13 years ago, a "different" kind of Apple product launched. MR responded:

[0000757]

The day of the announcement of the Apple Watch, and I see plenty of people saying it's a fad and it won't ever take off.

Personally I'm indifferent. I think they're cool, i don't really know if they'll take off; they might, or they could fail. Time will only tell.

Of course I could just quote how people said the same about the iPhone, or the iPad, but lets go back even further in time.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/apples-new-thing-ipod.500/

October 2001, the launch of the iPod. The product that has single handedly entirely revolutionized modern consumer mobile electronics as we know it today. The device that made Apple one of the most important American companies in history. How did MacRumors reply?

(Some of my personal favorites)

It's hard to read these and believe that these people were serious, but just as people are doing now with the Apple Watch, and what they did with the iPad and the iPhone, people did with the iPod when it launched. Everyone here has seen this thread, but it's still so shocking and jarring to see it today, even when you've seen it hundreds of times.

Will we be looking back on threads about the Apple Watch with posts like this and think how crazy they were? Do we do that with the iPad? or iPhone? Will we do it with other Apple products?

I don't mean any insult by this, I just thought it would be interesting to see what MacRumors originally thought of the first iPod in the wake of a new "revolutionary" product.

 

[HarryPot]

I love seeing that thread every once in a while.

Still, I think the Smart Watch market is a little more difficult than the MP3 or tablet one.

But I look forward to seeing in person the Apple Watch. I remember pretty well the first time I used an iPad, I was completely lost as to how it could serve me in any way. Today? I couldn't image being without it.

 

[Jessica Lares]

I don't think it'll be as big as the iPod was, but I think that the people who buy into it will be very happy. I still really hope I can leave my iPhone on my bed and be in the living room wearing the watch.

It's weird to think that if people didn't start wearing their iPod Nano as a watch, that none of this would have ever happened. So literally, if the iPod hadn't taken off, we would not be here right now talking about wearables.

 

[Astroboy907]

I'm thinking Rev 2 will hit harder, like the Galaxy Gear. I think Apple needs to work on the form factor a bit before it will be accepted as a watch. Quote me on that in 10 years

 

[aristobrat]

Ah, the infamous Thread 500.

 

[smithrh]

Ah, the infamous Thread 500.

Downvotes too! Ahhh, the memories.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Brilliant. Thanks for posting this.

Obviously, it was before my time on the forum, so I don't remember it, but it is a most salutary reminder, nonetheless, and clearly well up there with a few other similar immortal financial and other forecasts…...

 

[juanm]

Brilliant thread indeed. I have no doubt Apple will sell lots of these, and the price, all things considered, is pretty good. (Suunto "smart-ish" watches are pretty much in that price area).
However, I'm more concerned about the price of the phones. I don't like/want to be tied to a contract, as a matter of principle (and because I change countries a lot, and I need to swap SIM cards) and the new iPhones are crazy expensive. In Europe for an iPhone 6 you're looking at 700€/800€ for the 16GB memory size. For the 6 (not the 6+) it's 820€ in france if you need anything more than 16GB.

 

[tkwolf]

The same reactions since 2001...

And we never changed eh?

More than a decade later and still the same lol

 

[indychris]

I wonder if the guest poster who said "I have no need for an MP3 player" still feels that way.

 

[LostSoul80]

The point of the OP stands though. The iWatch surely looks to be the most groundbreaking product in mobile technology ever. Its innovation can not be matched by any competitor: such a cheap, innovative, fresh product, with a dial (!) and unknown battery life, is non existent today.
Not to mention the sheer number of upcoming sales: I easily see at least 10 watches in every US family bought every year.
Don't ditch out a new product just because you have reasons to do it. It's way easier to just dig out some random threads from a website, and call it a win!

 

[0000757]

The point of the OP stands though. The iWatch surely looks to be the most groundbreaking product in mobile technology ever. Its innovation can not be matched by any competitor: such a cheap, innovative, fresh product, with a dial (!) and unknown battery life, is non existent today.
Not to mention the sheer number of upcoming sales: I easily see at least 10 watches in every US family bought every year.
Don't ditch out a new product just because you have reasons to do it. It's way easier to just dig out some random threads from a website, and call it a win!

Yep, exactly the point.

Maybe the AppleWatch could be the next cube, who knows though? We'll always reject the new to begin with. Look at the threads in the Apple Watch forums. Many of them are saying similar things