How many are getting an Apple watch?

[poofyhairguy]

Lol gotta love the Verge. All of the reviewer's complaints are about the core features and uses of a modern smartwatch and yet it somehow scores a 7 and is the "nicest" smartwatch.

But it is the nicest smartwatch from their point of view, aka "smartwatches that work with my iPhone." The Apple Watch is way nicer than a Pebble.

That is what I have been saying for months- smartwatches are about to exist for most of the population. And the Apple watch will be the best one, because it works with the iPhone. Just like Apple Pay made NFC payments exist.

I am excited about the female sex caring about smartwatches. Up until now the segment is dude nerds and vain dudes. I can't wait to see what the female element brings.

 

[Red Storm]

But it is the nicest smartwatch from their point of view, aka "smartwatches that work with my iPhone." The Apple Watch is way nicer than a Pebble.

That is what I have been saying for months- smartwatches are about to exist for most of the population. And the Apple watch will be the best one, because it works with the iPhone. Just like Apple Pay made NFC payments exist.

I am excited about the female sex caring about smartwatches. Up until now the segment is dude nerds and vain dudes. I can't wait to see what the female element brings.

When you put that way, true... even I would take a buggy Apple Watch over the Pebble.

 

[openwheel]

The best thing about the Apple Watch, is that it will bring attention to "wrist watches" in general. Fewer and fewer people wear watch these days. Android wear-ables are not "cool" enough to sway anyone who isn't wearing one anyway, but Apple as a cult will bring a lot of attention.

At the end of the day, most people will realize smart watches are more redundant than regular watches, but will begin to branch out into mechanical watches and eventually catch the bug. Fine time-pieces are forever and the Swiss Watch industry knows it. Time to snatch up a good time piece as demand will only go up faster with release of Apple Watch.

Thanks Apple!!! Truly.

 

[poofyhairguy]

The best thing about the Apple Watch, is that it will bring attention to "wrist watches" in general. Fewer and fewer people wear watch these days. Android wear-ables are not "cool" enough to sway anyone who isn't wearing one anyway, but Apple as a cult will bring a lot of attention.

Yeah, but it is not going to turn out how you want it to.

Rather than the Apple Watch leading to some sort of boom in the traditional wrist watch industry as is, the Apple Watch is about to redefine what a watch should look like.

I predict within two years a traditional watch maker will come out with a line of watches with fat square screens because that will be the "in" fashion for watches then.

At some level it doesn't matter what the traditional watch people think, this is going to grow the pie. Just like all those Beats customers didn't give a damn what "headphone people" thought. All they knew is that their favorite rapper had that particular piece of head jewelry so they want it. The same will happen with the Apple Watch, it will bring in more people with bad watch taste than now exist in that market total.

 

[Red Storm]

The best thing about the Apple Watch, is that it will bring attention to "wrist watches" in general. Fewer and fewer people wear watch these days. Android wear-ables are not "cool" enough to sway anyone who isn't wearing one anyway, but Apple as a cult will bring a lot of attention.

At the end of the day, most people will realize smart watches are more redundant than regular watches, but will begin to branch out into mechanical watches and eventually catch the bug. Fine time-pieces are forever and the Swiss Watch industry knows it. Time to snatch up a good time piece as demand will only go up faster with release of Apple Watch.

Thanks Apple!!! Truly.

I had a Moto 360 which I later sold for profit, but it actually did get me to start wearing normal watches.

Smartwatches are not redundant though. I already know you won't understand based on your previous posts in this thread, but they are great 2nd screens.

 

[openwheel]

Yeah, but it is not going to turn out how you want it to.

Rather than the Apple Watch leading to some sort of boom in the traditional wrist watch industry as is, the Apple Watch is about to redefine what a watch should look like.

I predict within two years a traditional watch maker will come out with a line of watches with fat square screens because that will be the "in" fashion for watches then.

