Analyst Believes iWatch Will Feature Home Automation, Be More Than an iPhone Companion

[powers74]

No.

As an Apple supplier, our contact offered insight into the "iWatch" and described this potential new device as much more than an extension of your iPhone but as a multi-purpose gateway in allowing consumers to control their home (i.e., heating/cooling, lights, audio, video, etc.).

Really? I don't doubt Apple has considered functions like these for an iWatch type of device, but for supply chain rats to know ANYTHING of the upcoming functionality of such an upcoming Apple device is completely bogus. We didn't even know anything about the MacPro until Phil kicked everyone in the proverbial nuts back in June and Apple upper management was even unusually candid about it. These clowns know nothing.

 

[rmwebs]

Surely this all goes without saying doesn't it? Did anyone seriously think all it would do is control an iPhone? Talk about pointless.

I expect it to have full app support, an A7 or greater CPU, decent memory, etc. If you have to start limiting it too much it completely invalidates the point of releasing a new product.

"Here's the new iWatch...it uh...well it cant do a lot as it only has a 100mhz CPU and 64mb RAM...it looks nice though". I don't think so

 

[powers74]

What?

You going to look an idiot going out wearing an iWatch and how the hell are you
going read the screen let along trying to use the touch screen as its bad enough on an iPhone.
I hope it doesn't happen.

Are you blathering about?

 

[Lennholm]

Nah, once a day. 12 hour time is for fools.

Most working clocks are only right once a day, at 0:00:00. Time should be measured this way:
1 day = 10 decidays = 100 centidays = 1000 millidays etc

 

[twoehr]

Great! Now I can control my smoke detector with my watch. It's just like I'm in Back to the Future or something.

I thought it was great that I could spend $1,000 to replace all the smoke detectors in my house so I can throw out my $10 step ladder. But now I don't even have to get off the couch!? No wonder the industrialized world has negative population growth!

 

[SkippyThorson]

[...]We didn't even know anything about the MacPro until Phil kicked everyone in the proverbial nuts back in June and Apple upper management was even unusually candid about it. These clowns know nothing.

I thought that was the first great Apple product launch without Steve.

Makes you wonder, if that was kept so unbelievably secret, just how controlled are all of these "leaks" and "rumors".

The proverbial nuts comment made me laugh out loud at my desk, by the way. Thanks. Now they're on to me.

 

[Blakjack]

Glad to see Apple taking their time with this vs what Samsung did by trying to beat others to market with an unfinished product.

 

[minkeycat]

You can buy home automation light and power switches (lightwave) for £25 a pop ... so its typical Apple would want to create a product which ties you into something that sells on their website for mega bucks (notably in this case 3 light bulbs and a controller for £180!!!!!)

That aside, who wants to replace their Tag watch for a ***** Apple watch; if I want to control home products, I'd rather use my phone or tablet, not a bloody watch!

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Glad to see Apple taking their time with this vs what Samsung did by trying to beat others to market with an unfinished product.

I'm confused - the Samsung looks quite finished to me!

 

[springsup]

I really hope this isn't true.

Home automation has been tried again and again and again (most recently with Android @ Home), and every time people get all excited about the theoretical possibilities but it never takes off.

Not only that, but this really is Samsung's turf. Samsung are very well established in TVs, ovens and hobs, fridges, microwaves, dishwashers and washing machines. Not only that, but their products are generally required as quite good at an affordable price point, which is really what matters when it comes to household appliances like that.

Home automaton would be an embarrassing flop for Apple, just like it has been for everyone else. I hope they're not tempted.

 

[unplugme71]

Well, duh. Which is why the iWatch won't be called an iWatch because it won't be an iWatch. Which makes me wonder why anyone continues to predict an iWatch. Lack of imagination is my best guess.

Just like the iPhone won't be called an iPhone because it's also an iPod and Internet Communicator

 

[Rogifan]

Apple should just buy Nest and bring Tony Fadell back. Their new smoke detectors remind me of an Apple TV or Mac Mini.

 

[Zzzoom]

I am still waiting for a convincing argument, that a smartwatch is more than niche product...

