How many are getting an Apple watch?

[Commodus]

I think you can do some of this functionality (minus the walkie-talkie stuff, which honestly sounds pretty cool. Very Dick Tracey-ish) currently with AW and Hangouts, but I don't use Hangouts so I can't do anything but read and dismiss single SMS' from my watch.

I've been using Hangouts on the Moto 360 myself, and yeah... speech-to-text replies are all you have. It's amazing to think that Google, of all companies, wouldn't give you other ways to respond!

I disagree that zooming is necessary on a watch, as all content should be readable in a single screen-view "page". Scrolling isn't really needed either, IMO, if you need to read a multi-line SMS or email, you should go to the phone. Keep in mind this is just my opinion, and the way I use my watch.

There are certain apps where zooming is necessary, though. For example, in a navigation app: what if you want to see more of the neighborhood? And yes, you should probably read a long message on your phone, but what if you just want to quickly read a bit more of a message or go back a few steps in an SMS conversation? It's about letting you accomplish in a second or two what would take much longer on your phone.

Wifi is a significantly higher power-usage tech than BT, isn't it? This is going to be terrible for battery life. What sort of tasks would/could you do on a watch that need more bandwith then BT is capable of? For that matter, will it be a wifi direct connection, or is it simply the phone and watch sharing data over a mutual wifi network? I don't think this is something that is really needed. More of a "throw this in there and think of some usage cases for it, cause TECHNOLOGY!"

Yeah, Apple hasn't made it all that clear what the WiFi will be used for. It sounds more like it's for staying connected when you're beyond the range of your phone (which would be a massive plus), but we'll see closer to launch.

I still think it's more a subjective thing than anything else. I don't like any square watch, and I don't think they look good on anybody, no matter what. It was because of this that I hadn't considered any smart watch till the M360.

There's a subjectiveness to it, to be sure. I just think Apple did one of the few square smartwatches that doesn't look like it was designed by a geek clueless about fashion -- you can, in fact, get one and not seem dorky... you might even look good. It'd be worth going into an Apple store to check it out even if you have no intentions of buying, if just to see how a nicer model would appear when strapped on.

 

[Ramses]

Do they not do the double tap or pinch zoom thing on android smart watches? Or the canned responses to txt?

 

[poofyhairguy]

For example, in a navigation app: what if you want to see more of the neighborhood?

Use a phone. How Wear interacts with the GPS is perfect- it helps navigate, but doesn't even let you try to find a local Chinese food place on a one inch screen.

If iOS taught us anything it is just because a user can technically have the power to do something doesn't mean they should be able to. A smart watch should always be a second screen, not your second phone.

And yes, you should probably read a long message on your phone, but what if you just want to quickly read a bit more of a message or go back a few steps in an SMS conversation?

Swipe left and Wear changes from the notification to the whole conversation. It is a good balance.

Wear needs better responses though, and something like Wear Mini Launcher built into the OS.

Yeah, Apple hasn't made it all that clear what the WiFi will be used for. It sounds more like it's for staying connected when you're beyond the range of your phone (which would be a massive plus), but we'll see closer to launch.

Wear is about to get WiFi for getting now updates away from your phone.

 

[Achtung!]

They are now forecasting only 1.25 million shipments of the iWatch per month. That's disappointing given the amount of press and hype it built up.

 

[openwheel]

i think the difference is the digorno costs at most a few dollars more than the pizza. if you were to ask me 'would your rather pay thousands of dollars to fly to Firenze to eat a pizza and fly back or just go buy one at the store' i would obviously say buy it at the store. who the hell flys to italy just to eat pizza?



thats what these swiss watches are. flying to italy... just to eat one pizza

So you would rather eat DiGiorno.
See, I rest my case. That was easy.

 

[stlc8tr]

They are now forecasting only 1.25 million shipments of the iWatch per month. That's disappointing given the amount of press and hype it built up.

Ummm... That rumor claims manufacturing problems for the cut in production.

In other words, they claim that Apple *wants* to make 2.5M watches a month but they can only produce 1.25M.

 

[Artdeco]

They are now forecasting only 1.25 million shipments of the iWatch per month. That's disappointing given the amount of press and hype it built up.

And still more than the entire industry sold last year.

 

[AznAnarchy99]

i think the difference is the digorno costs at most a few dollars more than the pizza. if you were to ask me 'would your rather pay thousands of dollars to fly to Firenze to eat a pizza and fly back or just go buy one at the store' i would obviously say buy it at the store. who the hell flys to italy just to eat pizza?



thats what these swiss watches are. flying to italy... just to eat one pizza

Why Firenze? I perfer Napoli or Roma for my pizza.

 

[Ramses]

If I was going to go to Italy it'd damn sure not be for pizza.

 

[WelshBloke]

If I was going to go to Italy it'd damn sure not be for pizza.