At some level it doesn't matter what the traditional watch people think, this is going to grow the pie. Just like all those Beats customers didn't give a damn what "headphone people" thought. All they knew is that their favorite rapper had that particular piece of head jewelry so they want it. The same will happen with the Apple Watch, it will bring in more people with bad watch taste than now exist in that market total.

That's a lot of wishful thinking. Like I said, you either understand the wrist watch industry or you don't. Apple watch is not going to "define what a watch should look like" with a simple fact that Apple watch is already mimicking a traditional wrist watch. Squared watch face has been fashionable for a very long time without Apple. "What a watch should look like" is already defined, not even Apple can change that. Look at all the watch faces Apple built into its smart watch, they mimic mechanical watches. Since when do we like "fake" things?

Absolutely, there will be watch brands making smart watches, and they have already begun. Tag Heuer will make a buck wherever they can, so will Seiko, Michele, and other fashion brands that are not in the same league as Patek/Rolex. Mark my words, Patek will NEVER produce a smart watch. Fact is, different strokes for different folks. There will be lots of people wearing Apple Watch, but at the end of the day, if Apple Watch continues to get attention from regular folks, the Swiss mechanical industry will attract more people.

If you think Apple Watch=Beats, then I agree with you. However, if you think people are going to blindly drop hundreds/thousands every year upgrading their Apple Watch, then I disagree. After all, Beats are not as popular as you think, it just so happens those wearing Beats like to show it off (ironically enough they will mostly likely all wear Apple Watch).

 

[openwheel]

I had a Moto 360 which I later sold for profit, but it actually did get me to start wearing normal watches.

Smartwatches are not redundant though. I already know you won't understand based on your previous posts in this thread, but they are great 2nd screens.

I understand the "excitement" of smart watches, but....I have yet to hear/read/seen a good practical reason for smart watches. It is exactly why the smart watch has not caught on, and the Apple Watch hasn't shown any progress either. Even the Verge video review can be summarized as "redundant gadget".

Funny how you think that "I won't understand", but I happen to be a tech enthusiast and a wrist watch enthusiast. If anyone were to "understand", it would be those who understand both Worlds.....no?

 

[Commodus]

And takes them off the favoured reviewer list if they don't toe the line.

I don't think that many people claim any more than that. A lot of people refuse to accept it though.

Eh, it's hard to say, because we haven't really seen that happen. Apple seems to be more interested in "following" journalists as they change publications (say, Topolsky and crew when they formed The Verge) than punishing outlets. The main exception is Gizmodo... but it effectively stole an iPhone 4 prototype, and it still got back on the list after a few years.

You'll know whether or not your theory is true if places like CNET or The Verge end up missing out on early access to the next iPhone. I'm not counting on it.

 

[touchstone]

So after reading the Verge review I've decided to forego purchase of the apple watch until it can perform the way it was intended. He described lag, and that would infuriate me. I am very disappointed, this was going to be my first apple products since the OG ipad. Sadly Verge has convinced me it is crap.

 

[Red Storm]

So after reading the Verge review I've decided to forego purchase of the apple watch until it can perform the way it was intended. He described lag, and that would infuriate me. I am very disappointed, this was going to be my first apple products since the OG ipad. Sadly Verge has convinced me it is crap.

So you were going to buy an iPhone to go with it as well?

 

[Red Storm]

I understand the "excitement" of smart watches, but....I have yet to hear/read/seen a good practical reason for smart watches. It is exactly why the smart watch has not caught on, and the Apple Watch hasn't shown any progress either. Even the Verge video review can be summarized as "redundant gadget".

Funny how you think that "I won't understand", but I happen to be a tech enthusiast and a wrist watch enthusiast. If anyone were to "understand", it would be those who understand both Worlds.....no?

There are many, including disconnecting yourself from being too into your phone (it's funny that adding another gadget accomplishes this), "extending" your phone's battery life (by making you need to use it less), and screening calls and texts easily and safely while driving or on the move in general. There's also the benefit of no longer needing to take your phone with you on runs (for music). Mobile payments is an another one, makes infinitely more sense to use your wrist to quickly pay than to have to bring out your phone.

