Apple watch

[saulgould13]

With the current craze toward wearable's, does anyone think Apple will make this mainstream?

 

[ajst222]

It probably will, because...it's Apple! However, I think Apple might struggle for two reasons with the Apple watch...it is extremely pricey, STARTING at $349. Also, it will reportedly have to be charged daily, which translates into: It will have less than a day of battery life. That's crazy for a device that has a priority of being a watch. I don't see how Apple could screw up so badly with something like that. Maybe they're working on it behind the scenes somehow, who knows? All the secrecy about it until Cook finally had to say SOMETHING.

Even with the price and the reportedly poor battery life, I can't help but picture it doing well because it's arguably the best smartwatch out there to be honest. But I see people buying it for namesake over actual functionality.

 

[theefman]

It will sell because its apple. Any shortcomings like the price and battery life will be overlooked by the tech press and users and it will be proclaimed the "best" wearable in their blind rush to praise anything with the apple logo on it.

 

[saulgould13]

Agreed on both comments, $349?! Wow

 

[ajst222]

Agreed on both comments, $349?! Wow

It's not just $349, it's STARTING AT $349 . Also, on a side note, the Apple Watch looks like something that is way too fragile to ever be on my wrist for daily use. We will see how it holds up though

 

[saulgould13]

Yea, and as with most first Gen products its wise to wait it out until the dust settles with the media hype.

 

[dkediger]

If by mainstream, you mean cross platform, then no, they won't.

Apple just doesn't do that. IIRC from the initial announcements, it also seems a lot of the functionality in the Apple Watch is very dependent on a host IOS device.

 

[saulgould13]

Not sure about the cross platform?

 

[ajst222]

Not sure about the cross platform?

There's no way Apple would make their watch work cross platform. However, here in the US at least, they don't need it to for it to become mainstream

 

[dkediger]

Kinda trying to pin down what the OP meant by mainstream.

Will Apple sell a ton of them? Sure - to people with iPhones only.

Will Apple sell any to WP or Android users? Not a single one unless its by mistake. The Apple Watch is essentially an inert lump without an iPhone.

Apple has no recent history of making anything that works outside of their own ecosystem.

 

[saulgould13]

Yes by mainstream I infer popular with the masses, it will shake up the market share in the coming months.

 

[dkediger]

With Apple's reputation, they are going to have to be flawless with execution, and they have several significant hurdles to overcome with the Watch, any one of which can limit it's mainstream appeal:

Battery life. The rumored 1 day life puts them at the bottom of the pile of devices out there. This won't be a problem for someone using the Watch as a fashion accessory, but for broad appeal, this will need to be improved. This could also be offset with a functionally robust and complimentary feature set.

UI. For better or worse, the UI of IOS is synonymous with Apple. Will the crown wheel and hex layout complement IOS, or be a confusing departure?

iPhone tether. Pre-release info seems to indicate the Watch derives a lot of functionality from a paired iDevice in continuous proximity. Even more so than say what the MS Band derives/needs.

Value Add. Everyone expects the Watch to do the basic wearable stuff and complimentary iPhone stuff well, but what new "thing" will it enable? The proverbial Jobsian "one more thing" so to speak. Streamlining mobile payments even more is known at this point, but is that it? For the price, the mainstream will probably expect something even more unique, as the publicity so far in advance of release has baked what is known into what is expected, and everyone now expects something new and unknown to be announced at release.

And finally, the walled garden. Granted, Apple has more than its fair share of those willing to irrationally buy in to the next big thing, just because. However, being limited to the Apple ecosystem, as well as a tight tethering requirement to an iPhone for functionality, means they will likely saturate the potential market very quickly and then hit a wall with sales.

 

[saulgould13]

Good points, especially proprietary approach, however time will tell if sales hit that walled garden? It will be something new and shiny. Curious however to see if competitors can actually keep up with the big Apples marketing appeal.

 

[DavidinCT]

It will sell because its apple. Any shortcomings like the price and battery life will be overlooked by the tech press and users and it will be proclaimed the "best" wearable in their blind rush to praise anything with the apple logo on it.

Not to all Tech press, and that is what I watch for. You have your Apple fanboys who do press, and of course they will claim "best thing in the world" but, as you get to "real" and "honest" reviewers, they will give the honest thing on how it is, I am not going to sit here and say it's a horrible OS on a watch, chances are it's pretty good, anything can be better than the iPhone.

The battery life thing will be a big issue, I am sure for the hipsters you will see them sell a lot but, in the long term if battery life is really poor and cant be addressed via software updates, It will be a failure for Apple.

The Smartwatch is still a specialty thing for people. If they are doing fitness, a $139 fitbit would do everything they want and work with MOST (exclude WP for the most part) phones. If they want something for business, yea, it might work but, if they battery life is really bad, you will find these people selling their iWatch for something with better life.

This will sell for the specialty market and the techy people but, mainstream like a iPhone? never going to happen, at least for the next few years...

The really sad part of these, even for Apple here, we are using new tech, better CPUS, better displays, better chipsets (for features on the device) but, we are still using battery tech from 10 years ago.

I'll be impressed when they can make a device like a phone, last for over a week with HEAVY usage and is smaller than a penny... 1/2 that size in a watch, could last a month....then we are talking

 

[Visa Declined]

The ecosystem will define the Apple watch. There will be a TON of fantastic apps for it, and Apple will unleash a slew of awesome commercials on tv. In my opinion, the best looking of the three watches Apple will release is the Sport model, and at $350 dollars, it also happens to be the cheapest.

 

[saulgould13]

Wow interesting.

 

[chuckdaly]

I foresee the Apple Watch selling well for a smartwatch, but falling incredibly short of being mainstream. The blogosphere, which typically praise all things Apple, wont be able to laud it without looking like hypocrites. Current reviews for smartwatches have implied that what they are capable of aren't worth the price of entry. Apple has failed to demonstrate any greater utility from the Apple Watch than any of the current devices already on the market. Btw, the multiuse crown is the stupidest idea on a watch. There's a reason watch makers add buttons to watches rather than expect wearers to twist the crown several times a day.

 

[raycpl]

Smart watches are too darn expensive. I predict fake iWatches will be a hit...
I have not worn a watch in years and not inclined to start.

 

[saulgould13]

Fake I watches?.. I don't know about that, APPL dominates mobile markets, I can only see an explosion of these things catching on.

 

[raycpl]

Yup. .. as in fake Rolexs, Italian handbags etc..... very common in my neck of the woods.