How many are getting an Apple watch?

[Red Storm]

It is already obvious how terrible anandtech is at predicting public interest in this watch. 92% of us said it would fail, millions of pre-orders and the biggest apple product launch yet. Funny how that works.

Funny, the poll doesn't ask to predict sales, it asks if you're going to buy one.

Do I think the Apple watch will sell well? Yes.

Am I going to buy and use an Apple watch? No.

Do you see the difference?

Question about the digital crown: What would you suggest as an interface that can act as a home button and a scroll? Buttons are terrible, and this thing seems like a really excellent way to solve the issue. I tried it and it was very smooth. Every review I read agrees with me too. Hmm.

I don't think the crown is necessary. It really isn't IMHO, I was playing around with the apple watch just fine without the crown. I don't think it's intuitive, having to lift your finger off the screen just to scroll something and then come back to the screen is bad interface design IMHO.

 

[Deeko]

This touchstone fella is getting really worked up. We get it. You like the Apple Watch, you think it's going to put every luxury watch maker out of business, you are in awe of Apple's technology prowess, you think music stars are the best people to go to for financial advice, and you get personally offended when people don't share your opinions on technology. I've summed up your multiple page-long posts in that paragraph - can we move on?

 

[vi edit]

An interesting poll would be "How many watch sales do you consider it a success for Apple?"

Honestly, I'm not the least bit wowed by "1 million pre-orders!!!!". Not from a company that has a user base of a couple hundred million people.


I'll be impressed if Apple sells 20 million in the first quarter of it's retail release. I also want to know what the return rate is on them. Buyers remorse, annoyed, whatever the reason. I saw a poll where almost 30% of the people that bought the iPhone 6+ returned it for a smaller product. I've only a seen a few of them in the wild since November. I have a feeling the watch is going to be similar.

 

[openwheel]

I just see a mall watch that is fruit stamped and stuffed with a computer.

Are people really excited about these straps, colors, and lack of apps? Ever heard of Swatch? You get even more selection for 1/10 the price.

 

[abj13]

An interesting poll would be "How many watch sales do you consider it a success for Apple?"

Honestly, I'm not the least bit wowed by "1 million pre-orders!!!!". Not from a company that has a user base of a couple hundred million people.


I'll be impressed if Apple sells 20 million in the first quarter of it's retail release. I also want to know what the return rate is on them. Buyers remorse, annoyed, whatever the reason. I saw a poll where almost 30% of the people that bought the iPhone 6+ returned it for a smaller product. I've only a seen a few of them in the wild since November. I have a feeling the watch is going to be similar.

Exactly. Another important question is what happens next year? Does Apple outsell the 2015 watch version by several increments? Or do sales plateau? That is really going to reflect the impact of the watch if it doesn't dominate technology sales this year. I don't think anyone feels the 2015 is a landmark watch other than it is the first Apple Watch. Technology-wise, there are many negatives, including the rather poor battery life. If sales next year really ramp up, I think Apple has carved out an important technology niche. If sales plateau, or, heck, drop, I think that is more telling of the impact of the Apple Watch on the market, or the entire smart-watch market as a whole.

For all the people pointing to the pre-orders on the success of the Apple Watch, that isn't a true marker of success, most "new" items from Apple are going to garner significant pre-orders. Once it is released and others see it in the "field," will others suddenly desire it? 2016 may be the even more important year. Are the 2015 early implementators wanting the next version of the watch? Are the people on the sidelines for 2015 suddenly enticed by the early implementators and want a 2016 watch? Or is the sales merely a mirage, built upon brand name rather than a true market with a demand? We shall see how this year and next year's version stack up, along with the impact of this year's sales.

 

[openwheel]

because most people don't use their phones for calls?

-Efficient, important, and social-able people make calls.
-Teenagers, anti-social, and low wage employees don't make calls.

Nothing will replace a real face to face meeting, and nothing will replace a courteous phone call.

 

[Ramses]

Something like 3 billion phone calls a day vs over 100 billion emails a day. Lot of anti-social low-wage teenagers out there. It really is sort of a thing anymore, and as more young folks that grew up with it native (i didn't) come into the working world it's only going to continue.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jaysondemers/2014/08/27/emails-only-please-10-reasons-phone-calls-are-a-waste-of-time/

Phone calls and video calls aren't going to go away of course but they just aren't well suited to a great many conversations. At work we refer to some customers that need phone calls as pre-amazon or pre-ebay types.

 

[preslove]

The one point materially that I would make, is that you cannot find a single regular mechanical watch with a sapphire crystal display for $550, so given that , the sensors, the interface, and the fact that as an apple product we can expect it to hold SOME value (vs 360 which is a brick in 6 mo), and i would say that if anybody is getting ripped off it is the motorola customer.