I actually think being a watch enthusiast hinders your ability to understand smartwatches. I personally do not understand regular watches that cost more than a few hundred, but smartwatches I understood the day they were announced.

 

[touchstone]

So you were going to buy an iPhone to go with it as well?

I had looked into getting an iphone 5 for it, the healthkit could be huge for me as I have heart issues and MUST exercise but it looks like apple is concentrating on frilly bullcrap and not doing anything useful with it. Typical apple.

 

[Artdeco]

And takes them off the favoured reviewer list if they don't toe the line.

I don't think that many people claim any more than that. A lot of people refuse to accept it though.



Indeed. As I said the reviews are pretty 'Meh'. They seem to be saying 'Save your money, it doesn't work that well and we're not sure you'd need it even if it did. Hopefully it'll get better.'. That's pretty bad for selected pre release Apple reviews.

Actually, that all changed recently, the PR person for Apple left (a gazillionaire by all measures, LOL) she was pretty miserable, and all the stories are pretty well true, they put people on "banned" and "never return calls" lists, Loe Laporte was famously never invited to Apple announcements after Steve caught him using the camera on a MB to live cast an announcement.

The Verge was put on a list because Josh Topolsky posted about a beta version of iOS they'd agreed to a NDA over. They started getting review units the day of release instead of weeks in advance-they never admitted to it, but suddenly they were completely out of the loop of Apple pre release reviews, and posted reviews the day of a product release with the rest of the great unwashed tech journalists.

The new person evidently has shredded all those lists and now they're quite a bit more open.

I've noticed Nilay has refocused The Verge to be more Android friendly, and it's a smart business move to increase readership among their target demographic, several well known Apple sites have closed and others are tightening their belts.

Nilay has increased page views dramatically is is pretty sharp, and he needs to be, in the tech blog business (and The Verge is/has rebranded itself as a "Lifestyle website") if you're not growing, you're dead.

As I said, I think the A7 was a poor choice for a processor, maybe it's the software, but my iPod Touch (A7 powered) is slow as hell.

Sigh, guess I'm going to hold out for the Kickstarter I backed for the Pebble Time Steel, supposed to ship in July

 

[WelshBloke]

Sigh, guess I'm going to hold out for the Kickstarter I backed for the Pebble Time Steel, supposed to ship in July

I think that some of the problem is that people who want a smartwatch aren't sure why they want one or what they want it to do and that the people who make them are in the same situation.

There isn't an obvious need for a second screen on your wrist to go with the one in your pocket. A smartwatch is always going to be a visual interface and it's always going to be hampered by its size and input options. Plus the fact that it's actually more difficult to use a small screen attached to your wrist than a larger one in your hand. I can use my phone one handed with no problems, I'll need at least two extra wrists to do that with a watch.

 

[ControlD]

Sigh, guess I'm going to hold out for the Kickstarter I backed for the Pebble Time Steel, supposed to ship in July

Good choice. The Pebble is an awesome device.

 

[touchstone]

Actually, that all changed recently, the PR person for Apple left (a gazillionaire by all measures, LOL) she was pretty miserable, and all the stories are pretty well true, they put people on "banned" and "never return calls" lists, Loe Laporte was famously never invited to Apple announcements after Steve caught him using the camera on a MB to live cast an announcement.

The Verge was put on a list because Josh Topolsky posted about a beta version of iOS they'd agreed to a NDA over. They started getting review units the day of release instead of weeks in advance-they never admitted to it, but suddenly they were completely out of the loop of Apple pre release reviews, and posted reviews the day of a product release with the rest of the great unwashed tech journalists.

The new person evidently has shredded all those lists and now they're quite a bit more open.

I've noticed Nilay has refocused The Verge to be more Android friendly, and it's a smart business move to increase readership among their target demographic, several well known Apple sites have closed and others are tightening their belts.