 

[nastri83]

I'm also an analyst and I believe that the iWatch will create pug puppies out of thin air! It's gonna be pretty cool.

 

[theOtherGeoff]

You must be new to the world of home automation. Come on in, leave your wallet right there and on the counter.

agreed.

And... you want a standard... we got standards... all sorts of standards... take your pick... you'll need at least 3 anyway...

Seriously... I can't see Apple getting into home automation 'control' without a standard that they can trust is 'open' enough for general availability.

I mean... the final mile of home automation usually includes
- powerline
- proprietary wiring
- DA converters
- IR beam controllers
- Various radio frequency controllers

That said, Apple 'could' come in and deem one of these 'their standard' But none really lead the world (even Insteon has 2 different RF standards, one for US and one for Europe... heaven help us if there are Asian, African, Australian, or Antartican standards as well;-)

If anything, it would have to be something that is consumer bigbox retail... and that is pretty much insteon at bestbuy, lutron (zwave), or leviton(homeworks) in the US... don't know other broad retail solutions

Things I can see that would 'help' home automation.
- an M7 chip in the device... 'occupancy' detection even when not moving , as most passive IR will get confuse if the heat source doesn't move [much]
("I'm on the toilet!!!... don't g**d**m turn off the light!!!!)
- Wifi uplink of location (my home network is[are] XXX, whenever I'm in range, and moving (not sleeping) toss my location and stats every second to a mother server...

But all that said.. I really think this is not a 'big job' for Apple to apply for in the consumer space. better to stick with personal wellness than home automation....

 

[AlphaHumanus]

I'm anticipating the "iWatch" to be the breakthrough in Television that Jobs had mentioned. Motion/voice controlling for the win. IMO. Also, the rumored bio-metrics are encouraging. Coupled with some bluetooth headphones, my workouts just got a lot simpler.

Seriously, I'm excited and annoyed I've had to wait so long. I need a new watch, and all the current products lack. IMO.

Hopefully somebody other than Ive is designing them. He's messed up enough Apple products already.

And my god if you're going to make a "gold" product, don't make some ridiculous copout champagne colored gold that isn't even gold at all on the front. Grow a freaking pair and make something bright and glittery enough to do the color justice.

Literally the worst thing I've ever read. So glad I don't know you.

 

[nws0291]

All I really want is a pulse oximeter integrated. That alone will make me consider it. It will crush all other fitness devices.

 

[ericinboston]

Love it. Apple is picked on for not being innovative, and when they ARE innovative people now say they are TOO innovative.

Can't win.

So let's say this watch comes out tomorrow. And you buy it. You're telling me your a/v system is hooked up the internet?...and your home lights?...and your home heating system? All ready to go! No you say? You'll just run down to Apple and buy some kind of connection kit for $29, you say?

Surrrrrre.

These are rumors. I'm not picking on Apple. But this rumor about all the home connectivity stuff is so outlandish.

That's why I said call me in 30 years when all the technologies start to meld together. According to infinite commercials in the late 80s, 90s, and 2000s, we're already supposed to have all our electronic items (including toasters) working hand in hand over the internet to make our lives like The Jetsons.

We're nowhere close.

Yes, it would be nice to be on my way back home from a 1-week vacation and remotely tell my house to heat up/cool down within 1 hour of my arrival...or remotely get a status of coldcuts in my fridge while I make an impromptu stop at the grocery store. Decades from now we'll see this kind of ability.

 

[Pyrrhic Victory]

Haha no question at all! A top notch designer and PR guru in one person!

Apple better hurry up to hire you before Steve Ballmer or "Full of Schmidt" snatch you!

ps.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvsboPUjrGc

Never claimed to be a designer or a "guru" of anything (though PR is definitely a field that fits with my skill set and qualifications). I don't need to be a top notch designer to be able to diagnose bad design when I see it

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Buy yourself a gold case and leave us alone.

On second thought please post your design accomplishments, so Forstall can see your work.

Buy yourself a gold case so you can see how it doesn't change the fact that the front, visible part of the phone does not magically change color and remains white or black (excuse me, "space grey") and leave us alone.