You have no idea what you're talking about.

Orient makes well regarded mechanical watches that can be had for a fraction of that: http://www.longislandwatch.com/Orient_CDB05001B_Watch_p/cdb05001b.htm

You can find grey market swiss mechanicals for ~$400. If you negotiate at a jewelry shop or wait for sales, you can get that price from an authorized dealer.

Seagull makes well regarded, quality mechanicals for a fraction of that, grey market.

 

[Ns1]

-Efficient, important, and social-able people make calls.
-Teenagers, anti-social, and low wage employees don't make calls.

Nothing will replace a real face to face meeting, and nothing will replace a courteous phone call.

bingo.

my life is 45% email/IM 45% face to face meeting 10% phone.

jesus, htf do you guys have the time to be on the phone all day.

 

[Commodus]

-Efficient, important, and social-able people make calls.
-Teenagers, anti-social, and low wage employees don't make calls.

Nothing will replace a real face to face meeting, and nothing will replace a courteous phone call.

And it's much more polite for your spouse to text you about picking up the kids from soccer practice than calling you when you might be in a meeting.

The stereotyping here is unsupported, mean-spirited and elitist. There are plenty of important people who use messaging because it's more discreet and efficient than tying someone up in a phone call for a simple question. Likewise, there are lots of "low wage employees" who make phone calls. And teens? If they're not making calls, doesn't that suggest to you that the future of phone communication may not involve as much voice? Remember, a lot of those people making old-school calls are doing so because they grew up with no other option and are socially conditioned to believe it's the right thing to do. Teens aren't going to be "fixed" the moment they turn 20 -- they're going to carry that behavior into adulthood.

 

[dawheat]

My opinion of the Apple Watch hasn't changed - unless it gains a lot more utility, it's not going to be their next pillar and will follow the iPad sales curve in a shorter period of time.

I'm a fan of smartwatches and think things like notifications are greatly enhanced. They have great health monitoring promise and I'm sure app devs will come up with some great added use cases.

However, it's clearly not for everyone and not even for the majority of people (unlike say an iPhone). It's also almost never preferable to do any significant interaction on such a tiny form factor. Where it shines is something you can glance at or interact with a single action.

I honestly think once the initial excitement (and secondary market sales) dies down, sales will be moderate and more importantly, won't result in people wanting to buy the new one every year.

 

[Ravynmagi]

-Efficient, important, and social-able people make calls.
-Teenagers, anti-social, and low wage employees don't make calls.

Nothing will replace a real face to face meeting, and nothing will replace a courteous phone call.

I kinda disagree. I think this is a generation difference here. Texting is becoming much more acceptable in lieu of phone calls. And your face to face meetings are being replaced by video conferencing. Nothing wrong with either, but technology is changing how we communicate.

I rarely make phone calls myself (and I'm not a youngster). I'm much more comfortable texting someone. Though I do know there are some people I need to call because that is their preference.

 

[touchstone]

You have no idea what you're talking about.

Orient makes well regarded mechanical watches that can be had for a fraction of that: http://www.longislandwatch.com/Orient_CDB05001B_Watch_p/cdb05001b.htm

You can find grey market swiss mechanicals for ~$400. If you negotiate at a jewelry shop or wait for sales, you can get that price from an authorized dealer.

Seagull makes well regarded, quality mechanicals for a fraction of that, grey market.

Grey market? What the heck is that? I don't buy used or stolen goods, I'm not poor and if I was I surely would have other things to spend on more important than sapphire screens.

Please show me a Rolex or Patek or even a tag with a sapphire screen for less than the apple watch. I have never even heard of the brand you cited.

 

[Oyeve]

To make it clear I will list the feature set you get with a 25 Gram 38mm Apple watch, the smallest, lightest, most attractive smartwatch available BY FAR:





Sapphire Crystal Display

Why is this a feature? Many of my real watches have this, many of them way cheaper than an iwatch. Its all synthetic. Hell, an old citizen watch I bought 30 years ago for 60 bucks new has a sapphire crystal display.

Or has apple invented this as they claim they invented a new gold?

 

[Commodus]

Grey market? What the heck is that? I don't buy used or stolen goods, I'm not poor and if I was I surely would have other things to spend on more important than sapphire screens.

Please show me a Rolex or Patek or even a tag with a sapphire screen for less than the apple watch. I have never even heard of the brand you cited.

Grey market means that it's... well, in a legal grey area. It's not explicitly illegal to buy some products outside of official channels, for example, but nor is it strictly A-OK.

Rolex and Patek Philippe aren't really good comparisons here, because those brands are typically full-on luxury (four digit prices and up). You'd be better off looking at brands that operate in something approaching this price range, like Casio, Citizen or Seiko.