Nilay has increased page views dramatically is is pretty sharp, and he needs to be, in the tech blog business (and The Verge is/has rebranded itself as a "Lifestyle website") if you're not growing, you're dead.

As I said, I think the A7 was a poor choice for a processor, maybe it's the software, but my iPod Touch (A7 powered) is slow as hell.

Sigh, guess I'm going to hold out for the Kickstarter I backed for the Pebble Time Steel, supposed to ship in July

Uh, A7 is the processor that powers the iphone 5s. Unless you are talking ARM Cortex A7, which is also not what is in the apple watch. The Apple watch has a custom app processor called the S1 that nobody really knows the details on except apple.


I would guess that the S1 is actually not all that powerful in terms of computing power and is more focused on network integration (wifi/bluetooth etc)

 

[openwheel]

There are many, including disconnecting yourself from being too into your phone (it's funny that adding another gadget accomplishes this), "extending" your phone's battery life (by making you need to use it less), and screening calls and texts easily and safely while driving or on the move in general. There's also the benefit of no longer needing to take your phone with you on runs (for music). Mobile payments is an another one, makes infinitely more sense to use your wrist to quickly pay than to have to bring out your phone.

I actually think being a watch enthusiast hinders your ability to understand smartwatches. I personally do not understand regular watches that cost more than a few hundred, but smartwatches I understood the day they were announced.

Unlike your positive descriptions of using a 2nd screen on wrist, there are many downsides:

1. Using tiny screen on wrist while driving is even more dangerous than using the phone. Better solution is HUD and voice recognition integration. Why buy another tiny computer strapped to wrist when your phone already does it while sipping power?
2. Buying another computer strapped to wrist for the purpose of saving phone battery life is a bit.....bazzar, and backwards. How about simply charge your phone instead of trying to keep two things with bad battery life charged?
3. Using smart watch during exercise "seems" like a good idea at first, but stainless and gold Apple Watch is not as comfortable as Casio G-Shock, or a purpose built fitness tracker like Fitbit. Yes you have the aluminum version but I doubt the fragile metal can handle everyday beating. For music its an iPod without headphone jack so you are stuck with expensive and ineffective earphones that requires more attention to keep charged. How ironic.
4. Don't get me started with mobile payment


A lot of people don't understand $7000 stainless steel diver from Rolex, but it changes your perception quickly once you see and wear one. Most "watch people" started with one, and then the bug gets you. Trust me, there is a mechanical watch out there for you that you will love and possibly pass down to your kids, but only if you give it a chance with open mind. I was in your shoes.

Basically, smart watch is just a bad idea in general, couple that with invading my one and only left wrist translates to this rant. The day Apple partners with Persol for fashionable smart Sunglasses/glasses is the day I get excited about wear-ables. Apple Watch? Nah, not for me, not even close. They can't even make it a decent looking watch.

 

[shabby]

Lol gotta love the Verge. All of the reviewer's complaints are about the core features and uses of a modern smartwatch and yet it somehow scores a 7 and is the "nicest" smartwatch.

Nicest? What does that even mean?

Easily the nicest smartwatch available
Platform has endless room to grow, especially with native apps
Taptic Engine is really cool

Nice, endless room to grow, cool? Pathetic review.

 

[dawheat]

A lot of people don't understand $7000 stainless steel diver from Rolex, but it changes your perception quickly once you see and wear one. Most "watch people" started with one, and then the bug gets you. Trust me, there is a mechanical watch out there for you that you will love and possibly pass down to your kids, but only if you give it a chance with open mind. I was in your shoes.

Basically, smart watch is just a bad idea in general, couple that with invading my one and only left wrist translates to this rant. The day Apple partners with Persol for fashionable smart Sunglasses/glasses is the day I get excited about wear-ables. Apple Watch? Nah, not for me, not even close. They can't even make it a decent looking watch.