On second thought please post your citation of where I claimed to be a designer. My expertise is in PR and marketing, and Forstall will need people like me in addition to techies.

 

[AlphaHumanus]

Yes, it would be nice to be on my way back home from a 1-week vacation and remotely tell my house to heat up/cool down within 1 hour of my arrival...or remotely get a status of coldcuts in my fridge while I make an impromptu stop at the grocery store. Decades from now we'll see this kind of ability.

@bold.

Funny. thats what my nest does....

 

[69650]

I can just see it now. Tap my iWatch and speak "Siri switch the lights on", "Switch the kettle on", "Close the curtains", "Switch on my iTelevision and select ESPN".

I can just see a whole new industry of smart home automation gadgets and systems.

 

[Pyrrhic Victory]

Ive's designs have sold so poorly over the past several years. And the champagne/gold iPhones are just gathering dust since people hate how they look.

Ive's designs have been such a huge part of why people have bought Apple products over the years. It has virtually nothing to do with the superior software, the feature sets, the customer service, the retail experience, the marketing message, the global brand power, or the fact that the major competition has mostly come from such abject failures as Microsoft and Samsung. No, I'm sure none of that has had much to do with Apple's sales, and I'm sure Jobs' death, Forstall's firing, and Ive and Cook's takeover has had nothing at all to do with Apple's stock plummeting by 45% in less than a year.

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I would live for Apple to get into the home automation business. It's a largely untapped area and could represent the "new product category" Apple has been looking for since Jobs died. I don't believe an iWatch is this new product. It's likely just going to be an iPhone shrunk to be on a wrist. That's not new. I already own an iPhone.

You may like his work, which is OK, but to work for him? By all indications, he was a monster to work with. Likely one of the reasons he was fired.

That's a chance I'm willing to take, seeing as how I am currently a candidate for employment and Forstall still has a reputation as a brilliant software mind. Besides, I have a feeling he'd be a little cooler with someone whose fandom of him and defense of his work on MacRumors is bordering on sycophantic.

 

[OrangeAstronaut]

iWatch predictions

I just want to say that if that's the case I called it a while ago:

http://www.reddit.com/r/apple/comments/1jjhx9/ive_seen_a_lot_of_scepticism_about_the_real/

Honestly I've been using my Jawbone Up for a while now and love the thing, BUT if I'm going to have something on my wrist other than a watch in the future I want it to do more than just provide motion tracking. I basically use the Up for the Idle Alarm function, and the Sleep Cycle Alarm. I could really care less about the steps I take during the day because I bike most of the time.

Hopefully the iwatch (or whatever it is) gives some more unobtrusive control!

 

[pubwvj]

Imagine having to upgrade your home every few years? And when you upgrade your hammer, skilsaw, table, and window no longer work so you have to buy new versions of those which cause incompatibilities with the refrigerator which is incompatible with your garage so you can no longer park your car.

Then on a cold winter night your house crashes leaving you to freeze to death out in the cold while you wait on hold.

Bravo. Welcome to the brave new world of household automation, incompatibilities and mandatory upgrades. Don't forget the security problems.

No thanks. I'll stick with my simple, masonry cottage. Very basic. I can fix everything myself. No tech support, licenses or upgrade fees.

 

[minkeycat]

Never claimed to be a designer or a "guru" of anything (though PR is definitely a field that fits with my skill set and qualifications). I don't need to be a top notch designer to be able to diagnose bad design when I see it

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Buy yourself a gold case so you can see how it doesn't change the fact that the front, visible part of the phone does not magically change color and remains white or black (excuse me, "space grey") and leave us alone.

On second thought please post your citation of where I claimed to be a designer. My expertise is in PR and marketing, and Forstall will need people like me in addition to techies.

Apple fans can be quite childish at times (well, most times!)

 

[darkslide29]

I honestly believe us Apple fans who are regularly checking the site are better at taking guesses than these "analysts". I mean, what are they basing it on? Inside sources? Parts or detailed plans? No, it is based on nothing. Purely a guess, and a poor one at that.
I understand that's what all of these analysts tend to do, but sometimes they are just shots in the dark, hoping that one of the darts sticks to the wall. It's a little ridiculous.