 

[stlc8tr]

I figured this issue would come up with shipping times, so my solution was to shotgun a bunch of orders for as fast as possible using multiple apple IDs on multiple devices and then pick the one I liked. It worked.

38mm SS w Black sports band April 24 delivery

Out of the 6 orders I placed, only this one got launch day shipping, which is unfortunate because it is not the one I wanted.

Did any of your orders get canceled?

http://www.reddit.com/r/AppleWatch/..._has_begun_canceling_orders_if_you_purchased/

 

[preslove]

Grey market? What the heck is that? I don't buy used or stolen goods, I'm not poor and if I was I surely would have other things to spend on more important than sapphire screens.

Please show me a Rolex or Patek or even a tag with a sapphire screen for less than the apple watch. I have never even heard of the brand you cited.

LOL, you know nothing about watches. Grey market is neither used or stolen, you ****ing idiot.

 

[preslove]

Grey market means that it's... well, in a legal grey area. It's not explicitly illegal to buy some products outside of official channels, for example, but nor is it strictly A-OK.

Rolex and Patek Philippe aren't really good comparisons here, because those brands are typically full-on luxury (four digit prices and up). You'd be better off looking at brands that operate in something approaching this price range, like Casio, Citizen or Seiko.

There is nothing illegal with greymarket products. Grey market is the only type of watch that Amazon sells, and they have thousands and thousands of watches for sale.

There aren't any laws against reselling unsold stock for less than retail.

 

[openwheel]

Grey market? What the heck is that? I don't buy used or stolen goods, I'm not poor and if I was I surely would have other things to spend on more important than sapphire screens.

Please show me a Rolex or Patek or even a tag with a sapphire screen for less than the apple watch. I have never even heard of the brand you cited.

Wow, just wow. :thumbsdown:

 

[openwheel]

I kinda disagree. I think this is a generation difference here. Texting is becoming much more acceptable in lieu of phone calls. And your face to face meetings are being replaced by video conferencing. Nothing wrong with either, but technology is changing how we communicate.

I rarely make phone calls myself (and I'm not a youngster). I'm much more comfortable texting someone. Though I do know there are some people I need to call because that is their preference.

Exactly my point, and you are absolutely right.
Some people would argue that smart phones are meant for social media, text and email only. They don't use the phone for calls, period.

 

[touchstone]

LOL, you know nothing about watches. Grey market is neither used or stolen, you ****ing idiot.

We will see who the idiot is in the next few months. You should probably chill out, not sure why you are so angry. Is it because your lame mechanical watches are about to be out of style overnight? Lol, as if they ever were in style. You have a good day kid.

 

[preslove]

We will see who the idiot is in the next few months. You should probably chill out, not sure why you are so angry. Is it because your lame mechanical watches are about to be out of style overnight? Lol, as if they ever were in style. You have a good day kid.

No, you're just an annoying idiot.

Have fun with your two phones, lol

 

[openwheel]

And it's much more polite for your spouse to text you about picking up the kids from soccer practice than calling you when you might be in a meeting.

The stereotyping here is unsupported, mean-spirited and elitist. There are plenty of important people who use messaging because it's more discreet and efficient than tying someone up in a phone call for a simple question. Likewise, there are lots of "low wage employees" who make phone calls. And teens? If they're not making calls, doesn't that suggest to you that the future of phone communication may not involve as much voice? Remember, a lot of those people making old-school calls are doing so because they grew up with no other option and are socially conditioned to believe it's the right thing to do. Teens aren't going to be "fixed" the moment they turn 20 -- they're going to carry that behavior into adulthood.

Dude, you got all that from a simple post defending the old tradition of calling someone?

I don't know how you communicate with your wife, but mine loves calling her husband because he is funny as hell. Instead of ordering me to pick up the kids via a text, she calls me to tell me what I would get if I pick up the kids. :wub:

 

[openwheel]

We will see who the idiot is in the next few months. You should probably chill out, not sure why you are so angry. Is it because your lame mechanical watches are about to be out of style overnight? Lol, as if they ever were in style. You have a good day kid.

Who needs to chill out again? I see exactly one person here getting all worked up.... there is a finger pointing at you my friend.

 

[Deeko]

We will see who the idiot is in the next few months. You should probably chill out, not sure why you are so angry. Is it because your lame mechanical watches are about to be out of style overnight? Lol, as if they ever were in style. You have a good day kid.

The only one that's gotten worked up in this thread is you, sport. If you want to purchase and enjoy an Ape watch that's certainly your choice and I applaud you for it but it's very clear that you know little about both the watch market and the fitness product market, so you'd do well to avoid making comparisons to those fields.