The pizza in Naples is pretty damn good.

 

[rcpratt]

I didn't love Italian food as much as I had hoped. Can't go wrong with a pizza, though.

Wait, what? How did we get here?

 

[swilli89]

They are now forecasting only 1.25 million shipments of the iWatch per month. That's disappointing given the amount of press and hype it built up.

15 million units a year and probably a huge margin on each, sounds like a huge success for Apple. Don't get me wrong, I dislike the company and its products, but they will probably add a billion in IBT from this device alone.

 

[Commodus]

I'm having a hard time believing that production rumor. The WSJ (a historically much, much more reliable source) pegged production at around 5-6 million per quarter, so "half" wouldn't even add up.

Also, AppleInsider (which is also more accurate) has a source who says that any production woes are "overblown," that it's no different than for any new Apple product and that executives were both expecting and well aware of supply limits for the launch. The Watch will probably sell out quickly, but it probably won't be so scarce that people will go all Lord of the Flies and fight over it.

http://appleinsider.com/articles/15...t-reports-of-late-production-issues-overblown

 

[Ramses]

The pizza in Naples is pretty damn good.

But do they delivery in 30min or less?

 

[touchstone]

i have a feeling this smartwatch thing could be huge if it was done right and sadly apple will probably do it right first. hopefully they will open it up to android or samsung will make something competitive. they are projecting possible revenue greater than even the iphone



if i had apple stock i would be extremely exited right now. the reason the watch is possibly so much more profitable than the iphone is the bands and the margins on those bands. one person will buy only one apple watch, but they will probably want multiple bands if they can afford them. you could be looking at average investments of near $1000 or even more if each person buys a steel with 2 or 3 bands and who knows what the margin is on the edition. financially this has the potential to take apple to territories no other company has ventured since the british east india company.

 

[Yayo3p]

Nope sticking with my Nike TomTom.

 

[Mopetar]

they are projecting possible revenue greater than even the iphone

Who are "they"?

Regardless of why "they" are, the premise seems really damned unlikely. They're selling around 50 million iPhones each quarter now. At best I suspect that watch would sell 10% of those numbers in a given quarter, and even that's being generous.

So unless they're selling mostly expensive gold watches, there's no way a reasonable person could expect the revenues from the watches to be anywhere near the iPhone.

 

[Ramses]

They damn sure aren't from anandtech readers according to the poll on this thread.. heh...

 

[touchstone]

Who are "they"?

Regardless of why "they" are, the premise seems really damned unlikely. They're selling around 50 million iPhones each quarter now. At best I suspect that watch would sell 10% of those numbers in a given quarter, and even that's being generous.

So unless they're selling mostly expensive gold watches, there's no way a reasonable person could expect the revenues from the watches to be anywhere near the iPhone.

i will dig it up later, but it was some financial analysts. they didn't project higher than the iphone, they just gave a range of possible projected profit and on the high end it was even higher than iphone


its probably not likely that it'll come close to that but who knows, i just think it is exiting to see a whole new venue of technology start developing (wearables). this is the first time in history millions of people will simultaneously wear a piece of technology that keeps them physically connected to the world!

 

[Raduque]

. A smart watch should always be a second screen, not your second phone.

And this is it, right here. I firmly believe a smartwatch should be no more than an extension of your phone - a remote notifications veiwer with a few secondary functions, not a primary means to perform tasks.

 

[Commodus]

I wouldn't entirely agree with that. They should be primary means for tasks that are simple and make sense from your wrist. Android Wear, for everything it does right, makes you pull out your phone far too often for tasks that could be over in a quick second.

Ultimately, the goal of a smartwatch is to make your life easier. That doesn't mean browsing the web from your watch or checking your Facebook feed, but there are times when starting a task from your watch would be faster and easier.

 

[Artdeco]

They damn sure aren't from anandtech readers according to the poll on this thread.. heh...

Anandtech also thought the iPhone and iPad we're doomed to fail. Do a search you'll see historically ATF are particularly bad at predicting success of a product in real life, this seems to be a Windows/Android boys club. Not that there's anything wrong with that...

The Apple Watch is being marketed more towards women than any previous Apple product. So sales and the poll here are seriously at odds with each other

 

[Ramses]

Wouldn't bet the farm on the fairer sex adopting anytime soon.
Men have been buying giant watches since they can't walk around with their junk
hanging out for ages, women have considerably more taste.

 

[poofyhairguy]

Wouldn't bet the farm on the fairer sex adopting anytime soon.
Men have been buying giant watches since they can't walk around with their junk
hanging out for ages, women have considerably more taste.

Actually oversized watches became more fashionable for women years ago. The trends are in place for Apple to make a killing.

 

[Ramses]

I hadn't noticed. Do fashion trends ever last? They used to change pretty regular.