about Apple maps, I'm talking about iOS's gMaps. I haven't noticed any big difference. Interesting to hear your XP with Siri vs GN. (I've never seen either look/feel natural). What are some queries GN can do that Siri can't?
@staringispolite Integrates directly into Google Now === way better. "Ok Google, Navigate to this restaurant". You may not even know where the restaurant is, but Google does. Apple screws that command up *a lot*. In addition, gMaps isn't going to be directly integrated into the Apple Watch. Apple prioritizes their own apps and ecosystem.
@zachtratar I vastly prefer typing to those voice-style commands, but if that weren't the case, I can totally see that being important. Just tried using Siri and it (a) understood what I said (b) plugged in something completely different into the map, and (c) used Apple Maps.
Oooooh good point about Apple Watch using Apple Maps. I assume (hope) Google Maps' team releases an app of their own for directions. (Also hoping Strava does this for their Routes feature)
I'm super excited to see how product creators use Watch. As @nireyal has written about before, interface changes can lead to new opportunities and huge shifts in consumer behavior (eg facebook gaming to mobile gaming).
@rrhoover also seems like a huge opportunity to guide behavior change....when you don't even have to take the device out of your pocket, it's going to be very hard to ignore the buzzing updates the Watch delivers.