I think you're conflating one of your own passions with something innate. What you're trying to state is true for anything (e.g. hifi equipment, cars, etc) to the extent that most people would like a "nice" thing. But there's nothing uniquely special about watches from any other interest.

A 7K Rolex doesn't interest me and many others in the slightest. It's essentially jewelry - something of limited functionality that you wear for ornamentation, which is fine if that's your interest. But it's not more valid than any other interest.

 

[openwheel]

I think you're conflating one of your own passions with something innate. What you're trying to state is true for anything (e.g. hifi equipment, cars, etc) to the extent that most people would like a "nice" thing. But there's nothing uniquely special about watches from any other interest.

A 7K Rolex doesn't interest me and many others in the slightest. It's essentially jewelry - something of limited functionality that you wear for ornamentation, which is fine if that's your interest. But it's not more valid than any other interest.

Different stroke for different folks, I am not here to convince you to buy a $7000 Sub. You can keep your money. The point here is why Apple Watch is anymore functional as a smart watch. Frankly no one has an answer, except that Apple Watch is just another ornamental jewelry without all the benefits a fine Swiss watch can offer.

If the best argument is simply " I don't give a $hi#" about expensive mechanical watches, then why bother posting at all?

 

[lopri]

(probably) Off-topic: where does this watch belong in the watch food pyramid? Out of curiosity.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nGdS2jXHwQ

 

[stlc8tr]

Different stroke for different folks, I am not here to convince you to buy a $7000 Sub. You can keep your money. The point here is why Apple Watch is anymore functional as a smart watch. Frankly no one has an answer, except that Apple Watch is just another ornamental jewelry without all the benefits a fine Swiss watch can offer.

If the best argument is simply " I don't give a $hi#" about expensive mechanical watches, then why bother posting at all?

Because the Apple Watch has the tightest integration between watch and phone. Something that Google can't yet offer until they come out with their watch.

Here's a list of reasons why the Apple Watch is more functional than a "fine Swiss watch".

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/09/t...ss-but-only-after-a-steep-learning-curve.html

 

[WelshBloke]

Because the Apple Watch has the tightest integration between watch and phone. Something that Google can't yet offer until they come out with their watch.

Here's a list of reasons why the Apple Watch is more functional than a "fine Swiss watch".

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/09/t...ss-but-only-after-a-steep-learning-curve.html

I grew used to calling on Siri to set kitchen timers or reminders while I was cooking, or to look up the weather while I was driving. And I also grew used to her getting these requests wrong almost as often as she got them right.

Sounds great.

 

[stlc8tr]

Sounds great.

Yeah, way to cherry pick.

It took three days — three long, often confusing and frustrating days — for me to fall for the Apple Watch. But once I fell, I fell hard.

By notifying me of digital events as soon as they happened, and letting me act on them instantly, without having to fumble for my phone, the Watch became something like a natural extension of my body — a direct link, in a way that I’ve never felt before, from the digital world to my brain. The effect was so powerful that people who’ve previously commented on my addiction to my smartphone started noticing a change in my behavior; my wife told me that I seemed to be getting lost in my phone less than in the past. She found that a blessing.

When these encounters worked, they were magical, like having a secret key to unlock the world right on my arm. What’s most thrilling about the Apple Watch, unlike other smartwatches I’ve tried, is the way it invests a user with a general sense of empowerment. If Google brought all of the world’s digital information to our computers, and the iPhone brought it to us everywhere, the Watch builds the digital world directly into your skin. It takes some time getting used to, but once it clicks, this is a power you can’t live without.

 

[Red Storm]

Because the Apple Watch has the tightest integration between watch and phone. Something that Google can't yet offer until they come out with their watch.

Here's a list of reasons why the Apple Watch is more functional than a "fine Swiss watch".

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/09/t...ss-but-only-after-a-steep-learning-curve.html

Why does Google need to come out with their own watch? Android Wear is the same on every Android Wear watch.