Apple Watch: The Future

-BigMac- said:

Hi Guys.
I was wondering what are your thoughts on future Apple Watches?
Are they going to make them thinner?

How can they improve on the Apple Watch. Its not going to get a 4" screen and it doesnt seem like it will be needing a better gpu for games, because lets face it, we have our iphones for that.

Ideas? Thoughts?

Click to expand...

Priorities @ the Cupertino Campus for AW Gen 2 will be...

1. Thinner
2. Lighter
3. Increasing Battery Life
4. A More Thorough UI
5. Adding Gen 2 Exclusive Features

The usual Apple thing. "Unapologetically thinner"

The next one will be thinner, longer battery, and have more sensors so it can track more stuff.

Going against the grain a little here, but I'm quite certain based on many subtle hints, that the Apple Watch case will not change in size/shape significantly at all for at least a few years. It will not get thinner. There's a few reasons:

1. The band connector puts a limiting factor on case size and Apple's not going to redesign that connector in such a short period of time as one, or even 2 or 3 years. I expect 5 years or longer with this band connector. It's plenty thin for all normal watch sizes. Only ultra thin watches couldn't work with it and that is simply not going to happen, not until battery life is a week.
2. The focus for quite a while will be on improved battery life. Thinning the device won't help that. Apple only makes their devices smaller/thinner when they can maintain or even increase battery life in the equivalent class of product. They have minimum battery duration goals that guide product design.
3. This isn't a technology device, it's a luxury fashion product. The focus is going to be on bands. I expect new bands in less than a year, and at a year. I expect there to be a new Apple Watch next year with improvements, but, the same case design. I expect at least one new material/paint job. Probably copper, but, possibly gold aluminum.
4. Apple didn't sell this product on tech specs. They sold it on a set of arbitrary capabilities and a ton of fashion/design appeal.

I think this product trajectory (basically staying the same but getting silently better inside over time) matches the Apple TV. Apple is also planning to report income along with Apple TV with no break down. This product is probably one of a handful of coming "iOS extension" targets. I expect a new Apple TV this year with app support but not how people think. I expect the "apps" to come in the form of iOS extension just like the watch apps are going to do. I imagine they include CarPlay in this same group, and I would be surprised if we don't see more similar iOS extension targets in a few years.

That's my take anyway. Minor changes, not thinner/smaller, focus on fashion and maintaining current capabilities while increasing the performance (battery, speed) of those capabilities, keeping compatibility with bands, and generally focusing on the product as it is now for a few years at least.

Apple Watch is an iPhone accessory, not a product platform to be pushed hard towards new revisions.

More sensors.
Better battery life.

Thinner and lighter won't be priorities for Watch. Unlike a tech device, the weight of a piece of jewellery is an indication of it's worth. Unless the watch was too heavy for comfort I don't think they will try to make it lighter as it will begin to feel cheap.

I think improvements in the health functionality of the device and improvements in battery life/optimisation is what we will see in the next few years.

And ofcourse, new bands and watch materials.

zacheryjensen said:

... but I'm quite certain based on many subtle hints, that the Apple Watch case will not change in size/shape significantly at all for at least a few years. It will not get thinner. ....

Click to expand...

I agree, but I go a lot farther. I expect to see additional cases and bracelets and bands that are interchangeable with those available in April. It would not surprise me at all to see gold bands for the Edition and platinum case with compatible bracelets in a year or so.

We don't know for certain, but unofficial reports have it that Apple has been forced to hold back on some sensors that it had intended to include in the Watch when it goes on sale. We can expect to see these sensors reach the point where they are ready for prime time. I expect Apple to make them available to the customer base as replacement internals.

Just as Apple made the iPhone self-contained and independent of your computer, I expect that it plans to make the Watch self-contained and independent of your iPhone.

zacheryjensen said:

The band connector puts a limiting factor on case size and Apple's not going to redesign that connector in such a short period of time as one, or even 2 or 3 years. I expect 5 years or longer with this band connector. It's plenty thin for all normal watch sizes. Only ultra thin watches couldn't work with it and that is simply not going to happen, not until battery life is a week.

Click to expand...

Yeah, the case would have to be thinner than the connectors before they'd even think about re-designing them.

It would be nice if it were self reliant and not depend on the iPhone, but still have features such as sms and forwarding like on the iPads and macs.

sonicrobby said:

It would be nice if it were self reliant and not depend on the iPhone, but still have features such as sms and forwarding like on the iPads and macs.

Click to expand...

That would be nice, but, given battery life concerns that we have now, it's going to be a LONG time before that happens.

However, there is some capability away from the phone already. At the very least, you can look at some pictures, listen to music and record exercise activity. After some time with GPS connected, the watch learns your strides and such for running and can estimate running distance based on past runs, accelerometer data, etc when not connected to the phone. I think it'll be most useful on treadmills and the like, though. Say... at the gym.

walshy1009 said:

Priorities @ the Cupertino Campus for AW Gen 2 will be...

1. Thinner
2. Lighter
3. Increasing Battery Life
4. A More Thorough UI
5. Adding Gen 2 Exclusive Features

Click to expand...

Nope.
1. Better battery life.
2. Work with 802.11ac @ 5ghz WiFi.
3. GPS enabled
4. Better battery life.
5. Thinner
6. Better battery life
7. Better battery life
8. Better battery life
9. Better battery life

I would say a better battery life, more health sensors, and I believe they will try to get a smaller bezel so that more information can be seen

I would expect a marriage of better sensors with an improved chip with more memory. A more energy efficient chip would improve battery life. Smaller sensors and chip leaves room to make it a little thinner and increase battery live. I do not want it to get a lot thinner. I have seen a few thin watches and really do not like them.

However in 10 years I see a wrap around cuff style that would be thin and have a larger curved display.

Second gen will probably have a more efficient mobile chip after we've all paid for their R&D. Battery life will get a boost, not drastic but enough.

I see more case and strap options becoming available. The eventual migration of the ceramic back and sapphire glass to the whole line up as the costs of production are covered.

Possibly a line-up split with more expensive versions having more ability to operate away from an iPhone (the Apple SIM could be integrated into the chip-set - I dunno, just thinking out loud) while the cheaper ones remain tied to the iPhone for anything more than basic functionality.

A more efficient chipset could allow for on-board GPS for more accurate workout tracking while a barometer a la the M8 could track elevation changes without the phone.

Better water-proofing as the treatments mature.

Really though, the biggest changes are going to come from the software. As Apple open up more functions and developers figure out how to do more and more we'll see the ecosystem really open up. Just like with the phone, sure the hardware is better every year but it's the OS and the apps that make the biggest strides each year.